tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28230633464887792062024-03-18T04:16:51.819-04:00Sunday Classics with Ken (from DownWithTyranny)KenInNYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03712690425664894186noreply@blogger.comBlogger523125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823063346488779206.post-51990711205156141352024-03-11T17:56:00.041-04:002024-03-17T23:49:18.338-04:00Interim post: The proper post is in its final stages -- I got caught up in what I'm calling "Tales of a 'tail' "<div><b>I GUESS THIS COULD BE THOUGHT OF AS "Part 2b-ii"<br />
OF OUR ONGOING SEIJI OZAWA REMEMBERANCE</b>
<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/english-horn-solo-ozawa-bso" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="550"></iframe><br />
<i>Laurence Thorstenberg, English horn; Boston Symphony, Seiji Ozawa, cond.</i><br />
<br />
<b>by Ken</b><br />
<br />
What we hear (and see!) above is the haunting English-horn solo that sets us in the "<b>Chambre de Marguerite</b>" -- the bedchamber of the now-"fallen" Marguerite, accused of murdering her mother by gradual poisoning and abandoned by Faust, of Part IV of Berlioz's <i>Damnation of Faust</i>. As we will see, or rather hear, however, abandoned though she may be, she spends all her days waiting by the window or outside her house waiting for him to return.<br />
<br />
<b>BERLIOZ: <i>The Damnation of Faust</i>, Op. 24: Part IV,<br />
<i>romance</i>, Marguerite, "<i>D'amour l'ardente flamme</i>"</b><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/damour-lardente-flamme-gorr-cluytens-1959" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Rita Gorr, mezzo-soprano; Robert Casier, English horn; Orchestra of the Théâtre National de l'Opéra (Paris), André Cluytens, cond. EMI, recorded in the Salle Wagram, Oct. 5-10, 1959</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/damour-lardente-flamme-callas-pretre-1963" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Maria Callas, soprano; Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire de Paris, Georges Prêtre, cond. EMI, recorded in the Salle Wagram, May 2-8, 1963</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>SPOILER ALERT</b><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Careful readers will have noticed something amiss in the above presentation. For technical reasons, I had to construct the text box in two pieces, and because I thought it might look a little better this way, I left the stage direction "Trumpets and drums sound in the distance" with the <i>romance</i> proper, never imagining that the two boxlets would be split apart. Now here we are box-splitting and the trumpets and drums are still attached to "<i>D'amour l'ardente flamme</i>, but in the Gorr and Callas recordings they're nowhere to be heard -- because these are what we might call "concert performances."<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXwZhbi7VznPkDGdqqUrxiQVgRuBFn1joudfN8N9_Ra4dB7Os5HMmLZpwLtiATPTUjACvqLQhwNXx6___PSpoR5XBzFTYmbrmLZOT3Ea_x-VHfJX9iweRbv7gnzT92hOdU7NUdFerT0iaeCHHThda7YL4K7keDcbzQ6T4UDjWIEPk5BZI0iF7vGtCNUn8/s1600/cluytens-damnation-exc-jacket-450.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXwZhbi7VznPkDGdqqUrxiQVgRuBFn1joudfN8N9_Ra4dB7Os5HMmLZpwLtiATPTUjACvqLQhwNXx6___PSpoR5XBzFTYmbrmLZOT3Ea_x-VHfJX9iweRbv7gnzT92hOdU7NUdFerT0iaeCHHThda7YL4K7keDcbzQ6T4UDjWIEPk5BZI0iF7vGtCNUn8/s1600/cluytens-damnation-exc-jacket-450.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Gorr is a singer, a genuine dramatic-weight mezzo, for whom I have considerable fondness. We've heard her, in three languages, as Gluck's Alceste and Orphée, quite commandingly as Saint-Saëns's Dalila (opposite the unmatched Samson of Jon Vickers), as Fricka in Wagner's <i>Die Walküre</i>, and (another great role) as Amneris in Verdi's <i>Aida</i>. The <i>Damnation</i> excerpt is from an LP's worth of <i>Damnation</i> excerpts, with Nicolai Gedda as Faust and Gérard Souzay as Méphistophelès, conducted by that grand French-music veteran hand Maestro Cluytens, but her entire contribution is Marguerite's two arias: the retelling of the "<i>Roi de Thulé</i>" legend in Part III and the <i>romance</i> from Part IV. (Gedda would at least get to record <i>Damnation</i> complete a decade later, when EMI sprang for a recording of the whole thing, with Janet Baker as Marguerite and Georges Prêtre conducting. We'll be hearing a snatch of that recording in a moment.)<br />
<br />
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The Callas "<i>D'amour</i>," meanwhile, is from the 1963 sequel to her highly successful 1961 French-opera recital LP <i>Callas in Paris</i>, a mix of somewhat troubled soprano and untroubled mezzo repertory. (I'm sorry to report that <i>Callas à Paris 2</i> finds her in generally less steady voice -- not yet a permanent condition, considering that the complete <i>Carmen</i>, to my mind one of her great recordings, wasn't made till July 1964.)<br />
<br />
In both cases, in consideration of the LPs' contexts, there was apparently no question of including what I've come to think of as the piece's "tail": the crucial two minutes' worth of action that follows. I guess for concert performance "<i>D'amour l'ardente flamme</i>" seems complete enough as is, but it's <i>not</i> complete, and the composer never suggested that it is. In the score there is no separation between the <i>romance</i> and its "tail."<br />
<br />
This kind of thing matters to me because when intended clips extend across CD tracks -- and on CD recordings of the complete <i>Damnation</i> (which now seem to number in the dozens) the <i>romance</i> and the "tail" are almost always on separate tracks -- I have to apply my massive digital editing skills to digitally glue the tracks together. (The exercise of those supposedly massive digital editing skills, I might note, is habitually punctuated by violent outbursts of shouting and cursing. Surprisingly, this hardly ever improves the editing procedure.)<br />
<br />
I think once we hear the "tail," it'll be pretty obvious that Berlioz's formal construction here wasn't an "aria" but a scene, and the beautiful <i>romance</i> isn't complete without the "tail."<br />
<br />
<b><i>The Damnation of Faust</i>: Part IV, offstage men's chorus,<br />
"<i>Au son des trompettes</i>" ("At the sound of trumpets")</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI_1cPgeQG45kd4CB8_9zX0PBQz32UDuR7EVHzsiN-6zbJlbju7LEuLlpanwSubPem5ni9OGHTrsMwn-1-VWbLeGx7aHrSUG2xh_3obtkMRFGgeWs4dfe8rPe8r9SiMfkqMMI2bF0Lry0qUa1v08MyWBvCO4Iu8uAkF_6sCI5ym5fkgbXYZ5Ndm63DeXk/s1600/d%27amour-text-2-480.png" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="412" data-original-width="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI_1cPgeQG45kd4CB8_9zX0PBQz32UDuR7EVHzsiN-6zbJlbju7LEuLlpanwSubPem5ni9OGHTrsMwn-1-VWbLeGx7aHrSUG2xh_3obtkMRFGgeWs4dfe8rPe8r9SiMfkqMMI2bF0Lry0qUa1v08MyWBvCO4Iu8uAkF_6sCI5ym5fkgbXYZ5Ndm63DeXk/s1600/d%27amour-text-2-480.png" /></a></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/au-son-des-trompettes-mathis-ozawa" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Edith Mathis (s), Marguerite; Laurence Thorstenberg, English horn; men of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, Boston Symphony Orchetra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. DG, recorded in Symphony Hall, October 1973</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/au-son-des-trompettes-baker-pretre" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Janet Baker (ms), Marguerite; men of the Paris Opera Chorus, Orchestre de Paris, Georges Prêtre, cond. EMI, recorded in the Salle Wagram, October 1969</i><br />
<br />
Now, I'm totally happy with what Edith Mathis and Seiji and the Bostonians do here. Note, for example, the tonal luster the BSO horns and trumpets give off, without sounding in any way unmilitary -- there's no reason why this military tattoo has to sound ragtag! Especially when we consider the effect these sounds, and the sounds of the offstage choruses of soldiers and students, have on Marguerite as they drift into her consciousness. I'm sure that you'll recall which military bugle call it is that the tattoo is sounding; I had to look it up. It is, of all things (given our context), "Retreat." [<i>Of course, it makes sense. The whole point is that it's evening and the soldiers are being called back to wherever they, you know, retreat. Still . . . </i>-- Ed.] And in both rhythm and tune it feeds into these final utterances of Marguerite's, drifting so unexpectedly and pitiably to the moment she first laid eyes on Faust.<br />
<br />
On all counts the 1973 Boston <i>Damnation</i> seems to me immaculate in this scene. Edith M. is totally inside the character, and when she gets to the pair of "<i>Il ne vient pas</i>"s, she's heart-breaking. Note how the second one seems to give way to a loss of will, though she seems to rouse herself for those final despairing "<i>Hélas</i>"es. I imagine that when Edith and Seiji (and maybe English hornist Larry Thorstenberg too?), huddled with the tech crew in the control room, heard this take, there were smiles all around.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>BUT WHAT JANET BAKER DID THERE KNOCKS ME OUT</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdo5tU3sWosWHd7EuZP3F2ak9DUOYb-zUllNQi-3dq_Ok9JFin75rtNP1rDz0S96MTOMTedaMBr0fdOx1YVV-PC2aKzlC8WkjtDnEaqKViifebsRXTydGPadYCHF5H5l3lH3eh6Oor7UmwU8m-XRmbRJJVU2BXAwwF8vNPh3d9N_ghY3De5IFNanBfii8/s1600/baker-b&w-260.jpg" style="clear: left; display: block; float: left; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-right: 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="296" data-original-width="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdo5tU3sWosWHd7EuZP3F2ak9DUOYb-zUllNQi-3dq_Ok9JFin75rtNP1rDz0S96MTOMTedaMBr0fdOx1YVV-PC2aKzlC8WkjtDnEaqKViifebsRXTydGPadYCHF5H5l3lH3eh6Oor7UmwU8m-XRmbRJJVU2BXAwwF8vNPh3d9N_ghY3De5IFNanBfii8/s1600/baker-b&w-260.jpg" /></a></div>In the proper post we're going to hear <b>Janet B.</b> and Georges P. do the full scene, and we'll all have opinions about what she does with "<i>D'amour l'ardente flamme</i>." Baker fans, I expect, will swoon. What she does <i>here</i>, though, in the "tail" -- you might want to go back and listen to it again 00 is something else, the whole thing delivered in a sweet but unyieldingly flat sound. The poor lass is audibly gone to the world -- just amazing!<br />
<br />
We learned in the <i>romance</i> proper that Marguerite's existence has now shrunk to waiting desperately but still in some kind of hope for Faust to come back. Now she knows.<br />
<br />
<b>"He's not coming! He's not coming! Alas! Alas!"</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/il-ne-vient-pas-mathis-ozawa" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Edith Mathis (s), Marguerite; Laurence Thorstenberg, English horn; men of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, Boston Symphony Orchetra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. DG, recorded in Symphony Hall, October 1973</i>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/il-ne-vient-pas-baker-pretre" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Janet Baker (ms), Marguerite; men of the Paris Opera Chorus, Orchestre de Paris, Georges Prêtre, cond. EMI, recorded in the Salle Wagram, October 1969</i><br />
<blockquote>
<b>AFTERTHOUGHT RE. MARGUERITE'S "<i>Il ne vient pas!</i>"</b><br />
<br />
Languages can be funny, in their infinite ways, about verb tenses. In English, Marguerite might be thinking "He doesn't come" or "He isn't coming," but French has just one form for the present tense: "<i>Il ne vient pas</i>." So maybe she's just thinking about today, about <i>this evening</i>. It sure sounds to me, though, from Berlioz's setting, that she knows now, <i>he's not coming</i>.<br />
<br />
It's also possible, in fact, that this is pretty much the way <i>all</i> of M's days end now: <i>knowing</i> that <i>Faust isn't coming</i> -- and the next morning, all the same, she's back at the window for another day of waiting for him to come. Which could be even bleaker.<br />
</blockquote>
<br />
<b>ONE LAST "TAIL" TALE -- OR PAIR OF TALES</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHRzJ8kMtk4e-rIlSkWe-rW1Ou6ZPCAVamnokF5ebYinW5F6HyfKBG0BQtduyvPvw4ihfMIaFx0uELouFA4rvuo2lCeS8TfawmvBL-iJKZ50q9Iqt3DKqJcC8l3qjrYAOdhOAZFGoVx_jJEElp9utcbFUuyr1HOGcXwgCzEI5-d2lAbzhdiSptvSf-a-k/s1600/re%CC%81gine-crespin-260.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; padding: 0 0 0.25em 1em px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="289" data-original-width="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHRzJ8kMtk4e-rIlSkWe-rW1Ou6ZPCAVamnokF5ebYinW5F6HyfKBG0BQtduyvPvw4ihfMIaFx0uELouFA4rvuo2lCeS8TfawmvBL-iJKZ50q9Iqt3DKqJcC8l3qjrYAOdhOAZFGoVx_jJEElp9utcbFUuyr1HOGcXwgCzEI5-d2lAbzhdiSptvSf-a-k/s1600/re%CC%81gine-crespin-260.jpg" /></a></div>While scouting material for inclusion in this post, noting the pair of live performances of <i>Damnation</i> featuring <b>Régine Crespin</b>, always a somewhat problematic singer but likely the most important French soprano of the 20th (or 21st) century, I decided to go ahead and make clips from both to make it easier to observe them. And there's a lot to like in both. Crespin seems in somewhat more secure voice in the 1962 Royal Festival Hall performance, though it's worth bearing in mind that this was a big voice (remember, she sang both Sieglinde and Brünnhilde in <i>Die Walküre</i>; we've heard her as both, and as Charlotte in <i>Werther</i> and the Marschallin in <i>Der Rosenkavalier</i>), and so not easy to capture with microphones, especially under the presumably technically constrained conditions of these live-performance captures).<br />
<br />
<b>BERLIOZ: <i>The Damnation of Faust</i> (dramatic legend), Op. 24: Part IV, <i>romance</i>, Marguerite, "<i>D'amour l'ardente flamme</i>" . . . Offstage chorus of soldiers, "<i>Au son des trompettes</i>"</b><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/damour-lardente-flamme-crespin-markevitch-9-24-1969" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[Trumpets and drums at 8:03] <i>Régine Crespin (s), Marguerite; men of the RTF Chorus, Orchestre National de la RTF, Igor Markevitch, cond. Live performance from the Montreux Festival, Sept. 24, 1959</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/damour-lardente-flamme-crespin-monteux-3-8-1962" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[Trumpets and drums at 8:36] <i>Régine Crespin (s), Marguerite; men of the London Symphony Orchestra Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Monteux, cond. Live performance from the Royal Festival Hall, Mar. 8, 1962</i><br />
<br />
In the 1962 Royal Festival Hall performance (in the same month when Maestro Monteux (at age 87) made the Berlioz <i>Roméo et Juliette</i> recording for Westminster <a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2024/03/seiji-ozawa-1935-2024-part-2b-it-takes.html">which we sampled last week</a>; presumably a <i>Damnation</i> recording, a considerably more expensive affair, was considered too risky), after Mme C. sings "<i>D'amour l'ardente flamme</i>," she receives, understandably enough, a nice round of applause, after which Maestro Monteux proceeds into the "tail." Nothing remarkable to note there, right?<br />
<br />
Except that in the 1959 Montreux Festival performance there's no such break. It's true that Maestro Markevitch proceeds decisively with the entry of the offstage drums, but does that kind of decisiveness really stop an audience hell bent on applauding? Did the Montreux Festival-goers not know that there was an applause opportunity being passed over? Or, contrarily, was the audience so sophisticated as to appreciate that nothing has ended at this point? Was there something about the performance that clued them in that a dramatic scene was continuing and not meant for interrupting?<br />
<br />
(Rest assured that at the end Mme C. got a good hand, which I've lopped off, as I tend to do with live-performance applause when there'a clean cut available. It's a matter not so much of mean-spiritedness as of better representing the musical argument -- for example, in relation to timings. We're usually hearing multiple performances of a piece, and I think most of us look at some point at comparative timings. Applause can distort them, leaving me to ponder incorporatin additional information in the credits like "[with applause]."<br />
<br />
I just thought it was interesting, how differently the two audiences behaved. Beyond that, this gives us a chance to hear the complete scene -- twice, in fact! Before we take it up properly in the "proper" post.<br /><br />
<br />
<b>UP NEXT</b><br />
<br />
Well, the "proper" post, of course, forging ahead to Part 2c of the Seiji Ozawa remembrance, with the working title "Yes, Berlioz and Mahler wielded incomparably vivid imaginations, but it wasn't to cover over any want of ability to ravish us with sheer musical beauty" - including further consideration of Berlioz's <i>Damnation of Faust</i> set alongside Mahler's <i>Wunderhorn</i> song "<i>Urlicht</i>" (the fourth movement of the <i>Resurrection</i>Symphony), plus other goodies.<br />
<br />
Plus, one of these days, or weeks, I've got to rig up a box encapsuling the ongoing Seiji celebration.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
#</div>KenInNYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03712690425664894186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823063346488779206.post-35794780330280690942024-03-04T05:00:00.034-05:002024-03-07T16:31:47.499-05:00Seiji Ozawa (1935-2024)Part 2b: It takes a vibrant imagination to enter fully Berlioz's and Mahler's worlds<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="background-color: #fcff01;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLLg-EiBzNdlAII8k2jhKFXFx23jhPAcxtUSx3zm-hDlGF0Ac2CWmtFIsQfidYEe8Db0tDDxoDIcTlvsLh-MjKmU4oB-FJoRsSndnqgmfzGc3rk3MMl6_mUO_BF2OtljG4iT-ycCxHWnZOylwGy8DBK1pRHLR7CpzRrPRAvNRq33EIopt2Mk80HhqSUX4/s1600/romeo-reveals-himself-520.png" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="572" data-original-width="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLLg-EiBzNdlAII8k2jhKFXFx23jhPAcxtUSx3zm-hDlGF0Ac2CWmtFIsQfidYEe8Db0tDDxoDIcTlvsLh-MjKmU4oB-FJoRsSndnqgmfzGc3rk3MMl6_mUO_BF2OtljG4iT-ycCxHWnZOylwGy8DBK1pRHLR7CpzRrPRAvNRq33EIopt2Mk80HhqSUX4/s1600/romeo-reveals-himself-520.png" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">"<i>Romeo, trembling with an anxious joy, reveals himself to Juliet."</i><br /></div>
<br />
<b>From Part I, the Prologue to Berlioz's <i>R&J</i> "dramatic symphony"</b><br />
<blockquote><b>SMALL CHORUS</b>: The feast is concluded,<br />
and when all noise dies down,<br />
under the arches one hears<br />
weary dancers grow more distant, singing.<br />
Alas! -- and Romeo sighs,<br />
for he has had to leave Juliet! --<br />
Suddenly, in order to breathe again<br />
that air that she breathes,<br />
he vaults over the garden walls.<br />
Already on her balcony the pale Juliet appears -- <br />
and believing herself alone until daybreak<br />
confides to the night her love.<br />
[1:28] <i>Romeo, trembling with an anxious joy,<br />
reveals himself to Juliet,<br />
and from his heart fires burst forth in their turn.</i><br /></blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/la-fete-est-terminee-ozawa" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>New England Conservatory Chorus, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. DG, recorded in Symphony Hall, October 1975</i><br />
[<b>NOTE</b>: For the immediately following alto-solo "<i>strophes</i>" (stanzas), "<i>Premiers transports que nul n'oublie</i>," scroll down a ways. -- <i>Ed.</i>]<br />
<br />
<b>From Part III: "<i>Où sont-ils maintenant?</i>" ("Where are they now?")</b><br />
<blockquote><b>CHORUS OF CAPULETS AND MONTAGUES:</b><br />
Ah! what a frightful mystery!<br />
[0:30] <b><i>Récit.</i>, Father Laurence, "<i>Je vais dévoiler le mystère</i>"</b><br />
I am going to unveil the mystery.<br />
This corpse, this was the husband of Juliet.<br />
Do you see that body laid out on the ground?<br />
That was the wife, alas!, of Romeo.<br />
It's I who had married them.<br />
<b>BOTH CHORUSES</b>: Married?<br />
<b>FATHER LAURENCE</b>: Yes, I must confess it.<br />
I saw in it a salutary marker<br />
of a future friendship between your two houses.<br />
<b>BOTH CHORUSES</b>: Friends of the Montagues/Capulets, <i>us</i>!<br />
We curse them!<br />
<b>FATHER LAURENCE</b>: But you've restarted the war between families!<br />
To flee another marriage, the unhappy girl came to find me.<br />
"You alone," she cried, "would be able to save me!<br />
There's nothing more for me but to die!"<br />
In this extreme peril<br />
I had her take, in order to ward off fate,<br />
a potion, which that same evening<br />
lent her the pallor and cold of death.<br />
<b>BOTH CHORUSES</b>: A potion!<br />
<b>FATHER LAURENCE</b>: And I came without fear<br />
here to rescue her.<br />
But Romeo, deceived,<br />
to the pregnant funeral<br />
had arrived ahead of me -- to die<br />
on the body of of his beloved;<br />
and promptly on her awakening<br />
Juliet, informed<br />
of this death that he bears in his devastated breast,<br />
with Romeo's sword had armed herself against herself<br />
and passed into eternity<br />
when I appeared -- there is the whole truth.<br />
<b>BOTH CHORUSES</b>: Married!<br />
[3:27] <b><i>Air</i>, Father Laurence, "<i>Pauvres enfants, que je pleure</i>"</b><br />
Poor children, for whom I weep,<br />
fallen together before your time,<br />
on your somber resting place will come to weep.<br />
Great through you in history,<br />
Verona one day, without thinking about it,<br />
will have its sorrow and its glory<br />
solely in the memory of you.<br />
<br />
[6:19] Where are they now, those fierce enemies?<br />
Capulets, Montagues! Come, come, touch,<br />
hatred in your hearts, insults in your mouth,<br />
these pale lovers, barbarians, approach!<br />
God punishes you in your tendernesses.<br />
His chastisements, his avenging thunderbolts<br />
hold the secret of our terrors.<br />
Listen to his voice which thunders:<br />
so that on high My vengeance will pardon you,<br />
forget, forget your own furies!</blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/quel-mystere-ozawa" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>José van Dam (bs-b), Father Laurence; New England Conservatory Chorus, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. DG, recorded in Symphony Hall, October 1975</i><br />
<br />
<b>by Ken</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8H-7ciaOBmz55flb17hcV0iej58qJ31pcu7fImA91SfaZve9pxmoD3eT45uWKH5PFJjolMvBNYMBv5oeylQiLXJcraykfLtjahiIiJl0Vv8MWhV7Yd-E8safJL_Nf5AjQ4IdoGalGijkvbfwe6nV00QN7s7-opJcOSMmEKMr5U7T-DvZCLhUOFB8T5Mc/s1600/ozawa-romeo-cover-260.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; padding: 0px 0px 0.25em 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8H-7ciaOBmz55flb17hcV0iej58qJ31pcu7fImA91SfaZve9pxmoD3eT45uWKH5PFJjolMvBNYMBv5oeylQiLXJcraykfLtjahiIiJl0Vv8MWhV7Yd-E8safJL_Nf5AjQ4IdoGalGijkvbfwe6nV00QN7s7-opJcOSMmEKMr5U7T-DvZCLhUOFB8T5Mc/s1600/ozawa-romeo-cover-260.jpg" /></a></div>You could say we're getting ahead of ourselves, jumping from Part I, the Prologue, all the way to the Finale of Berlioz's "dramatic symphony" <i>Roméo et Juliette</i>, or you could say we're just catching up with the second of the four "musical talking points" I outlined for our remembrance of Seiji Ozawa, which we heard -- most recently in <a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2024/02/seiji-ozawa-1935-2024-part-2a-thinking.html">last week's Part 2a of our remembrance of Seiji Ozawa</a> ("Thinking big musically doesn't preclude making every moment fully alive") -- so eloquently sung by the great Belgian bass-baritone José van Dam. It's "The Oath" that Father Laurence (promoted by Berlioz from "friar" to "father," we notice) pretty much shoves down the vituperating throats of the once-again-warring houses of Capulet and Montague, in the shock of the deaths of their precious children, Juliet and Romeo. We'll be rehearing "The Oath," "<i>Jurez donc par l'auguste symbole</i>" ("Swear then, by the august symbol"), shortly, when we work our way through the Finale of Berlioz's <i>R&J</i>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>AS <a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2024/02/flash-want-to-see-n-hear-seiji-ozawa.html">WE LEARNED FROM THE CONVERSATIONS WITH SEIJI</a><br />
IN THE BERLIN PHILHARMONIC'S DIGITAL CONCERT HALL --</b><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTBwlEYflxeWuTv4hCKp4V_XbWM8TRdsLsywT32OJsPf2WETRJWyLMUyrANioun6h-330RiG2l_qjdUb-KbzeJQr6Xhy4ydhzlujFuk9nBJ_csMk0UE6fIdvEhJhLjjkO6vvlV5yB5b0eljbzxZWcv-_JaRIpt-wr0RsNflr6KdmMyA7ELr1-JAHrkIJE/s1600/munch-conducts-berlioz-box-260.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; padding: 0px 0px 0.25em 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="258" data-original-width="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTBwlEYflxeWuTv4hCKp4V_XbWM8TRdsLsywT32OJsPf2WETRJWyLMUyrANioun6h-330RiG2l_qjdUb-KbzeJQr6Xhy4ydhzlujFuk9nBJ_csMk0UE6fIdvEhJhLjjkO6vvlV5yB5b0eljbzxZWcv-_JaRIpt-wr0RsNflr6KdmMyA7ELr1-JAHrkIJE/s1600/munch-conducts-berlioz-box-260.jpg" /></a></div><a href="https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/interview/25-2">one from 2009</a>, when he conducted Mendelssohn's <i>Elijah</i>, and <a href="https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/interview/22406-5">one from 2016</a>, the next time he was physically able to conduct the orchestra -- Berlioz was very much on his mind when he became music director of the Boston Symphony, in 1973, harking back to the orchestra's rich history with French repertory during the BSO tenure of Charles Munch (1949-62), not only in concert but on records -- enough to fill 10 CDs in <a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/5264866-Charles-Munch-Hector-Berlioz-Munch-Conducts-Berlioz">the valuable 2004 BMG <i>Munch Conducts Berlioz</i> box</a>. (A reminder: DCH interviews can be streamed free. Also, the last time I looked, <a href="https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/concert/25">the really fine 2009 <i>Elijah</i></a>, graced by an outstanding performance of the title role by baritone Matthias Goerne, could still be watched free.)<br />
