CLASSICAL MUSIC
Elliot Carter listens (at front) to one of his compositions
for solo bass, New York,
December, 2008
The Classical Guitar And Popular Songs
The Caususes and Classical Music
Mozart And His Influence On Rock Music
Robert Schumann: He Released Albums?
The Story Of The Cello Concerto
The Story Of The Piano Concerto
The Story Of The String Quartet
The Story Of The Violin Concerto
Tchaikovsky Speaks And Whistles 1890
TCHAIKOVSKY SPEAKS AND WHISTLES
In 1890, three years before the end of his life, Tchaikovsky put his name to a cylinder recorder owned by a Mr Julius Block, and also spoke into it along with some friends including the famous pianist Anton Rubenstein.
Also present were Elizaveta Lavrovskaya (singer), Vassily Safonov (pianist and conductor), and Alexandra Hubert (pianist).
Marston Records sells a compilation of Block's cylinders.
Here is a copy of the "tape" (also on Youtube). It is made louder for impact. Tchaikovsky speaks (the higher voice) at 0:19, speaks some more, then whistles what sounds like a foretaste of the Rachmaninoff "Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini".
The words spoken are
Rubinstein: What a wonderful thing [the phonograph]
Block: Finally
Lawrowskaja: Ah disgusting... how he dares slyly to name me
Safonov: (sings a scale incorrectly)
Tchaikovsky: This trill could be better!
Lawrowskaja: (sings)
Tchaikovsky: Block is good, but Edison is even better
Lawrowskaja: (sings)
Safonow: (in German) Peter Jurgenson in Moskau
Tchaikovsky: Who just spoke? It seems to have been Safonow (whistles a theme)
Brahms at right (with waltz king Strauss)
In 1889, a guy called Pettifer recorded Brahms (possibly) speaking and (certainly) playing piano. Here it is... note that the quality is little, well, 19th century
Vladimir Horowitz
Once described by broadcaster Karl Haas as having twenty fingers, Horowitz is one of the top-most tier of pianists on record. Here, in a great close up, he plays Liszt's Consolation No 3
Artur Rubinstein
Note Neumann microphone at high left?
In the 1920s, Rubinstein was disturbed to hear about a young star pianist called Horowitz, who was new on the scene. But Rubinstein himself, then becoming the world's greatest pianist, is today regarded by many as the best of all (Rachmaninoff aside, presumably).
In his autobiography he said he would blur a difficult passage if he couldn't be bothered playing it as written, by pedalling. The audience wouldn't know the difference and would be taken away with the overall effect anyway. A classical equivalent of the guitar effects pedal?
"On stage," Rubinstein told in an interview with Harold C. Shonberg in 1964, "I will take a chance. There has to be an element of daring in great music-making. These younger ones, they are too cautious. They take the music out of their pockets instead out of their hearts. And they know little about pedalling or tone production." Source: www.arims.org.il
Here he plays Chopin, whose music he played uniquely--he is immediately identifiable on Chopin pieces. This is one of the great Chopin Polonaises, the Heroic Polonaise Op 53
An early show piece, de Falla's Ritual Fire Dance
Ignaz Paderewski
The Polish pianist, composer and statesman. Paderewski apparently wrote his famous Minuet in G as a joke, trying to convince colleagues he had found a new piece by another composer.
Here he plays Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No 2
A recording of his Minuet in G
Wilhelm Backhaus
"Damn stylists!"
Backhaus was German and it has been said that he was considered likely to have been very close in style to Beethoven himself. Here is a great film of the slow movement of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 4. Warning: Backhaus appears to be sporting a punk haircut--can you handle it? Hear also the beautiful and distinctive sound of the Bosendorfer piano.
Beethoven Concerto
He also bashes out some of Beethoven's heavy rock sonata the "Waldstein" (1950)
Sviatoslav Richter
Russian, and rushin' he is here... faaaaaaast
Richter also plays from Mussorgsky's "Pictures At An Exhibition"--looking like Jim Morrison, Mussorgsky is also rumored to have done a lot of drugs (he was a military doctor)
Wilhelm Kempff
Kempff was a major German pianist, and here plays the third movement of Beethoven's "Moonlight" sonata--where the first movement is slow, this last movement is fast and heavy. The "Moonlight" could be the ulitmate slow to fast sonata, the sonata with the greatest dynamics--but then, of course, it was called "quasi una fantasia" by the composer. It was not going to be the usual sonata.
Murray Periaha
Periaha plays the same movement, and is probably more interesting than Kempf. Certainly the visuals (for showing what he is doing) are better.
Daniel Barenboim
Barenboim can be relied on to make a good record, whether as pianist or conductor--he is a definitive choice as both, when looking for a purchase. He was also the first pianist to perform solo at the Met (in 2008) since Horowitz in the '80s. This is, again, the "Moonlight's" third movement.
Grigory Sokolov
Less-known Russian--very dynamic in action. Here, he addresses the percussive Prokoviev's Piano Sonata No 7
Emil Gilels
Russian also, and a major figure. In addition to concertos, his piano quartet recordings always worked very cohesively. A safe purchase. These are two early recordings, from the 1930s, Rameau's "La Rappel Des Oiseaux" (Bird Song) and Liszt's "La Chasse" (The Hunt)
Emil von Sauer
A pupil of Liszt himself, he plays his teacher's "La Campanella". There is available an excellent live recording of Sauer in 1940, playing both small pieces and a concerto.
Brahms!
The composer himself is just audible towards the end of this tape, made from a cylinder in 1889.
Rachmaninoff
Rachmaninoff is considered perhaps the greatest pianist of all time after Liszt. Here he plays the introductory movement of his romantic classic, his Piano Concerto No 2
"Boublitchi": here he backs up some friends singing a Russian folk song
"Melody in E": Rachmaninoff reprises (in 1940) a piece he wrote years earlier
Alfred Cortot
Cortot and Kempff
Cortot was a French master: Chopin Waltz Op 69 No 1 "The Poet Speaks"
Van Cliburn
The American star plays from
Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No 2
CLASSICAL GUITAR PLAYS
POPULAR MUSIC AND POPULAR
CLASSICAL
Andre Segovia practises
Per Olov Kindgren
Kindgren, of Sweden, is a major player (geddit?) on Youtube
His repertoire is from Bach to Beatles
"Cavatina"
Heard in every subway all over the world
"Over The Rainbow"
Master tune: just think, what if Harold Arlen's wife had
not picked up some dry-cleaning that day?
Albeniz "Cadiz"
Bach "Air On A G String"
Bach Prelude BVW 998
Mudarra "Fantasia"
"Something"
George Harrison, 1969
"Michelle"
Beatles, 1965
"And I Love Her"
Beatles 1964 Often jazzed up, even by piano
"Stairway To Heaven" (Led Zeppelin)
"Nothing Else Matters" (Metallica)
By the request of his students!
Emad Hamdy
Hamdy, of Egypt, is a very interesting guitarist,
faster than the above playing on:
"And I Love Her"
Beatles, 1964
"Killing Me Softly With His Song" (Roberta Flack)
The tune has a melodic reference to "And I Love Her"
Killing Me Softly With His Song
"Jeux Interdits"
Very popular, trad arr Ypes--several clips then:
Emmanuel Rossfelder et orchestre de Savoie: With orchestra
and unusual placement of mike and camera! Check out the
change to major by the strings at 1:47
Kindgren is slower:
Narciso Ypes:
Finally a famous master of the guitar, with
a his ten-stringed instrument
MMD's history of the classical guitar:
The Wikipedia reference page for classical guitar is good:
Victor Borge was a genius pianist-comedian, famous for (at least) half a century. Born in Denmark, he travelled the world performing his skits and was a regular on world television.
Here are some examples:
Mozart Operas
Borge parodies the typical storylines and settings
Piano
Borge's version of the history of his instrument
American Folk Songs
A track through history
Conductors
Not what a conductor does
Denmark And Folk Tunes
Not just fairy-tales
Occupations
A pre-computer look at typical work
People with different occupations
Tchaikovsky
A send up, of course
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No 1
Comedians
Borge does comedy? Surprise
"Clair de Lune"
A more serious take
"Happy Birthday"--In Various Styles
Borge's brilliance is well to the fore here (audio)
CPE Bach Harpsichord Concerto in D minor
CPE was, of course, one of JS Bach's sons, and this concerto from 1748 is unbelievably (given the time of its writing) considered a worthy predecessor to Beethoven's concertos. In particular, the slow movement has a similar mood to the slow movement of Beethoven's fourth concerto . (There is no wind instrument accompaniment, however--this was 1748!). It is described as "agitated and vigorous" by Reinhard G Pauly in his excellent book and summary "Music in The Classic Period" (1965, from Prentice-Hall--a useful 198 pages).
Haydn Piano (Keyboard) Concerto No 11 in D major Hob XVIII/11
Haydn is not so well-known for piano concerti. Originally written as a harpsichord and/or forte piano work, it translates well to piano.
John Field Piano Concerto No 1 in Eb Major
Written in 1799, it was one of seven by Field, usually known for his invention of the nocturne and the influence of this aspect on Chopin. He ended up living most of his adult life in Russia, after following Mozart's former pianistic rival Clementi to that country. One of his nocturnes has a clear resemblance to John Lennon's song "Love" (1970).
Field
Hummel Piano Concerto No 2 Op 85 in A minor
A flowery beginning shows the color of Hummel--a contemporary and friend of Beethoven and also Schubert. His concertos influenced Chopin--this one is from 1816.
Sterndale-Bennett Piano Concerto No 1 in D minor
This concerto, from 1832, sounds quite Beatle-esque particularly in the slow movement. Sterndale-Bennett is interestingly maybe the only English composer to have written a good piano concerto. Living from 1816-1875, he is also an ancestor, according to Wikipedia, of a member of the UK boy band "Busted". Aagh!
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No 2 in G major Op 44
This work has a very attractive second movement with prominent solos for violin and cello --the latter instrument is particularly featured. Of course, eveyone knows the first concerto, but this rocks too.
Dvorak Piano Concerto in G minor, Op. 33
This was Dvorak's only piano concerto--it is said to be viewed favorably as an orchestral piece, that is without the piano part!! Dvorak's brilliant touch at evoking forests, moons and so on with the orchestra apparently didn't extend to the keyboard. Dvorak saw the work as an orchestral piece that included a piano, rather than as a virtuosic piano shake-up.
Hindemith
Pennsylvania has yielded some interesting things in recent years: Obama Girl, www.allabout jazz.com,... and, found in 2002 in a farmhouse, a long lost piece entitled "Piano Music with Orchestra (Piano: Left Hand)" Opus 2 by Paul Hindemith--a piano concerto for the left hand. Famous left-hand specialist pianist Leon Fleischer says it is excellent.
Now that certainly is a music discovery... especially given Fleischer's high recommendation.
Hindemith also wrote a piece for piano and orchestra, Kammermusik No.2, Op36/1. Some piano parts sound like Charlie Parker licks, ahead of time.
Stravinsky
Stravinksy did not write a piano concerto as such, but his "Movements" for Piano and Orchestra (1958-59) is an interesting piano and orchestra work. In fact, it's a cool piece--it's from his dodecophonic period (read, no tone at all) but it works. I recommend the Sviatoslav Richter version (from 1984) on the Yedang label.
THE CAUCUSES (AND "ASIA MINOR") INFLUENCE IN CLASSICAL MUSIC
During Mozart's time, Turkish music was a craze. His "Rondo Ala Turka" (the "Turkish Rondo" that is the final movement of his piano sonata number 11 in A Major, K311) and his famous "The Turkish" violin concerto, the exotic No 5 (also in A major), K219, are examples.
Then the belly dance music fell silent ... briefly.
The dancers were back from their break in the late 19th Century. The influence came through Russian music. The reason is the region of the Caucuses and the countries to the south of Russia, Georgia and Armenia. Up to the present day, Russians have always had their ruling eye on these countries. The point about this area and music is its location: it is bordered by Turkey to the southwest and Iran (Persia) to the southeast. On the east of Georgia is Aijerbaijan and the capital of Baku; in Persian the country's name means land of fire--because of the oil.
The hot (in Baku literally fiery) nature of the region means, inevitably, exotic music.
The capital of Georgia, Tiflis, was and is full of all these peoples, a hot house of nationalities and music.
Here is a map of the area:
The flavor was felt in the music of Rimsky-Korsakov and Borodin, two of the "Mighty Handful", the important group of five Russian composers who are still such a part of music today. A third was Mussorgsky. Borodin's father was Georgian, and his "In The Steppes Of Central Asia" ("Central Asia" is to the east of the Caspian Sea) is an orchestral tone poem with a beautiful melody that was repeated in a small section of Stravinsky's "Firebird" ballet, an early Stravinsky masterpiece.
"The Firebird" has much of the exotic, swirling clarinets and flutes, darting clarinets.
Borodin, of course, was such a genius of melody that his tunes were the basis of the '50s musical "Kizmet". In the film "Peggy Sue Got Married", the music supervisors had the central character spinning a copy of Borodin's "Polovtsian Dances", with the incredible melody of the later "Kizmet" hit "Stranger In Paradise" on her record player; (the original, Borodin, music is better!).
Later, in the twentieth century, Shostokovich used Georgian and other southern music extensively, for example the clarinets and similar instruments in his Fifth Symphony. The music of the area provided a ready flavor for the Russian composers.
From Armenia, the great Armenian composer Katchaturian wrote is nationalist music: the general sound is unmistakable: again, clarinets playing odd figures, but of an irresistible feel.
Just as a guy said to me about the meaning of (for him) Dr Dre's "The Chronic" (!), you can't live without this music. You gotta have it.
Origins
Persia is a candidate for the locale of the first guitar, or at least its ancestor. Figurines from 1500-2000 BC exist of players playing guitar-like instruments.
In ancient Greece the related cithara was a virtuoso instrument. Many axe-man contests were held in Greece. One star was Phrinis, known as the "Ionian (string or note) bender".
By the Renaissance, Spain had the vihuela (1500s) and the lute was everywhere. The real first "English Invasion" was at this time, in the guise of the lute composers such as John Dowland, recently recorded by Sting.
"The Guitar Player"
Vermeer's painting from 1672
"Modern" Classical Guitar Music Composers
Fernando Sor (1778-1839)
Sor wrote single lines with separate chords (read: simpler!) eg: the variations on a theme by Mozart below.
Sor
Sor's Study in B minor played by Julian Bream
Theme and variations opus 9, ie: Variations on a theme by Mozart
by Andre Segovia. The camera work is brilliant also. The first time I played this on Youtube, somebody began whistling in another flat. Not at all surprised.
And by a modern performer:
An interesting performance of Sor on a "harpolyre":
The Nineteenth Century
Italians In Vienna, in the 19th Century: the next move in guitar music was the centreing of Italian composers (also players) in Vienna at the time of Beethoven.
Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829)
Giuliani played with Beethoven, and played in the orchestra for the first performance of Beethoven's Symphony No 7 (probably on cello). Beethoven himself made the comment that a "guitar is a miniature orchestra". In Giuliani's Duo Concertante (see below), for example, you can clearly hear the guitar written as a substitute for the orchestra, backing up the flute in an orchestral fashion at certain points.
He was from Naples, and wrote 150 guitar compositions (Opus numbered), which are the centre of the 19th Century guitar repertoire. These include three guitar concertos, as well as sonatas for violin/flute with guitar. He also frequently wrote theme and variations works, for example on Handel's "Harmonious Blacksmith" tune. Interesting works are the six solo guitar fantasias, the "Rossiniana" (Op 119-124), that he wrote over 1820-1828. As the name suggests, these works were to highlight tunes of opera giant Rossini.
Here is a part from his Duo Concertante for flute and guitar in F minor (Op 25)
Concertante
Other Italian guitar composers in Vienna at this time were Fernando Carulli, Onorato Costa and Francesco Molino.
The beginning of Carulli's Serenade in C for flute and guitar begins like this: the first three notes are similar to "Can't Help Falling In Love With You", the hit for Elvis Presley.
Late Nineteenth Century: Tarrega
Tarrega (1852-1909)
The next step in guitar music was Spanish composer Francisco Tarrega.
Tarrega
A tremendously important composer for the guitar, Tarrega wrote several classics that define classical guitar. His "Recuerdos de la Alhambra" (Memories of the Alhambra) is the mysterious classic that greets travellers on the world's subway networks curtesy of the guitar buskers! Here is a definitive version by Julian Bream
Tarrega was a brilliant melodist. After a miserable trip to London (he is said to have liked neither the weather nor the language!), he wrote his Lagrima. Here is a version by Per Kindgren. It is easy to hear the longing for the sunnier, drier Spain.
The link to Youtube is
A third major piece is the "Danza Moro", Moorish Dance. Here is a live version by Lucas Pierri. Some of the feeling of the Iberian heat is communicated.
Another Tarrega hit is called by some the "Nokia" ringtone ....
It is Terraga's "Grand Valse", great waltz.
The page (soundclick.com) here has also a great photo of Tarrega playing.
The Twentieth Century
Following on from Tarrega, and with the rise of virtuosi like Andre Segovia and Julian Bream, more and more classical composers wrote guitar works. Some of these works were commissioned by the guitarists, particularly Segovia (see below).
Other composers have been adapted to the guitar, for example the piano works of the Spanish composers Albeniz and Granados.
Villa-Lobos (1887-1959)
The Brazilian composer, who was originally so inspired by birds, the forest and local music, has been played much by classical guitarists. The easist chord to play on a guiatr is E minor, and here Segovia explores (probably the right word!) Villa- Lobos' Study in E minor.
Another side of Villa-Lobos is the darkly forested Prelude No 1. Here John Williams plays
As with the Segovia Sor above, the camera work is very good at times : see at 1:50.
A study of all his guitar music is at
Agustin Barrios-Mangore (1888-1944)
Barrios is the brilliant composer/guitarist from Paraguay. John Williams plays his "La Ultimate Cancion"
As noted above, to increase the classical guitar repertoire in the twentieth century virtuosi (Andre Segovia and Julian Bream) commisssioned works from major composers, such as these below:
Torroba (1891-1982, Spain)
Rodrigo (1901-1999, Spain)
Castelnuovo-Tedesco (Italy)
Ponce (Mexico)
Rodrigo's (pre-commission) efforts resulted in possibly the most famous guitar work of all the "Concierto de Aranjuez", in 1939. The first movement is still seeking the perfect lyric to become a hit song! (Julio Iglesias has sought out writers to do it, such as Barry Manilow's original song-writing partner Marty Panzer).
In America in 1964, The Beatles' George Harrison said he mainly listened to Andre Segovia (and country guitarist Chet Atkins). One of the main Segovia concerti of the time was Castelnuovo-Tedesco's well-known guitar concerto, which features a piece of tune that is the same as the opening notes of The Beatles' first number one "Please Please Me". Interesting.
Virtuoisi (Classical Period To Current Day)
Sor (1778-1839) (Also composer)
Giuliani (1781-1829) (Also composer)
Tarrega (1852-1909) (Also composer)
Agustin Barrios-Mangore (1888-1944) (Also composer)
Andre Segovia (1893-1987)
Julian Bream
John Williams
LA Guitar Quartet
MOZART: DON GIOVANNI, SUPER OPERA
What the commentators have said. From the comments below, it appears that Don Giovanni just might be the greatest opera, if not the greatest musical work ever! I have seen it twice, once in Germany and once at the UK's Covent Garden opera house. After the latter, I thought it was the greatest experience I had ever had in my life, to that date. I didn't know why, I just thought that. That must mean something (see Gounod's views).
Schubert
Franz Schubert is said to have far preferred Don Giovanni to Beethoven's "Fidelio" opera. In fact, his favorite music was reportedly "The Messiah" by Handel, Don Giovanni and the "Requiem" by Mozart, and, by Beethoven, the song "Adelaide", the C major Mass and the C minor Symphony (the great No 3).