<br />
I hadn't remembered until prompted by <a href="https://www.bso.org/stories/a-tribute-to-seiji-ozawa">the BSO's excellent website "Tribute to Seiji Ozawa"</a> that the new music director in fact kicked off his Boston tenure with Berlioz's <i>Damnation of Faust</i> -- not just in Symphony Hall but shortly thereafter in Carnegie Hall, and also in a recording for DG. That sticks in memory for me because I was sent to Boston by Len Marcus, my boss at <i>High Fidelity</i> Magazine, in what I'm thinking was my second year as music editor, to observe one of the recording sessions for a "Behind the Scenes" report, about which I'll say a little more when we get to our third "musical talking point," "<i>Pandaemonium</i>" from Part IV of <i>Damnation</i>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX9aC02RoYwE91Cm-oQgzJn06RSaFsJvh8COwhr0tHI4i_8R4Uw-3rVyXWbYAyEDCfAc2tFHLxpoCHr_2EdaHGUPGDOoT31aOOS8497eKu030y49f3ke6j615HUNUTB3EXvD1gVV3LuOfU0Zx_qhyphenhyphenDAo_0tUTJ3E8Vqu9prKvPvl-_tSoOADacMUuPRlQ/s1600/ozawa-damnation-box-260.jpg" style="clear: left; display: block; float: left; padding: 0px 1em 0.15em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX9aC02RoYwE91Cm-oQgzJn06RSaFsJvh8COwhr0tHI4i_8R4Uw-3rVyXWbYAyEDCfAc2tFHLxpoCHr_2EdaHGUPGDOoT31aOOS8497eKu030y49f3ke6j615HUNUTB3EXvD1gVV3LuOfU0Zx_qhyphenhyphenDAo_0tUTJ3E8Vqu9prKvPvl-_tSoOADacMUuPRlQ/s1600/ozawa-damnation-box-260.jpg" /></a></div>The DG <i>Damnation</i> would probably still be my first choice for a recording of that seriously difficult-to-bring-off masterpiece, and I'd say the same about the recording two seasons later of <i>Roméo et Juliette</i>. It's partly for the all-around splendid playing of the orchestra -- so richly and passionately textured and yet so clear and pointed and flowing, and partly for the quality of the singing, by singers mostly not obvious choices for this music (the most conspicuous exception being José van Dam, who we might think was born to sing <i>Roméo</i>'s Père Laurence), all of whom nevertheless found their way to memorable work in their collaboration with Seiji), but most of all -- and hardly unrelated to the first two points -- the unfailing "rightness" of the musical leadership.<br />
<br />
Which is a common -- I'm tempted to say <i>constant</i> -- characteristic of Seiji's conducting: the way his imagination seemed so unfailingly to inhabit both the largest contours and smallest details of a score. Before his story turned into an obituary we were already relishing once again his 1979 BSO recording of Schoenberg's <i>Gurre-Lieder</i>, which has these same qualities: splendid orchestral playing, outstanding singing, and an overriding sense of "rightness" in the re-creation of the piece itself. It shouldn't be surprising that two composers who flourish particularly under this kind of deep understanding are Berlioz and Mahler, composers he told us in those interviews were new to him when he arrived in Europe to make his way in the musical world. At first he found their music strange, but quickly enough it was their very strangeness, or should we say individuality, that drew him back. We'll be dealing with Mahler in our fourth "musical talking point -- again, though, I think if I were asked to recommend a single recorded Mahler symphony cycle, there's a good chance it would be Seiji's.<br />
<br />
I'm not going to say much about the "rightness" of his Berlioz <i>Roméo</i>. I'd rather let the performance speak for itself. We're going to backtrack to Part I and hear it first broken into sections and then put back together. Then, after a stopover in Part II, where I think we can hear in the "Love Scene" why Berlioz chose to make a "dramatic symphony" rather than an opera of the R&J story, we're do a breakdown of the his Finale, where we can hear him carrying his deep understanding of Shakespeare a step further: casting a stern eye on a society that allows, even encourages, the waste of its most precious resource, its children.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>YES, BERLIOZ CHOOSES TO TELL THE R&J STORY <i>TWICE</i></b><br />
<br />
And for the first time through, in the Prologue, he devised a remarkable mode of musical narration, performed mostly by a "small chorus" of altos, tenors, and basses, but with an assortment of other musical strategies to give the composer. Get it right and it can create a feeling of classical "legendariness," and also of immediacy and intimacy. Seiji and his team don't call attention to how they're doing it; they just get it incredibly right.<br />
<br />
<b>[a] Orchestral introduction: Allegro fugato</b><br />
<br />
As the tempo marking suggests, Berlioz drops us into Verona's blood feud with an orchestral-fugue opening.<br />
<blockquote>Combat -- tumult -- intervention of the Prince</blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/allegro-fugato-ozawa" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<br />
<b>[b] Narration, small chorus with alto solo, "<i>D'anciennes haines endormies ont surgi comme de l'Enfer</i>"</b><br />
<br />
Just as we're settling into the novel small-chorus narrative form, Berlioz taps an alto soloist to introduce us to the two centeral characters. We weren't expecting that, were we? In fact, his idea was to place the soloist with the choral altos, leaving us even less prepared for this twist.<br />
<blockquote><b>SMALL CHORUS</b>: Ancient hatreds, dormant,<br />
have resurged, as if from Hell;<br />
Capulets, Montagues, two warring houses,<br />
have crossed swords in Verona;<br />
but these bloody disorders<br />
have been put down by the Prince,<br />
threatening with death those who despite his orders<br />
would have recourse still to the justice of steel.<br />
In these instants of calm a feast is given<br />
by the old chief of the Capulets.<br />
<br />
<b>ALTO SOLO</b>: Young Romeo, lamenting his destiny,<br />
comes sadly to wander all around the palace;<br />
for he loves with passion Juliet,<br />
the daughter of the enemies of his family.<br />
The noise of instruments, melodious songs<br />
emerges from salons where gold shines,<br />
exciting both dance and joyous outbursts.<br />
<br />
<b>SMALL CHORUS</b>: The feast is concluded,<br />
and when all noise dies down,<br />
under the arches one hears<br />
weary dancers grow more distant, singing.<br />
Alas! -- and Romeo sighs,<br />
for he has had to leave Juliet! --<br />
Suddenly, in order to breathe again<br />
that air that she breathes,<br />
he vaults over the garden walls.<br />
Already on her balcony the pale Juliet appears -- <br />
and believing herself alone until daybreak<br />
confides to the night her love.<br />
Romeo, trembling with an anxious joy,<br />
reveals himself to Juliet,<br />
and from his heart fires burst forth in their turn.</blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/BerliozRomeoEtJuliettePartINarrationozawa-dg" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>with Julia Hamari, mezzo-soprano</i><br />
<br />
<b>[c] <i>Strophes</i> (stanzas), alto solo, "<i>Premiers transports que nul n'oublie</i>" ("First transports that no one forgets")</b>
<br />
It turns out that Berlioz had an even larger use in mind for his alto soloist, namely these gorgeous "stanzas." Warning: We're going to be making a detour before continuing with the Prologue.<br />
<blockquote>[0:01] First transports that no one forgets,<br />
first declarations, first vows of two lovers.<br />
Under the stars of Italy,<br />
in that warm air without breezes,<br />
which distant orange blossoms scent,<br />
where the nightingale wastes away with long sighs.<br />
<br />
[1:11] What art, in its chosen tongue,
<br />could describe your heavenly delights?<br />
First love, are you not<br />
more exalted than all poetry?<br />
Or rather are you not, in our mortal exile,<br />
that poetry itself<br />
of which Shakespeare alone had the supreme secret,<br />
and which he took with him . . .<br />
[SEMI-CHORUS <i>joining in</i>] to heaven?<br />
<br />
[3:00] Happy children with hearts on fire!<br />
Joined in love by the chance of a single look,<br />
hide it well under the shadow of flowers,<br />
that divine fire that sets you ablaze,<br />
ecstasy so pure that its words are tears.<br />
<br />
[4:11] What king could match the transports<br />
of your chaste delights?<br />
Happy children! and what treasures<br />
could purchase a single one of your sighs?<br />
Ah! savor for a long time that cup of honey,<br />
sweeter than the chalices<br />
from which God's angels, jealous of your delights,<br />
draw happiness . . .<br />
[SEMI-CHORUS <i>joining in</i>] in heaven!</blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/BerliozRomeoEtJuliettePartIStrophesozawa-dg" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>with Julia Hamari, mezzo-soprano</i><br />
<blockquote><b>OTHER VERSIONS OF THE <i>STROPHES</i> WE'VE HEARD</b><br />
<br />
This is the aforementioned detour. I don't want to leave Berlioz's ravishing testimonial to those "<i>premiers transports que nul n'oublie</i>" without at least listening to some other versions we've heard. We could easily have cast a wider net for this unforgettable solo, which is perhaps at the beating heart of what I described in <a href="https://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2009/06/sunday-classics-berlioz-romeo.html">a June 2010 post</a> as "Berlioz tackl[ing] that most basic and intimate issue, the terrifying vulnerability of owning up to loving." I gravitate here to the deeper vocal weight and color of contralto-y mezzos like Regina Resnik (whom we'll be hearing as Pierre Monteux's alto soloist) and Florence Quivar (heard below with Charles Dutoit), but the solo can work fine with a more conventional-type mezzo like Seiji's alto soloist, the lovely Hungarian mezzo Julia Hamari, or Rosalind Elias in Charles Munch's 1961 stereo remake of his 1953 BSO <i>Roméo</i>.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/BerliozRomeoEtJuliettePartIStrophespremiersTransports" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>Florence Quivar, mezzo-soprano; Montreal Symphony Chorus and Orchestra, Charles Dutoit, cond. Decca, recorded in the Église de Saint-Eustache, 1985</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/BerliozRomeoEtJuliettePartIStrophespremiersTransportselias" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>Rosalind Elias, mezzo-soprano; New England Conservatory Chorus, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Charles Munch, cond. RCA, recorded in Symphony Hall, Apr. 23-24, 1961 </i></blockquote>
<b>[d] Récit. & scherzetto, "<i>Bientôt de Roméo la pâle rêverie</i>" ("Soon Romeo's pallid reverie" . . . "<i>Mab! la messagère fluette et légère</i>" ("Mab! the fluid and light messenger") . . . "<i>Bientôt la mort est souveraine</i>" ("Soon death is sovereign")</b><br />
<br />
Okay, another soloist, this time intertwined with the small chorus -- to very different effect from either of the alto solos. If you're wondering what a "scherzetto" is, it's pretty much what it says: a little scherzo. Spoiler alert: Although we're not going to hear it, later on Berlioz is going to give us a full-blown Mab-themed Scherzo, an orchestral tour de force that used to be heard frequently -- back in the decades when the complete Berlioz <i>Roméo et Juliette</i> wasn't frequently performed -- as one of several purely orchestral excerpts that could be performed as a sort-of-suite.<br />
<blockquote><b>TENOR and SMALL CHORUS</b>: Soon Romeo's pallid reverie<br />
puts all his friends in a state of gaiety.<br />
"My dear," says elegant Mercutio,<br />
"I bet that Queen Mab has visited you."<br />
<b>Scherzetto, "<i>Mab! la messagère fluette et légère</i>"</b><br />
Mab! the delicate and light messenger,<br />
she has for chariot a nutshell<br />
that a squirrel fashioned;<br />
the fingers of a spider spun her narness.<br />
During the nights the fairy, with this slender crew,<br />
gallops madly in the brain of a page<br />
who dreams of mischievous trickery or tender serenading<br />
in the moonlight under the tower.<br />
In pursuing her ride the little queen falls<br />
on the bronzed neck of a soldier:<br />
He dreams of cannonades and sharp thrusts, drums, trumpets.<br />
He wakes up and first of all swears,<br />
and prays while still swearing,<br />
then falls asleep again and snores with his comrades.<br />
It's Mab who who created this bacchanal.<br />
It's she again who in a dream dresses <br />
the young girl and brings her back to the ball.<br />
But the cock crows, day breaks,<br />
Mab flies like a flash into the air.<br />
<br />
[1:54] <b>SMALL CHORUS</b>: Soon death is sovereign.<br />
Capulets, Montagues, tamed by the great sorrow,<br />
are reconciled finally to abjure the hatred<br />
that caused the shedding of so much blood and tears.</blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/BerliozRomeoEtJuliettePartIRecit.AndScherzetootoscanini1947" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<br />
<i>Julia Hamari, mezzo-soprano (in</i> [b] <i>and</i> [c]<i>); New England Conservatory Chorus, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. DG, recorded in Symphony Hall, October 1975</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>THE PLAN WAS TO BREAK THE PROLOGUE DOWN<br />
AND THEN PUT IT BACK TOGETHER, BUT --</b><br />
<br />
We're also going to hear another version, just to mix it up a little.<br />
<br />
<b>BERLIOZ: <i>Roméo et Juliette</i> (dramatic symphony), Op. 17:<br />
Part I (complete)</b><br />
[a] Introduction: combat -- tumult - intervention of the Prince<br />
[b] "<i>D'anciennes haines endormies ont surgi comme l'Enfer</i>"<br />
[c] <i>Strophes</i>, "Premiers transports que nul n'oublie"<br />
[d] <i>Récit</i>. & scherzetto, "Mab! la messagère fluette et légère"<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/berlioz-romeo-pt-1-comp-ozawa" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[(a) at 0:01, (b) at 4:14, (c) at 8:44, (d) at 14:53] <i>Julia Hamari, mezzo-soprano; Jean Dupouy, tenor; New England Conservatory Chorus, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. DG, recorded in Symphony Hall, October 1975</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/romeo-part-i-monteux" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[(a) at 0:01, (b) at 4:52, (c) at 9:23, (d) at 15:19] <i>Regina Resnik, mezzo-soprano; André Turp, tenor; London Symphony Orchestra Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Monteux, cond. Westminster-MCA-Decca, recorded in Walthamstow Town Hall, June 1962</i><br />
[<b>NOTE</b>: We'll have more of the Monteux <i>Roméo</i> below, with a tiny bit of fond remembrance of it.]<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>BEFORE JUMPING TO THE FINALE, LET'S SAVOR<br />
"THE LONG RAPTURES OF THE 'LOVE SCENE' " (PART II)</b><br />
<br />
The "long raptures" description comes from that fine Berlioz appreciator David Cairns, who went on in that liner note to write:<br />
<blockquote>This is the moment towards which everything has been growing and in the radiant light of which the ensuing tragedy is seen. Of all Berlioz's music it is perhaps in this movement that his obsession with the Romantic idea of a total, all-embracing love found fullest expression.</blockquote>
Berlioz believed that enough efforts had been made to re-create Romeo and Juliet with song, and that it might be more interesting to dramatize their feelings and passions through purely orchestral means. It's hard to argue, listening to the "<i>Scène d'amour</i>."<br />
<br />
We come in following a musically depicted "Great Fête at the Capulets'," with the last of the guests departing.<br />
<blockquote><b>Serene night -- The Capulet garden, silent and deserted</b><br />
<br />
<i>Young Capulets leaving the feast pass singing reminiscences of the music of the ball.</i><br />
<br />
Hey, Capulets! Good night, good night!<br />
Hey, good night, gents, good-bye!<br />
Ah, what a night! What a feast!<br />
Divine ball! What a feast!<br />
What mad talk!<br />
Beautiful Véronaises!<br />
Under the great larch trees!<br />
Go dream of ball and of love!<br />
Go, go, go!<br />
To dream of love until morning.<br />
Tra la la la la la.</blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/scene-damour-ozawa" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="540"></iframe><br />
<i>New England Conservatory Chorus, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. DG, recorded in Symphony Hall, October 1975</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/scene-damour-monteux" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="540"></iframe><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA9VXHF5SMWO2cpNDXeAFf7t_JW5c-GH86djoj03ZW_kPWkrVBY7v2OB69TjqCrEjtTKjeGEBmEzqTcDeU2fj76p2P1mOvU4-jaYSEvHKVrUGubYBeJE27msiOCoybZ9-Ly1LwvRI9jm0USy_1LyTpvPlMXMQOgWx9CSZpsl_FzrGFKRBBewwagik42Sg/s1600/monteux-rome%CC%81o-cover-260rev.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; padding: 0.25em 0px 0.25em 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="243" data-original-width="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA9VXHF5SMWO2cpNDXeAFf7t_JW5c-GH86djoj03ZW_kPWkrVBY7v2OB69TjqCrEjtTKjeGEBmEzqTcDeU2fj76p2P1mOvU4-jaYSEvHKVrUGubYBeJE27msiOCoybZ9-Ly1LwvRI9jm0USy_1LyTpvPlMXMQOgWx9CSZpsl_FzrGFKRBBewwagik42Sg/s1600/monteux-rome%CC%81o-cover-260rev.jpg" /></a></div><i>London Symphony Orchestra Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Monteux, cond. Westminster-MCA-Decca, recorded in Walthamstow Town Hall, June 1962</i><br />
<br />
No, Seiji doesn't get as much out of the great Adagio of the "Love Scene" as Pierre Monteux. He wasn't given to particularly fast or slow tempos, yet he doesn't cheat the scene in any way -- that's a pretty gorgeous performance too. And when you're holding your own against "Papa" Monteux and the full wisdom of his 87 years, in my book you're doing just fine.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>FINALLY WE RETURN TO THE FINALE, AND THE<br />
PERSUASIVE PREACHINGS OF FATHER LAURENCE</b><br />
<br />
It's hard to overstate how important Shakespeare was to Berlioz, who knew, loved, and understood the master, whom he channeled even when he wasn't working on specifically Shakespearean material. It has been suggested that his most ambitious work, the epic opera <i>Les Troyens</i> (<i>The Trojans</i>)<br />, though obviously rooted in the ancient Greco-Roman world (does it get more classical than Virgil?), is dramatized on Shakespearean models.<br />
<br />
Obviously one attraction for Berlioz of the R&J material was the conviction that music had still more to bring to the star-crossed lovers' story. But when we get to the final part of his <i>Roméo et Juliette</i> symphony, I think we can hear that he had another agenda: rage at a society that not only allows but encourages the unthinking, unconscionable destruction of its most precious resource, its children. And so he reconstituted Shakespeare's Friar Lawrence into <i>le père</i> Laurence, who has the same plot function in the events leading up to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet but in the aftermath becomes Verona's avenging angel.<br />
<br />
The problem is that if his scene isn't really well realized -- both vocally and dramatically, it can be tedious or worse (especially if it's not well sung), seeming to go on forever. And while it's possible that José van Dam could have made as much with that great scene with some other conductor, I think it's more than a coincidence that, teamed up with Seiji, he produced one of the great vocal performances on records. Let's hear how he does it, chunk by chunk -- noting that for all the benevolence our Father Laurence brings to this critical moment in Veronese life, this is also a seriously angry padre. Of course he has his own part to answer for in the sequence of events, and so a certain amount of the rage boiling inside him is directed at himself, but he's not letting the rest of the community off the hook either.<br />
<br />
There are delicious moments when the rage bubbles over, like when his eulogizing of the dead children leads to the question "Où sont-ils maintenant?" ("Where are they now?"), or when both the Capulets and Montagues fall back into their habitual vituperation and he roars "<i>Silence! Malheureux!</i>," which I've translated as "Silence! Malcontents!" People who can be addressed as "<i>malheureux</i> aren't necessarily worse than "unhappy," but <i>malheureux</i> can cover a range of miseries, and clearly the good father has something stronger in mind.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>SO AGAIN, LET'S HEAR THE SCENE TAKE SHAPE,<br />
THEN PUT IT BACK TOGETHER (AND HEAR IT TWICE)</b><br />
<br />
<b><i>Roméo et Juliette</i>: from Part III, the Finale --</b><br />
<br />
<b> (1) Montagues, then Capulets, "<i>Quoi! Roméo de retour</i>" ...<br />
Father Laurence, "<i>Je vais dévoiler le mystére</i>"</b>
<blockquote><i>The assembled Capulets and Montagues rush to the cemetery.</i><br />
<br />
<b>CHORUS OF CAPULETS AND MONTAGUES:</b><br />
What! Romeo returned! Romeo!<br />
For Juliet he shuts himself in the tomb<br />
of the Capulets whom his family abhors.<br />
The Montagues have broken into the tomb<br />
of Juliet, expired at dawn.<br />
Ah! a curse on them!<br />
Juliet!<br />
Romeo!<br />
Heaven! Dead, both of them,<br />
and their blood is still warm!<br />
What a mystery! Ah! what a frightful mystery!<br />
<b><i>Recit.</i>, Father Laurence</b>, "<i>Je vais dévoiler le mystère</i>"<br />
I am going to unveil the mystery.<br />
This corpse, this was the husband of Juliet.<br />
Do you see that body laid out on the ground?<br />
That was the wife, alas!, of Romeo.<br />
It's I who had married them.<br />
<b>BOTH FAMILIES</b>: Married?<br />
<b>FATHER LAURENCE</b>: Yes, I must confess it.<br />
I saw in it a salutary marker<br />
of a future friendship between your two houses.<br />
<b>BOTH FAMILIES</b>: Friends of the Montagues/Capulets, <i>us</i>!<br />
We curse them!<br />
<b>FATHER LAURENCE</b>: But you've restarted the war between families!<br />
To flee another marriage, the unhappy girl came to find me.<br />
"You alone," she cried, "would be able to save me!<br />
There's nothing more for me but to die!"<br />
In this extreme peril<br />
I had her take, in order to ward off fate,<br />
a potion, which that same evening<br />
lent her the pallor and cold of death.<br />
<b>BOTH FAMILIES</b>: A potion!<br />
<b>FATHER LAURENCE</b>: And I came without fear<br />
here to rescue her.<br />
But Romeo, deceived,<br />
to the pregnant funeral<br />
had arrived ahead of me -- to die<br />
on the body of of his beloved;<br />
and promptly on her awakening<br />
Juliet, informed<br />
of this death that he bears in his devastated breast,<br />
with Romeo's sword had armed herself against herself<br />
and passed into eternity<br />
when I appeared -- there is the whole truth.<br />
<b>BOTH FAMILIES</b>: Married!<br /></blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/damnation-finale-1-romeo-de-retour-ozawa" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<br />
<b> (2) <i>Air</i>, Father Laurence, "<i>Pauvres enfants que je pleure</i>" . .<br />
"<i>Où sont-ils maintenant?</i>"</b>
<blockquote>Poor children, for whom I weep,<br />
fallen together before your time,<br />
on your somber resting place will come to weep.<br />
Great through you in history,<br />
Verona one day, without thinking about it,<br />
will have its sorrow and its glory<br />
solely in the memory of you.<br />
<br />
[2:52] <b>"<i>Où sont-ils maintenant?</i>"</b>
<br />Where are they now, those fierce enemies?<br />
Capulets, Montagues! Come, come, touch,<br />
hatred in your hearts, insults in your mouth,<br />
these pale lovers, barbarians, approach!<br />
God punishes you in your tendernesses.<br />
His chastisements, his avenging thunderbolts<br />
hold the secret of our terrors.<br />
Listen to his voice which thunders:<br />
so that on high My vengeance will pardon you,<br />
forget, forget your own furies!</blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/BerliozRomeoEtJuliettePartIiiFinaleAriavanDamOzawa-dg" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<br />
<b>(3) Montagues, then Capulets, "<i>Mais notre sang rougit leur glaive</i>" . . . Father Laurence, "<i>Silence! Malheureux!</i>"</b>
<blockquote><b>MONTAGUES, then CAPULETS</b>: But our blood reddens their swords,<br />
ours too are raised against them.<br />
They have killed Tybalt! Who killed Mercutio?<br />
And Paris then? And Benvolio?<br />
Traitors, no peace! No!<br />
No, cowars! no truce! No!<br />
[0:33] <b>FATHER LAURENCE</b>: Silence! Malcontents! can you <br />
without remorse in the face of such a love spread so much hate?<br />
Must your rage in this place be unleashed?<br />
Rekindled from the torches of the dead?<br />
Great God who sees into the depths of the soul,<br />
touch these somber and hard hearts.<br />
And may your tutelary breath<br />
at my voice rising on them<br />
chase and disperse their anger<br />
like straw at the will of the wind.<br />
<b>BOTH FAMILIES</b>: O Juliet! Sweet flour!<br />
O Romeo! Young star extinguished!<br />
The Montagues/Capulets are ready themselves<br />
to soften at your destiny.<br />
God! what a strange prodigy!<br />
No more horror,no more gall!