Goethe
The poet said "... But that piece is unique, and Mozart's death has destroyed all hope of our ever seeing anything else like it."
He prefaced these words by saying "If you could have been present at the last performance of Don Giovanni, you would have seen all your desires about opera realised." He was writing to his fellow mega poet Schiller, (in 1797).
Haydn
After the Vienna premiere of the opera, some people criticsed passages of it in the presence of Haydn. Haydn replied that "... Mozart is the greatest composer the world possesses now".
Wagner
Wagner did not mind it at all. Indeed, he said "... Is it possible to find anything more perfect than every piece of (Mozart's) "Don Juan'?" Every piece: so he would have had a swift reply to the "critics" after the Vienna premiere, had he been there.
Stendhal
The famous French author went to Hayn's funeral in his uniform. He wrote afterwards that "... I'm beginning to understand Don Giovanni, which they give in German nearly every week at the Widen theatre" [this was in October, 1809]. Obviously a popular show!
Gounod
(1818-1893) The French composer said that "to the gratification deriving from the exclusively musical and sensuous, [Rossini], Mozart added the profound and penetrating influence of truth of expression combined with perfect beauty. From beginning to end, the score was a long and and inexpressible rapture."
He continued, to point up particular examples from the opera: " ... the pathetic tones of the trio at the Commandant's death [killed by Don Giovanni before or after the Don bangs his daughter], Donna Anna's lament over the body of her father, the grace of Zerlina and the consummate, masterful elegance of the trio of Maskers, the trio which starts the second Act under Elvira's balcony; in a word, everything ... put me into that blessed state which one feels only before beautiful things to which the centuries must pay homage, things which are the yardstick of the aesthetic level of the arts".
He said, "This performance counts as the loveliest experience of my childhood ...". That seems to echo my experience of the opera (above).
Tchaikovsky
" ... To me the most beautiful opera ever written is Don Giovanni. ... I love the music of Don Giovanni so much that even as I write to you I could shed tears of agitation and emotion ... The music of Don Giovanni was the first music to produce an overwhelming effect on me and it aroused in me a holy ecstasy that bore fruit later on. Through it I entered the realm of artistic beauty where only the greatest geniuses dwell".
Kierkegaard
"These two familiar strains of the violin ... burst forth from the deep choral tones of the immortal overture (to Don Giovanni) ..."
"The folding doors are thrown open; the effect ... overwhelmed for an instant the guests who were on the point of entering the room, and when at the same moment strains from the ballet of Don Giovanni reached them from the orchestra, they were transfixed and for an instant stood still as if in reverence before an invisible spirit which encompassed them, like a man whom admiration has awakened and who has arisen to his feet to admire".
Thackeray
[From his book "Pendennis" (1850], the author of "Vanity Fair" wrote " ... and [at the opera] here was to be Don Giovanni, which he admired of all things in the world ..."
Hesse
The Nobel Prize winning author wrote in his masterpiece "Steppenwolf" (1927):
"... And I heard from the empty spaces within the theatre the sound of music, a beautiful and awful music, that music from Don Giovanni that heralds the approach of the guest of stone."
Sheean
The American journalist wrote: "I have said ... that [Wagner's] Tristan und Isolde is for me one of the supreme aesthetic experiences of a lifetime. It goes into the same category (for me ...) as Michelangelo's work in the Sistine Chapel, Bach's in the St John Passion and the B Minor Mass, Mozart's in Don Giovanni, and Shakespeare's in ... These are the highest values in that mystery called art, the work of man which most approaches the work of God".
Rosen
Pianist and music book author Charles Rosen discussed the "political connotations of sexual liberty" being "very much alive at the premiere of Don Giovanni", and added:
"This sense of outrage connected with the opera - and it is implicit in Kierkgaard's view of Don Giovanni as the only work that perfectly embodies the essentially erotic nature of music ..."
"... In all of Mozart's supreme expressions of suffering and terror - the G minor Symphony [No 40], Don Giovanni, the G minor Quintet, Pamina's aria in Die Zauberflote - there is something shockingly voluptuous."
... "In his corruption of sentimental values, Mozart is a subversive artist".
Bring it on!
Modern American composer Ned Rorem is probably most famous for his (classical) songs and his writing - articles and his diaries. He is, broadly, of the era of Roger Sessions, Terry Riley, Philip Glass, Harry Partch, etc, the modern US composers. Perhaps his most typical act was, at the age of twelve, selling his bird collection and cages to buy the record and score of Stravinky's "Rite Of Spring". Right on, Ned!
In his collection of articles and diary entries called "Setting The Tone" (1983), Rorem makes a few firm statements of belief, eg:
Poulenc
The best songwriter of the Twentieth Century is French composer Poulenc.
"The Rite Of Spring"
The best piece of music of the Twentieth Century is the aforesaid "Rite of Spring".
Stravinsky
The composer of the Twentieth Century is its composer, Stravinsky.
Debussy
Rorem's favorite composer is Debussy.
Film
The best marriage of music and film, to date, is "The Blood of The Poet": film by jean Cocteau, music by Georges Auric (one of the famous French group of composers "Les Six").
The Beatles
The Beatles, though not providing new harmony, were fresh and ended the drought in song since [the peak of?] Billy Holliday. It's quality Rorem is concerned with, and the Beatles had it. Since them, there has been another drought (he was writing in the 70s/80s)!
McCartney
Of the Beatles, Rorem saw/sees (writing in 1967) Paul McCartney as the major figure, for his melodies. He said, for example, that the slight/almost there key change at "wave of her hand" is genius.
Faure
The melodies of Gabriel Faure's songs are built on the chords underneath them pushing up through. The best set of the songs is by Elly Ameling and pianist Dalton Baldwin ('70s). [Mymusicdiscovery likes Elly Ameling a lot, though it has trouble liking many female classical singers - too strident!! She and Elizabeth Schumann, and Callas, rock. Barbara Bonney ain't bad, either, or, to an extent, Angela Georgiou].
Here are listed the main ten important composers (or eras) of opera in our history, with say the two best operas per composer. Operas are usually about two hours plus long (except Wagners!) and have two or three Acts, between which you can have a break.
Monteverdi
From the land of melody, Italy, Monteverdi lived from 1567 to 1643, and therefore covered (more than covered) the Shakespeare era in England. To put it in more perspective, Bach was born 45 years after he left for that big opera house in the sky. He wrote the first important operas. There was one on at the LA Opera in late 2006 (The Coronation of Poppea). One of his lute songs sounds like the Smiths (the tune and the feel)! (In the US, there is a need to have a greater range of ticket prices eg: $15-20 and up instead of $30 and up, for example as they do in London).
Hits: Orfeo and The Coronation of Poppea.
Purcell
Dido and Aeneas: this is often thought of as the "first modern opera". It is short (about an album's length) and has Beatle-like songs and chord changes. I was driving in my car once, listening to the classic version from the early '50s with the Swedish singer Kirsten Flagstad, and I heard, while negotiating a British roundabout, the descending chord line of The Beatle's "Help" quickly flashing by in the orchestra! That must be an example of what Yoko Ono meant when she said she heard early English music in John's music.
Henry Purcell died at about the same age as Mozart (35) and wrote similar attractive music.
Handel
He wrote very good songs, modern sounding arias, and was also responsible of course for the "Hallelujah Chorus". One of his best is Ariodante, which has an aria (Italian for, hey, "song") near the start of the second Act that sounds a bit like John Lennon.
Bach
You could say Bach's "St Matthew Passion" is an opera, about the life of Jesus. It's not very long, but neither is Dido and Aeneas. It has way out music: I heard it at the Albert Hall once, and some of the twists sounded "like drugs". Bach did not however write operas as such.
Gluck
Gluck wrote operas about Greek legends, like composers before him (and few after: see below). His music to some extent has traces of Mozart: he anticipates Mozart, if in a more archaic sounding way. Mozart wrote about forty years after Gluck.
Hits: Orfeo and Euridice.
Mozart
His two best operas, as rated by the experts (for example, Beethoven, ETA Hoffmann, Schubert, Gounod, Tchaikovsky, Anton Rubenstein and Herman Hesse) are Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute. Beethoven thought The Magic Flute was his best, while other people have thought Don Giovanni was the one: the fantasy writer ETA Hoffmann said that Mozart led him "into the depth of the spirit world", to which Don Giovanni above all held the key.
Hermann Hesse has a character in his classic novel "Steppenwolf" say of Don Giovanni: "It is the last great music ever written .... [that is] a work of such plenitude and power has never since arisen among men".
Schubert is supposed to have regarded Don Giovanni as one of his six favourite compositions.
Tchaikovsky: "To me the most beautiful opera ever written is Don Giovanni .... I love the music of Don Giovanni so much that even as I write to you I could shed tears of agitation and emotion." Then again, he acknowledges that it might be because he heard it at a certain time: "The music of Don Giovanni was the first music to produce an overwhelming effect on me and it aroused in me a holy ecstasy that bore fruit later on". These are surely not idle words, as Tchaikovsky's astonishing "Romeo and Juliet Fantasy" cropped up in his late twenties. I can't think of anything in music as "out there" as that, except maybe some of Mozart.
And check out these comments from the equally (?) emotional French composer Gounod: "Before describing the emotions that this incomparable masterpiece stirred in me, I ask myself if my pen can ever translate them .... at least in such a way as to give some idea of what went on in me during those unparallelled hours, the charm of which has dominated my life like a luminous apparition, a kind of revelatory vision."
As Don Giovanni is about a rich Spanish guy repeatedly scoring, maybe Gounod just wanted to emulate him? One of the big arias is "The Catalogue Song", where Don Giovanni's sidekick lists the number of women that the Don has made sexy time with, by country: the highest number is "Spain, a thousand and three".
Mozart was the first opera writer to make operas modern, that is he stepped away from the ancient myth plot recreations of Gluck and before, and wrote for real life plots. In the words of the famous nineteenth century pianist Anton Rubenstein, "Mozart has the merit of having removed the opera from .... mythology into real life, and from the Italian to the German [language] and therefore to a national path". Thus, there later arose operas in French, Russian and even English. Mozart was the breakthrough. Operas before him are all about gods and fairies and stilted political stories from classical history. With the arrival of Mozart, you have operas about everyday people, characters and their adventures. So Rubenstein says, "Gluck (see above) it is true had achieved great things in the opera before him
[Mozart]; yea opened new paths - but in comparison with Mozart he is, so to say, of [a block of stone].
Legendary German poet Goethe wrote in 1797 to the poet Schiller, "If you could have been present at the last performance of Don Giovanni, you would have seen all your desires about opera realized. But that piece is unique, and Mozart's death has destroyed all hope of out ever seeing anything else like it". I think he liked it.
If that isn't enough, try Wagner's view: "Is it possible to find anything more perfect than every piece of his Don Giovanni" (from his book "Opera and Drama" of 1851). So opinions had not changed in the next fifty years, either. It looks as though Beethoven's apparent preference for The Magic Flute is outvoted!
Beethoven
Fidelio is his only opera, but it is one of the best of all operas. Power and effect: hear the aural effect Beethoven gets when the prisoners are released and see daylight for the first time since ever.
Italian operas:
Rossini
The great series of Italian opera composers in the nineteenth century began with Rossini. Rossini's thing was the crescendo, a huge rush of the orchestra leading to a bang at the finish. He was very popular in the last 15 years of Beethoven's life, but Ludwig was not impressed: "a pretty talent and amiable melodies by the bushel [but not much else]":.
Hits: The Barber of Seville (that one with "Figaro, Figaro" repeated) and William Tell.
Verdi
In 1842 he wrote his first hit Nabucco: from it, "The Chorus Of The Hebrew Slaves" became a sort of Italian national anthem, as it came out at the time of the unification of Italy into one country, by Garibaldi. And because, as a tune, it rocked.
Verdi wrote a lot of operas, two of his best in his mid to late seventies. His last opera was written in 1893, the year he turned eighty. His overtures are particularly punchy and colourful. His opera Aida has music for ancient Egyptian trumpets: no such trumpets had at that time ever been found, but when some were discovered shortly afterwards, the trumpets were in the same key that Verdi had written for them in his opera! He got it right, somehow.
It is important for English speakers to know what the titles of his operas mean: then you might go and see them or buy a CD of one. For example, La Traviata means the courtesan and Il Trovatore means the "troubadour". I wish I had known this when I first saw these titles in a record shop at about 18, but ignored them only because I DIDN'T SPEAK ITALIAN .... I could have picked up some great music impressions, otherwise. [Perhaps if you are really inventive you may think, well, a word that ends in "a" in Italian is female, and "trav" may be from the same Latin root as "travel", therefore "la traviata" is a female that travels around a lot ....].
Not so mysterious afterall, and not just the names of various restaurants around the world.
Verdi clearly shows the link of Italian opera to Neapolitan song: this helps to explain why people of all backgrounds in Italy used to go to the opera to get wasted, until TV and so on changed it.
Hits: all of them.
Puccini
Puccini is the third big Italian opera composer. People always end up dying in his operas, but the music is great. He died in 1924, and even sued an American songwriter for copyright infringement. One tune from his The Girl of the Golden West sounds a bit like the swing classic riff "Stomping At The Savoy". The New York classic songwriters were writing at this time so Puccini has direct relevance to a song sung today by Tony Bennett or maybe even Elvis Costello.
Hits: La Boheme and Madame Butterfly.
Wagner
Wagner invented powerful new music. his new music language opera Tristan and Isolde sounds like rock music, simple as that. Or try the horns where Wagner describes Siegfried's Rhine journey in Siegfried from the Ring Cycle (four operas): primevil sounds. An amazing thing is that he also wrote the text to his operas (from ancient legends). The Mastersingers of Nuremburg (Die Meistersinger) however is about a group of German tradesmen, in the early 1600s, having a songwriting competition! Again, if you know the meaning of the title in English, you may discover something. These guys are literally trying to write the best hit song they can. The overture is amazing music. And then there is "The Ride Of The Valkeries" from Die Walkure (the third opera from the Ring Cycle"), where the director of "Apocalypse Now" had the helicoptors play it on speakers when attacking Viet Cong army positions in the movie.
Hits: The Ring Cycle, The Mastersingers of Nuremburg, Tannhauser, practically all of them.
Twentieth Century:
Bartok
"Duke Bluebeard's Castle". This opera was basically written in 1911, was first performed in 1918, and has at times riff-like figures in the strings that sound like Jimi Hendrix riffs.
Berg
Thick treacle-like sounds; worth investigating. Lulu is about a ho and and Wozzeck is about a soldier.
Hits: Lulu and Wozzeck.
Gershwin
Porgy and Bess: this deserves to be called an opera. It is beatifully unified and has some of the most magnificent music you'll ever hear, including the ultimate blues-laden number "Summertime", a song that transcends all eras. I have heard it played by a rock band at a university party and at the Albert Hall as part of the opera itself.
Memo to composers: it is time for some melodic new operas.
This is the second survey of operas from history. The first covered the major opera composers who wrote a number of operas (apart from Beethoven who of course wrote the one). This is a discussion of the composers who wrote a smaller number or who are perhaps not quite the names that the composers of the first list are.
Most are from the 19th Century, and most are French and Italian.
Weber
Carl Maria von Weber wrote the famous and influential "Der Freischutz" ("The Free Shoot" or "The Free Shooters" are approximate translations), "Euyanthe" and "Oberon", which were models for Wagner (particularly Der Freischutz) and German Romantic opera in general. "Der Freischutz" is a major opera, but is probably not performed enough.
Weber described the writing of the music:
"'Der Freischutz' contains two priniciple elements, which are recognised at first glance: hunting life and the sway of demonic powers as personified by [the character] Samiel. Accordingly, when composing the work I first of all had to look for suitable tone and sound colors to characterise each of these elements. I endeavoured to retain these tone and sound colors, using them not only in those places where the poet had indicated one or other of the two elements, but also where they could be put to effective use otherwise. The sound color of the instrumentation descriptive of hunting and forest life was easy to find: it wa supplied by the horns. The difficulty lay in the devising of new melodies for the horns which .... had to be both simple and popular at the same time.
For this purpose I looked for something suitable among popular tunes and I owe it to zealous study of the same if this part of of my task has been successful. I did not even shrink from using individual passages from these tunes - shall we say, as far as the notes are concerned?
To my mind, the most important passage was represented by Max's lines: "But I am being ensnared by dark powers", for they gave me an indication as to what was to be the opera's principle characteristic. Of these "dark powers" I had to remind the listener by means of sound and melody as often as possible. Very frequently the text afforded me the possibility of doing so, but very often I also made it obvious by sound and (musical) figures where the poet had not indicated it, that demonic powers were at work.
I pondered at length the problem as to what was the right principle tone for this wierd element. Of course it had to be a dark sombre tone color; thus, the lowest regions of the violins, violas and basses, then, in particular order, the lowest notes of the clarinets, which seemed to me specially suitable for depicting the sinister element, furthermore the plaintive tones of the bassoon, the lowest notes of the horns, muffled rolls of the kettle drums or single strokes of the same. When you go through the score of the opera you will hardly find any piece where this sombre prinicipal color is not noticeable. You will see for yourself that the sinister element predominates by far and it will become obvious to you that it supplies the main characteristic of the opera."
Donizetti and Bellini
The most prominent of the opera composers outside of my first listing are probably the bel canto ("beautiful singing") writers such as Donizetti and Bellini (Rossini was in the first list). Indeed, opera star Maria Callas was a specialist in their works.
Here is a clip of Callas in a tempestuous scene from Bellini's "Il Pirata". As you can hear, operas are primarily all about the music: most of this clip is music setting the scene.
Donizetti was closely linked to Neapolitan song, having won the first ever Neapolitan song contest.
Gounod
Who was Gounod? He sounds like a Baroque composer ( and was indeed often focussed on sixteenth century church music) but he was actually mid to late 19th Century. French, he wrote "Faust", his most famous opera, and "Romeo et Juliette". Bizet (see below) was his pupil.
Offenbach
He was born in Cologne, Germany, but went to live in Paris at 14 and so is seen as French. Offenbach set up the whole musical scheme of the French "can can", the era of the Second Empire (described by Emile Zola in his novels). Offenbach wrote, technically, operettas (opera parodies, in effect). The music of "Orpheus In The Underworld", in particular, is very important. "La Belle Helene" and "La Vie Parisienne" are well known. His last masterpiece was more a "real" opera, "The Tales Of Hoffmann". Yet, he retains a frivolous feel, and is sometimes made light of by "heavier" composers and their fans.
A poster for "Orpheus": roll up!
Dvorak
The Czech master wrote a masterpiece opera called "Rusalka". "Rusalka" has the "hit" "Song Of The Moon" and is generally very melodic, drawing on Central European folk songs for content. I saw it in English in London once, and had the feeling that it was like "watching [the Beatles'] Sergeant Pepper": the reason was that it was very song like, and it was also conveniently divided into three acts of about forty-five minutes each ie, like at triple album, if you will.
Bizet
The French composer Bizet wrote the famous operas "Carmen" and "The Pearlfishers". Carmen is perhaps the most popular opera ever: it is full of "hits", from the "Habanera" to "The March Of The Toreadors". Another Bizet opera with very attractive music is"L'Arlesienne", (The Lady Of Arles).
Richard Strauss
The writer of the "Theme To 2001" (his tone poem "Also Sprach Zarathustra"), Strauss wrote fifteen operas. The main four are "Elektra" (am I the only person to notice that model Carmen Electra appears to be named after two operas, "Carmen" and "Elektra"?), "Der Rosenkavalier", "Die Frau Ohne Schatten" (The Woman Without A Shadow), and "Salome". Other well known operas are "Ariadne Auf Naxos", and his tenth opera "Arabella" (from 1932).
Looks like Dylan?