But heaven's tears<br />
are completely changing our souls.<br /></blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/BerliozRomeoEtJuliettePartIiiFinaleBrawlingvanDamOzawa-dg" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<br />
<b>(4) Conclusion, from Father Laurence, The Oath,<br />
"<i>Jurez donc par l'auguste symbole</i>"</b>
<blockquote><b>FATHER LAURENCE</b>: Swear then, by the august symbol,<br />
on the body of the daughter and on the body of the son,<br />
by this sorrowful tree that consoles,<br />
swear all, swear by the sacred crucifix<br />
to seal between you an eternal chain<br />
of tender charity, of fraternal friendship!<br />
And God, God who holds in hand future judgment,<br />
in the book of pardon <i>will inscribe this oath</i>.<br />
[<i>Emphasis added -- by the composer!</i>]<br />
<br />
[<i>A small chorus repeats the soloist's exhortation while combined choruses sing their avowed intent to swear the oath.</i>]</blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/BerliozRomeoEtJuliettePartIiiFinaleOathvanDamOzawa-dg" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[(a) 0:01, (b) 1:21, (c) 4:19, (d) 7:11, (e) 9:06, (f) 9:38, (g) 13:36]<br />
<i>José van Dam (bs-b), Father Laurence; New England Conservatory Chorus, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. DG, recorded in Symphony Hall, October 1975</i>
<br />
<br />
<b>And now the whole scene . . .</b><br />
<br />
<b>BERLIOZ: <i>Roméo et Juliette</i>, Op. 17:<br />
from Part III, the Finale (complete)</b><br />
[a] Montagues, then Capulets, "<i>Quoi! Roméo de retour!</i>"<br />
[b] Father Laurence, <i>récit.</i> "<i>Je vais dévoiler le mystère</i>"<br />
[c] Father Laurence, <i>air</i>, "<i>Pauvres enfants, que je pleure</i>"<br />
[d] Father Laurence, "<i>Où sont-ils maintenant?</i>"<br />
[e] Montagues, then Capulets, "<i>Mais notre sang rougit leur glaive</i>"<br />
[f] Father Laurence, "<i>Silence! Malheureux!</i>"<br />
[g] Father Laurence, The Oath, "<i>Jurez donc par l'auguste symbole</i>"<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/romeo-finale-van-dam-ozawa" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[(a) at 0:01, (b) at 1:21, (c) at 4:19, (d) at 7:11, (e) at 9:06, (f) at 9:38, (g) at 13:36] <i>José van Dam (bs-b), Father Laurence; New England Conservatory Chorus, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. DG, recorded in Symphony Hall, October 1975</i>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/berlioz-romeo-finale-complete-tozzi-munch-bso-1961" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[(a) at 0:01, (b) at 1:31, (c) at 4:19, (d) at 7:04, (e) at 8:40, (f) at 9:24, (g) at 13:19] <i>Giorgio Tozzi (bs), Father Laurence; New England Conservatory Chorus, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Charles Munch, cond. RCA, recorded in Symphony Hall, Apr. 23-24, 1961</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>UP NEXT: MORE BERLIOZ -- <i>THE DAMNATION OF FAUST</i></b><br />
<br />
I guess that'll be Part 2c, and we still have to get to Mahler (2d), before rummaging more widely among the <i>SC</i> archival Ozawa holdings (Part 3 and counting).<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">#</div>KenInNYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03712690425664894186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823063346488779206.post-63707890578192470842024-02-26T01:17:00.018-05:002024-02-26T03:12:32.105-05:00Seiji Ozawa (1935-2024)Part 2a: Thinking big musically doesn't preclude making every moment fully alive<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0EK_aDaPXfxx5WYuojjKNiPGRgejOBDrl7Xwk9DX8DAxkmUenxUsnNQudGMgbVzJMGqxSPF4I5eQFhOWD9VbXtrnoKMl5QtlExlmsh5UhZ5bOioHHD-Gmou8rgrNBUWHOjhp5uiybtp_Ce99eNP3GMHrnlg1txLTm0JcxomwtCgecqb0PeydFuUkQ17A/s1600/seiji-jessye-kindertotenlieder-cover-520.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0EK_aDaPXfxx5WYuojjKNiPGRgejOBDrl7Xwk9DX8DAxkmUenxUsnNQudGMgbVzJMGqxSPF4I5eQFhOWD9VbXtrnoKMl5QtlExlmsh5UhZ5bOioHHD-Gmou8rgrNBUWHOjhp5uiybtp_Ce99eNP3GMHrnlg1txLTm0JcxomwtCgecqb0PeydFuUkQ17A/s1600/seiji-jessye-kindertotenlieder-cover-520.jpg" /></a></div>
<b>MAHLER: <i>Kindertotenlieder</i> (<i>Songs on the Death of Children</i>):<br />
No. 4, "<i>Oft denk' ich, sie sind nur ausgeganen!</i>"<br />
("Often I think they've only gone out!")</b><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5r8Ee5_cvIURL411tf5kOfggEuwil2dEwDcZhqfqiP3lTyNd8YGbXs-Xdsb6gD9G8857TQXP2oJZN11iG9aDl6LXXeRZvgNF4rYUjRk8PHmpxswcFPACAvTAXZZO3jhkSp-cClYut2Lw/s1600/oft-denk-ich-G%2526E-texts.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5r8Ee5_cvIURL411tf5kOfggEuwil2dEwDcZhqfqiP3lTyNd8YGbXs-Xdsb6gD9G8857TQXP2oJZN11iG9aDl6LXXeRZvgNF4rYUjRk8PHmpxswcFPACAvTAXZZO3jhkSp-cClYut2Lw/s1600/oft-denk-ich-G%2526E-texts.jpg" /></a></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/oft-denk-ich-jessye" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="540"></iframe><br />
<i>Jessye Norman, soprano; Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. Philips, recorded live in the Alte Oper, Frankfurt, December 1988</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggwgU0b58NyyUyCaHh2uyt29_MxB1NWHcKxgxZ8oZe2vfa_vZsoVnZa8o54aCu08fjx3V5edR8Ngt966QJyGu7iASmTKkUAcjIPL21PmAZ28Yosbk6H60eqeMPFB6eotu_UyFSwa-FyiMcd9rzFalSAtfmwHazMF_k38UlwYR4bLOhN0ZdLbSu_834Z3o/s1600/seiji-mahler-8-cover-520.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggwgU0b58NyyUyCaHh2uyt29_MxB1NWHcKxgxZ8oZe2vfa_vZsoVnZa8o54aCu08fjx3V5edR8Ngt966QJyGu7iASmTKkUAcjIPL21PmAZ28Yosbk6H60eqeMPFB6eotu_UyFSwa-FyiMcd9rzFalSAtfmwHazMF_k38UlwYR4bLOhN0ZdLbSu_834Z3o/s1600/seiji-mahler-8-cover-520.jpg" /></a></div>
<b>MAHLER: Symphony No. 8 in E-flat:<br />
Part I, Allegro impetuoso, "<i>Veni, Creator Spiritus</i>"</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS8d53wJLYE1ANs3V0kdrSBON4sYvKVSgWxB3p2nNsxHTnlKngQKwNJ21OIgo_YjoTpYvUlw50vTCq0a84d4VVtRCOKpLGzR7SJVFKCFcJIetpVPBVERr3gDy88wzz_9QaOggzQKUJ4q8V2mXzX3Qb_sKTPeKl9WlMBdAY4XwJXtOxoHZrYcNUovEVhAE/s1600/veni-creator-textbox-480.png" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="950" data-original-width="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS8d53wJLYE1ANs3V0kdrSBON4sYvKVSgWxB3p2nNsxHTnlKngQKwNJ21OIgo_YjoTpYvUlw50vTCq0a84d4VVtRCOKpLGzR7SJVFKCFcJIetpVPBVERr3gDy88wzz_9QaOggzQKUJ4q8V2mXzX3Qb_sKTPeKl9WlMBdAY4XwJXtOxoHZrYcNUovEVhAE/s1600/veni-creator-textbox-480.png" /></a></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/SymphonyNo.8PartIVeniCreatorSpiritusozawa" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Faye Robinson, Judith Blegen (and Deborah Sasson?), sopranos; Florence Quivar, mezzo-sorano; Lorna Myers, contralto; Kenneth Riegel, tenor; Benjamin Luxon, baritone; Gwynne Howell, bass; Tanglewood Festival Chorus, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. Philips, recorded live in Symphony Hall, Oct.-Nov. 1980</i><br />
[<b>SOPRANO NOTE</b>: A third soprano is called for in Part II but not Part I. However, I can't swear that there's been no redistribution of parts in Part I.]<br />
<br />
<b>by Ken</b><br />
<br />
If you've visited the previous installment of this series, "<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2024/02/seiji-ozawa-1935-2024-part-1-being.html">Seiji Ozawa (1935-2024), Part 1: Being the preface to a probably-inappropriately-impressionistic (at least at the start) musical remembrance</a>" (Feb. 11), you know that this isn't where we expected to be beginning Part 2. We had, by gosh, <i>a formal agenda</i>! And we'll be coming back to it, though I'm afraid not completing it in this installment.<br />
<br />
That plan changed, or at least got rejiggered, as I pondered the possibilities suggested by the presence, among the large volume of Ozawa holdings in the <i>SC</i> Archive, of the complete Part I of his BSO recording of Mahler's grandest symphony, the Eighth, his setting of the old Latin hymn "<i>Veni, Creator Spiritus</i>" -- one of his most extraordinary, and extraordinarily dense, musical concoctions, unlike anything else I know in the musical literature, definitely including Part II of the Eighth, his cherry-picked rendering of Part II of Goethe's <i>Faust</i>, which is as discursive and, er, spaced out (in more ways than one) as Part I is concentrated and compact.<br />
<br />
Then, since the content list for this musical talking point already included Nos. 3 and 4 of the Mahler <i>Kindertotenlieder</i> (settings of, altogether, five of Friedrich Rückert's poems on the death of children) in the powerful live recording Seiji and the BSO made with Jessye Norman on tour in Frankfurt, I slipping one of them in here, partly to hear Jessye and Seiji -- whom we've heard collaborating so splendidly in <i>Gurre-Lieder</i> Part I -- together again, but more to illustrate both Mahler's and Seiji's complete comfort with the formally simple and wildly complex musical structures.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>WE'll RETURN TO THE "PART 2 TALKING POINTS," BUT FOR READERS GRIPPED BY "VENI, CREATOR SPIRITUS" MANIA --</b><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>As long as we're here, with the text in front of us, we've heard other performances of Part I of Mahler 8. (We've actually heard several others broken into sections for post discussion purposes.)<br />
<br />
<b>MAHLER: Symphony No. 8 in E-flat:<br />
Part I, Allegro impetuoso, "<i>Veni, Creator Spiritus</i>"</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/hjoaweripwaerghoijhner" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Joyce Barker, Elizabeth Simon (& Norma Burrowes?), sopranos; Joyce Blackham, mezzo-soprano; Alfreda Hodgson, contralto; John Mitchinson, tenor; Raymond Myers, baritone; Gwynne Howell, bass; New Philharmonia Chorus, Bruckner-Mahler Choir of London, Ambrosian Singers, Symphonica of London, Wyn Morris, cond. Independently produced, Nov. 20-22, 1972, released by (among others) RCA (LP) and IMP (CD)</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/SymphonyNo.8PartIVeniCreatorSpiritusstokowski" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Frances Yeend, Uta Graf (& Camilla Williams?), sopranos; Martha Lipton and Louise Bernhardt, mezzo-sopranos; Eugene Conley, tenor; Carlos Alexander, baritone; George London, bass-baritone; Schola Cantorum, Westminster Choir,New York Philharmonic, Leopold Stokowski, cond. Live performance from Carnegie Hall, Apr. 9, 1950</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>BACK TO OUR "PRELIMINARY MUSICAL TALKING POINTS"</b><br />
<br />
To retrace our steps, the basic idea was to raid the <i>Sunday Classics</i> Archive, richly stocked with Seiji-ana, choosing items that seems to me to exemplify aspects of his musical distinctiveness. The sort-of-categories were, again:<br />
<blockquote><b>(1) Andante sostenuto, (2) "<i>Pandaemonium</i>,"<br />
(3) <i>Le Serment</i> (The Oath), and (4) A snatch of Nietzsche</b></blockquote>
This agenda was teased with audio clips for each "talking point," and this week we begin going through them, this time outfitted with "value-added" musical examples.<br />
<br />
I can tell you straightaway that we're not going to get through all four. The fact is, we're only going to get through #1 before calling it a week's work. (Hey, it's not a race!) That said, bearing in mind that while in Part 1 the performers were fully identified, the <i>musical</i> identifications were pretty stingy, this week we <i>will</i> at least properly identify specimens #2-#4.<br />
<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/brahms-2-i-ozawa-saito-kinen-2009" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Seiji conducts the Saito Kinen Orchestra in the "sublime" first movement of Brahms's Symphony No. 2 in D, Op. 73 (September 2009) -- see below.</i><br />
<br />
<b>[#1 of 4] BRAHMS: Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68:<br />
ii. Andante sostenuto</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/brahms-1-ii-ozawa-1977" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="540"></iframe><br />
<i>Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. DG, recorded in Symphony Hall, Apr. 2, 1977</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/brahms-1-ii-ozawa-saito-kinen-1992" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="540"></iframe><br />
<i>Saito Kinen Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. Live performance in Kissei Bunka Hall, from the first Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto (Nagano pref.), Sept. 5, 1992</i><br />
<br />
The Andante sostenuto we heard in Part I, as I expect most readers recognized, was from the Brahms First Symphony, recorded (as noted then) by Seiji and the BSO in 1977, which is to say several years I first heard them play it together, during the 1974 Tanglewood Festival weekend I don't seem able to stop writing about (see, most recently, "<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2023/12/on-way-to-our-archival-array-of.html">On the way to our archival array of performances by conductor Josef Krips, we stall at a piece that cries out for more considered attention</a>," Dec. 17, 2023), which culminated in that memorable performance of Schoenberg's <i>Gurre-Lieder</i>. Which began more or less like so (this is the live recording Philips was finally able to make in Symphony Hall in April 1979).<br />
<br />
<b>SCHOENBERG: <i>Gurre-Lieder</i>: Part I, Orchestral introduction & Waldemar's 1st song, "<i>Nun dämpft die Dämm'rung jeden Ton</i>"</b><br />
<blockquote>Now dusk mutes every sound on land and sea.<br />
The scudding clouds have gathered<br />
close against the margin of the sky.<br />
Silent peace has closed the forest's airy gates,<br />
the limpid sea waves all have lulled themselves to rest,<br />
Westward, the sun throw off her purple robes,<br />
and dreams upon her couch among the waves<br />
of all the glory of the coming day.<br />
Now not even the smallest bush stirs<br />
in all the wood's resplenent house.<br />
Now not the faintest sound is heard.<br />
Rest, my senses, rest!<br />
My every power sinks into the lap of its own dreams,<br />
and I am inward drawn upon myself,<br />
tranqil and free of care.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><i>-- translation by Donna Hewitt for Universal Edition</i></div></blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/SchoenbergGurre-liederOrchestralPreludeAndWaldemarsSoloozawa" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>James McCracken (t), King Waldemar; Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. Philips, recorded live in Symphony Hall, April 1979 </i><br />
<br />
And the performance ended about like this:<br />
<br />
<b>Part III, Final Chorus, "<i>Seht die Sonne</i>" ("Behold the sun")</b><br />
<blockquote>Behold the sun, gay-colored, on the margin of the sky.<br />
Morning dreams greet her in the East!<br />
Smiling, she rises out of the night tides,<br />
and from her radiant brow there streams<br />
the splendor of her locks of light.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><i>-- translation by Donna Hewitt for Universal Edition</i></div></blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/SchoenbergGurre-liederPartIiiFinalChorussehtDieSonneozawa" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Tanglewood Festival Chorus, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. Philips, recorded live in Symphony Hall, April 1979 </i><br />
<br />
Naturally there were other musical events that weekend at Tanglewood, among them an orchestra concert (Saturday afternoon, I'm thinking?) that wasn't part of the agenda for the Music Critics Association's annual meeting, but was mostly catchable for those of us who were so inclined by just flopping down on the lawn. The featured work was Brahms 1, and on a lovely late-summer afternoon in that lovely setting, with the orchestra producing the kind of richly textured yet beautifully blended sound that I think of as a BSO trademark, so beautifully sculpted by Seiji, the sheer gorgeousness of the second movement took over my brain. When they finally recorded the symphony, the performance -- the one we heard in Part 1, had pretty much the same effect on me as the Tanglewood experience.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQlnG4vAQAD-6pUMVTsNsqebKPAkLaHbGYTiABPCk3byFsPbhc0j1b_-W3rlxXfYWiS2oquk92FT3E78ODEsfRq511nM6nkjNp5b-OOB8kD8Y2mGjGWbn-q1g8ldyrOf6AqkCqfl37aP0gkTrhh6bApKmILkalWNGdBFcbmSgYsfSNc7bUd_VYPLxZ0gs/s1600/2022-matsumoto-first-day-issue-540.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQlnG4vAQAD-6pUMVTsNsqebKPAkLaHbGYTiABPCk3byFsPbhc0j1b_-W3rlxXfYWiS2oquk92FT3E78ODEsfRq511nM6nkjNp5b-OOB8kD8Y2mGjGWbn-q1g8ldyrOf6AqkCqfl37aP0gkTrhh6bApKmILkalWNGdBFcbmSgYsfSNc7bUd_VYPLxZ0gs/s1600/2022-matsumoto-first-day-issue-540.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><i>First Day of Issue cover for the 2022 Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto</i><br /></div><div>
<br />
To it I've added a performance from 15 years later, with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saito_Kinen_Orchestra">the orchestra Seiji co-founded in Japan in 1984</a> for summer-festival and touring (and recording) purposes, named to honor his first conducting inspiration and teacher, Hideo Saito. In 1992, the same year a Hideo Saito Foundation was established, the summer festival was formally christened in the city of Matsumoto (in Nagano prefecture), often described as the "gateway to the Japan Alps"; our Brahms 1 is from the inaugural Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto, and I like this performance -- even richer and more captivating -- better than the 1977 BSO one. (Seiji and Saito Kinen made a commercial recording of the symphony in 1990, which I haven't heard.)<br />
<br />
I think the reason I was so available for overwhelming by the Andante sostenuto is that we tend to think of Brahms 1 in particular for its blockbuster outer movements. Some time back I presented a series of posts whose guiding idea -- maybe not always apparent, I admit -- was a hearing of a lot of remarkable music Brahms composed in those agonizing decades when he was establishing a formidable presence on the European musical scene but to his agony wasn't able to produce a symphony, an accomplishment he felt he had to notch to be considered a truly front-rank composer.<br />
<br />
We never did follow that arduous -- but intensely creative -- path all the way to, finally, "the" symphony, which you'll recall didn't happen until the opus number assigned to it was 68. One thing I think was suggested in those posts was that Brahms seemed able from the outset to produce memorable "middle"-type movements for all kinds of compositions pretty much at will. The biggest stumbling block was the kind of powerhouse opening movement, and perhaps concluding one as well, which in his mind would sweep the music world.<br />
<br />
I don't think there's any doubt that Brahms's oh-so-long-in-the-making Symphony No. 1 delivered everything he could have hoped. And Seiji certainly had the measure of them.<br />
<br />
<b>BRAHMS: Symphony No. 1: i. Un poco sostenuto - Allegro</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/brahms-1-i-ozawa-saito-kinen" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Saito Kinen Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. Live performance in Kissei Bunka Hall, from the first Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto (Nagano pref.), Sept. 5, 1992</i><br />
<br />
<b>Symphony No. 1: iv. Adagio - Allegro non troppo, ma con brio</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/brahms-1-iv-ozawa-bso-1977" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. DG, recorded in Symphony Hall, Apr. 2, 1977</i><br />
<br />
But in between those mighty bracketing movements, Brahms created a pair of symphonic treasures. The Andante sostenuto is, for me, as beautiful as any symphonice movement ever written. And we've heard it a lot -- I gave up trying to count how many performances we've got in the archive. And Brahms performed an almost magical feat with the near-miniature-size third movement, no doubt kept short in consideration of the proportions of the symphony's other movements. But Brahms was a master at "intermezzo"-type movements, hardly surprising when we consider how much he loved the "intermezzo" as a form, which turned out to mean anything he wanted it to mean in a given context.<br />
<br />
It's worth noting that once Brahms succeeded in creating the long-struggled-for First Symphony, Op. 68, the Second Symphony followed fairly quickly -- it would be Op. 73. And having launched the First Symphony with that blockbuster first movement, he clearly felt free to do something completely different with the first movement of the Second, one of his most sublime creations (as we can hear in the performance underneath the picture above), just as, for example he had done with the first two piano quartets.<br />
<br />
<b>BRAHMS: Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25:<br />
i. Allegro</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/brahms-op-25-i-perahia-amadeus_202402" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Murray Perahia, piano; Amadeus Quartet members (Norbert Brainin, violin; Peter Schidlof, viola; Martin Lovett, cello). Sony Classics, recorded in Henry Wood Hall, London, June 29-July 1, 1986</i><br />
<br />
<b>BRAHMS: Piano Quartet No. 2 in A, Op. 26:<br />
i. Allegro non troppo</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/PianoQuartetNo.2I.AllegroNonTroppoborodinTrioEtAl." webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Borodin Trio (Luba Edlina, piano; Rostislav Dubinsky, violin; Yuli Turovsky, cello); Rivka Golani, viola. Chandos, recorded in Layer Marney Church, Colchester, England, July 14-16, 1988</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>WHICH IS AS FAR AS WE'RE GOING TO GET TODAY<br />
(The rest of our musical talking points will have to wait for Part 2b)</b><br />
<br />
But one thing we can do is rehear the original performances of #2-4, now properly identified. (We've already established that the "Adagio sostenuto" that was "#1 of 4" was the second movement of the 1977 Ozawa-BSO recording of the Brahms First Symphony.)<br />
<br />
<b>#2 of 4: "<i>Pandaemonium</i>"</b><br />
<b>BERLIOZ: <i>The Damnation of Faust</i>, Op. 24:<br />
from Part IV, "<i>Pandaemonium</i>"</b><br />
<blockquote><i>After</i> THE PRINCES OF DARKNESS <i>receive assurances from a proffered newcomer's escort that he has freely signed himself over to their ranks, a chorus of <b>Démons et Damnés</b> (Demons and the Doomed) dances around their new, er, soulmate, chanting in what the text describes as "<b>langue infernale</b>," or "the infernal language," with effusive invocations of Mérikariba, Satan, Belphégor, Méphisto (especially), Kroix, Astaroth, and Belzébuth.</i></blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/pandaemonium-ozawa" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Donald McIntyre, bass-baritone; Tanglewood Festival Chorus, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. DG, recorded in Symphony Hall, October 1973</i><br />
<br />
<b>#3 of 4: "<i>Le Serment</i>" ("The Oath")</b><br />
<b>BERLIOZ: <i>Roméo et Juliette</i> (dramatic symphony), Op. 17:<br />
from Part III, Frère Laurence, "<i>Jurez donc par l'auguste symbole</i>"</b><br />
<blockquote><b>FRÈRE LAURENCE</b>: Swear then, by the august symbol,<br />
on the body of the daughter and on the body of the son,<br />
by this sorrowful tree that consoles,<br />
swear all, swear by the sacred crucifix<br />
to seal between you an eternal chain<br />
of tender charity, of fraternal friendship!<br />
And God, God who holds in hand future judgment,<br />
in the book of pardon <i>will inscribe this oath</i>.<br />
[<i>Emphasis added -- by the composer!</i>]<br />
<br />
[<i>A small chorus repeats the soloist's exhortation while combined choruses sing their avowed intent to swear the oath.</i>]</blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/BerliozRomeoEtJuliettePartIiiFinaleOathvanDamOzawa-dg" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>José van Dam (bs-b), Frère Laurence; New England Conservatory Chorus, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. DG, recorded in Symphony Hall, October 1975</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/BerliozRomeoEtJuliettePartIiiFinaleOathtozziMunch-rca" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Giorgio Tozzi, bass; New England Conservatory Chorus, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Charles Munch, cond. RCA, recorded in Symphony Hall, Apr. 23-24, 1961</i><br />
<br />
<b>#4 of 4: That snatch of Nietzsche</b><br />
MAHLER: Symphony No. 3 in D: iv. <i>Sehr langsam. Misterioso. Durchaus</i> ppp (Very slow. Mysterious. Throughout <i>ppp</i>), "<i>O Mensch! Gib Acht!</i>" (maybe a trifle colloquially: "O mankind! Watch out!")<br />
<blockquote>O man! Take heed!<br />
What says the deep midnight?<br />"I slept, I slept --,<br />
from a deep dream I have awoken:<br />
The world is deep!<br />
And more deeply conceived than day.<br />
Deep, deep, deep is its pain --,<br />
joy -- deeper still than heartache.<br />
Pain says: Die!<br />
But all joy seeks eternity --<br />
seeks deep, deep eternity."<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><i>-- "Zarathustra's Midnight Song" from Friedrich Nietzsche's novel <b>Also sprach Zarathustra</b>; translation by Deryck Cooke</i></div></blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/MahlerSymphonyNo.3Iv.oMenschnormanOzawa" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Jessye Norman, soprano; Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. Philips, recorded live in Symphony Hall, April 1993</i><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
#</div><br />
</div>KenInNYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03712690425664894186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823063346488779206.post-41158502876044341632024-02-19T01:08:00.014-05:002024-02-19T02:42:15.316-05:00FLASH: Want to see 'n' hear Seiji Ozawa conduct Mendelssohn's Elijah for free? Act now!<b>We're also going to hear (<i>right here!</i>) Seiji conduct Beethoven's irresistible Choral Fantasy with its great champion Rudolf Serkin</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRFfkjEmgKRCmAbzITh4IdgEB05hG9gtqouZ9ryze7xfgn1m9GIQ86VPj5kNvGMBwUNUyonwRaLQSQLasMDaE8ymdBKbFt1mDZFkPNZxLbTUrSWm_y_cv14LkavEtyFQpa6UZTdEtwguY_qkF0_VXO_dyslQaTIdo4xKTHPaM3EhdPj5PgvF_rfVv0Lo8/s1600/seiji%27s-free-elijah-540.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="407" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRFfkjEmgKRCmAbzITh4IdgEB05hG9gtqouZ9ryze7xfgn1m9GIQ86VPj5kNvGMBwUNUyonwRaLQSQLasMDaE8ymdBKbFt1mDZFkPNZxLbTUrSWm_y_cv14LkavEtyFQpa6UZTdEtwguY_qkF0_VXO_dyslQaTIdo4xKTHPaM3EhdPj5PgvF_rfVv0Lo8/s1600/seiji%27s-free-elijah-540.jpg"/></a></div>
<i>The Berlin Philharmonic's <a href="https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/concerts">Digital Concert Hall</a> is honoring Seiji Ozawa with <a href="https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/concert/25">free access to the performance of Mendelssohn's <b>Elijah</b></a> -- built around a commanding assumption of the crucial title role by baritone Matthias Goerne -- recorded on May 17, 2009. But I don't know how long it'll be free!</i><br />
<blockquote><b>AN APOLOGY</b>: <i>This is really inexcusable. There's no good reason why I couldn't have gotten this "FLASH" up Monday, but here it is Sunday (well, actually, Monday again by the time this is posted), and .*nbsp. . . In one source I saw something like "On demand through February 29, but I didn't know if that was a legit cutoff date for free access. I dithered. The good news is that the 2009 and 2016 interviews shouldn't be going away anytime soon. Sorry!</i></blockquote>
<b>by Ken</b><br />
<br />
For once, I heard that clock ticking and punched up the 2009 Seiji-Berlin <i>Elijah</i> right away, and watched the whole thing. It took me a long time to come to grips with the piece, but I did, and it occupies a special place in my affections. I was especially happy to discover how strong Matthias Goerne's performance of the title role is, because without a strong Elijah the piece kind of doesn't make a lot of sense. But there's still a serious burden on the conductor, because a fair amount of the piece really does need a major effort of motivation-defining, and this is the sort of thing Seiji was so good at: helping his co-performers feel the importance of what they're performing in the moment and how it relates to a piece's grand design.<br />
<br />
There's also some important history embedded in the <i>Elijah</i> performance, as I came to understand from watching the 2009 and 2016 interviews in the <a href="https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/concerts">Digital Concert Hall</a> archive. Onsite they're described as "conversations," and they truly are -- with a member of the orchestra, sometimes even in English, and always with subtitles even if they aren't. It turns out that the <i>Elijah</i>, owing to what I recall him describing in the 2016 "conversation," with his countryman Daishin Kashimoto, as "my mysterious illness" (all week I've been thinking I should really rewatch the 2016 conversation to pin down his exact words; this'll have to be close enough), would be his last Berlin appearance until he was finally able to return in 2016 to conduct an all-Beethoven second half of a concert that began with a conductorless performance by elite winds of the Berlin Phil of Mozart's stupendous <i>Gran Partita</i> Serenade, K. 361.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>MORAL: DON'T OVERLOOK THE INTERVIEWS!</b><br />
<br />
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<i>For the 2009 DCH <b>Elijah</b> stream, Seiji recorded a lively conversation with Berlin Phil horn player Fergus McWilliam ("born on the shores of Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands," <a href="https://www.fergusmcwilliam.com/biography">according to his bio</a>). Watch Fergus and Berlin Phil colleague (and <b>Sunday Classics</b> superhero) Sarah Willis ["<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2020/04/hokey-smoke-its-like-were-actually-in.html">Hokey-smoke, it's like we're actually in Berlin (well, sort of) for Easter week</a>," April 2020] talk about his book, <b>Blow Your Own Horn</b>, on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7UtKHp5UoE"><b>Sarah's Live Horn Hangouts</b></a>, live from Berlin in February 2013. (No, as commenters note, the audio isn't great, but it can all be made out.)</i><br />
<br />
Among other things, Seiji talks about his relationships with Leonard Bernstein and especially Herbert von Karajan, with both of whom he apprenticed. He tells of going to Karajan, with whom he was already working in Berlin, when he was faced with the quandary of Bernstein's offer, after Seiji's Koussevitzky Competition triumph, to serve as an assistant conductor at the NY Phil. (Simple, according to Karajan: Seiji should "go to New York for a year, then come back here.") He explains that Karajan up to the end thought of him as his student -- to the point of informing Seiji in 1966 what his Berlin Phil debut program would be, including <i>Mathis der Maler</i> (i.e., Hindemith's <i>Mathis der Maler</i> Symphony," a piece Seiji tells us he didn't know at all. Perhaps needless to say, he learned it.<br />
<br />
You should find <a href="https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/interview/25-2">the 2009 conversation here</a>, and <a href="https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/interview/22406-5">the 2016 one here</a>. The general deal with the Berlin Phil Digital Concert Hall is that interviews are included in the site's generous body of free content. Normally you just have to be signed up (free!) for an account. And it's always worth checking the site to see what other stuff may be available free at the moment. There are frequently playlists, for example -- and again, I try to make it a habit, when I see one, to pounce on it, not knowing how long it'll be accessible free.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>AND THE 2016 CONVERSATION, WITH DAISHIN KASHIMOTO --</b><br />
<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/k-364-cadenza-kashimoto-grosz" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<b>Berlin principals step out front</b>: <i>At the 2015 Lucerne Festival, <b>Daishin Kashimoto</b> and <b>Amihai Grosz</b> play the first-movement dual-cadenza of the Mozart Sinfonia concertante, K. 364, before being rejoined (at about 1:19) by a Mozart-size cohort of their Berlin Phil colleagues under then-chief conductor Simon Rattle. (You can <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPNlcrcN1Fs&t=946s">watch the performance on YouTube</a>.)</i><br />
<br />
As noted up top, Seiji's 2016 DCH "conversation," in Japanese, was with his countryman Daishin Kashimoto, one of the Berlin Phil's team of "first concertmaster"s. You have to understand that the orchestra generally seems to have not one, not two, but <i>three</i> "first concertmaster"s, not to mention an extra "mere" concertmaster. (And if you <i>do</i> understand, maybe you can explain the mathematics to me. I assume the overriding concern is making clear that all of the first concertmasters are equal in rank.) As Seiji recalls at the top of the 2016 conversation, Daishin had been the concertmaster for his last Berlin program, the 2009 <i>Elijah</i>, which must have been at or near the start of his tenure. It was certainly a logical assignment, as it was in 2016 when Daishin was again "his" concertmaster.<br />
<br />
In 2016 Seij presumably wasn't physically up to conducting a full program; hence the split program, with those Berlin Phil winds playing <i>Gran Partita</i> Serenade, K. 361, after which Seiji and the orchestra proper played Beethoven's <i>Egmont</i> Overture and a piece with which Seiji had a long history, the Choral Fantasy for piano, soloists and/or chorus, and orchestra. The soloist had a name that was even longer-associated with the Choral Fantasy: Serkin. But it wasn't Rudolf Serkin (1903-1991), who had a thing for this deliciously and quirkily meandering piece, which Seiji had in fact recorded it back in 1982.<br />
<br />No, his 2016 soloist was Rudolf's now-68-year-old son Peter (1947-2020). While the piece doesn't seem to have had the same hold on Peter that it did on his father, Peter unquestionably had lots of experience of it, if only from the regular performances of it he must have heard Rudolf S. play at the Marlboro Festival. Indeed, we have a commercially released live recording in which Peter, then 34, <i>conducted</i> one of those Marlboro performances, in 1981.<br />
<br />
We've heard all three Rudolf S. recordings of the Choral Fantasy, but I don't see why we can't hear them again. I think they all hold up wonderfully well, and certainly wouldn't want to part with the more dynamic early version with Leonard Bernstein. But I think the version I'd least want to give up is the Telarc recording with Seiji, which was recorded as part of a third Rudolf S.'s Beethoven concerto cycle (finished in 1983), which along with the late series of Mozart concertos he did with Claudio Abbado forms one of the loveliest parts of his legacy.<br />
<br />
<b>BEETHOVEN: Choral Fantasy in C minor for piano, soloists, chorus, and orchestra, Op. 80</b><br />
<br />
In a March 2010 post, "<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2010/03/in-piano-concertos-we-hear-beethoven-in_28.html">In the piano concertos, we hear Beethoven in hard-fought sort-of-harmony with the universe</a>," I wrote, "Wikipedia has German and English texts in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choral_Fantasy">a pleasantly sympathetic article</a> on the Choral Fantasy. Here's Decca's translation." And here it is again:<br />
<blockquote>
Enticingly fair and lovely sound<br />
the harmonies of our life,<br />
and from a sense of beauty arise<br />
glowers that bloom forever.<br />
<br />
Peace and joy flow hand in hand<br />
like the changing play of the waves;<br />
what was crowded together in chaos and hostility<br />
now shapes itself into exalted feeling.<br />
<br />
When music's enchantment reigns<br />
and poetry's consecration speaks,<br />
wondrous things take shape;<br />
night and storm change to light.<br />
<br />
Outer peace, inner bliss<br />
are the rulers of the happy man.<br />
But the spring sun of the arts<br />
causes light to flow from both.<br />
<br />
Great things that have penetrated the heart<br />
blossom anew and beautifully on high,<br />
and the spirit that has soared up<br />
is always echoed by a chorus of spirits.<br />
<br />
Take them, then, you noble souls,<br />
gladly, these gifts of noble art.<br />
When love and strength are wedded together<br />
mankind is rewarded with divine grace.</blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/BeethovenChoralFantasyr.SerkinOzawa1982" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Rudolf Serkin, piano; with Faye Robinson and Mary Burgess, sopranos; Lili Chookasian, contralto; Kenneth Riegel, tenor; David Gordon, baritone; Julien Robbins, bass; Tanglewood Festival Chorus, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. Telarc, recorded in Symphony Hall, Oct. 2 & 4, 1982 </i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/BeethovenChoralFantasyr.SerkinP.Serkin1981" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Rudolf Serkin, piano; with Nan Nall, soprano; Beverly Morgan and Shirley Close, mezzo-sopranos; Gene Tucker, tenor; Sanford Sylvan and David Evitts, baritones; Marlboro Festival Chorus and Orchestra, Peter Serkin, cond. Sony, recorded live at Marlboro, Aug. 9, 1981 (released in a Marlboro 50th anniversary set, 2000)</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/BeethovenChoralFantasyr.SerkinBernstein1962" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Rudolf Serkin, piano; Westminster Choir, New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in Manhattan Center, May 1, 1962</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>SEIJI AND PETER S. HAD A LONG HISTORY TOGETHER</b><br />
<br />
I don't know whether they'd ever done the Choral Fantasy together before 2016, but their history together goes way back, including a number of recordings. With the Chicago Symphony they did the Bartók First and Third Piano Concertos and the Schoenberg Piano Concerto, and with the BSO they did Peter Lieberson's Piano Concerto. We've heard a little of one of their well-known recordings, of Beethoven's not-especially-elegant piano arrangement of his Violin Concerto. As we rehear the Larghetto, I've tacked on the Larghetto from a 1989 performance Seiji conducted of the Violin Concerto itself.<br />
<br />
<b>BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto in D, Op. 61 (arr. from the Violin Concerto): ii. Larghetto</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/beeth-pfcon-op-61-pserkin-ozawa" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Peter Serkin, piano; New Philharmonia Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. RCA, recorded in Walthamstow Town Hall, London, June 9-13, 1969</i><br />
<br />
<b>BEETHOVEN: Violin Concerto in D, Op. 61: ii. Larghetto</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/beeth-vln-cto-ii-mutter-ozawa" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin; Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. Live performance from Suntory Hall, Tokyo, December 1989</i><br />
<br />
You'll note that the piano version of the Larghetto concludes with a more extended -- though, interestingly, not very interesting -- version of the cadenza that leads into the concluding Rondo. To hear how this transition was originally meant to happen, I've let the violin performance run through the opening statement of the first theme of the Rondo -- and I've remade the Serkin-Ozawa clip to do the same.<br />
<br />
<b>MONDAY 2:20am UPDATE</b>: <i>Oh my! It suddenly occurred to me that, while I knew I'd made the new clip of the Serkin-Ozawa recording, extending the Larghetto into the Rondo (and upgrading the audio in the process), I didn't remember substituting the new version for the old! Yikes! It's done now!</i> -- Ed.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>HERE'S THE PLAN GOING FORWARD</b><br />
<br />
Next up is the promised Part 2 of what I described in last week's "preface" as "a probably-inappropriately-impressionistic (at least at the start) musical remembrance" of Seiji taking off from those four "musical talking points," from works by Brahms, Berlioz, and Mahler. The Brahms was there mostly for me; it constitutes a particular and special musical remembrance. The Berlioz and Mahler works will get us into some consideration of that special ability Seiji had to organize large-scale works in a way that made them flow so "right" -- as if they were unfolding so logically and seemingly without manipulation.<br />
<br />
The agenda for Part 3 will be simply to draw lots of other Seiji stuff out of the <i>SC</i> Archive, just for the pleasure of it all.<br />
<br />
I thought this might all be happening in the next couple of days, but when I consider how long it took to do this post, which was designed to be a pretty simple lift, and consider that Monday at least is shaping up as a fairly hectic day, I'm that much more reluctant to make promises.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
#</div><br />KenInNYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03712690425664894186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823063346488779206.post-50370156043559197182024-02-11T17:34:00.009-05:002024-02-17T16:30:47.617-05:00Seiji Ozawa (1935-2024)Part 1: Being the preface to a probably-inappropriately-impressionistic (at least at the start) musical remembrance[<i>As if impressionisticity were utterly unknown in this department</i>]<br />
<br />
<b>In Part 1 we preview four musical talking points we'll be starting from in Part 2: (1) Andante sostenuto, (2) "<i>Pandaemonium</i>,"<br />(3) "<i>Le Serment</i>" ("The Oath"), and (4) A snatch of Nietzsche</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF2dHwUwUjL0TVoLV4a21fD-nTCkXdGUbLk-WlctjivZ3r-IlaKfjr36BohkJcKQDIUido39-eEsEXgxZDfhKwBw9P2jJI0YWMYizaLC17culm8Q1cYemvchCunu5LsVXhdKPckWbnr1duozPdLju6Ei9YsXj1olyIIkPsSjQzHznZyao7YLR4Fxgt3JE/s1600/bso-seiji-announce-finalrev-540.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF2dHwUwUjL0TVoLV4a21fD-nTCkXdGUbLk-WlctjivZ3r-IlaKfjr36BohkJcKQDIUido39-eEsEXgxZDfhKwBw9P2jJI0YWMYizaLC17culm8Q1cYemvchCunu5LsVXhdKPckWbnr1duozPdLju6Ei9YsXj1olyIIkPsSjQzHznZyao7YLR4Fxgt3JE/s1600/bso-seiji-announce-finalrev-540.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: right;"><i>-- from the Feb. 6 "Tribute to Seiji Ozawa" <a href="https://www.bso.org/stories/a-tribute-to-seiji-ozawa">on the BSO website</a></i></div>
<br />
<b>#1 of 4 [see above & below]: Andante sostenuto</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/brahms-1-ii-ozawa-1977" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="540"></iframe><br />
<i>Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. DG, recorded in Symphony Hall, Apr. 2, 1977</i><br />
<br />
<b>by Ken</b><br />
<br />
Seiji died Tuesday, at 88, after a number of years of diminished health, but also after a remarkably full (and I hope satisfying; he did an awful lot to feel satisfied about) run. If you need reminding of how productive a life it was, I do commend to you that "Tribute" posted <a href="https://www.bso.org/stories/a-tribute-to-seiji-ozawa">on the website of the Boston Symphony Orchestra</a>, whose music director he was for a, well, remarkable 29 seasons (1973-2002). I've been fascinated in particular by the well-filled-out "<a href="https://www.bso.org/exhibits/a-timeline-of-seiji-ozawa-and-the-bso">Timeline of Seiji Ozawa with the BSO</a>," which although specifically BSO-focused can't help but touch on non-BSO doings.<br />
<br />
I know we have all sorts of desperately important business pending -- and as you can see, this "musical remembrance" is now itself mostly pending, though I'm hoping its pendency will be brief; Parts 2 and 3 are taking shape. A quick peek in the <i>Sunday Classics</i> Musical Archive confirmed my sense that Seiji has been a frequent guest here, and Part 3 will consist mostly (I hope!) of just pulling a buncha stuff out of the archive for our listening pleasure.<br />
<br />
Part 2, however, as you may have noted, is going to spring from four "musical talking points" that have leapt out of my wanderings through memory. The first we've heard above, in its intact, self-contained form -- self-contained except for the story attached, which has to do with my happening to hear Seiji and the BSO play the piece from which this Andante sostenuto is drawn, a symphony I imagine I thought I knew reasonably well at the time (the summer of 1974) but in the case of this movement seemed to be hearing for the first time, to overwheming effect. For the record (pun possibly slightly intended), the recording was made several years later, in April 1977, when Seiji was rounding out his fourth season as BSO music director -- and I wonder how many people imagined that 25 more seasons were to follow.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>THE OTHER THREE "MUSICAL TALKING POINTS"</b><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>One is another self-contained movement from a larger -- in this case <i>much</i> larger -- symphony. The other two are extractions from pieces that depict dramatic moments in larger works where series stories are being told music. We'll look at those contexts in Part 2, and also some broader lines of musical connection that run from (or through) them. <br />
<br />
<!--more-->
<b>#2 of 4: "<i>Pandaemonium</i>"</b><br />
<blockquote><i>After</i> THE PRINCES OF DARKNESS <i>receive assurances from a proffered newcomer's escort that he has freely signed himself over to their ranks, a chorus of <b>Démons et Damnés</b> (Demons and the Doomed) dances around their new, er, soulmate, chanting in what the text describes as "<b>langue infernale</b>," or "the infernal language," with effusive invocations of Mérikariba, Satan, Belphégor, Méphisto (especially), Kroix, Astaroth, and Belzébuth.</i></blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/pandaemonium-ozawa" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Donald McIntyre, baritone; Tanglewood Festival Chorus, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. DG, recorded in Symphony Hall, October 1973</i><br />
<br />
<b>#3 of 4: "<i>Le Serment</i>" ("The Oath")</b><br />
<blockquote><b>SOLOIST</b>: Swear then, by the august symbol,<br />
on the body of the daughter and on the body of the son,<br />
by this sorrowful tree that consoles,<br />
swear all, swear by the sacred crucifix<br />
to seal between you an eternal chain<br />
of tender charity, of fraternal friendship!<br />
And God, God who holds in hand future judgment,<br />
in the book of pardon <i>will inscribe this oath</i>.<br />
[<i>Emphasis added -- by the composer!</i>]<br />
<br />
[<i>A small chorus repeats the soloist's exhortation while combined choruses sing their avowed intent to swear the oath.</i>]</blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/BerliozRomeoEtJuliettePartIiiFinaleOathvanDamOzawa-dg" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>José van Dam, bass-baritone; New England Conservatory Chorus, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. DG, recorded in Symphony Hall, October 1975</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/BerliozRomeoEtJuliettePartIiiFinaleOathtozziMunch-rca" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Giorgio Tozzi, bass; New England Conservatory Chorus, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Charles Munch, cond. RCA, recorded in Symphony Hall, Apr. 23-24, 1961</i><br />
<br />
<b>#4 of 4: That snatch of Nietzsche: "<i>O Mensch! Gib Acht!</i>"<br />
(maybe a trifle colloquially: "O mankind! Watch out!")</b><br />
<blockquote><div>O man! Take heed!<br />
What says the deep midnight?<br />"I slept, I slept --,<br />
from a deep dream I have awoken:<br />
The world is deep!<br />
And more deeply conceived than day.<br />
Deep, deep, deep is its pain --,<br />
joy -- deeper still than heartache.<br />
Pain says: Die!<br />
But all joy seeks eternity --<br />
seeks deep, deep eternity."<br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><i>-- "Zarathustra's Midnight Song" from Friedrich Nietzsche's novel <b>Also sprach Zarathustra</b>; translation by Deryck Cooke</i></div></blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/MahlerSymphonyNo.3Iv.oMenschnormanOzawa" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Jessye Norman, soprano; Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. Philips, recorded live in Symphony Hall, April 1993</i><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
#</div><br />
KenInNYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03712690425664894186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823063346488779206.post-2915304124805965932024-01-28T17:50:00.064-05:002024-02-01T05:20:32.727-05:00Gundula Janowitz had a way offooling us with music it didn't seem she ought to be singing<b>SUNDAY BONUS UPDATE</b>: <i>I thought we might add one more of Tove's Gurre songs -- see below.</i> -- Ken<br />
<br />
<b><i>THIS</i>, CLEARLY, IS SOMETHING G.J. WAS <i>BORN</i> TO SING --</b><br />
<br />
<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbMKKltlbwveEEOOQbR529hiTzU0JtnQPvz9vs2LgsPUUtFwAMHb28mIPlaBxB1PtcWI6tdAzKdPltpHh7y5dTZiG3dyw8WTPl4BXCfvT3hcuPXuWqxMG7vc9aQuZgjbm8mLXYmOspZLWfD9vWzG1QYPMY2axl0E5ewIs4lTqvPzO55uySB2msa6swx2g/s1600/der-messias-box-cover-540.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="523" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbMKKltlbwveEEOOQbR529hiTzU0JtnQPvz9vs2LgsPUUtFwAMHb28mIPlaBxB1PtcWI6tdAzKdPltpHh7y5dTZiG3dyw8WTPl4BXCfvT3hcuPXuWqxMG7vc9aQuZgjbm8mLXYmOspZLWfD9vWzG1QYPMY2axl0E5ewIs4lTqvPzO55uySB2msa6swx2g/s1600/der-messias-box-cover-540.jpg" /></a></div>
<blockquote>"<i>Ich weiss, dass mein Erlöser lebet, und dass er erscheint am letzten Tage dieser Erd'. Wenn Verwesung mir gleich drohet, wird dies mein Auge Gott doch sehn.</i>" -- Hib 19:25-26<br />
"<i>Ich weiss, dass mein Erlöser lebet: Denn Christ ist erstanden von dem Tod, der Erstling derer, die schlafen.</i>" -- I Korinther 15:20<br />
<br />
"I know that my redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And tho' worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God." <i> -- Job 19:25-26</i><br />
"I know that my Redeemer liveth: For now is Christ risen from the dead, the first fruits of them that sleep." <i>-- I Corinthians 15:20</i></blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/mein-erloser-lebet-janowitz" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="540"></iframe><br />
<i>Gundula Janowitz, soprano; Munich Bach Orchestra, Karl Richter, cond. DG, recorded in the Herkulessaal of the Residenz, June 12-28, 1964</i><br />
<br />
<b>by Ken</b><br />
<br />
Further to <a href= "https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2024/01/before-we-take-our-closer-look-at-gurre.html">last week's post</a> ("Before we take our closer look at <i>Gurre-Lieder</i>, I want to think about two performers who make one performance a special case"): Yes, I suppose the above is essentially the first aural image that comes to mind when I think of Gundula Janowitz: purity of expression in a lyric soprano of narrow tonal range but almost unearthly beauty.<br />
<blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwF9xhP_8VrrsQaFOTLqNT98VoYiGox0TYA14Or7cBtn6dqWRhsrsnNMYyOPNWS0iNw9_098dP-fluDJktFkga5TGV43Vg4RKigZgs10gF_MIVHKbN8OPsjfc8N6sjJ9ajvuAUlGhucqdmGG1ee7fWZK2k_XwvEA4LqCBpa1u7lAlWaen5pdX8Xw15imc/s1600/karl-richter-head-shot-225.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0 1em 0.1em 0; text-align: center; clear: left; float: left;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="303" data-original-width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwF9xhP_8VrrsQaFOTLqNT98VoYiGox0TYA14Or7cBtn6dqWRhsrsnNMYyOPNWS0iNw9_098dP-fluDJktFkga5TGV43Vg4RKigZgs10gF_MIVHKbN8OPsjfc8N6sjJ9ajvuAUlGhucqdmGG1ee7fWZK2k_XwvEA4LqCBpa1u7lAlWaen5pdX8Xw15imc/s1600/karl-richter-head-shot-225.jpg"/></a></div>For those unfamiliar with <b>Karl Richter</b>'s German-language <i>Messiah</i> recording, which DG emphatically did <i>not</i> put out on its "authentic" early-music "Archiv" label, I've always loved it. I know Richter is regarded almost as an enemy by latter-day Pure-Authentic Baroquians. For me, however, what he was was a great musician, whose greatness not surprisingly reached its peak, just as the Baroque era did, in the music of Bach and Handel. Richter made a later <i>Messiah</i> recording in English -- in London, in 1972 -- which DG didn't put out on Archiv either. I like that version too, but Richter's <i>Messias</i> with his Munich Bach cohorts remains special for me, not least for its solo quartet, which we might think of as simply a DG "house cast": in addition to Janowitz, Marga Höffgen, Ernst Häfliger, and Franz Crass. But in the grand scheme of things, goodness, what a lineup!</blockquote>
If the Janowitz of "<i>Ich weiss, dass mein Erlöser lebet</i>" might be thought of as her "essential" vocal self, we already heard it represented in last week's short version of the rapt moment she made -- in a live Vienna State Opera performance, remember -- of the minuscule but highly exposed (to put it mildly; it's unaccompanied!) role of the Young Shepherd in Act I of Wagner's <i>Tannhäuser</i>, at the moment of the scene change from the fleshly pleasures of the Venusberg to the late-spring radiance of the Wartburg valley.<br />
<br />
It just so happens that I also made a clip of a fuller version of this prime Wagnerian scene-change <i>coup de théâtre</i> -- which will now encompass <i>the entire role</i> of the Shepherd.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><b>WAGNER: <i>Tannhäuser</i>: Act I, scene change and Shepherd scene, from Venus (Paris version of the opera), "<i>Nie ist Ruh dir beschieden</i>," through the Shepherd's song, "<i>Frau Holda kam aus dem Berg hervor</i>," and the Pilgrims' Chorus</b>
<blockquote>[VENUS <i>has responded angrily to </i>TANNHÄUSER<i>'s intention to renounce the Venusberg life of fleshly pleasure.</i>]<br />
<b>VENUS</b>: Never will rest be given to you,<br />
never will you find peace!<br />
Come back to me if once you seek salvation!<br />
<b>TANNHÄUSER</b>: Goddess of pleasure and delight, no!<br />
Not in you will I find peace and rest!<br />
My salvation lies in Mary!<br />
<br />
VENUS <i>falls back and disappears. The scene changes quickly.</i> TANNHÄUSER,<i> who has not moved from where he was standing, is suddenly in a beautiful valley. The sky above him is blue. Upstage left is the Wartburg; to the right, even farther away, is the Hörselberg. On the left, halfway up the valley, a mountain path leads downstage, where it then turns to the side. In the foreground there is also a picture of Our Lady. A low mountain range leads up to it. The sound of sheep bells is heard coming from the mountain to the right.</i> A YOUNG SHEPHERD <i>sits on a high ridge, facing towards the valley with his shawm.</i><br />
<br />
<b>SHEPHERD</b>: Lady Holda came down from the mountain<br />
to roam among flowers and meadows;<br />
my ears perceived right merry sounds;<br />
my eyes delighted to see her.<br />
Then I dreamed many a merry dream,<br />
and when my eyes were hardly closed<br />