Hollywood orchestrators frequently feel called upon to produce Strauss-like music for movies, given Strauss' odd and involved orchestral sweeps and twists. Two very "filmic" parts from Arabella are here
Janacek
A big figure in 20th Century opera, Leos Janacek wrote several operas about folk tales of his native Czechoslavakia: "Jenufa" (1904), and "The Cunning Little Vixen", "Kat'a Kabanova" and "The Makropolos Affair" (from the 1920s) are examples. "Kat'a Kabanova" is unified compositionally by the repeated use of sixth, major seventh and ninths in the music, modern popular music sounds. Like Dvorak, folk tunes are an influence. But unlike the 19th century composers, his operas are concerned with the realities of everyday life. He also explored model affects in his music, and melody based on speech sounds.
Equally dramatic, his instrumental piece "Sinfonietta" (1924) was used by the free Czech radio as their theme in World War Two.
Conductor Charles Mackerras is a big proponent of Janacek's operas.
Janacek in the 1880s
Britten
Benjamin Britten wrote many significant operas (post World War Two), usually on a smaller scale, which are often performed in the country of his birth, the UK. Major examples are "Peter Grimes" (1945), "Albert Herring" (for an orchestra of only twelve members, and therefore interesting for what Britten does with the instruments), "Billy Budd" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
"Peter Grimes" is his best:
The opera is characterised by a flowing and distinctive rapid figure for principally clarinets; this example is from Act III:
Act I
The opera starts by jumping straight into the action. There is no overture.
The beginning is a court hearing scene, the "inciting incident", where the accidental death at sea of Grimes' apprentice is investigated. Grimes wants to clear his name.
The second view is that of the general world of the opera: fishermen. The music introduces the vertically rushing clarinets, the signature of the opera. Sometimes with flutes above as contrast.
Then the action returns to the accident. The people of the village don't want to work with Grimes. However, one woman stands up for Grimes. She puts forward the point of the opera, that someone who is different (Grimes) needs to be understood, not rejected. She sees the good in everyone, and knows that Grimes just needs a little more work to understand.
A major storm approaches, and there is a return to the general world they live in.
Grimes has a one on one with one of the fishermen. He wants to fish regardless of the storm conditions as he knows there will be fish.
After the storm hits, one man sings "I'm drunk". The notes for the word "drunk" are slurred by Britten: dominant, sixth, flattened dominant and dominant.
Act II
But Grimes wants money, to get freedom, respect and a home. His girl Ellen says what point is there in this "grey, unresting industry?" What point in the profit? Undeterred, Grimes puts to sea with a new apprentice. He knows the village is only impressed by money, and he wants to get it. Despite overworking the child all the past week, he "can see the shoals there".
It is Sunday:
"now the church parade begins
fresh beginning for fresh sins ...."
Britten throws in a brief church organ.
Act III
Grimes is away for a while and the village decide he has murdered now possibly two apprentices. The huge chorus of "the Borough" builds until Britten has to bring in musical relief: this he does with rapid, discordant (chattering?) trumpets. There was nowhere else to go.
Unfortunately, the second apprentice has in fact also died, slipping while pulling in the fish. Grimes' only confidantes recommend a grim way out.
Adams
American John Adams is a modern day composer who has written operas. His "Nixon In China" is sometimes performed. Adams once described his music as like watching a ship on the ocean come into view on one side of you, cross, and then slowly disappear on the other side.
The large sculpture at the Met for/
of Adams' latest opera
(2008)
Photo: Mymusicdiscovery
Introduction
"Avant-garde" may have first appeared with painter Edouard Manet's "A Luncheon On The Grass" in 1863.
The sketch-like nature of the painting, with the out of place/effectively-juxtaposed naked girl, opened up the path to Impressionism, and then to Picasso. "Avant-garde" music is, like the paintings mentioned, deliberately off-centre, looking for a different way from the traditional rules.
Wagner: "Tristan and Isolde"
Wagner wrote "Tristan and Isolde" over 1857-59. A girl I met once at an opera said to me what I had already thought, that the music of "Tristan and Isolde" is "like rock music". This means that it has musical aspects that current day popular music has absorbed: harmony (chords), melody and so on. In fact, it was the first demonstration of these approaches: Wagner wrote his famous "Tristan" chord, and the influence flowed on to the first "official" out and out composers, Schoenberg, Webern, Berg.
Schoenberg, Webern, Berg
Arnold Schoenberg wrote the first bent chapter of avant-garde music, following Wagner's narcotic preface. His pupils Webern and Berg followed suit, condensing or distorting in dissonance the hitherto innocent notes of music. Despite the use of, amongst other instruments, a guitar, Schoenberg's "Serenade" of 1924 ain't no serenade; not that I can recognise! Webern's short "Five Pieces For Orchestra" of 1907 are interesting reductions of orchestral music. Berg's "Lulu Suite" (from his opera "Lulu") is attractive, but full of dissonance.
Bartok, Hindemith, Stravinsky
The above three composers wrote relatively conventional music, to a point, but noticeable elements of their music influenced strongly what can perhaps be called the fourth wave of avant-garde music, jazz's bebop. Bartok wrote apparently discordant flattened fifths (for example, in his opera "Duke Bluebeard's Castle" of 1917).
Hindemith wrote modern jazz-like major third "licks" (for example, in his attractive work for piano and orchestra "Kammermusik No 2 Op36/1" in five parts, where the piano plays Parker-like licks, if you will). An excellent recording is that of Sviatoslav Richter with the Moscow Conservatory Orchestra/Yuri Nikolayevsky (recorded May 22, 1978).
Stravinsky was a revolutionary in a multitude of ways. "Neoclassical" at first, he later arrived at the Schoenberg concept of serialism, and wrote in that manner from 1952 on (an excellent example is his Movements, for piano and orchestra, from 1958).
Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker was influenced by all three, mentioning in particular that he listened to Bartok and Hindemith. Parker, ostensibly a jazz alto saxophone player, was in reality a composer. He proceeded, in my opinion, to redesign melody, using some of the ideas from the above composers. There was a quote from the 1960s that "if Charlie Parker were alive today - he died in 1955 - he would think he was living in a world full of mirrors". That is, everything being played reflected his music. From many of the Beatles' melodies to the "Sesame Street Theme", Parker (and modern jazz) is everywhere.
And noone listening to Parker's music for the first few times would say it is not avant-garde: angular song themes seemingly flying all over the room, extreme dissonance, and solos fast and gripping.
The heat of bebop (don't forget Dizzy Gillespie either, or the acidity of Bud Powell at the piano)
shook up popular music. The origins were in classical avant-garde music.
Karl-Heinz Stockhausen (1928-2007)
Stockhausen, after an appalling childhood where his parents vanished in the fog of World War Two, became interested in electronic sounds. He began to study composition in 1950, and from 1955, he was assistant and, later, director of the Electronic Music Studio at North West German Radio. He used "a form of athematic" serial composition, rejecting Schoenberg's approaches (the twelve tone row technique).
In a lecture at Cambridge University in 1970, he explained his world: he said that Webern reduced music to intervals. That was fine, but Stockhausen decided to synthesise sounds themselves. He said that classical music from the start of time to now is the mixing of sounds, the art of mixing timbres. Stockhausen asked himself, "What is simpler than day-to-day sounds?". He used sign-wave generators (instruments usually used for measuring), and began to synthesise out individual sounds by superimposing sign waves in harmonic spectrums. This allowed him to re-create the five vowel sounds of speech.
The next leap was to discover generators that made white noise; with filters he could change this into "colored noise". For example, he made one that was "close to the sound of water".
So he was concerned with color and timbre. He then began to write music that would vary in performance depending on the characteristics of the individual performer and/or the hall or other place of performance. He called it "variable form".
Stockhausen's influence was large: for example, on jazz, jazz-rock and rock performers (Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Frank Zappa, and Pink Floyd). The Beatles placed him among the people on the cover of the Sergeant Pepper album. Brian Wilson has said that with the Beach Boys he was trying to make new sounds by combining instruments, a similar mission to that of Stockhausen's. Listen' for example, to the "surf" sound of the unison instrumental passage in "I Get Around". Kraftwerk, Sonic Youth and Bjork feature among more recent fans.
The 1960s
Avant-garde classical music began to fan out in the 1960s. Strange note progressions and sounds abounded, particularly at the famous Darmstadt Festival in southern Germany, a centre of new music since 1946. The influence of French composer and conductor Pierre Boulez had become significant by this time; also important were Italians Luciano Berio and Luigi Nono, and others. The emphasis of these composers was serial music (the numbers "style" that originated with Schoenberg).
German composer Michael von Biel premiered a string quartet at the 1963 Darmstadt Festival that quite literally sound's like Jimi Hendrix's feedback of four years later! Yet it is done with acoustic strings, not electronics.
With Sgt Pepper, the Beatles moved into avant-garde field when the orchestral rush of "A Day In The Life" was inserted. A BBC 3 radio program recently played the track as an example of avant-garde classical music of 1967.
The Minimalists
Coming primarily from America, the minimalist school is for many "lay" people the sound of "modern classical" music. We find, for example, repeated small piano motifs or "riffettes" in the music of Philip Glass, and Glass is so well known that he has sold more than a few records.
Other American Modern Composers
Roger Sessions
Sessions wrote tonally from 1930 to the early 1950s, but, like Stavinsky at the same time, he then turned serial (from 1953).
"From My Diary" (1940): two pieces excerpted, played by Robert Helps, piano (live recording)
Elliot Carter
Carter has been writing prominant works since the late 1930s. Initially under the neoclassical sway of Stravinksy and Hindemith, he went atonal after 1950. I would compare some of the visual effect of his later piano pieces to mice scurrying around. He was in attendance at the Symphony Space, New York in Febraury, 2008 for a performance of his piano works.
Here is "Enchanted Preludes" for flute and cello, performed by the Luna Nova ensemble. Note the Charlie Parker-like two note figure (hear his "Ko Ko", from 1945) at the beginning.