there beamed forth the warm sunshine,<br />
and May, sweet May was come.<br />
Now I play my merry reed pipe,<br />
for May is come, dear May!<br />
[<i>He plays the shawm. The song of the older</i> PILGRIMS <i>is heard. Coming from the direction of the Wartburg, they proceed along the mountain path to the left.</i>]<br />
<b>PILGRIMS' SONG</b>: To Thee I turn. Lord Jesus Christ,<br />
who art the hope of pilgrims!<br />
Be praised, thou Virgin pure and sweet,<br />
show favor on our pilgrimage!<br />
[<i>The</i> SHEPHERD, <i>hearing the song, stops playing the shawm and listens absorbed.</i>]<br />
Ah, heavy weighs the burden of sin,<br />
and no longer can I bear it;<br />
nor yet shall I seek quiet rest,<br />
but gladly turn to devout labors.<br />
At the high feast of divine grace<br />
I shall humbly atone for my guilt;<br />
blessed is he who holds to his faith:<br />
he shall be redeemed by penance.<br />
[<i>The</i> SHEPHERD,<i> who has continued to play the shawm, stops as the</i> PILGRIMS' <i>procession reaches the slope opposite him.</i>]<br />
<b>SHEPHERD</b> [<i>waving his cap and shouting to the</i> PILGRIMS]:<br />
Good speed! Good speed to Rome!<br />
Pray there for my poor soul!<br />
<b>TANNHÄUSER</b> [<i>who has stood rooted to his spot in the middle of the stage, sinks to his knees overcome with emotion</i>]:<br />
The Almighty be praised!<br />
Great are the wonders of Thy mercy!<br />
[<i>The</i> PILGRIMS <i>and</i> SHEPHERD <i>will exit in different directions.</i>]<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><i>-- translation by William Gann, ©️1961 Capitol Records;</i><br />
<i>Venusberg text & most stage directions by Alfred Clayton, ©️2001</i></div></blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/shepherd-scene-ludwig-beirer-janowitz-karajan" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[Shepherd scene at 0:53] <i>Christa Ludwig (ms), Venus; Hans Beirer (t), Tannhäuser; Gundula Janowitz (s), A Young Shepherd; Vienna State Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan, cond. ORF broadcast of the performance of Jan. 8, 1963 (released by DG in 1998)</i><br />
[<b>UPDATE</b>: Oops, sorry, had the wrong clip above -- should be OK now.]<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/tannhauser-act-1-scene-change-meier-seiffert-roschmann-barenbom-2001" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[Shepherd scene at 0:55] <i>Waltraud Meier (ms), Venus; Peter Seiffert (t), Tannhäuser; Dorothea Röschmann (s), A Young Shepherd; Chorus of the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, Staatskapelle Berlin, Daniel Barenboim, cond. Teldec, recorded at NLG, Berlin, May-June 2001</i><br />
<br />I thought, as long as we were listening (and I'd done all that text prep), we might hear an additional version of this excerpt, in more up-to-date recorded sound -- performing the same text (that snatch of the Venusberg scene we heard is Wagner's revised Paris <i>Tannhäuser</i>, segue-ing back into the Dresden version), and with another top-quality lyric soprano as the Shepherd -- unless maybe you get the sense that Dorothea Röschmann -- a singer who's given me some real pleasure in a number of broadcasts and recordings -- sounds a bit less like a young shepherd on his beat than a lovely soprano performing a pretty recital piece. (The <i>Tannhäuser</i>, like the <i>Dutchman</i> and <i>Lohengrin</i> with which Daniel Barenboim completed his Teldec traversal of the canonical Wagner operas, has for me a makeshift, "let's get this thing done" quality.)<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>IN MY KIND-OF-DEFENSE, THIS SORT-OF-EXPLAINS . . .</b><br />
<br />
Hearing Janowitz as the Shepherd, I mean. It sort-of-explains how it was that in all the years I'd owned a CD issue of the 1969 Krips-Vienna Festival <i>Gurre-Lieder</i> with Janowitz as Tove, I'd never paid it much attention. Schoenberg's monumental work, after all, at the time still fairly infrequently performed, seems to call for more exhaustive preparation than I was imagining Josef K. and his large forces had to prepare -- and Tove didn't seem particularly like "Janowitz country."<br />
<br />
Surely Tove's songs ask for a heftier voice -- a more, say, Sieglinde-type sound, like perhaps that of, say, Inge Borkh, who'd sung the music so well in my first <i>Gurre-Lieder</i> recording, the 1965 Kubelik-DG -- we'll hear, or Jessye Norman, who made this music so triumphantly her own when she took it up firt in Seiji Ozawa's Philips recording.<br />
<br />
<b>SCHOENBERG: <i>Gurre-Lieder</i>: Part I, vii. Tove's 3rd song,<br />
"<i>Nun sag' ich dir zum ersten Mal</i>"</b>
<blockquote>Now I say to you for the first time, "King Volmer, I love you."<br />
Now I kiss you for the first time, and fling my arms around you.<br />
And if you were to say I had earlier said it<br />
and ever given you my kiss,<br />
then I say, "The king is a fool,<br />
who recalls vague rubbish."<br />
And if you say, "Indeed I am such a fool,"<br />
then I'll say, "The king is right."<br />
But if you say, "No, I'm not that,"<br />
Then I'll say, "The king is bad."<br />
For I have kissed all my roses to death,<br />
all the while I was thinking of you.</blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/SchoenbergGurre-liederNunSagIchDirborkhKubelik" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Inge Borkh (s), Tove; Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Rafael Kubelik, cond. DG, recorded live in the Kongress-Saal of the Deutsches Museum, Munich, Mar. 9-12, 1965</i><br />
<br />
Gracious, that is really fine -- so beautifully sung, so beautifully conducted. Let's not stop there though. In time Jessye Norman made a special thing of Tove's songs, starting with Seiji Ozawa's Philips <i>Gurre-Lieder</i> recording, again really beautifully conducted.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/SchoenbergGurre-liederNunSagIchDirnormanOzawa" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Jessye Norman (s), Tove; Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. Philips, recorded live in Symphony Hall, April 1979</i><br />
<br />
But as it turns out, Janowitz is pretty special too -- in her own way.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/gurre-vii-tove-janowitz" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Gundula Janowitz (s), Tove; Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Josef Krips, cond. Live performance from the Vienna Festival, in the Vienna Konzerthaus, June 10, 1969</i><br />
<br />
<b>SUNDAY BONUS UPDATE</b>: <i>As promised, another Tove song -- her <u>first</u></i><br />
<blockquote>
<b>SCHOENBERG: <i>Gurre-Lieder</i>: Part I, iii. Tove's 1st song, "<i>O, wenn des Mondes Strahlen leise gleiten</i>" ("Oh, when the moonbeams softly glide")</b>
<blockquote>Oh, when the moonbeams softly glide,<br />
and peace and rest pervade the world,<br />
then the vast ocean seems not to be water,<br />
yon wood appears not made of bush and tree.<br />
Those are not clouds which adorn the heavens,<br />
valley and hill are not the surface of the earth.<br />
The play of shape and color is mere froth,<br />
and all is but reflected glory from God's dreams.</blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/o-wenn-des-mondes-strahlen-norman-ozawa_202401" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>Inge Borkh (s), Tove; Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Rafael Kubelik, cond. DG, recorded live in the Kongress-Saal of the Deutsches Museum, Munich, Mar. 9-12, 1965</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/o-wenn-des-mondes-strahlen-norman-ozawa" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>Jessye Norman (s), Tove; Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. Philips, recorded live in Symphony Hall, April 1979</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/guerre-l-iii-toves-1st-solo-janowitz" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>Gundula Janowitz (s), Tove; Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Josef Krips, cond. Live performance from the Vienna Festival, in the Vienna Konzerthaus, June 10, 1969</i><br />
<br /> In all three cases, the abundant but distinctly individual virtues of the performance run true to form for what we heard in the later song. The Borkh-Kubelik and Norman-Ozawa performances thoroughly delight me, but the Janowitz-Krips -- that one has a special radiance, coming from both soloist and conductor, I think, which sets it apart. I'll try to talk about it more when we come back to <i>Gurre-Lieder</i>, after some more consideration of Janowitz's special qualities as a performer and some of Krips's. I don't think it's much of a coincidence that both will prominently feature Mozart.</blockquote>
<br />
<b>MY SIEGLINDE REFERENCE MIGHT'VE BEEN A TIPOFF</b><br />
<br />
Because when Herbert von Karajan began his great <i>Ring</i> cycle recording-and-production project with <i>Die Walküre</i>, he continued his happy collaboration with Janowitz, tapping her as his Sieglinde. Later she would be his Gutrune in <i>Götterdämmerung</i>, but that's a gimme -- <i>of course</i> she could sing Gutrune. Well, she could sing Sieglinde too, holding her own mightily as the twin sister of Jon Vickers's Siegmund. Every time I return to Karajan's <i>Walküre</i> I'm reminded how much I love it -- I'm not sure that that isn't the most completely satisfying performance of Act I I've heard.<br />
<br />
We're going to hear Janowitz and Vickers really cranking up the heat at the end of Act I, when we survey Janowitz's post-Weber repertory. For now, though, we can rehear a juicy clip from the <i>SC</i> archive.<br />
<br />
</div><b>WAGNER: <i>Die Walküre</i>: opening of Act I,<br />
through Hunding's entrance</b><br /><div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKgBv4WEzGRkwUIu-x9OsUhJ0F0zQ9GlKX5txPei80VJNvD26Ax2SsTGYURuWZnqxhusAdShFPVpQTkhPis3UOzsRkPHntgy3MVbp-2A4H1-SRJdT-GIiU9ZDISC8LaoWeqj1gsTf9e99rDYGAmCVjeSP0pnKS5nOtxob8lJS6gEvCgyi3N4uohAc2I7A/s1600/karajan-walku%CC%88re-box-450.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKgBv4WEzGRkwUIu-x9OsUhJ0F0zQ9GlKX5txPei80VJNvD26Ax2SsTGYURuWZnqxhusAdShFPVpQTkhPis3UOzsRkPHntgy3MVbp-2A4H1-SRJdT-GIiU9ZDISC8LaoWeqj1gsTf9e99rDYGAmCVjeSP0pnKS5nOtxob8lJS6gEvCgyi3N4uohAc2I7A/s1600/karajan-walku%CC%88re-box-450.jpg"/></a></div>
<blockquote>[<i>You can <a href="http://www.murashev.com/opera/Die_Walk%C3%BCre_libretto_English_German">find online German-English texts for <b>Die Walküre</b> here</a>, and of course we're starting from the very top.</i>]</blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/walk-act-i-thru-hundings-entrance-karajan" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Jon Vickers (t), Siegmund; Gundula Janowitz (s), Sieglinde; Martti Talvela (bs), Hunding; Berlin Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan, cond. DG, recorded in the Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Aug., Sept. & Dec. 1966</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>WHICH I THINK IS AS FAR AS WE CAN GET TODAY</b><br />
<br />
Ironically, the next thing I would have done was to go back a few years -- to the earlier days of Janowitz's and Karajan's collaboration, specifically when he cast her as Marzelline in his 1962 Vienna State Opera production of <i>Fidelio</i> (which he directed as well as conducted), and then on to the first hearing a lot of music lovers had of Janowitz, when she sang Pamina in Otto Klemperer's 1964 EMI recording of Mozart's <i>Magic Flute</i>. The irony is that that's where I had planned to <i>start</i> this post, before some other things kind of crept in.<br />
<br />
Well, that music is ready to roll (with pictures in place, even!), and that can still lead us into wider consideration of what Janowitz did with Mozart. Next time, I'm afraid.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
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</div>KenInNYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03712690425664894186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823063346488779206.post-26295941752925598022024-01-22T02:25:00.024-05:002024-01-22T10:53:46.231-05:00Before we take our closer look at Gurre-Lieder, I want to think about two performers who make one performance a special case<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-6Dw81jdJfaWBVRNiv3IzaIUbnhgNlRbKGVmVDpzw_Zv-eyDHR5TMW9i6nsSAhB2qEJWSzi3pgSjev5ghHTauNxds7BHijn-u-nayN0v8edmLuvosRgeuhmo_tB49QBeQrGDPk4nw3iTVbvkTNMgBNcn10v1_pMfRsLRx4Uou72bA_RUaca0ZQOP2Gxo/s1600/ruins-of-gurre-castle-%282007%29-520.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-6Dw81jdJfaWBVRNiv3IzaIUbnhgNlRbKGVmVDpzw_Zv-eyDHR5TMW9i6nsSAhB2qEJWSzi3pgSjev5ghHTauNxds7BHijn-u-nayN0v8edmLuvosRgeuhmo_tB49QBeQrGDPk4nw3iTVbvkTNMgBNcn10v1_pMfRsLRx4Uou72bA_RUaca0ZQOP2Gxo/s1600/ruins-of-gurre-castle-%282007%29-520.jpg"/></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8_cVMh_bLd9-gzI2P_Xul62ZH9_HWcoKvqyWtRfn_6hzsoiWA_xuCvi7Upas9dnNnQQP8VVqxyIiWHrHh9csBK2KbnjYe3S8d8B277BlYDd8c5IXxR54h9OBIX-ULWcUh4cCh5x5Z4sE7j-WZQMXhCBBHFNHhjvmXTn9yyuLB1S8SjrP2AdyjxhSiK1E/s1600/gurre-map-239.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 0.5em 1em; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="193" data-original-width="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8_cVMh_bLd9-gzI2P_Xul62ZH9_HWcoKvqyWtRfn_6hzsoiWA_xuCvi7Upas9dnNnQQP8VVqxyIiWHrHh9csBK2KbnjYe3S8d8B277BlYDd8c5IXxR54h9OBIX-ULWcUh4cCh5x5Z4sE7j-WZQMXhCBBHFNHhjvmXTn9yyuLB1S8SjrP2AdyjxhSiK1E/s1600/gurre-map-239.jpg"/></a></div><i>The ruins of Gurre Castle (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurre_Castle">as of 2007</a>), in the far northeast of Denmark (on the map Gurre looks like a stone's throw across the water from Sweden) where King Valdemar I is supposed to have tucked away his beautiful, dearly beloved mistress Tove -- until, well, thereupon hangs a tale.<br />
<br />
Which we'll get to. Just maybe not right away.</i><br />
<br />
<b>So it begins --</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/SchoenbergGurre-liederOrchestralPreludekubelik" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="540"></iframe><br />
<i>Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Rafael Kubelik, cond. DG, recorded live in the Kongress-Saal of the Deutsches Museum, Munich, March 9-12, 1965</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/SchoenbergGurre-liederOrchestralPreludesinopoli" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="540"></iframe><br />
<i>Staatskapelle Dresden, Giuseppe Sinopoli, cond. Teldec, recorded live in the Semper Oper, August 1995</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/gurre-lieder-intro-litton-2008" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="540"></iframe><br />
<i>Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Litton, cond. Live performance from Grieg Hall, in the Bergen International Festival, June 4, 2008</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/gurre-intro-krips" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="540"></iframe><br />
<i>Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Josef Krips, cond. Live performance from the Vienna Festival, in the Vienna Konzerthaus, June 10, 1969</i><br />
<br />
<b>In time, these <i>Gurre-Lieder</i>, or <i>Songs of Gurre</i>, come to Tove's declaration, "<i>Nun sag' ich dir zum ersten Mal, 'König Volmer, ich liebe dich'</i>" (replaying the performances <a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2023/12/on-way-to-our-archival-array-of.html">we've already heard</a>) --</b><br />
<blockquote>Now I say to you for the first time, "King Volmer, I love you."<br />
Now I kiss you for the first time, and fling my arms around you.<br />
And if you were to say I had earlier said it<br />
and ever given you my kiss,<br />
then I say, "The king is a fool,<br />
who recalls vague rubbish."<br />
And if you say, "Indeed I am such a fool,"<br />
then I'll say, "The king is right."<br />
But if you say, "No, I'm not that,"<br />
Then I'll say, "The king is bad."<br />
For I have kissed all my roses to death,<br />
all the while I was thinking of you.</blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/gurre-vii-tove-janowitz" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Gundula Janowitz (s), Tove; Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Josef Krips, cond. Live performance from the Vienna Festival, in the Vienna Konzerthaus, June 10, 1969</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/SchoenbergGurre-liederNunSagIchDirnormanOzawa" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Jessye Norman (s), Tove; Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. Philips, recorded live in Symphony Hall, April 1979</i><br />
<br />
<b>by Ken</b><br />
<br />
Believe it or not, we're making progress, even if it's of a kind of sidewise sort. I remember there was a plan to illustrate the special qualities I hear in the conducting of Josef Krips (1902-1974), which at the time seemed to require nothing more than plucking an abundance of for-instances out of the <i>Sunday Classics</i> Archive. I'm not so good at just-plucking-out, however, and as soon as I started, the project began to grow and shift, especially when I found myself taking a better listen than I have before to a performance I've owned for ages: Krips's 1969 Vienna Festival rendering of Arnold Schoenberg's monumental cantata-oratorio-or-whatever (I'm not aware of a term that begins to cover it), <i>Gurre-Lieder</i>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik7hCfGfj0cbfWTreYg9TkHdc3gGYImixR6NloK0lPwD3W_dGkQfvrfDhlO9rLyYBvtZiGVw-Pny_29fGwUIcibXMfvyCrdk4lhtZuATsJ58VcvgAg-GPDidfG4DI8JN5b3kOqjEsUV6dpBJv1UJkOecU4o_YLSvhNPE2AJ719kRrjfq9wAJ83Ycpxj2o/s1600/gundula-janowitz-260.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 0.25em 1em; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="283" data-original-width="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik7hCfGfj0cbfWTreYg9TkHdc3gGYImixR6NloK0lPwD3W_dGkQfvrfDhlO9rLyYBvtZiGVw-Pny_29fGwUIcibXMfvyCrdk4lhtZuATsJ58VcvgAg-GPDidfG4DI8JN5b3kOqjEsUV6dpBJv1UJkOecU4o_YLSvhNPE2AJ719kRrjfq9wAJ83Ycpxj2o/s1600/gundula-janowitz-260.jpg"/></a></div>At that point it seemed necessary to pause the Krips quick-tour and spend a jot of time with <i>Gurre-Lieder</i>, one of the most arresting and astonishing musical creations I know. No sooner had I set out on that tack (well, maybe many, many hours of toil after I set out on that tack), I realized that before we got to that, it might be useful for me to explain why that particular performance exerted such a fascination for me. Which meant a closer look at conductor Krips and the singer who incarnated King Waldemar's <i>inamorata</i> Tove, which is to say the soprano <b>Gundula Janowitz</b> (born 1937).<br />
<br />
Again, I first thought this could be accomplished easily and painlessly by a simple raid of the archives. And probably it could have. But again, my mind doesn't work that way. Soon enough I was back at work crafting whole new sets of audio clips and puzzling out a navigable path through them. And in just a moment we're going to partake of a teasing taste of G.J.
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>BUT FIRST, BACK TO THE BEGINNING -- OF <i>GURRE-LIEDER</i></b><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>I've <a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2023/12/on-way-to-our-archival-array-of.htmllast time">already told the story</a> of my connection between Tove's third song and the presentation made at the piano by the late Michael Steinberg, then still music critic of the <i>Boston Globe</i>, to gathered members of the Music Critics Association at Tanglewood the summer that the Boston Symphony under then-music director Seiji Ozawa celebrated the 100th birthday of Arnold Schoenberg with a performance of <i>Gurre-Lieder</i>. As I mentioned, I still see Michael's deep emotion as he sounded the theme of "<i>Nun sag' ich dir zum ersten Mal</i>." And we'll be coming back to it when we take our larger look at the piece.<br />
<br />
Before we move on to our Gundula Janowitz tease, I do want to take note of the "new" <i>Gurre-Lieder</i> music we've heard, the magical -- or <i>beyond</i> magical? -- six-minute-plus orchestral introduction, as arresting a musical opener as I know.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ6Vb3a05QWRODpBych-5Beb8RM2tifbaXnDybsiCGVEle3UzjXOXcS6VuVM05JAIZCHJ-V9sp4uBRrQUah4X21_yAxMkqDY8GPfcSXcnbB1feEc8NM99Est2F2QZY1wqwUqNOj0ipDBeM8K2kSudw_UN3aDJofMByKvtF4xC_1AhSvbWXhxUDED0gLUU/s1600/kubelik-gurre-lieder-cover-350.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0 1em 0.25em 0; text-align: center; clear: left; float: left;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="344" data-original-width="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ6Vb3a05QWRODpBych-5Beb8RM2tifbaXnDybsiCGVEle3UzjXOXcS6VuVM05JAIZCHJ-V9sp4uBRrQUah4X21_yAxMkqDY8GPfcSXcnbB1feEc8NM99Est2F2QZY1wqwUqNOj0ipDBeM8K2kSudw_UN3aDJofMByKvtF4xC_1AhSvbWXhxUDED0gLUU/s1600/kubelik-gurre-lieder-cover-350.jpg"/></a></div>I'm not sure I could hope for an account of this music more fully considered and realized than Rafael Kubelik's -- the opening of the first stereo recording of <i>Gurre-Lieder</i>, made at a time when performances of the complete work, with its outsize performing-force requirements and its at first glance bewilderingly wide range of musical styles, while not unknown, were far from common. Nowadays pretty much every orchestra (and combined choral forces) seems to give <i>Gurre-Lieder</i> a go, as is the case with such seemingly superhuman pieces -- superhuman, that is, in the demands they make on both performers and audiences, as Mahler 8, the so-called "Symphony of a Thousand." Recordings are plentiful, and YouTube now overflows with <i>Gurre-Lieder</i> performances. It's become almost a standard-repertory piece.<br />
<br />
Even now, though, no <i>Gurre-Lieder</i> conductor I know has outdone Kubelik in his understanding and command of the piece, starting with an introduction, as we've heard, as rich in musical color and texture as we might wish, allowing seemingly effortlessly for the hints of musical glowering that flash as the music progresses, all rendered with a never-forced-sounding yet irresistibly driven sense of forward movement. The stage could hardly be better set for the first Gurre song. Unfortunately there the Kubelik <i>Gurre-Lieder</i> runs into trouble.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOTlzbjxO7OEsu77CKDAdG40c3aUktaWSRwAO0Zghc1JP94lyxvmYVTOgoQL1L5TNvtDqE8ClphaFmfQSHuA0AwufNI3eJoQyGvUsbFz_rnX_hksDBYGkQ6LDr-YXs6Q3p8oTQzSDkQ4eVRLQ7EoCYbSileR7LRPHTuAYbHhehiKITyczZqlJdXNac9Bc/s1600/mccracken-260.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 0.25em 1em; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="335" data-original-width="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOTlzbjxO7OEsu77CKDAdG40c3aUktaWSRwAO0Zghc1JP94lyxvmYVTOgoQL1L5TNvtDqE8ClphaFmfQSHuA0AwufNI3eJoQyGvUsbFz_rnX_hksDBYGkQ6LDr-YXs6Q3p8oTQzSDkQ4eVRLQ7EoCYbSileR7LRPHTuAYbHhehiKITyczZqlJdXNac9Bc/s1600/mccracken-260.jpg"/></a></div>Waldemar is an extraordinarily difficult part, calling for a voice of <i>Heldentenor</i> weight that has all the ardor and romance called for in Part I and can also navigate the variety of vocal challenges still to come. I think of it as Tannhäuser-tough, and the singer I wish we could have heard sing it is Lauritz Melchior. I don't think it's entirely a coincidence that the first really fine Waldemar I heard -- first at Tanglewood, then when Seiji and the BSO were able to reschedule it, this time with a Philips recording team on hand in Symphony Hall (for me stil the "basic" <i>Gurre-Lieder</i> recording) -- was also my unexpectedly terrific first live Tannhäuser, <b>James McCracken</b>. And what's true for Tannhäuser is also true for Waldemar: You can't get by with just an "adequate" or "okay" one; it's got to be someone who can really take vocal possession of the music. (We'll be hearing samples of his Waldemar when we return to <i>Gurre-Lieder</i> in, um, the not-too-distant future.)<br />
<br />
Sinopoli by contrast feels it necessary to "italicize" the orchestral introduction's delicately shifting moods, which Kubelik gives a feeling of simply allowing to take shape. Still, Sinopoli does what he does so beautifully that I'm not complaining. Then we have Andrew Litton, who seems to have an edge in re-creating this Danish saga on authentically Scandinavian soil, except that that's not what he's interested in doing. Far from imbuing the music with any sort of Nordic chill, he bathes it in a glow that seems more sun- than moon-like. How could I not love it?<br />
<br />
Then, of course, there's Krips, about whom all I'm going to say for now is that there' a quality in his performance that for me lifts the introduction above even what Kubelik achieves. I'd be curious to hear if you pick up anything that sets Krips's orchestral introduction apart.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>NOW FOR OUR GUNDULA JANOWITZ TEASE</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZZFQP5XWtUfof66JxWj35LxHtTaTP1KxXBAJAmWJXvE7R75xTw_9v3-CmKei5kwMWwasjkYfjrs0v7WjQnRrbxOAGk9X_lq_p1CHt_3r0EnNNyp40oUx_AfSBaTehGxzdKyYr1DOiHdKD62tR6QQkb3btYQkY-nD_ZsOXb1c6j8MDi5tTOEkc9m8wFZg/s1600/shepherd-scene-540.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="371" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZZFQP5XWtUfof66JxWj35LxHtTaTP1KxXBAJAmWJXvE7R75xTw_9v3-CmKei5kwMWwasjkYfjrs0v7WjQnRrbxOAGk9X_lq_p1CHt_3r0EnNNyp40oUx_AfSBaTehGxzdKyYr1DOiHdKD62tR6QQkb3btYQkY-nD_ZsOXb1c6j8MDi5tTOEkc9m8wFZg/s1600/shepherd-scene-540.jpg" /></a></div>
<b>We're in Act I of <i>Tannhäuser</i>:</b> <i>With</i> TANNHÄUSER <i>having freed himself in the opening scene from the grasp of Venus and the hedonistic life of the Venusberg, an instantaneous scene change finds him "standing in a beautiful valley, under a blue sky. In the back is the castle of the Wartburg, and in the distance the Hörselberg. From the hills come sounds of sheep bells."</i><br />
<blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><b>A YOUNG SHEPHERD:</b><br />
Lady Holda came down from the mountain<br />
to roam among flowers and meadows;<br />
my ears perceived right merry sounds;<br />
my eyes delighted to see her.<br />
Then I dreamed many a merry dream,<br />
and when my eyes were hardly closed<br />
there beamed forth the warm sunshine,<br />
and May, sweet May was come.<br />
Now I play my merry reed pipe,<br />
for May is come, dear May!<br />
<i>-- translation by William Gann for Capitol Records, ©️1961</i></div></blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/frau-holda-kam-janowitz-karajan-1963" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="540"></iframe><br />
<i>Gundula Janowitz (s), A Young Shepherd; Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan, cond. ORF broadcast of a live performance, Jan. 8, 1963 (released by DG in 1998)</i><br />
<br />
<b>THEN, A QUARTER-CENTURY LATER, THERE'S THIS:</b><br />
<br />
<b>SCHUBERT: "<i>An die Musik</i>" ("To Music"), D. 547</b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC8TfnIYOuLDxmCkQ9JttDXia-OStRSGAnlwtaO1HPAJ-tR8zHjEsTdrlkEoFHnWFyz8Xd99xxJC2Q7qr70lDkHxx6wKSOfC0yPSFoldW_EADOOth8Cu332cpD61y3sm4rCkY-2sfVkfU/s1600/an-die-musik-pg1-550.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="777" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC8TfnIYOuLDxmCkQ9JttDXia-OStRSGAnlwtaO1HPAJ-tR8zHjEsTdrlkEoFHnWFyz8Xd99xxJC2Q7qr70lDkHxx6wKSOfC0yPSFoldW_EADOOth8Cu332cpD61y3sm4rCkY-2sfVkfU/s1600/an-die-musik-pg1-550.jpg" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWMFgHghYfH4csr4e-2i8y_k11BuiN8YgPEPccukxEKY3RyfDsCHDHvMpSECIIe11_FjlMDTIP5PKqcyHPzX93mDcxuZMEtUldEAU_9yGlfxkGSoLK0qu9leEWvHtpry6iTFSnTnCdL60/s1600/an-die-musik-pg2-550.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWMFgHghYfH4csr4e-2i8y_k11BuiN8YgPEPccukxEKY3RyfDsCHDHvMpSECIIe11_FjlMDTIP5PKqcyHPzX93mDcxuZMEtUldEAU_9yGlfxkGSoLK0qu9leEWvHtpry6iTFSnTnCdL60/s1600/an-die-musik-pg2-550.jpg" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirxoFBIaUxdzV09vjn6i4fEgQfq3h4tU6QEl90BA7LpPgoZUV019Hd3qma3RuerulmBAwMAF3YauRONJ8vPzptrcfzuSHzCGVDjN1IVSjh1B97tgPI71fxo6nK8JQAiwLRT9-FYCwkMzE/s1600/an-die-musik-rev-550.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="243" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirxoFBIaUxdzV09vjn6i4fEgQfq3h4tU6QEl90BA7LpPgoZUV019Hd3qma3RuerulmBAwMAF3YauRONJ8vPzptrcfzuSHzCGVDjN1IVSjh1B97tgPI71fxo6nK8JQAiwLRT9-FYCwkMzE/s1600/an-die-musik-rev-550.jpg" /></a><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/AnDieMusikjanowitzSpencer" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="540"></iframe><br />
<i>Gundula Janowitz, soprano; Charles Spencer, piano. Live performance in Milan, 1989</i><br />
<blockquote><b>NOTE</b>: We spent much time and heard a heap of performances of "<i>An die Musik</i>" in <a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2018/08/an-die-musik-how-does-musical-setting_29.html">the August 2018 post</a> " '<i>An die Musik</i>': How does a musical setting (of a 'not strikingly original' poem) that's 'conventional in every way save for its greatness' achieve that greatness?"</blockquote>
The thing about Janowitz is that her voice wasn't the sort one would expect to fill out, let alone flourish in, a lot of the repertory she sang. It didn't have an abundance of color or tonal shades, but she made it work -- at least for those of us who are susceptible to the basic "grab" of the sound -- in roles you'd think she shouldn't have. For some reason it never occurred to me that Tove might be one of them. It was (I think in her way she holds up to the obvious sumptuousness of Jessye Norman's special vocal endowment -- and she sure sang this music beautifully), and that's what we're going to explore, in probably a pair of posts. I'm thinking of one devoted to her Classical repertory taking us into the Romantic era with Weber's <i>Der Freischütz</i>, and then another focusing on Wagner in particular, but also including a couple of Italian roles.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">#</div><br />KenInNYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03712690425664894186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823063346488779206.post-25739225643571848942023-12-17T17:23:00.082-05:002024-01-01T20:32:24.924-05:00On the way to our archival array of performances by conductor Josef Krips, we stall at a piece that cries out for more considered attention<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMUd0LAYVV6_ELoF4ixHyPOAbpCwMh6gVlhvMNsEGPBowOhooa8adT2wec4wrSrMZQ4xdzFerMHwOk85rcHqbBL74xVScuaOO2VzU0mEUzAcQL-d1aRN-rLIkueR8krHlwu2AxtArWCVgXdXuNS28Y65MTOOuoF6ibNd57SjEdbriL5MkUWaSMNUyz-Ns/s1600/our-story-%28brown%29-520.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="213" data-original-width="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMUd0LAYVV6_ELoF4ixHyPOAbpCwMh6gVlhvMNsEGPBowOhooa8adT2wec4wrSrMZQ4xdzFerMHwOk85rcHqbBL74xVScuaOO2VzU0mEUzAcQL-d1aRN-rLIkueR8krHlwu2AxtArWCVgXdXuNS28Y65MTOOuoF6ibNd57SjEdbriL5MkUWaSMNUyz-Ns/s1600/our-story-%28brown%29-520.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/clar-solo-nun-sag-ich-dir-drucker" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="540"></iframe><br />
<i>Stanley Drucker, clarinet; New York Philharmonic, Zubin Mehta, cond. Sony, recorded in Avery Fisher Hall, May 23-28, 1991</i><br />
<br />
<b>by Ken</b><br />
<br />
In fairness, we should probably hear a bit more than this, and even though we're not going to get to a proper version of the post with which I had hoped to follow up last week's "<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2023/12/josef-kripss-requiem.html">Josef Krips's Requiem</a>," we <i>are</i> going to hear a proper rendering -- two, in fact -- of the source of this haunting theme. For now, though, I was delighted, in working on that still-in=progress post, to find an occasion for another Stanley Drucker "moment" -- after all, we do still have important unfinished business to finish in our remembrance of Stanley D.<br />
<br />And this theme, originally sounded first by the solo clarinet and then taken up by the soprano as the start of the meltingly beautiful solo we're about to hear, takes me back to the summer of 1974, with the late Michael Steinberg -- in his pre-San Francisco days, when he was still the much-admired music critic of the <i>Boston Globe</i>, when Michael played it on the piano, in a small meeting space on the grounds of the Tanglewood Festival, for attendees of that year's annual meeting of the Music Critics Association. It was my first MCA meeting, and my first-ever (and so far still only) visit to Tanglewood, and there was Michael at the piano, so overcome wrought that you wondered if would be able to get through it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>SO LET'S HEAR OUR THEME AS IT WAS WRITTEN</b><br />
<blockquote><i>Nun sag' ich dir zum ersten Mal, 'König Volmer, ich liebe dich.'<br />
Nun küss ich dich zum ersten Mal, und schlinge den Arm um dich.</i><br />
(Now I say to you for the first time, 'King Volmer, I love you.'<br />
Now I kiss you for the first time, and fling my arms around you.)</blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/start-of-nun-sag-ich-janowitz" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Gundula Janowitz, soprano; Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Josef Krips, cond. Live performance from the Vienna Festival, Vienna Konzerthaus, June 10, 1969</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/nun-sag-ich-dir-norman" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Jessye Norman, soprano; Harold Wright, clarinet; Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. Philips, recorded live in Symphony Hall, April 1979</i><br />
[<b>NOTE</b>: Of course we're hearing another legend of American clarinettery here: the BSO's Harold "Buddy" Wright]<br />
<br />
Whenever I hear or even think about this, I still see and hear Michael playing it on the piano that day at Tanglewood. Of course I understand why he was so overcome. If we were to undertake a mission as silly as trying to list the Most Beautiful Pieces of Music Ever Written, the excerpt would have to hold a place all the way to the end. I re-encountered it in the process of extracting, as promised last week, performances by the wonderful conductor Josef Krips from the <i>SC</i> Archive, which is teeming with them, including a number of excerpts from the work our clip comes from.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>OF COURSE WE SHOULD HEAR THE WHOLE SOLO</b><br />
<a name='more'></a><blockquote><div>Now I say to you for the first time, 'King Volmer, I love you.'<br />
Now I kiss you for the first time, and fling my arms around you.<br />
And if you say I have already told you, or ever given you my kiss,<br />
to that I say, 'The King is a fool who thinks of transient trifles.'<br />
And if you say, ' I am indeed a fool,' I'll say, 'The King is right.'<br />
But if you say, 'That I am not,' I'll say, 'The King is bad.'<br />
For I have kissed my roses all to death the while I thought of you.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><i>-- translation by Donna Hewitt, for Universal Edition, Vienna</i></div></blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/gurre-vii-tove-janowitz" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Gundula Janowitz, soprano; Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Josef Krips, cond. Live performance from the Vienna Festival, Vienna Konzerthaus, June 10, 1969</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/SchoenbergGurre-liederNunSagIchDirnormanOzawa" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Jessye Norman, soprano; Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond. Philips, recorded live in Symphony Hall, April 1979</i><br />
<br />
Much as I love Jessye Norman's performance -- with that big, lush soprano with those big, rich depths at the bottom end, this was the perfect voice for this music -- all the same Gundula Janowitz's significantly lighter-weight and lighter-toned soprano, had a specially communicative quality that could be almost ethereal, as for me clearly happens in this strikingly humane collaboration with Krips.<br />
<br />
I decided that all three existing clips from this performance should be dragged out of the archive, and then I decided that they should be remade, edited to provide fuller context for their place in the overall work -- and while I was at it, to sample them at a higher bit rate. I decided too that a new fourth clip should be added. And somewhere along the way I decided that some of the other <i>SC</i> archived excerpts should also be brought out into the light, with the focus shifting to the piece itself -- because that, after all, is what Krips performances tended to do: to lead us, heart first, into the heart of the music he was performing.<br />
<br />
Which we'll do next time.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
#</div>KenInNYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03712690425664894186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823063346488779206.post-26042044430027574232023-12-10T22:36:00.022-05:002023-12-11T15:00:00.420-05:00Josef Krips's Requiem<b>INTERIM UPDATE (Monday afternoon)</b>: <i>I've begun raiding the <b>SC</b> Archive for the promised Krips music files, which should have been just a copy-and-paste job, in itself way more laborious and persnickety than it sounds (I can't help rethinking things), and totally stalled when I came to Schoenberg's <b>Gurre-Lieder</b>. I've wound up not just remaking the three existing clips from Part I -- to ensure contextually fuller lead-ins and lead-outs (in some cases overlapping them), and while I was at it resampling them at a higher rate -- but in addition making a new and larger clip: the climax of Part I, with Christa Ludwig singing the transfixing "Song of the Wood-Dove."<br />
<br />
That's still a work in progress, but I <b>have</b> added some music: (a) the start of the <b>Meistersinger</b> performance from which we were already hearing the start of Act III, and also the scene change in Act III, and (b) our first Mozart: as full-throated and open-hearted a performance as I've heard of the <b>Marriage of Figaro</b> Overture.</i> -- Ken<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTsCT58efYcFEIkCdHwCF4ybXnieOm7sDxKy41vbHcFPrh4KmO_1YU1KaQR3oySH7r16bneOW_WpbqK5UnhP5yjwQlKuVJ51gb8gZ7sHD1bY3faCURoWIUCksztzQ90YdJfDAr_y1tlBDQ8C9KJKTWMa-H29xivmnlDPoF0_WROXDIKVxr8jyr0jUMyCI/s1600/JosefKrips-vert-400.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="477" data-original-width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTsCT58efYcFEIkCdHwCF4ybXnieOm7sDxKy41vbHcFPrh4KmO_1YU1KaQR3oySH7r16bneOW_WpbqK5UnhP5yjwQlKuVJ51gb8gZ7sHD1bY3faCURoWIUCksztzQ90YdJfDAr_y1tlBDQ8C9KJKTWMa-H29xivmnlDPoF0_WROXDIKVxr8jyr0jUMyCI/s1600/JosefKrips-vert-400.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><i>Maestro Krips (1902-1974)</i><br /></div>
<br />
<b>MOZART: Requiem, K. 626:<br />
i. Introitus: <i>Requiem aeternam</i></b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/mozart-requiem-introitus-krips-vienna-12-1973" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Lucia Popp, soprano; Margaret Lilowa, mezzo-soprano; Anton Dermota, tenor; Walter Berry, bass-baritone; Vienna Singverein, Vienna Philharmonic, Josef Krips, cond. Live perforamnce from the Musikverein, Dec. 13, 1973</i><br />[Note: FWIW, this isn't the CRQ edition.]<br />
<br />
<b>by Ken</b><br />
<br />
Sorry about the long silence. But even as I was reconciling myself to yet another week's failure to bring to completion my latest brainstorm for a publishable post, I clicked through a link to a "<a href="https://crqeditions.bandcamp.com/album/crq-591-josef-krips-the-final-performance-mozart-requiem-vienna-13-12-1973?from=fanpub_fnb">New release from CRQ Editions</a>," which describes itself as "a specialist label devoted to the re-release of unusual out-of-copyright recordings which are of interest to collectors world-wide," available via "Streaming + Download," which "includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more." The "unusual out-of-copyright recordings," include both out-of-copyright <i>commercial</i> recordings and live peformances, often never-previously-released ones.<br />
<br />
From CRQ I've bought a download of long-OP Sibelius by Alexander Gibson, as a result of which I'm on their e-mail list, and since then I've been motivated a number of times by notices of new releases to learn my way a bit around their website -- enough to know that the page for each release includes, along with lots of other information, a complete list of tracks with "play" icons, and I've been under the impression that clicking "play" for Track 1 enabled me to hear for free not just Track 1, as I would have expected, but <i>the whole blessed release</i>.<br />
<br />
Recalling this, I decided that -- even as I had other important matters to tend to, like sealing the lid on yet another failed-to-post Sunday -- I just had to <a href="https://crqeditions.bandcamp.com/album/crq-591-josef-krips-the-final-performance-mozart-requiem-vienna-13-12-1973?from=fanpub_fnb">click through</a> to find out more about:<br />
<blockquote>CRQ 591 JOSEF KRIPS: THE FINAL PERFORMANCE: MOZART REQUIEM: VIENNA 13 12 1973</blockquote>
As long-time readers may recall, I have a special affection for Krips (see, for example, the March 2013 post "<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2013/03/our-j-and-k-conductors-shine-in-mozart.html">Our 'J' and 'K' conductors shine in Mozart's <i>Don Giovanni</i> and <i>Così fan tutte</i></a>" (the other "J" and "K" conductors, fyi, were Eugen Jochum and Rudolf Kempe), who despite (or maybe because of?) a life marked with serious hardships, had an innate kindness, geniality, and generosity that often lifted his performances to a special realm, and if there's any composer whose music thrives on such qualities, it's Mozart. Krips's now-ancient Decca recording of <i>Don Giovanni</i> is still the performance that more than any other I've encountered (in a substantial lifetime of <i>Don Giovanni</i> encounters) embodied the full dimension of this centerpiece of our musical heritage, including its celebration of the power of human interconnectedness.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>SO THERE I WAS, ON THE CRQ 591 WEB PAGE --</b><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>And I started Track 1, and was listening to the "Introit" of the Mozart Requiem (like we heard up above), with Josef K conducting the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna Singverein in the Vienna Musikverein, with a not-to-be-sneezed-at quartet of soloists (see the listing above), and the performance seemed to me quite glorious. Rooting around the Web page, I found this explanatory note:<br />
<blockquote>In the autumn of 1973 the great Austrian conductor Josef Krips was diagnosed with cancer. The concert with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by him in Vienna on 13 December 1973 was to be his last public appearance. After the concert Krips confided to Alfred Prinz, clarinettist with the Vienna Phiharmonic, 'that was my Requiem'. Krips died of cancer several months later, in Geneva during October 1974.</blockquote>
From December to October seems to me more than "a few months," but this background makes clear that on December 13 our Josef knew he was facing a death sentence, and felt this special significance to the concert. I'm still listening to the performance, and it's pretty clear that the conductor was still in full possession of his conductorial faculties.<br />
<br />
[<i>Go know: I see the performance has been <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9il-dnFPio">on YouTube</a> for nine years. Well, better late than never.</i> -- Ed.]<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>STILL TO COME: A GALLERY OF KRIPS PERFORMANCES<br />
DRAWN FROM THE <i>SUNDAY CLASSICS</i> ARCHIVE</b><br />
<br />
Off which here's a taste:<br />
<br />
<b>WAGNER: <i>Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg</i>: Act III,</b><br />
<b>Prelude and David's stealth entrance into Sachs's workshop</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/DieMeistersingerActIiiPreludeDavidsEntrancestolzeKrips" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Gerhard Stolze (t), David; Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, Josef Krips, cond. Live performance from the August 1961 revival of Wieland Wagner's 1956 production</i><br />
<br />
<b>And in case you were wondering how the <i>Meistersinger</i> performance began -- </b><br />
<br />
For one thing, it began pretty darned quickly! (For another, unrelated thing, there were only two <i>Meistersinger</i> performances at the 1961 Bayreuth Festival, so ours happened on either August 8 or 12.)<br />
<br />
<b>WAGNER: <i>Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg</i>: Act I, Prelude</b><br />
<b>and opening chorus, "<i>Da zu dir der Heiland kamm</i>"</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/DieMeistersingerActIPreludeOpeningChoruskrips" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
["<i>Da zu mir</i>" at 9:33] <i>Bayreuth Festival Chorus and Orchestra, Josef Krips, cond. Live performance, August 1961</i><br />
<br />
<b>And maybe a little more of Act III, like the scene change?</b><br />
<br />
It's in the archive: the transformation from Sachs's workshop to the open meadow, with Nuremberg just visible in the distance, where the St. John's Day celebration, including the Mastersingers' competition, is coming together.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/DieMeistersingerActIiiSceneChangekrips" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Josef Greindl (bs), Hans Sachs; Gerhard Stolze (t), David; Bayreuth Festival Chorus and Orchestra, Josef Krips, cond. Live performance, August 1961</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>NOW, AS PROMISED IN THE UPDATE: OUR FIRST MOZART</b><br />
<br />
What I called up above "as full-throated and open-hearted a performance as I've heard of --"<br />
<br />
<b>MOZART: <i>The Marriage of Figaro</i>: Overture</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/MozartNozzeDiFigaroOverurekrips-zurichTonhalle" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Tonhalle Orchestra (Zurich), Josef Krips, cond. Adès, recorded in Geneva, 1960 </i><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
#</div>KenInNYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03712690425664894186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823063346488779206.post-28630123458011175112023-07-23T23:12:00.006-04:002023-07-24T20:07:06.006-04:00Maybe we can ease into the Copland Clarinet Concerto by focusing on the man without whom it wouldn't exist<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7kFR6VDDZHv0QKbAntxg0pjvCOCcHWPJUX6yjCcp_00AXrit20aX9RWVG5Nc70p2pKnPNiSk1RvvHRiz0U-A-jmRq8fN1qqEfejDCS1oCjbLh1sKVDaqqfxXq_HNyFR1MUWcEKvUI3QVd-RYRMHmvIXTk_iHgjYnS3eB0pGiJmMZl0QTh00PgFnDA/s1600/Benny-Goodman-520.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="621" data-original-width="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7kFR6VDDZHv0QKbAntxg0pjvCOCcHWPJUX6yjCcp_00AXrit20aX9RWVG5Nc70p2pKnPNiSk1RvvHRiz0U-A-jmRq8fN1qqEfejDCS1oCjbLh1sKVDaqqfxXq_HNyFR1MUWcEKvUI3QVd-RYRMHmvIXTk_iHgjYnS3eB0pGiJmMZl0QTh00PgFnDA/s1600/Benny-Goodman-520.jpg" /></a></div>
<i><b>Benny Goodman</b> (1909-1986) in 1946, about the time he added Copland to the list of composers he commissioned to create new works for the clarinet.</i><br />
<br />
<b>by Ken</b><br />
<br />
This week we're supposed to be -- no, we're <i>going</i> to be -- thinking about and listening to the Copland Clarinet Concerto, a fairly popular but seemingly unassumng little gem that I'm going to warn you to handle with care, as it could just burrow its way into your soul. The post is mostly written, I think, but stubbornly refuses to allow for the resolution of several issues without which publication isn't possible.<br />
<br />
So I got the idea that maybe we might just listen to the piece, and then I got the additional idea that we could pull out of the simmering post several performances featuring as soloist the man without whom there wouldn't have been a Copland Clarinet Concerto, the great clarinetist Benny Goodman.<br />
<br />
Like all clarinetists, it was a subject of great regret for Benny G. that the repertory of composed music for his instrument wasn't exactly vast. Unlike nearly all of those clarinetists, however, he did something about it. Wearing all his musical hats, he devoted himself to expanding that repertory, and in the realm of "serious" music he put his money where his mouth was, commissioning a number of composers to make nice with the clarinet.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>COPLAND: Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra with Harp and Piano</b>:<br />
<b>i. Slowly and expressively</b><br />
<b>Cadenza</b><br />
<b>ii. Rather fast</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/copland-clarinet-cto-goodman-reiner-nbc-1950" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[cadenza at 6:30; lead-in to ii. at 9:05] <i>Benny Goodman, clarinet; NBC Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner, cond. Broadcast premiere performance, Nov. 6, 1950</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/copland-clarinet-concerto-goodman-copland" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[cadenza at 6:36; lead-in to ii. at 8:57] <i>Benny Goodman, clarinet; Laura Newell, harp; Abba Bogin, piano; Columbia Symphony Strings, Aaron Copland, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in New York City, Feb. 20, 1963</i><br />
<br />
<b>And by way of a tease, here's just the opening of one more:</b><br />
<br />
This performance is from a 1976 <i>Copland Conducts Copland</i> concert with the Los Angeles Philharmonic -- a Unitel recording, if I've got this right, which has been issued by Naxos on both <a href="https://www.naxos.com/CatalogueDetail/?id=2.110397">DVD</a> and <a href="https://www.naxos.com/CatalogueDetail/?id=NBD0068V">Blu-ray</a>.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/copland-clar-cto-opening-goodman-copland-laphil-1976" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Benny Goodman, clarinet; Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Aaron Copland, cond. Live performance from the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, filmed 1976</i><br />
<br />
KenInNYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03712690425664894186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823063346488779206.post-20082934355002315352023-07-16T22:04:00.005-04:002023-07-17T00:16:36.965-04:00Just four works to go in our journey through clarinetist Allan Rosenfeld's "Top 10 [really 11] Orchestral Clarinet Solos"<span style="font-size: large;"><b>THIS TIME: Coming up we have Rimsky-Korsakov, Sibelius, Rachmaninoff, and Kodály</b></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiihxn-iZ29HjykzMNN7XedC_ZnSRxV3esw0pCRznpr6XJ7fwW23E54PEPmqRFki6GEeNAq8UCNi_wkgp0nzGG6UYmli-rmgrhLIiiDB5gr4_jbH2Pr7EJ-iOwul_a-rxK_Fx4x2Fl6GZQ1ZLp5ONZJHIzhUi1Q7n6gRL2oKFsr6M_l0fiNuSq8MK6V63Y/s1600/nyp-program-3-5-1950-450.png" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="706" data-original-width="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiihxn-iZ29HjykzMNN7XedC_ZnSRxV3esw0pCRznpr6XJ7fwW23E54PEPmqRFki6GEeNAq8UCNi_wkgp0nzGG6UYmli-rmgrhLIiiDB5gr4_jbH2Pr7EJ-iOwul_a-rxK_Fx4x2Fl6GZQ1ZLp5ONZJHIzhUi1Q7n6gRL2oKFsr6M_l0fiNuSq8MK6V63Y/s1600/nyp-program-3-5-1950-450.png" /></a></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/sibelius-1-i-opening-bernstein" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<blockquote><i>It seems to me I've heard that song before.<br />
It's from an old familiar score.<br />
I know it well, that melody . . . .</i><br />
<br />
[Yes, "that song" is the opening <i>Andante ma non troppo</i> of the Sibelius First Symphony, more or less as it passed that Sunday afternoon in March 1950 from the stage of Carnegie Hall across the country. We indeed heard the New York Philharmonic, but not "under the direction of Victor de Sabata," interesting as that might be to hear. (Recordings of that broadcast do exist!)]</blockquote>
<br />
<b>by Ken</b><br />
<br />
I think by now we all know who the conductor and clarinetist on our clip are. Once again we hear once Leonard Bernstein conducting the NY Phil, with the clarinetting provided by Stanley Drucker, the orchestra's principal clarinet, 1960-2009 -- from the orchestra's March 1967 recording of the symphony.I think by now we all know that that clip of the opening of the Sibelius First Symphony is from the March 1967 New York Philharnonic recording conducted by Leonard Bernstein, with the clarinetting provided by Stanley Drucker (1929-2022), the orchestra's principal clarinet, 1960-2009.<br />
<br />
What caught my eye on that concert program, though, as I perused the Philharmonic's nifty Digital Archive, was the date of that concert. Stanley D., we recall, joined the orchestra as assistant principal in 1948 (at age 19). If, as seems likely, he was playing the 2nd clarinet part, this would have been his first NY Phil performance of Sibelius 1.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQSKhkLyBF0HCKtzbDxZ-mG7qEH5F8Pu9FBwZoIwxg55MDV5AMjTKniCobpXMESIrUHaNicUWWKR7AcidQ1winbxzV0GXEmH92p4qFz1YHXIY9v1CyAD_VhByEgNeogSlN5j-LNKbGYGj1Y56KUYBHSWOGPVZng44AZJkIZCFkK84c1z973nuvZSZgVFE/s1600/allan-rosenfeld-playing-250.jpg" style="clear: left; display: block; float: left; padding: 0px 1em 0.5em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="251" data-original-width="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQSKhkLyBF0HCKtzbDxZ-mG7qEH5F8Pu9FBwZoIwxg55MDV5AMjTKniCobpXMESIrUHaNicUWWKR7AcidQ1winbxzV0GXEmH92p4qFz1YHXIY9v1CyAD_VhByEgNeogSlN5j-LNKbGYGj1Y56KUYBHSWOGPVZng44AZJkIZCFkK84c1z973nuvZSZgVFE/s1600/allan-rosenfeld-playing-250.jpg" /></a></div>I bring it up because we're going to run into Sibelius 1 as we make our final push -- clear down to No. 1 and beyond -- through Charlotte (NC) Symphony clarinetist <b>Allan Rosenfeld</b>'s "<a href="https://www.charlottesymphony.org/blog/clarinetist-allan-rosenfeld-top-10-orchestral-clarinet-solos/">Top 10 [really 11] Orchestral Clarinet Solos</a>," posted on the orchestra's Sound of Charlotte Blog in November 2020, played mostly by Stanley D. (So far, down through No. 4, we've heard him play all seven -- today is where the "mostly" kicks in.)<br />
<blockquote><div><b>THE LIST SO FAR</b><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><b>10) Respighi: <i>Pines of Rome</i>, end of "Pines of the Janiculum"</b><br />
<b>9) Tchaikovsky: <i>Francesca da Rimini</i></b><br />
<b>8) Brahms: Symphony No. 3, opening of 2nd movement</b><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;">
-- in "<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2023/06/an-orchestra-principals-most-visible.html">An orchestra principal's most visible job is playing orchestral solos written for his/her instrument. <i>He-e-re's Stanley D.!</i></a>" [June 25]<br /></div><div>
<b>7) Puccini: <i>Tosca</i>, Act III, "<i>E lucevan le stelle</i>"</b><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;">
-- in "<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2023/07/we-move-on-to-no-7-as-we-count-our-way.html">We move on to No. 7 as we count our way through those 'Top 10 [or 11] Orchestral Clarinet Solos' with (mostly) Stanley Drucker</a>" [July 2]<br /></div>