In1964, after The Beatles released their thrid album, "A Hard Day's Night", music commentators in the UK said that these guys were "the best songwriters since Schubert". So what were Schubert's songs ("Lied" is German for song)? Read on.
Schubett wrote over six hundred songs, all set to the poetry of mailny German and Austrian poets such as Goethe and Schiller.
"Gretchen Am Spinnrade"
This was Schubert's first masterpiece, and a song. It paints the picture, in music, of Gretchen at the spinning wheel, the piano whirring like the wheel itself.
"Standchen"
"Softly flies my song through the night to you". This is the English translation of the opening words of this lyrical masterpiece, which has been recorded and arranged in many different forms, from orchestra to guitar.
"Ave Maria"
Mario Lanza, in a rare 1957 kinetoscope (a fancy word that means the film was taped by the studio off the TV live) sings a simple but effective version with just the piano accompaniment. Of course, the song has been performed in many arrangements.
"Heidenroslein"
This is a neat song that communicates well the quality of Schubert's songs.
"Der Lindenbaum"
This song ("the linden tree") is from the second and final of Schubert's two greatest song cycles (or, for modern listeners, albums), "Winterreise", from 1827 (the other is "Die Schone Mullerin", from 1823, and both were written to poems of Wilhelm Muller). The best version I have heard is a recording with Daniel Barenboim as pianist, made in 1979. The singer is the famous Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.
"Das Wandern"
This song is the first of "Die Schone Mullerin" song cycle, or, if you like, album! It is "the walk" or "the wander".
"Wohin"
Next in "Die Schone Mullerin" is"Wohin" ("Where to?").
"Die Forelle" ("The Trout")
"The Trout" is, of course, also a famous Schubert quintet, but the song itself is famous, individually.
"An Die Musik"
"To Music".
"An Sylvia"
"To Sylvia".
For a look at four of the above, see Fritz Wunderlich singing them: Wunderlich is one of the most attractive "classical" singers, and "crossed-over" by singing many "popular" songs as well.
"Die Erlkonig"
("The Erl King"). Descriptive piano.
An interesting guide to Schubert's Lieder was made by the BBC's Radio 3 (their classical radio "universitty", as I call it). The prgram looks at four songs in particular, including "Die Forelle" and "Die Erlkonig" above.
When listening to Schubert's songs, it is important to find a singer you like. The best male singers I have heard are Hermann Prey, Peter Schreier, Wunderlich and Fischer-Dieskau. The best female singers are Elisabeth Schumann (1920s and 1930s), and Elli Ameling. some of the older recordings can actually sound like rock or jazz, if the piano sounds percussive in the right way.
One of my ultimate heroes is composer and conductor extraordinaire
Leonard Bernstein. The following clips from Youtube are as good an
introduction to Lenny as any.
Bernstein describing Mozart's famous Symphony No 40:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0ZE38BQmvQ&feature=related
Bernstein finishes his description of Mozart's Symphony No 40 on a
philosophical note (get it?). He also refers to the "wholeness and
continuity" of the work:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il5tKqSJQgA&feature=related
Lenny turns to Beethoven and his Fifth Symphony. This is in German!
But don't worry: subtitles are in French. Mymusicdiscovery even
enables you to learn new languages!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdPhtSW0Ero&feature=related
Bernstein turns to conducting part of Stravinsky's "Rite Of Spring",
in rehearsal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVQyhuTP0KU&feature=related
Lenny plays Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue". This is great to watch as
other instruments are shown at appropriate moments eg: the bassoon
when it is prominent:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiyc9Ak3EtQ&feature=related
Lenny conducts the overture to his Opera "Candide". Candide was the
book by Voltaire that essentially introduced the world to democracy,
and also to undisguised and humourous descriptions of tutor-on-maid action (see page four),
in 1750.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=422-yb8TXj8&feature=related
Shostakovich's Fifth. This is the last movement, and seems rather
fast. Whatever. It is a great symphony and is quite "commercial" too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogJFXqYEYd8&feature=related
A brief but succinct history of Lenny:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1My0mAql6w&feature=related
Bernstein conducts while brilliant pianist Glenn Gould plays. A
vintage clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVODxskoHFQ&feature=related
I do not know quite what to make of this clip, but it appears to be
made by a teenager who shows due deference to Bernstein (if not
to Beethoven). In any event, it serves as an example of how famous
Bernstein is, relative even to the greatest composers. The one hit
wonder tag assigned to one hit wonder composer Pachelbel is funny:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vM5fFBURy0&feature=related
The man ....
.... and the machine, Beethoven's Broadwood piano
made in 1809
Beethoven's thirty two piano sonatas could be said to be the equivalent of some of his "hit singles", whereas the nine symphonies are more like his "albums": the latter being "visible from the greatest distance", as the writer Paul Bekker put it, but not as individually great as some of his smaller works... such as the sonatas. They were effectively the first classical music I heard. I used to hunt them out.
Here are ten of the best:
Sonata No.8 in C Minor, Op 13 "Pathétique" 1797/98?
This is one of Beethoven's most famous sonatas. The second movement is a famous piece in its own right, and it was even "converted" into a 1970s popular song (I heard the record in a supermarket once ....)
Sonata No.9 E-flat Major Op 14/1 1798
Sonata No 9 begins its second movement with a tune that is basically, at this point, the same climbing notes as the opening the Beatles' 1964 McCartney song "I'll Follow The Sun", and further into the movement there is a clear piano triple ring effect that is exactly the same as Keith Richard's rapid triplet chord "kerring!" in "Jumping Jack Flash". Plenty of crossover rock influences there.
Sonata No.10 G Major Op 14/2 1798/9
It has the same Opus number as No 9. I have it them both on an album by Austrian "heavy metal" pianist Friedrich Gulda (see "Waldstein" below).
Sonata No.14 C-sharp Minor, Op 27/2 "Quasi una fantasia", the "Moonlight" 1801
The famous "Moonlight" sonata is maybe the most famous hit in music, certainly one of the top five. The extra title is "a bit like a fantasy". Mozart's piano Fantasia was good also.
Sonata No.15 D Major, "Pastoral"
Beethoven was really into the country (he would spend the summer months outside Vienna in the countryside), and this is a sonata take on the country environment, just as his "Pastoral" Symphony (No 6) dwells on the land and rural subjects.
Sonata No.17 D Minor, Op 31/2 "Tempest" 1802
Someone asked Beethoven what this sonata "was about": he replied "Read Shakespeare's [play The] Tempest".
Sonata No.21 C Major, Op 53 "Waldstein" 1803/4
This is a prototype of hard rock; I mean, listen to the heavy chords, the same chord repeatedly banged out. And few hammer it out better than Friedrich Gulda, a very percussive pianist who is also no stranger to jazz.
Sonata No.23 F Minor, Op 57 "Appassionata" 1804/5
This is a very popular sonata, in effectively two parts. I once played chords along to it on the guitar as I followed the key changes around the fretboard.
Sonata No.26 E-flat Major, Op 81a "Les Adieux" 1809/10
"The Farewell" is another famous sonata. The first movement has a part where the piano demonstrates carefully and slowly the exact notes played by rock and roll musicians like Chuck Berry and, on their every track (!), by UK 70s band Status Quo: the (by now) cliched figure played with a barre chord with the fourth finger moving up first two notes then another note and back again. Beethoven seems to be trying it out: lacking an amplifier, I guess he let it drop.
Sonata No.29 B-flat Major, Op 106 "Hammerklavier" 1817/18
This was the year Beethoven seems to have suddenly become profoundly more deaf than he had been before. Perhaps it is therefore no surprise that the sonata is called the "Hammerpiano" sonata: he had to hit hard to hear it...
Photograph of restored Broadwood from 1809: at www.earlymusicstudio.com, where the restoration of Beethoven's Broadwood (later owned by Liszt) is described.
THE STORY OF THE VIOLIN CONCERTO
The violin concerto effectively began with Bach writing works for one or two violins and orchestra. It wasn't long until a sequence of important works began to be written for one violin and orchestra, the one being pitted against or with the other.
Bach
Bach's concerto for two violins BVW 1043 in D minor (from 1723) is a famous concerto. It has extraordinary music, and is a good example of why Bach is one of the three composers felt to be "above criticism" (the others are Mozart and Beethoven).
Mozart
He wrote a group of five violin concerti. The third, fourth and fifth are the ones pointed out as hot by critics. The third has a melody that later cropped up in the main tune of The Beatles' early record "PS I Love You", and is later approximated in Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl". Joel says he noticed the similarity listening to a classical radio station in his car.
The Modern Violin Concerti:
Beethoven
He wrote one violin concerto, in the key of D major (many violin concertos are in D: it is the "bright" key). His concerto is often considered the BEST violin concerto. A great version is with Jascha Heifetz and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, under conductor Charles Munch. There is a "riff" towards the end which was seemingly appropriated by Jimi Hendrix in the first part of his climbing "Hey Joe" power riffs. Beethoven's use of the figure is, however, heavier!
[Schubert: most great composers have written at least one violin concerto, even the twentieth century composers, but not Schubert. He didn't bother with a cello concerto, either].
Berlioz
Berlioz also did not write a violin concerto, hut he did write a well-known viola work that amounts to a VIOLA concerto: "Harold In Italy"; yes, the viola is the slightly bigger "violin" that is used in smaller numbers in the conventional orchestra and string quartet to fill in the sound between the violins and the deeper cellos. A current day famous viola player is Yuri Bashmet, reportedly sometimes to be seen stomping around a London record store asking why more of his records are not stocked.
Mendelsohn
He has an attractive violin concerto that is, with Beethoven's, a mainstay of the violinist's gig list. Like Beethoven's, it is in the key of D. As you will see by later examples, writing a violin concerto in D, or a closely related key, seems to be the winning secret to a hit violin concerto.
Schumann, Dvorak
These famous composers wrote violin concerti, but the works are not played so much.
Bruch
Sometimes flippantly named the "babbling brook (Bruch)" by rivals trying to dampen their own discomfort at their inability to equal him, Bruch wrote a very popular violin concerto .... in G minor, of which key D is the dominant. Like the Tchaikovsky, it is a good "date" classical work: ie ask someone to see a concert featuring it.
Tchaikovsky
The third big violin concerto is Tchaikovsky's lyrical concerto, also in D of course.
Brahms
Brahms' violin concerto is in the key of D major. Big and dramatic, it is frequently performed.
Sibelius
Moving through the nineteenth century to the dawn of the twentieth, the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius wrote the sixth big violin concerto, in D minor. Most classical works in a minor key end strongly in the major key, and so this work ends up in D major anyway. Why all these works in D? Not only is D a bright key (and a violin a small instrument needing careful setting by the composer), but the second bottom string of the violin is tuned to D, the next is tuned to the dominant of D, A, and the top string is tuned to E, a handy tone above D. So the key of D (or G minor) makes sense for a violin concerto.
Prokoviev
The twentieth century Russian composers didn't write violin concerti, with the exception of Prokoviev, who wrote two, one in D and the other in G minor. These works are tuneful and powerful.
Elgar
Elgar's violin concerto was famously conducted by the composer with a very young Yehudi Menuhin as the soloist. The work is very tuneful. It is in B minor, the relative minor key of D (again).
[Berg: Austrian composer Alban Berg wrote a non-tuneful violin concerto in 1935. It is hard to present it in an accessible way, except to record the backing orchestra in a soft manner with the vioin submerged in the "mix" a little].
Korngold
The remainder of the violin concerti are by "Hollywood" composers. the first (it is a brilliant work) is that by Austrian Erich Korngold, who was a prodigy composer who later came to America in the 1930s. The concerto is a "must listen".
Rosza
The second "Hollywood" composer here is Miklas Rosza (he wrote the interesting and dramatic music for the big "Ben Hur" classic film in the 1950s). In 1956, he wrote a violin concerto also. As with Korngold's, it was writted to be premiered by Jascha Heifetz (the violinist who recorded the very communicable version of the Beethoven concerto mentioned above).
The concerto is not part of the main repertoire, but has interesting moments as Roscha tries to hold off the temptation to make it sound like a movie scene. By the third movement, however, he seems to give up completely, and you start to picture Errol Flynn sword-fighting his way up a staircase in a castle.
THE CELLO CONCERTO: THE MAIN ORCHESTRAL WORKS FOR SOLO CELLO
The cello only came to be seen as a solo instrument relatively late in world history, in the late eighteenth century. Even then, the only major composer to write a cello concerto was Haydn. Beethoven and Mozart did not write cello concertos. The idea is really a nineteenth century (and romantic) "concept".
Haydn
Effectively the first cello concerto, it is a very attractive work: see the master Rostropovich play it at
Schumann
A grand dramatic concerto.
Famous French cellist Pierre Fournier performs the beginning at
Saint-Saens
Cello concerto No 1 Op 33 (1872): it is in the same key as Schumann's concerto (A minor), and is thought to have been a tribute to Schumann's work. it is a one movement work, but is really three linked movements.
There is a great recording by, again, Pierre Fournier at
The premiere was at the Paris Conservatoire on January 19, 1873. The musicologist Donald Tovey wrote interesting words: "Here, for once, is a violoncello concerto in which the solo instrument displays every register without the slightest difficulty in penetrating the orchestra." Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff thought this concerto to be the best cello concerto.
Wikipedia has an interesting description of concertos in general, in talking about the concerto: "The concerto also begins in an unusual way; instead of the traditional orchestral introduction, the piece begins with one short chord from the orchestra followed by the cello stating the main motif. Soon, countermelodies flow from both the orchestra and cellist, and at times the two playfully "call and answer" to each other. Soon, a quasi-development is encountered as the themes change keys and are modified. The music reaches a point where a full recapitulation seems imminent, but instead, the piece deviates into a long orchestral interlude in a light minuet style. The cello enters with countermelodies, and leads to a brief cadenza. Shortly after, the motif character of the beginning of the work returns, and the piece takes on the style of a fantasia. It ends with a triumphant passage in A major (the main key of the work is A minor). The whole work, instead of being divided into movements, is seamlessly [shaped] into one entire concerto."
Dvorak
Dvorak's cello concerto is one of the biggest and most celebrated, and is often performed. paret of the melody in the second movement apperas to have been heavily borrowed by Paul McCartney in the Beatles' "Golden Slumbers" (from "Abbey Road"). There is another attractive, short work by Dvorak called "Silent Woods".
Tchaikovsky
The Russian did not write a cello concerto, but he did write the famous "Variations On A Rococo Theme" for cello and orchestra in A major, Op.33, in 1876-77. Tchaikovsky wrote it in coordination with a German cellist Wilhelm Fitzenhagen, who was a professor at the Moscow Conservatory. The work has eight sections, and is noteworthy for not giving the cellist a significant rest at any particular point.
Strauss
Richard Strauss' "Don Quixote" Op. 35 is for cello, viola and large orchestra, and is subtitled "Fantasy Variations on a Theme of Knightly Character." Being a series of variations, the work is therefore a Strauss equivalent to Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations. A musical representation of Cervantes' novel, the work is in sinfonia concertante (a sort of concerto for orchestra, useful for two or more solo instruments ducking in and out of proccedings) form, the cello being Don Quixote and viola, tenor tuba and bass clarinet depicting sidekick Sancho Panza. The work was written in 1897.
There are several interesting orchestration points eg: where Strauss duplicates sheep calls. Each variation has tempo desriptions in German, and their translation is quite interesting:
1. Introduction: Mäßiges Zeitmaß. Thema mäßig
2. Variation I: Gemächlich
3. Variation II: Kriegerisch ("warlike")
4. Variation III: Mäßiges Zeitmaß
5. Variation IV: Etwas breiter ("a little brighter")
6. Variation V: Sehr langsam ("very slowly")
7. Variation VI: Schnell ("fast")
8. Variation VII: Ein wenig ruhiger als vorher
9. Variation VIII: Gemächlich
10. Variation IX: Schnell und stürmisch ("fast and stormy")
11. Variation X: Viel breiter ("much brighter")
12. Finale: Sehr ruhig
Strauss is a popular pin-up with Hollywood orchestrators, so I'll list the instruments Strauss uses in the work: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets in B-flat (2nd doubles clarinet in E-flat), bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon, 6 horns in F, 3 trumpets in D, 3 trombones, tenor tuba (euphonium) in B-flat, tuba, timpani, triangle, bass drum, cymbals, snare drum, tambourine, wind machine, harp and strings.
Elgar
A new sound in cello: a classic version was recorded by Jacqueline de Pre in 1964, and this version itself is a new take on the work.
Prokoviev
Prokoviev re-wrote a cello concerto he wrote in the 1930s to make his Symphony-Concerto (Op. 125), premiered in 1952.
The concerto was written for virtuoso Mstislav Rostropovich.
Shostakovich
Shostakovich was inspired to investigate the cello in the orchestral context ie: a concerto, and wrote two cello concertos as a result, again for Rostropovich.
Britten
Benjamin Britten was also a friend of Rostropovich, and in 1963 wrote, like Prokoviev, a symphony for cello and orchestra.
Ligeti
There is a well thought-out biography by Sony Classical (www.sonyclassical.com/artists/ligeti/bio.html) of Ligeti. Ligeti wrote his cello "concerto" in 1966, the same year as his famous "Lux Aeterna" (eternal light).
Lutoslawski
Very modern Polish composer Lutoslawski wrote a cello concerto in 1970, again for Rostropovich. It is worth listening to Lutoslawski: his symphonies are very interesting, as is the cello concerto. A great recording of the concerto is the Rostropovich record on EMI. Samples can be heard on Amazon:
There is an enthusiastic (audio on line) lecture from the UK's Gresham College on the work:
The presenter is Professor Adrian Thomas, who says that the concerto "changes the idea of what a concerto can do".
He begins discussing Lutoslawskis' concerto with references to some of the concerto repertoire in general, including Saint-Saens' and Shostakovich's cello concertos:
"The Introduction is, for its first four minutes or so, for the soloist alone. The idea of beginning a concerto by the soloist rather than the orchestra is nothing new, of course. Among the examples from the literature we might cite the opening of Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto and the Second Piano Concertos by Saint-Saens' and Rachmaninov. Then there are the whip-crack starts of the openings of Grieg's Piano Concerto or Saint-Saens' First Cello Concerto. And Shostakovich's Second Cello Concerto provides us with another model, with its brief motif for solo cello before the orchestra becomes involved ...."
Rostropovich at right
THE GREAT CONDUCTORS
The great conductors, being by necessity highly individualistic, can be characters. Their photos alone will reveal this! But it's not just the photographic evidence .... it's also in the listening.
Arturo Toscanini
Toscanini (left):
"I'm better than Furtwangler, and anyone who
disagrees with me doesn't get any pizza."
Fellow maestro Bruno Walter is at right.
A cool site on Toscanini is www.toscaninionline.com; it includes many photos, as above.
For some, Toscanini is the very definition of "conductor". He kept to the original page as closely as possible, and his recordings are very neat and easily discernable. However, some feel that the conductor should try to bring out what he feels is in the work, and in a way noone else can. Bernstein, Furtwangler and Solti are prominent representatives of the latter approach.
Willem Mengelberg
"I'll catch that fly..."
Mengelberg made recordings of Beethoven in 1930: they are so evocative that when I heard one on the radio, I thought it was recorded in the 1950s. Find his 1930 "Leonore Overture No 3". Older recordings of classical music are paradoxically often clearer, and sound "rockier".
Karl Munchinger
"I am fed up with hearing dogs Bach"
Photo www.bach-cantatas.com
Munchinger is considered to be the best conductor of Bach, for example his recordings of Bach's Brandenberg Concertos. His recording of the Brandenburg Concerto No 5 (a virtual harpsichord concerto, but with flute also highlighted) is probably one of the two best recordings of music I have ever heard .... of anything. It sounds like drugs, or .... maybe a literal vision into the past?
Georg Solti
"The cymbles work like this, you dunderhead!"