<b>6) Gershwin: <i>Rhapsody in Blue</i>, beginning</b><br />
<b>5) Bartók: <i>The Miraculous Mandarin</i>, 3 Seduction Games</b><br />
<b>4) Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 (<i>Pastoral</i>), 2nd movement</b><br /><div style="text-align: right;">
-- in "<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2023/07/continuing-our-countdown-of-clarinetist.html">Continuing our countdown of clarinetist Allan Rosenfeld's 'Top 10 [actually 11] Orchestral Clarinet Solos,' at No. 6 we come to --</a>" (we heard the complete 5th <i>and</i> 6th Symphonies!) [July 9]<br /></div></blockquote>
<br />
<b>WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, LET'S PROCEED TO NO. 3</b><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span>❸</span></span></span></div>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: medium;"><b>RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: <i>Capriccio espagnol</i></b></span><br />
<br />
<b>A.R.</b>: "<i>A dazzling display of clarinet bravura and technique.</i>"</blockquote>
It's taken awhile to get back to them but back on January 15, in "<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2023/01/intermission-with-clarinet.html">Intermission -- with clarinet</a>," a sort-of-post eccentric even by <i>Sunday Classics</i> standards, we heard two performances of the <i>Capriccio espagnol</i>'s two similar alboradas, the first and third of its five movements, which I assume are what A.R. has in mind. (His YouTube cue is the whole <i>Capriccio</i> in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaYq3zlxxUI">a snazzy performance</a> by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Mariss Jansons.)<br />
<br />
The only additional information offered in January was that "each pair of performances is from the same source, and the orchestra throughout is the New York Philharmonic." The trick, if you want to call it that, is that "Pair A" was from the <i>Capriccio espagnol</i> recording conducted by Leonard Bernstein <i>the season before</i> Stanley D. was elevated to principal clarinet. The recording microphones had to wait for him till Kurt Masur recorded the <i>Capriccio</i> in 1997, the source of "Pair B." Here are our performances again, properly identified. Is it a surprise that, relatively speaking, Lenny B. is the slowpoke and Kurt M. the speed demon?<br />
<br />
<b>"Pair A"</b><br />
<b>i. Alborada: Vivo e strepitoso</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/cap-esp-i.-alborada-bernstein" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<b>iii. Alborada: Vivo e strepitoso</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/07-capriccio-espagnol-3.-alborada-bernstein" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>[NOT Stanley Drucker], clarinet; New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in Carnegie Hall, May 2, 1959</i><br />
<br />
<b>"Pair B"</b><br />
<b>i. Alborada: Vivo e strepitoso</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/cap-esp-i.-alborada-masur-nyp" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<b>iii. Alborada: Vivo e strepitoso</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/cap-esp-iii.-alborada-masur" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Stanley Drucker, clarinet; New York Philharmonic, Kurt Masur, cond. Teldec, recorded in Avery Fisher Hall, December 1997</i><br />
<blockquote><b>AS FOR THE COMPLETE <i>CAPRICCIO ESPAGNOL</i> --</b><br />
<br />
It appears we've actually <i>heard it</i> before. I'm drawing a blank on this, but I found these performances slumbering in the <i>SC</i> Archive. In their different ways, Markevitch and Ormandy were true masters of what I'm groping to call "orchestral display" repertory, such as Rimsky-Korsakov's dashing and seductive <i>Capriccio on Spanish Themes</i>. as I think we can hear here -- hearing both the "flash" and, behind it, real affection and respect.<br />
<br />
It's also fun to extend Rimsky's foray into musical ethnography (are only French composers be permitted to indulge in musical fantasies of Spain? Rimsky offers us his own little <i>tour d'Espagne</i>) to the wide span of musical geography encapsuled in the performance by the Malaysian Philharmonic under its founding music director, the Dutchman Kees Bakels.<br />
<br />
<b>RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: <i>Capriccio espagnol</i>, Op. 34:<br />
i. Alborada: Vivo e strepitoso<br />
ii. Variations: Andante con moto<br />
iii. Alborada: Vivo e strepitoso<br />
iv. Scene and Gypsy Song: Allegretto<br />
v. Fandango asturiana: Vivace assai</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/Rimsky-korsakovCapriccioEspagnolOp.34markevitch" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>London Symphony Orchestra, Igor Markevitch, cond. Philips, recorded in Wembley Town Hall, London, Oct. 22, 1962</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/Imsky-korsakovCapriccioEspagnolOp.34ormandy-sony" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in Town Hall, Philadelphia, Feb. 17, 1965</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/Rimsky-korsakovCapriccioEspagnolOp.34bakels" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Kees Bakels, cond. BIS, recorded in Dewan Filharmonik Petronas Hall, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), November 2003</i></blockquote>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span>❷</span></span></span></div> <blockquote>
<span style="color: #38761d;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 1:</span> beginning of first movement</b></span><br />
<br /><b>A.R.</b>: "<i>Another great lyrical solo for clarinet, especially showing off the instrument's ability to taper sound into nothingness.</i>"</blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/sibelius-1-i-opening-bernstein" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Stanley Drucker, clarinet; New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in Philharmonic Hall, Mar. 14, 1967</i><br />
<br />
If anything we've heard even more of this haunting solo than the other one, the opening of the <i>Rhapsody in Blue</i>, we first profiled in the Jan. 13 post "<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2023/01/rapid-hits-part-4-of-3-theres-more-than.html">There's more than one way you can launch a piece with a solo clarinet</a>," after which we strayed into some other Sibelian investigations (poking, for example, into the Second and Fifth Symphonies), which we've by no means finished. At some point I'm going to have to figure out where exactly we left off, in order to press further. But for now I think it's enough to note that --<br />
<br />
<b>WE'VE HEARD THE WHOLE OF SIBELIUS 1</b><br />
<blockquote>
And I think it might be a good idea to hear that same performance again (if you like, you can also read more about the Sibelius First on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._1_%28Sibelius%29">Wikipedia</a>), with the interesting coincidence that our conductor's name is about to come up again!<br />
<br />
<b>SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39:</b><br />
<b>i. Andante, ma non troppo; Allegro energico</b><br />
<b>ii. Andante (ma non troppo lento)</b> [at 11:44]<br />
<b>iii. Scherzo: Allegro</b> [at 21:24]<br />
<b>iv. Finale: Quasi una fantasia</b> [at 26:56]<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/sibelius-1-sanderling" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Kurt Sanderling, cond. Berlin Classics (Deutsche Schallplatten), recorded in Studio Christuskirche, January 1976</i></blockquote>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span>❶</span></span></span></div>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #38761d;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">RACHMANINOFF: Symphony No. 2</span> (opening of the Adagio)</b></span><br />
<br /><b>A.R.</b>: "<i>This solo is one of the most romantic lyrical melodies ever written for the clarinet.</i>"</blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/rach-2-iii-clarinet-ormandy-1951" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[clarinet solo at 0:25] <i>Anthony Gigliotti, clarinet; Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded Feb. 11, 1951 (mono)</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/rach-2-iii-clarinet-ormandy-1959" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[clarinet solo at 0:26] <i>Anthony Gigliotti, clarinet; Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded Apr. 9, 1959</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/rach-2-iii-clarinet-ormandy-1973" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[clarinet solo at 0:25] <i>Anthony Gigliotti, clarinet; Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, cond. RCA, recorded Dec. 18-19, 1973</i><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/rach-2-clarinet-solo-sanderling-lenphil" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[clarinet solo at 0:29] <i>Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Kurt Sanderling, cond. DG, recorded in the Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin, May 1956</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/rach-2-iii-clarsolo-jansons" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[clarinet solo at 0:29] <i>St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Mariss Jansons, cond. EMI, recorded in Philharmonic Hall, September 1993</i><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/rach-2-iii-clarinet-litton-rpo" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[clarinet solo at 0:29] <i>Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Litton, cond. Virgin Classics, recorded in Abbey Road Studio No. 1, London, May 1989</i><br />
<br />
As we move on to Allan R.'s No. 1 clarinet solo (with that "Honorable Mention" coming up), I'm sorry to have to report that our Stanley D. lucky streak has ended. Though he must have played it a heap of times in his NY Phil tenure -- just reading off the <a href="https://archives.nyphil.org/performancehistory/#composerprogramwork?prw:WorksID=53988|false|false&contextParam=wrk:WorksComposerName/Rachmaninoff,%20%20Sergei|wrk:WorksShortTitle/SYMPHONY%20NO.%202,%20E%20MINOR,%20OP.%2027">NY Phil Performance History</a> I count Henry Lewis (2/1980), Semyon Bychkov (3/1984), Leonard Slatkin (12/1987), Kurt Sanderling (11/1992), Yuri Temirkanov (2/1997), André Previn (10/2001), Iván Fischer (11-12/2005), and Bychkov again (11/2007) -- there was, as far as I know, no recording, and I don't have air checks of any of the above. Believe me, I'd love to hear, not just how Stanley D. played this solo, but how he played it <i>on different occasions</i>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwRPbMa-iCr8wDYMJBDkvDiLx2btIsUm460u-8fM-qfTPujwsw-ZAHw7_-eh0i_MeYVwvjft_6Pu5DYthZagWp3sHySwuCQbvN7r9q_gaAV-TSiZmyu833V8Zr6a9ycaCZTbKQnYDWzaJ7YqDtfSRp6IKozBlXBga2-paZ229JewroJr-8XUu9EJx5J5k/s1600/anthony-gigliotti-250.jpg" style="clear: left; display: block; float: left; padding: 0px 1em 0.5em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="277" data-original-width="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwRPbMa-iCr8wDYMJBDkvDiLx2btIsUm460u-8fM-qfTPujwsw-ZAHw7_-eh0i_MeYVwvjft_6Pu5DYthZagWp3sHySwuCQbvN7r9q_gaAV-TSiZmyu833V8Zr6a9ycaCZTbKQnYDWzaJ7YqDtfSRp6IKozBlXBga2-paZ229JewroJr-8XUu9EJx5J5k/s1600/anthony-gigliotti-250.jpg" /></a></div>We just have to make do, which I'm trying to manage in several ways.<br />
<br />
First, by turning to a clarinet legend of near-Druckeresque proportions: the Philadelphia Orchestra's <b>Anthony Gigliotti</b> (1922-2001; seen at left in what appears to be <i>the</i> picture of him -- I couldn't find any other). In 1949, the year after 19-year-old Stanley D. joined the NY Phil as assistant principal, 27-year-old Anthony G. joined the Philadelphia Orchestra as <i>principal</i> clarinet, adn the next year he would become a founding member of the much-heralded Philadelphia Woodwind Quintet. He would remain in his principal's chair until his retirement in 1996 -- making for a 47-year run as principal clarinet of one of the world's most prestigious orchestras. (The picture clearly dates from nearer the end than the beginning of his tenure.)<br />
<br />
During Anthony G.'s tenure, music director Eugene Ormandy made his second, third, and fourth recordings of Rach 2. (He recorded his first Rach 2 in 1934 while still with the Minneapolis Symphony.) So it's those recordings, from 1951, 1959, and 1973, that we've sampled. They sure sound like Anthony G.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0R4qCYVE-EmEAO6T2BJgfVV7s6LdmZ66uP0ifAXjLV2FUAvptapoqLLwHIKputjr70FVox9Z9WiOpaj_6QQe5cuAWOm4tzly2pcrN4oOG8qR6BDfOc77M44aZTI6Xs0fg3pQkvhkalppN-R3BqgT34Q6n8Jc-jgKqDxE39kNqr2wOk3irTYQKkI4iVkU/s1600/sanderling-in-1993-350.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 0.5em 1em; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="294" data-original-width="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0R4qCYVE-EmEAO6T2BJgfVV7s6LdmZ66uP0ifAXjLV2FUAvptapoqLLwHIKputjr70FVox9Z9WiOpaj_6QQe5cuAWOm4tzly2pcrN4oOG8qR6BDfOc77M44aZTI6Xs0fg3pQkvhkalppN-R3BqgT34Q6n8Jc-jgKqDxE39kNqr2wOk3irTYQKkI4iVkU/s1600/sanderling-in-1993-350.jpg"/></a></div>Following the trio of Gigliotti-Ormandy performances is a pair that raises the question of how this music sounds on the composer's home ground, specifically as played by Russia's one great orchestra. First we heard the post-Soviet St. Petersburg Phil under a welcome Latvian-born guest conductor, Mariss Jansons. (He recorded all three Rachmaninoff symphonies with the orchestra.) Then we jumped back in time to the Soviet era, when St. Petersburg was Leningrad and the orchestra was the Leningrad Philharmonic, which we heard under its German-born co-principal conductor, <b>Kurt Sanderling</b> (1912-2011; seen here in 1993), who had fled <i>eastward</i> from Nazi Germany -- a humdinger of a performance, which we're going to come back to. (In fact, we're going to hear the whole thing).<br />
<br />
I should note that Rach 2 isn't a piece I've particularly "collected," so I've been working from what I have at hand -- minus a number of items that, having been off the shelves so long while this project dragged on, and on, and having since found good hiding places -- I've plucked out what strikes me as an interesting take on this solo, having it slip into our consciouness almost like an apparition. It's the idea of the pre-Dallas Andrew Litton, who -- only 30 at the time -- was probably better known in Britain than in his native America. (I should know, or be able to find out who the Royal Philharmonic principal clarinet in 1989 was, but I don't and so far I can't.)<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>NOW OUR M.O. CALLS FOR HEARING THE COMPLETE ADAGIO</b><br />
<blockquote>
<b>RACHMANINOFF: Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27:<br />
iii. Adagio</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/rach-2-iii-ormandy-1951" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>Anthony Gigliotti, clarinet; Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded Feb. 11, 1951 (mono)</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/rach-2-iii-ormandy-1959" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>Anthony Gigliotti, clarinet; Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded Apr. 19, 1959</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/rach-2-iii-ormandy-1973" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>Anthony Gigliotti, clarinet; Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, cond. RCA, recorded Dec. 18-19, 1973</i><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/rach-2-iii-jansons" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Mariss Jansons, cond. EMI, recorded in Philharmonic Hall, September 1993</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/rach-2-iii-sanderling-lenphil_202306" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Kurt Sanderling, cond. DG, recorded in the Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin, May 1956</i><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/rach-2-iii-litton-rpo" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
[clarinet solo at 0:29] <i>Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Litton, cond. Virgin Classics, recorded in Abbey Road Studio No. 1, May 1989</i></blockquote>
<br />
<b>ALONG ABOUT HERE I GUESS WE HAVE TO TALK<br />
ABOUT CUTS ONCE USUALLY TAKEN IN RACH 2</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg5OjsccdutH430aqzi2E2BPkY9RoitaMLXXgDBuye4iHJl9vnrlWBTkRK10VQc0wXQGSuT8Ieo7v0K8F3YiwOOUVZi-zai8r5zvRnEBwY082BB5l7IeVAFiqgrkDvYGV2A0LT27J5OWS7b742koxwlZgmUExXyRhouuMkF-gWf8oahcyb1bpVH8k2_oE/s1600/Rachmaninoff-Ormandy-520.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg5OjsccdutH430aqzi2E2BPkY9RoitaMLXXgDBuye4iHJl9vnrlWBTkRK10VQc0wXQGSuT8Ieo7v0K8F3YiwOOUVZi-zai8r5zvRnEBwY082BB5l7IeVAFiqgrkDvYGV2A0LT27J5OWS7b742koxwlZgmUExXyRhouuMkF-gWf8oahcyb1bpVH8k2_oE/s1600/Rachmaninoff-Ormandy-520.jpg"/></a></div>
<center><i><b>Sergei Rachmaninoff</b> and <b>Eugene Ormandy</b></i></center><br />
You may have noticed that the 1951 and 1959 Ormandy and 1956 Sanderling performances don't include quite as many notes as the others. This is a legacy of the once-nearly-invariable practice of performing Rach 2 with trims in all four movements. The composer himself, no doubt still shaky from the trauma he had endured with the unrolling of his First Symphony, was amenable to the idea of trims to the Second, a long work that can feel kind of repetitious and structurally chancy if the performers can't give the audience confidence that the piece really does know where it has come from and where it's going.<br />
<br />
Significantly, Eugene Ormandy, who had developed a close relationship with the composer in the years before his death, in 1943, continued performing edited versions of Rach 2 up to his last recording, the 1973 RCA. It seems clear that the matter was discussed with the composer, who had some level of acceptance of the trimming.<br />
<br />
I'm not sure we've gained as much as we think by subjecting Rach 2 to the modern day ethos of must-perform-every-damned-not, at least not without insisting that performers bring to the performance a satisfactory level of understanding of what make the thing tick. So I got the idea of juxtaposing the cut and uncut Ormandy performances, for two reasons: first, to give a hearing to the symphony's largest and presumptively most content-sensitive movement, and second, to hear for at least two of the movements (the symphony's larger ones) the cut vs. uncut text.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
<b>RACHMANINOFF: Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27:<br />
i. Largo -- Allegro moderato</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/rach-2-i-ormandy-1951" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded Feb. 11, 1951 (mono)</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/rach-2-i-ormandy-1959" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded Apr. 19, 1959</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/rach-2-i-ormandy-1973_202307" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
[uncut] <i>Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, cond. RCA, recorded Dec. 18-19, 1973</i>
<br />
<br />
<b>THE UNCUT FORM <i>IS</i> DIFFERENT, ISN'T IT?</b><br />
<br />
For one thing, Rach 2 is by intention a really big piece. I think it's not an accident that we have tempo markings like the first-movement introduction's Largo and the third movement's Adagio. It's also a piece of considerable darkness, though it also contains dimensions of light. These are all elements a conductor has to explore and balance. But if you want to hear what I mean by the music knowing where it's coming from and where it's going, I offer this performance by a conductor well known to us. Yes, he makes cuts, but at almost every moment he's making rich dramatic sense of music I've spent much of my listening life allowing mostly to pass me by.</blockquote>
<br />
<b>I SAID WE'D HEAR ALL OF RACH 2 -- NOW IT'S TIME</b><br />
<blockquote>Again, it's not uncut, but I think this is the performance we want -- or maybe <i>need</i> -- to hear. Even the recorded sound -- accomplished by a DG team while the Leningraders were on tour in Berlin -- seems to me exceptional.<br />
<br />
<b>RACHMANINOFF: Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27:</b><br />
<b>i. Largo</b> [at 0:01] <b>-- Adagio moderato</b> [at 3:50]<br />
<b>ii. Allegro molto</b> [at 17:47]<br />
<b>iii. Adagio</b> [at27:36]<br />
<b>iv. Allegro vivace</b> [at 42:03]<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/rach-2-iii-sanderling-lenphil" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Kurt Sanderling, cond. DG, recorded in the Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin, May 1956</i></blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<b>FINALLY WE COME TO A.R.'S "HONORABLE MENTION"</b><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: #38761d;"><b>HONORABLE MENTION</b></span></span></div>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: medium;"><b>KODÁLY: <i>Dances of Galánta</i></b></span><br />
<br /><b>A.R.</b>: "<i>This solo and cadenza seem perfectly suited to the clarinet, full of gypsy character and technical pyrotechnics.</i>"</blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/galanta-clarsolo-dorati" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[clarinet entrance after 0:17] <i>Philharmonia Hungarica, Antal Dorati, cond. Mercury, recorded in the Grosse Saal of the Vienna Konzaerthaus, June 2, 1958</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/galanta-clarsolo-reiner-pitt" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[clarinet entrance after 0:14] <i>Sigurd Bockman, clarinet; Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner, cond. Columbia, recorded in the Syria Mosque, Mar. 27, 1945</i><br />
<br />
"Honorable mention" indeed -- if you were an orchestral clarinetist, I shudder to think of what you might do to get your people to put the <i>Dances of Galánta</i> on the bill.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, we're in the same fix as with the Rachmaninoff Second Symphony: I have no S.D. performance for you. Again, he must have played the piece -- it turned up a number of times during his principalship, conducted by Andre Kostelanzetz (concerts in 6/1977, 5/1972, and 10/1979), Sergiu Comissiona (a 6/1977 Rug Concert), Andrew Davis (3/1978), Zubin Mehta (2/1990), David Gilbert (a 3/1990 Young People's Concert), Michael Morgan (10/1992), Semyon Bychkov (10/1996), Andrew Davis again (1/2002), and Lorin Maazel (in New York in 2-3/2006 and later that year at a sprinkling of tour concerts).<br />
<br />
So I've turned to a couple of Hungarian expats: Fritz Reiner, ensconced in Pittsburgh in his pre-Chicago days; and Antal Dorati, recording in Vienna with the expat orchestra he did so much to bring into being. <br />
<br />
<b>AND THE WHOLE THING:</b><br />
<blockquote>
<b>KODÁLY: <i>Dances of Galánta</i></b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/galanta-dorati" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>Philharmonia Hungarica, Antal Dorati, cond. Mercury, recorded in the Grosse Saal of the Vienna Konzerthaus, June 2, 1958</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/galanta-reiner" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>Sigurd Bockman, clarinet; Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner, cond. Columbia, recorded in the Syria Mosque, Mar. 27, 1945</i></blockquote>
<br />
<b>PROGRAMMING NOTE:<br />
<i>Tosca</i> follow-up still to come</b><br />
<br />
You may recall that two weeks ago ("We move on to No. 7 as we count our way through those "<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2023/07/we-move-on-to-no-7-as-we-count-our-way.html">Top 10 [or 11] Orchestral Clarinet Solos" with (mostly) Stanley Drucker</a>") our countdown of Allan Rosenfeld's list stalled at No. 7, Cavaradossi's aria "<i>E lucevan le stelle</i>" from Act III of <i>Tosca</i>. I couldn't resist the occasion to take a look at some of the extraordinary craftsmanship -- at the service of outsize genius -- is on view in those opening 14 minutes or so of Act III of <i>Tosca</i>. To which end I got as far as: (a) breaking the scene down into its component parts, and (b) assembling 11 audio clips taking us from Puccini's musical portrait of the awakening city of Rome to Cavaradossi's arrival at his imminent place of execution on through Tosca's entrance bringing -- she thinks -- documented word of his rescue.<br />
<br />
What I didn't get to was adding any comment on what all that aimed at pulling all this material together -- trying to show what those 11 performances have to tell us about Puccini's crafting of this extraordinary opera. I still want to give that a shot. In fact, I hoped to have it ready today. I didn't. Soon, though!<br />
<center>#</center>KenInNYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03712690425664894186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823063346488779206.post-83379022865542718962023-07-09T12:59:00.023-04:002023-07-12T13:09:02.642-04:00Continuing our countdown of clarinetist Allan Rosenfeld's "Top 10 [actually 11] Orchestral Clarinet Solos," at No. 6 we come to --<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxNTyfYDStyOhWeJDaSg8fHievd_8Vof83Md22rYYtvPoIE1oNzLh7Q3jdxv57pr37AdKtXGy5CKuG0lFEI3WSnzONj0zyCD-_-Gq8DYvwUW76Zpk6cLqSUsm3iyjiRsEEDse15Cpps8b6W3OyZMA19k1yRD3-W4798IprUbSbwKEEoy9elpUG7nIR8u8/s1600/manhattan-poster-520.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxNTyfYDStyOhWeJDaSg8fHievd_8Vof83Md22rYYtvPoIE1oNzLh7Q3jdxv57pr37AdKtXGy5CKuG0lFEI3WSnzONj0zyCD-_-Gq8DYvwUW76Zpk6cLqSUsm3iyjiRsEEDse15Cpps8b6W3OyZMA19k1yRD3-W4798IprUbSbwKEEoy9elpUG7nIR8u8/s1600/manhattan-poster-520.jpg" /></a></div>
<b>From the <i>Manhattan</i> soundtrack:</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/rhapsody-opening-graffman-mehta" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Stanley Drucker, clarinet; Gary Graffman, piano; New York Philharmonic, Zubin Mehta, cond. CBS-Sony, released 1979</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>THIS TIME: Gershwin, Bartók, Beethoven</b><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span>❻</span></span></span></div>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #38761d;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">GERSHWIN: <i>Rhapsody in Blue</i>:</span> beginning</b></span><br />
<br />
<b>ALLAN ROSENFELD</b>: "<i>Anyone who has ever seen Woody Allen's film <b>Manhattan</b> knows there's no way I could leave this showstopper off the list.</i>"</blockquote>
<br />
<b>NOW, WE DID THE <i>RHAPSODY</i> OPENING PRETTY WELL --</b> <i>in January 13's "<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2023/01/rapid-hits-part-4-of-3-theres-more-than.html">There's more than one way you can launch a piece with a solo clarinet</a>." But that doesn't mean we can't do it again!</i><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/rhapsody-opening-drucker-bernstein-rah-1976" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Stanley Drucker, clarinet; New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, piano and cond. Live performance from the Royal Albert Hall, London, June 3-4, 1976</i> [<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH2PH0auTUU">Watch here</a>]<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/rhapsody-opening-drucker-bernstein-frankfurt-1976" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Stanley Drucker, clarinet; New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, piano and cond. Live performance from the Jahrhunderthalle (Centennial Hall), Frankfurt, June 8-9, 1976</i> [Again, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGpMLoFyjwA">watch here</a>]<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/gershwin-rhapsody-opening-say-masur" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Stanley Drucker, clarinet; Fazil Say, piano; New York Philharmonic, Kurt Masur, cond. Teldec, recorded in Avery Fisher Hall, December 1998</i><br />