The photo shows a typical Solti pose, full of excitement and enthusiasm. He was the last of the master conductors, or "super conductors". His sound brings out balance and force. He would pull away an obstacle instrument to let the one that he felt should be heard shine through "the mix". I saw him conduct twice. An individual does make a difference.
Comments about Solti have included: "the last maestro to create a sound all his own" (Ronald Blum, Associated Press).
Blum continued:
"People still talk about Sept. 8, 1976, when he conducted "Le Nozze di Figaro" ("The Marriage of Figaro") with the Paris Opera at the Metropolitan Opera House, [New York]. During the Third Act, Solti accidentally stabbed the baton into his forehead, [cutting himself] over [the] right eye. With blood streaming down his face, he left the podium for about a minute - as the performance continued - slapped cold water on [his forehead] and hopped right back onto the podium.
"The tension? Yah, that is my nature," he said. "I'm born that way."
"You see enormous holes in my repertoire," he said in a heavy Hungarian accent, though he had lived in London for more than 35 years. "Although I have 55 operas now, about 200 symphonies, the repertoire is endless."
He was the end of a line, and he knew it, the last of a century-long tradition that began with Arturo Toscanini and continued through Wilhelm Furtwangler, Willem Mengelberg, George Szell, Bruno Walter, Leopold Stokowski, Dmitri Mitropoulos, Serge Koussevitsky, Sir Thomas Beecham, Eugene Ormandy, Karajan and Bernstein.
In 50 years with London/Decca Records, he won a record 30 Grammy Awards and left a vast legacy, including the first recording of Wagner's Ring cycle - a rendition still unsurpassed."
Go for those Decca recordings: look for the Decca logo 
Herbert von Karajan
"My girl Anne-Sophie is 17, you know"
The closest to a conducting marque, the Karajan name sold a billion and one Deutsche Grammophone albums. His brand led to a private jet.
Karajan's sound is perhaps best exemplified by the fizzing start that he found for Beethoven's Fifth. A New York Times article placed him, naturally, "in the top-most ranks of 20th-century conductors."
Karl Bohm
Very good for Mozart, the operas, symphonies and piano concertos: any CD set of Bohm with the Vienna Philharmonic of a Mozart opera is a safe buy.
Hermann Abendroth
He provided a different take on Beethoven's "Eroica" Symphony (see Furtwangler above).
The writer Peter Guttman said "since the mid-1990s his discography has exploded from [nil] to dozens of CDs. The secret is now out: he just may have been the most underrated conductor of all."
The recording of the "Eroica" Symphony that I heard was very fresh, a superlative listening experience. Hearing a recording like that is really like, say, seeing a great new movie.
The intuitive website www.classicalnotes.net points out
"Llike every great classical artist of his time, Abendroth was raised in the musical traditions of the late romantic era and was imbued with its ego-driven interpretative ideals. But by the time they came to record, nearly all of his peers fell under the influence of the modernists and abandoned their initial emotive outlook in favor of an objective approach that suppressed their creativity. Abendroth, though, was relatively immune from this transformation. His records are among the precious few that convey the nineteenth century ideal [eg: Nikisch - see below] of the performer using the score as a mere starting point for his own deeply personal interpretation.
.... ie: like Furtwangler.
Many of these recordings are available from the label Tahra: www.tahra.com. The quality of the CDs is extraordinary: it was a Tahra CD that I heard when I checked out the Abendroth Eroica above. The label has a French connection, and the French make some very high quality CDs, sound-wise. The label specialises in conductors like Furtwangler and Abendroth, and also the conductor Hermann Scherchen, whose daughter Myriam runs Tahra. If you want to hear ultra high quality orchestral recordings, buy Tahra.
"I don't look like Jerry Springer!"
A typical Tahra cover: Abendroth is at left,
Furtwangler at right, on this CD paring.
The famous Tahra logo of a conductor is
at lower right.
Tahra specialises greatly in Furtwangler: I once bought a double set of THREE versions of Beethoven's Fifth, recorded by Furtwangler in the 1930s, 40s and 50s respectively. Each was completely different (one live) and each totally interesting.
Pierre Monteux
"I can write sideways": surely this is
what a conductor should look like
Monteux lived a long life: he conducted the infamous premiere of Stravinsky's "Rite Of Spring" in 1913, and was still recording in the early 1960s. Perhaps the Stravinsky experience left him writing sideways, or maybe he just drank too much du vin.
Extensive interesting notes on his career are provided by the "All Music Guide":
"Pierre Monteux had one of the longest musical careers in memory, exceeded perhaps only by Pablo Casals and Leopold Stokowski."
In 1911, Monteux was hired by Diaghilev to conduct the famous Parisian-staged "Ballets Russes". He conducted the premieres of Ravel's "Daphnis et Chloe", Debussy's "Jeux", Stravinsky's "Petrushka", and of course the literally riotous "Rite of Spring".
Earlier, in 1894, he had joined the Quatuor Geloso as a violist and played in the performance of a Brahms quartet in the composer's presence. His joining the Boston Symphony in 1920 ultimately led to the orchestra being known for its "French sound" and expertise in French and Russian repertoire. As a supporter of modern music, Monteux brought to America Stravinsky, the French composers, and others such as the Italian Respighi, Vaughan Williams and Honegger.
Moving to the Amsterdam Concertgebouw in 1924, he was a good fit with the orchestra's other conductor, Willem Mengelberg (see above), who was more Romantic/Traditional in style.
Still rocking in 1961 (at eighty-six), Monteux took over the musical directorship of the London Symphony Orchestra.
He was recorded him extensively in stereo by RCA Victor: recordings of Debussy, Ravel, Milhaud and Stravinsky, and also Beethoven and Brahms. The All Music Guide says, "he brought an unusual charm and lyrical quality [to these composers]. He strove for transparency of sound, precision, light and springy rhythms, and that elegance that seems particularly associated with French music." And all that from someone who wrote sideways ....
Leonard Bernstein
Bernstein is one of the most brilliant and famous musical figures of the Twentieth Century, whether leaping from the podium or presenting the "What Is Music?" TV series in the 50s and 60s. many of his recordings are classics, for example the symphonic recordings he made with the New York Philharmonic such as Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique and Shostokovich's Symphony No 5.
Wilhelm Furtwangler
Salzburger Festspiel, 1948 . Furtwangler (second from left)
photographed with his wife (far right) and fellow conductor
Karl Bohm and wife (see below):
For some, Furtwangler is the best conductor. Maria Callas once described his performances as ones that allowed room for the music to breath.
I heard a CD recording of one of his recordings of Beethoven's "Eroica" Symphony (No 3) recently (picked up in a Borders store for $6.99) and it was like hearing a new work. Furtwangler had the Vienna Philharmonic playing in the most precise yet free way. It was not dissimilar to rock music by say The Beatles circa 1966 ("Revolver"): each part was set out one after the other with full expression. He made a recording of Beethoven's rhythmic Eighth Symphony sound like Jimi Hendrix.
And the list goes on: an article by Peter Guttman describes what the author calls "one of the most impassioned performances ever put on record", a live recording - Furtwangler liked to record live - of Bruckner's Ninth Symphony on October 7, 1944 in the Beethovensaal, Berlin. The writer details how, in the midst of World War Two, Furtwangler's "anguish led to artistry" of the highest calibre .... "incomparable artistry".
"In our era of pampered socialite classical superstars, it seems hard to conceive of a famous conductor genuinely torn by anguish. And yet, Furtwängler endured such extreme torment and pain that he was able to fully identify with the profound suffering from which the greatest composers wrested their most heartfelt and enduring masterpieces. Under pressure designed to crush any sensitive artist, he transmuted his distress into a vision of unprecedented insight and power".
.
"What are you doing in the twentieth century? Go back!"
Cast members from Star Trek: Captain Furtwangler at left
questions two Klingons
1936, not a good year for international
relations, but not bad for milk.
"Are you sure it's fresh?" "Yes, it's from Friesia".
Shaping the music: 1947
"Get it right. One day someone is going to
compare my records to the Beatles' sound."
The photo on the right shows the standard positioning of the orchestra's instruments: double basses and cellos to the right of the audience's view, and the smaller strings (violins and violas, to the centre and left). A kind of stereo was therefore ready-made.
At Bayreuth in 1931, with Toscanini at right
With Igor Stavinsky in Prague, 1925:
"This is wrong, Igor".
......
Furtwangler in 1914.
(The photographs are from www.furtwangler.net)
Furtwangler can be seen filmed in color conducting the overture to Mozart's opera "Don Giovanni" at
The Modern Era
The following modern conductors are always worth seeing or buying: James Levine (The Metropolitan Opera, New York and various orchestras), Claudio Abbado (all over, including the Berlin Phlharmonic) and Daniel Barenboim (The Chicago Symphony). As young musicians in the 1960s, Barenboim and his friends used to call eachother long distance to play Furtwangler "bootlegs" over the phone, saying "Listen to this!"
They learned well from:
Before stereo! Berlin, 1932
Bruno Walter: "I don't like jazz."
Toscanini
Erich Kleiber: "I like it loud".
Otto Klemperer
Furtwangler
And they, in turn, carried forward the advances made by the legendary Arthur Nikisch, the first "modern" conductor, whom Furtwangler succeeded at the Berlin Philharmonic in 1922 (when Furtwangler was 36):
"I look groovy, ja?" Nikisch in 1903.
" .... and I can write on the slope"
"His legacy is as one of the founders of modern conducting, with deep analysis of the score, a simple beat, and a charisma that let him bring out the full sonority of the orchestra and plumb the depths of the music. Nikisch's conducting style was greatly admired by Leopold Stokowski, Arturo Toscanini ...."
After seeing one of his concerts, Tchaikovsky wrote: "One only gains a true idea of the perfection that an orchestra can attain under a true conductor when one hears the difficult and complicated scores of Wagner played under the direction of so wonderful a master as Herr Nikisch".
It's 1906, and Nikisch hits the groove
Photos and quote: http://www.maurice-abravanel.com
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