<br />
<b>by Ken</b><br />
<br />
As it says up top, we're resuming our countdown of Charlotte (NC) Symphony clarinetist Allan Rosenfeld's November 2020 "<a href="https://www.charlottesymphony.org/blog/clarinetist-allan-rosenfeld-top-10-orchestral-clarinet-solos/">Top 10 [really 11, with the inclusion of an "Honorable Mention"] Orchestral Clarinet Solos</a>," in our ongoing remembrance of the late Stanley Drucker, and we pick up at No. 6, the consciousness-blowing opening of Gershwin's <i>Rhapsody in Blue</i>, which the New York Philharmonic's beyond-legendary Stanley D. can be readily heard playing with no fewer than three NY Phil music directors -- that I know of!<br />
<br />(I had to word that carefully, because as often as Stanley D. and Lenny B. must have performed the <i>Rhapsody</i> together, and as easy as it is to find performances they did together, as far as I know they never actually <i>recorded</i> it together. When Lenny B. did his inevitable DG remake, it was with the LA not NY Phil.)<br />
<blockquote><div><b>THE LIST SO FAR</b><br />
<br />
<b>10) Respighi: <i>Pines of Rome</i>, end of "Pines of the Janiculum"</b><br />
<b>9) Tchaikovsky: <i>Francesca da Rimini</i></b><br />
<b>8) Brahms: Symphony No. 3, opening of 2nd movement</b><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;">
-- in "<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2023/06/an-orchestra-principals-most-visible.html">An orchestra principal's most visible job is playing orchestral solos written for his/her instrument. <i>He-e-re's Stanley D.!</i></a>" [June 25]<br /></div><div>
<b>7) Puccini: <i>Tosca</i>, Act III, "<i>E lucevan le stelle</i>"</b><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;">
-- in "<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2023/07/we-move-on-to-no-7-as-we-count-our-way.html">We move on to No. 7 as we count our way through those 'Top 10 [or 11] Orchestral Clarinet Solos' with (mostly) Stanley Drucker</a>" [July 2]</div></blockquote>
<br />
<b>ABOUT ALL THERE REMAINS FOR US TO DO WITH<br />
THE <i>RHAPSODY</i> IS TO HEAR THE WHOLE THING!</b><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>For which I thought we'd slip in the complete performances, days apart, from Lenny B. and the NY Phil's June 1976 Bicentennial Tour, first from London's Royal Albert Hall, then -- a bit more meltingly luxuriant and happily more frenetic -- from Frankfurt's Centennial Hall. Well, while we're at it, maybe we can sneak in the whole <i>Rhapsody</i>, recorded (as part of a whole LP's's worth of Gershwiniana) for the <i>Manhattan</i> soundtrack.<br />
<br />
<b>GERSHWIN: <i>Rhapsody in Blue</i> (orch. Grofé)</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/gershwin-rhapsody-bernstein-rah-1976" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Stanley Drucker, clarinet; New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, piano and cond. Live performance from the Royal Albert Hall, London, June 3-4, 1976</i> [Again, you can <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH2PH0auTUU">watch it here</a>]<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/rhapsody-drucker-bernstein-frankfurt-1976" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Stanley Drucker, clarinet; New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, piano and cond. Live performance from the Jahrhunderthalle (Centennial Hall), Frankfurt, June 8-9, 1976</i> [Again, you can <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGpMLoFyjwA">watch it here</a>]<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/rhapsody-graffman-mehta" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Stanley Drucker, clarinet; Gary Graffman, piano; New York Philharmonic, Zubin Mehta, cond. CBS-Sony, recorded for the <b>Manhattan</b> soundtrack, released 1979</i><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span>❺</span></span></span></div>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: medium;"><b>BARTÓK: <i>The Miraculous Mandarin</i>: Suite</b></span><br />
<br /><b>A.R.</b>: "<i>There are three big clarinet solos spread throughout this suite. And they are big: erotic, wild, frenzied cadenzas with lots of notes!</i>"</blockquote>
<b>(1) First Seduction Game, with lead-in from the "Curtain Rise" section</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/miraculous-mandarin-boulez-nyp" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[First Seduction Game: clarinet entrance at 0:34]<br />
<br />
<b>(2) Second Seduction Game, from the preceding <i>Vivace</i></b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/mandarin-2nd-seduction-game-boulez-nyp" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[Second Seduction Game: clarinet entrance at 0:14, joined by partner-clarinet about 0:40]<br />
<br />
<b>(3) Third Seduction Game, from before the preceding <i>Più mosso</i></b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/mandarin-3rdgame-boulez-nyp" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[Third Seduction Game: duo-clarinets' entrance at 0:29]<br />
<br />
<i>Stanley Drucker, clarinet; with clarinet-partner in (2) and (3); New York Philharmonic, Pierre Boulez, cond. CBS-Sony, recorded in Philharmonic Hall, May 11, 1971</i><br />
<br />
The Boulez-NYP recording we're sampling is of the complete <i>Miraculous Mandarin</i>, whereas A.R. refers specifically to the <i>Suite</i>, but we're hearing the same thing -- in the Suite the first half or so of the complete <i>Mandarin</i> score is taken over pretty much as is. I suppose we need to establish the context of the three Seduction Games, much as I don't want to dip into the squalid plot of <i>The Miraculous Mandarin</i>. (Read to your heart's content on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Miraculous_Mandarin">Wikipedia</a>.) For our purposes, suffice it to say that we're in the shabby room of three impoverished and ruthless tramps, who are compelling a girl (presumably a prostitute?) to play a Seduction (or Decoy) Game, dancing in the window to the street to seduce unsuspecting men to come on up and be mugged. The dances are voiced musically, as described by A.R., by a solo clarinet -- or in the latter part of the Second Game and all of the Third, a pair of clarinets.<br />
<br />
Mercifully, that's as far into the piece as we have to go. The thing is, for the pantomime's assortedly sordid low-life doings, Bartók has provided this simply enthralling score, which among many delights gives the first clarinet in particular this astonishing and totally attention-riveting workout. [Read about <i>The Miraculous Mandarin</i> on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Miraculous_Mandarin">Wikipedia</a>.]<br />
<blockquote><b>SINCE A.R. SPECIFIES THE <i>MM</i> SUITE --</b><br />
<br />
This seems a good opportunity to listen to this foreshortened version in the pioneer recording on the Bartók Records label conducted by the composer's most trusted musical associate, Tibor Serly (1901-1978) -- the person who brought to completion or at least performability the assortment of works the dying Bartók left in varying degrees of completable incompleteness.<br />
<br />
<b>BARTÓK: <i>The Miraculous Mandarin</i>: Suite</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAFjb5gZXrXGHxpOkMQ7czsE76aQjZnieCMkuYo56CQHeCBXuRGdd4fNXshQHQf7z7x9uPBv9EW6gbU7tHknqQHQIAB_4C5RwWvogWWwwl3ao56vx2TpaPNPMOXDllxA_Tq3uIj_8EjxJl5T37qVE9rN1Pnteeo8fROR8TWnYFggE-8u1D1eaMn8AapW8/s1600/tibor-serly-mandarin-jacket-480.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAFjb5gZXrXGHxpOkMQ7czsE76aQjZnieCMkuYo56CQHeCBXuRGdd4fNXshQHQf7z7x9uPBv9EW6gbU7tHknqQHQIAB_4C5RwWvogWWwwl3ao56vx2TpaPNPMOXDllxA_Tq3uIj_8EjxJl5T37qVE9rN1Pnteeo8fROR8TWnYFggE-8u1D1eaMn8AapW8/s1600/tibor-serly-mandarin-jacket-480.jpg" /></a></div>
i. Introduction. Street noises.<br />
ii. Siren call of the girl, entrance of the first victim, a shabby elderly gentleman, his eradication.<br />
iii. Second siren call, entrance of another victim, a callow young hopeful, his expulsion by the gangsters.<br />
iv. Third siren call, entrance of the Mandarin.<br />
v. The girl's dance, which commences slowly but develops into a wild, formless waltz.<br />
vi. The Mandarin's pursuit. The Suite ends as he seizes the girl.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lp_suite-from-the-miraculous-mandarin_bla-bartk-tibor-serly-the-new-symphony-orc/disc1/01.01.+Introduction%3A+Street+Noises.%3B+Siren+Call+Of+The+Girl%2C+Entrance+Of+The+First+Victim%2C+A+Shabby+Elderly+Gentleman%2C+His+Eradication%3B+Second+Siren+Call%2C+Entrance+Of+Another+Victim%2C+A+Callow+Young+Hopeful%2C+His+Expulsion+By+The+Gangst...mp3" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>New Symphony Orchestra of London, Tibor Serly, cond. Bartók Records, recorded in Kingsway Hall, released 1951</i><br />
<br />
<b>DON'T TELL ANYONE, BUT LET'S LISTEN --</b><br />
<br />
to the whole of that crackling (in the <i>good</i> sense) Boulez-NYP performance of the complete <i>Miraculous Mandarin</i>.<br />
<br />
<b>BARTÓK: <i>The Miraculous Mandarin</i><br />
(pantomime in one act)</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs_Aj6Ubtw2OPBy4PnI5EmA19nmIMJz1G7B2zp3HQ7tdJa6WTq88XXIQz902hoy4gpDTQE9T9BrBBzZKil0sUBvc3PiTgcHwDKWvGIaoBMZdE_TjwyfO7YV1Xpz26lk0Nw53B_AaCeyGGYSoD6u6liGINiZ2toDTzV57axj_zjHekybqDLJwGZsNnj94Q/s1600/boulez-miraculous-mandarin-480.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs_Aj6Ubtw2OPBy4PnI5EmA19nmIMJz1G7B2zp3HQ7tdJa6WTq88XXIQz902hoy4gpDTQE9T9BrBBzZKil0sUBvc3PiTgcHwDKWvGIaoBMZdE_TjwyfO7YV1Xpz26lk0Nw53B_AaCeyGGYSoD6u6liGINiZ2toDTzV57axj_zjHekybqDLJwGZsNnj94Q/s1600/boulez-miraculous-mandarin-480.jpg" /></a></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/complete-mandarin-boulez-nyp" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>New York Philharmonic, Pierre Boulez, cond. CBS-Sony, recorded in Philharmonic Hall, May 11, 1971</i></blockquote>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span>❹</span></span></span></div>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 6: middle of 2nd movement</b></span>
<br />
<br />
<b>A.R.</b>: "<i>The clarinet solo Beethoven wrote here really allows the sound of the instrument to soar above the orchestra.</i>"</blockquote>
<b>BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 6 in F, Op. 68 (<i>Pastoral</i>):<br />
clarinet solo from ii. Scene by the Brook (Andante molto mosso)</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/beeth-6-ii-clarinet-drucker-bernstein" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[clarinet solo at 0:26] <i>Stanley Drucker, clarinet; New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in Manhattan Center, May 13, 1963</i><br /><br />
<b>And the whole movement --</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/beeth-6-ii-bernstein-nyo" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in Manhattan Center, May 13, 1963</i><br />
<br />
If you're wondering how the later-Lenny "Scene by the Brook" (which we've actually heard) compares, it's actually a shade quicker(!), and flows in a more organized, less rhapsodic way.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/BeethovenSymphonyNo.6Ii.AndanteMoltoMossoobernstein-vpo1978" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Vienna Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. DG, recorded live in the Vienna Singverein, Nov. 12, 1978</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>OF COURSE WE WANT TO HEAR THE WHOLE <i>PASTORAL</i></b><br />
<blockquote>
And we have, resting quietly on the shelf . . . Maestro Celibidache, so recently encountered leading us so stalwartly through Brahms 3!<br />
<br />
<b>BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 6 in F, Op. 68 (<i>Pastoral</i>)</b>:<br />
<b>i. Awakening of cheerful sensations on arrival in the countryside: Allegro ma non troppo</b><br />
<b>ii. Scene by the brook: Andante molto mosso</b> [at 10:22]<br />
(our clip at 16:48; clarinet solo at 17:09)<br />
<b>iii. Merry gathering of country folk: Allegro</b> [at 24:24]<br />
<b>iv. Thunder, storm: Allegro</b> [at 30:16]<br />
<b>v. Shepherd's song. Happy and thankful feelings after the storm: Allegretto</b> [at 34:11]<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/3rd-5thMvmtscelibidache-stuttgartRadio1982" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sergiu Celibidache, cond. Live performance from the Beethoven-Saal, Stuttgart, Feb. 10, 1982</i><br />
<br />
I don't know that there are startling insights in Maestro C.'s <i>Pastoral</i>, and goodness knows nothing in the way of orchestral finesse or tonal sophistication or a thousand other qualities for which there are a thousand other performances we can (and I <i>do</i>) turn to. What I do hear is deep appreciation, love, and respect for this cherishable score, realized with a determination to allow it the space to make a resounding case. Do the "happy and thankful feelings after the storm" get much happier or thankfuller?</blockquote>
<b>AND WE KNOW, CRUCIALLY, THAT THE <i>PASTORAL</i><br />
IS FRATERNAL TWIN TO ITS IMMEDIATE PREDECESSOR</b><br />
<blockquote>
It's something we've observed a number of times about Beethoven, even more starkly than many other composers who felt the same need: while working on a piece of a deeply felt but deeply particular character, to work, either consecutively or even simultaneously, or at least overlappingly, on something deeply different -- there being no more dramatic example than the Beethoven Fifth and Sixth Symphonies.<br />
<br />
It just so happens that on the same program with the <i>Pastoral</i> we just heard, Maestro Celibidache conducted the Beethoven Fifth! And how fastidious he is about allowing the three later movements to assume their full weight alongside their potentially-so-dominating opening movement. In the Scherzo and Finale he may stretch the idea of "allegro" pretty close to the breaking point, but I for one sure have no complaint.<br />
<br />
[<b>Side thought</b>: I sometimes wonder how many times Stanley D. must have performed works like Beethoven 5 and 6. My guess is that whatever the number, it didn't seriously affect the concentration he devoted to preparing for each new round of performances.]<br />
<br />
<b>BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67:</b><br />
<b>i. Allegro con brio</b><br />
<b>ii. Andante con moto</b> [at 5:59]<br />
<b>iii. Allegro</b> [at 16:59]<br />
<b>iv. Allegro</b> [after 22:31]<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/beeth-5-celibidache-1982" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sergiu Celibidache, cond. Live performance from the Beethoven-Saal, Stuttgart, Feb. 10, 1982</i></blockquote>
<br />
<b>WHEW! THIS HAS BEEN QUITE A HAUL, AND<br />
WE'VE STILL ONLY GOTTEN THROUGH NO. 4</b><br />
<br />
The deal going in was that we allow ourselves the latitude to reflect and digress, focusing as much as possible on <i>the music</i>, as I think Stanley D. would have liked us to do. So at this point I'm thinking maybe we slip in a place-holder and plan to regroup for one final push -- through Nos. 3, 2, and 1 plus that "Honorable Mention" (which I can assure you is itself worth the wait).<br />
<br />Maybe even sooner than next week. The way I've always heard it, it's somehow important, or leastwise <i>helpful</i>, for a person to <i>dream</i>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>STILL TO COME . . .</b><br />
<br />
We've got Rimsky-Korsakov (music we've already heard but left dangling), Sibelius (can you guess what this is?), Rachmaninoff, and Kodály.<br />
<center>#</center>KenInNYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03712690425664894186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823063346488779206.post-67126869325775072452023-07-02T23:44:00.103-04:002023-07-16T22:40:23.874-04:00We move on to No. 7 as we count our way through those "Top 10 [or 11] Orchestral Clarinet Solos" with (mostly) Stanley Drucker<div><b>STANLEY D. GOES TO THE OPERA --<br />
AND HEREUPON HANGS OUR TALE</b><br />
(<i>with apologies for the crappy sound and crappier end-edit</i>)<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/e-lucevan-solo-stanley-d-with-pavarotti-1983" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<br />
<b>OR, TO HEAR IT IN CONTEXT --</b><br />
(<i>still in crappy sound, but at least without my unavoidably crappy edit</i>)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiwhYEOCPt8OG2-04G_EvwIA736jomwDsk94hvg3RT1BNOeDBBsLHpCc_xGwa9XIr03RfLjwUQaRJKX791cVsnc855OvMNp9FvPUm_Cl3oeB5xV448d1mKLm8h8nHqwg-thjln84WgrsblKX7QKGyp4Vf4rjKXtHqXWzDM7SYD_WdTzgBfUYem-3rs6XA/s1600/luciano-lincoln-center-1983-520.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiwhYEOCPt8OG2-04G_EvwIA736jomwDsk94hvg3RT1BNOeDBBsLHpCc_xGwa9XIr03RfLjwUQaRJKX791cVsnc855OvMNp9FvPUm_Cl3oeB5xV448d1mKLm8h8nHqwg-thjln84WgrsblKX7QKGyp4Vf4rjKXtHqXWzDM7SYD_WdTzgBfUYem-3rs6XA/s1600/luciano-lincoln-center-1983-520.jpg" /></a></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/e-lucevan-pavarotti-1983" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i><b>Great Performers at Lincoln Center</b>, Avery Fisher Hall, live, April 1983</i><br />
[<i>Note the audience's response when they hear Stanley D. launch "The Solo."</i>]
<div style="text-align: center;"><blockquote>
And the stars were shining<br />
and the earth was perfumed,<br />
the garden gate creaked,<br />
and footsteps grazed the path.<br />
She entered, all fragrance,<br />
she fell into my arms.<br />
O sweet kisses, o languid caresses,<br />
while I, trembling,<br />
unloosed the veils, revealing her beauty!<br />
Gone forever that dream of love --<br />
the hour has fled,<br />
and I die despairing, and I die despairing!<br />
Yet never before have I loved life, loved life so much!<br />
</blockquote></div>
<i>Luciano Pavarotti, tenor; with Stanley Drucker, clarinet; New York Philharmonic, Zubin Mehta, cond. Encore performance from a Pavarotti-Mehta "Gala Concert," telecast live from Avery Fisher Hall, Apr. 4, 1983 (with post-performance announcements by Martin Bookspan)</i><br />
[Note: Farther along we're going to hear Luciano P. in good studio sound.]<br />
<br />
<b>by Ken</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Ig_1ifmyWgkAVrI3_nbP7rhzfw7GKaMw3x4LRYzBTI6qVBYU2uQvjU5GdGG8OMI-SG0Q5JPmgjYpg-bHn43ruZpCoKc-huGPcQYRkEcKN6X8uCFObCMPF3x90WBVT9qxIt7XwtCfpYrMJ6oGE7h-2Ph1j1AvP1V5_nndvFBMUEuWf4b7IRN-84eUGAI/s1600/Stanley_Drucker_late-250.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 0.5em 1em; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="394" data-original-width="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Ig_1ifmyWgkAVrI3_nbP7rhzfw7GKaMw3x4LRYzBTI6qVBYU2uQvjU5GdGG8OMI-SG0Q5JPmgjYpg-bHn43ruZpCoKc-huGPcQYRkEcKN6X8uCFObCMPF3x90WBVT9qxIt7XwtCfpYrMJ6oGE7h-2Ph1j1AvP1V5_nndvFBMUEuWf4b7IRN-84eUGAI/s1600/Stanley_Drucker_late-250.jpg"/></a></div>We're continuing our countdown through Charlotte (NC) Symphony Orchestra clarinetist Allan Rosenfeld's list of his "Top 10 Orchestral Clarinet Solos," in the company (mostly) of the New York Philharmonic's 61-season clarinetist, <b>Stanley Drucker</b> (1929-2022) -- first, from age 19, as assistant principal, then for an amazing 49 seasons as principal clarinet.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2023/06/an-orchestra-principals-most-visible.html">Last week</a> (in "An orchestra principal's most visible job is playing orchestral solos written for his/her instrument. <i>He-e-re's Stanley D.!</i>") we made it all the way down from No. 10 (the end of "Pines of the Janiculum" from Respighi's <i>Pines of Rome</i>) to No. 8 (the opening of the Andante of the Brahms Third Symphony) -- oh, right, passing through No. 9 (from the "Andante cantabile non troppo" section of Tchaikovsky's <i>Francesca da Rimini</i>).<br />
<br />
So here I was thinking that with two good pushes we could get through the whole list, even allowing ample excursion time to look in a larger way at <i>the music</i> represented, which, as I tried to explain, is one effect pondering Stanley D.'s enormous career has had on me. I mean, to have been that immersed in music -- mostly not of his own choosing -- all those decades while maintaining an insistence on bringing to each performance first-performance freshness: How awesome is that?<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>WOULDN'T YOU KNOW? RIGHT AWAY AT NO. 7 I GOT STUCK</b><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivOPgCBlWoVyoD_sPZa0LDjn2pASpY1CAN1PLiGv1oQ2dcVCw94pyzHbGF96TwllYMJaFxVbMO_xJ4qqtAvvYqYfr6aFgUnXb0kHMaS3g5cFv1htGaUgFIv1MisGn3wGPsleKep-n--OK_rlUAycmARqzT-sibsmEa7j99D1GAj-JDZ1WNtOe0kJlzeAQ/s1600/young-lorin-maazel-200.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 0.5em 1em; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="292" data-original-width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivOPgCBlWoVyoD_sPZa0LDjn2pASpY1CAN1PLiGv1oQ2dcVCw94pyzHbGF96TwllYMJaFxVbMO_xJ4qqtAvvYqYfr6aFgUnXb0kHMaS3g5cFv1htGaUgFIv1MisGn3wGPsleKep-n--OK_rlUAycmARqzT-sibsmEa7j99D1GAj-JDZ1WNtOe0kJlzeAQ/s1600/young-lorin-maazel-200.jpg"/></a></div>I ran into trouble, but not the trouble it had been originally, when I wondered what my chances were of getting hold of a Stanley D. performance of Cavaradossi's Act III aria from <i>Tosca</i>, "<i>E lucevan le stelle</i>"? I was pleasantly surprised to find, digging into the NY Phil's dandy online <a href="https://archives.nyphil.org/performancehistory/#program">Performance History</a>, that in fact he would presumably have performed the solo on multiple occasions, including the series of complete concert performances of <i>Tosca</i> offered in June 2008 by his last Philharmonic music director, Lorin Maazel. (Spoiler alert: We're going to be hearing a chunk of <i>Tosca</i> conducted -- very nicely too! -- by <b>a much younger [as in the picture] Maestro Maazel</b>.) The trouble then was that I didn't have access to any of those performances.<br />
<br />
Until, suddenly, I did! Not the <i>greatest</i> access, mind you, but still access -- access enough to let us hear the extraordinariness of Stanley D.'s performance of this extraordinary solo, which for the record is marked "<i>dolcissimo, vagamente rubando</i>," which I'm going to render as "sweetest" or "gentlest" and "with some degree of rubato" (i.e., rhythmic stretching).<br />
<br />
But in editing not just the <i>Great Performers at Lincoln Center</i> clip but the clips I was thinking of compiling for context, I kept wanting to include more and more of the setting into which Puccini so carefully fit this astonishingly and exquisitely beautiful little aria. I kept thinking, no, we need to go farther back, and <i>farther</i> back, until I was all the way back to the haunting opening of Act III, which begings to create a dramatic and emotional context for this day in the life of Rome, before focusing in on the really nasty bit of context closing in on the fervent and idealistic painter Mario Cavaradossi, who is facing what he has every reason to believe is last hour on earth.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>WHICH SET ME TO THINKING MORE EXPANSIVELY<br />
ABOUT WHAT A MIRACULOUS CREATION <i>TOSCA</i> IS</b><br />
<br />
Which set me to thinking more expansively about just what a miraculous creation <i>Tosca</i> is. I don't think it suffers from any lack of appreciation today, but it's amazing how it was viewed as a shabby shocker little worthy of association with the sturdier creations of the operatic literature.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnG5GJfU4VV036nm9Z-BCLFusL46kcvchYzVoC7PWV5_SFOAQ47OWnMuZWz8O90x2Cj83MARCBU34-iPTclz_3r75yxJdib5nsnKA6zLph2dabR28jmwqD6Xae0kw6H_dsu1WoT9-2sUFEHQMuxwxpcpALHCcQ0hhDXqCgTKMyAsIXp9YnJUTr4AQu2Jk/s1600/callas-as-tosca-250.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 0.5em 1em; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="363" data-original-width="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnG5GJfU4VV036nm9Z-BCLFusL46kcvchYzVoC7PWV5_SFOAQ47OWnMuZWz8O90x2Cj83MARCBU34-iPTclz_3r75yxJdib5nsnKA6zLph2dabR28jmwqD6Xae0kw6H_dsu1WoT9-2sUFEHQMuxwxpcpALHCcQ0hhDXqCgTKMyAsIXp9YnJUTr4AQu2Jk/s1600/callas-as-tosca-250.jpg"/></a></div>Which I hope is <i>obviously</i> ridiculous. There's about a Wagner opera's worth of craftsmanship in this under-two-hour time bomb, and all that craftsmanship is bound up with and by vast reserves of astuteness and just plain inspiration. As I thought about it, it occurred to me that this was the case for carving out a chunk of Act III of <i>Tosca</i> that goes back to the start and continues on through the arrival on that parapet of Castel Sant' Angelo of Cavaradossi's beloved, the singer Floria Tosca, who knows something he doesn't know -- or at least she thinks she does. At the other end of the intermission between Acts II and III we witnessed the lengths to which Tosca discovered she was prepared to go in order to -- as she thought -- save Cavaradossi from the vindictive clutches of Baron Scarpia, the Roman police commander. (Of course in the picture that's <b>Callas as Tosca</b> struggling with the horrible ordeal of Act II.) I knew we couldn't go very far into the ensuing Tosca-Cavaradossi scene, but I knew we had to get <i>into</i> the scene.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile I was thinking of more and more performances from which we might want to hear this chunk of Act III, and once I had settled on the parameters, I started making clips -- eventually 11 of them. This all became such an involving task that I managed to shove off consideration of just what I would do with 11 clips of this roughly 14-minute chunk. Surely not just dump 'em all out on you?<br />
<br />
Alas, at least at initial posting, that's kind of what I'm doing. I'll throw out some simple observations, but as the volume of material increased, I nurtured the hope that I'd be able to spend some time processing it all. Which, as I keep pointing out, becomes vastly more feasible once the post is posted, and all the clips are not only in place but "live."<br />
<br />
<br />
<b> ONE THING I <i>DID</i> DO WAS BREAK DOWN <i>OUR</i> TEXT<br />
INTO THE SEGMENTS THAT MAKE UP THIS SCENE</b><br />
<br />
I wanted to make it as easy as possible to home in on the very different kinds of musico-dramatic challenges Puccini and librettists Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica (the creative team from <i>La Bohème</i>, which would collaborate again on <i>Madama Butterfly</i>), working of course from the play of Sardou, set for just this chunk of the opera.<br />
<br />
In a way, I've often thought, Puccini's are "performer-proof," in that they're so minutely and specifically detailed that you'd think they almost can't be gotten wrong, provided you're really and truly working from the text. Not surprisingly, it doesn't entirely work out that way. Performers have a way of thinking they're "adding insights" when they'd probably do better to make sure they understand what the composer is asking them to do.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>LET'S GET TO OUR CHUNK OF ACT III OF <i>TOSCA</i></b><br />
<br />
<b>PUCCINI: <i>Tosca</i>: Act III opening, up to Tosca's entrance,<br />
including Cavaradossi's "<i>E lucevan le stelle</i>"</b><br />
<br />
[<b>Time cues</b> <i>are to the Muti-Philadelphia recording -- see below</i>]<br />
<br />
[1] <b>The Rampart of Castel Sant' Angelo</b><br />
<blockquote><i>To the left, a casemate.* A table with a langern, a large register and writing materials, a bench and a chair. On one wall of the casemate is a crucifix with a lamp hanging before it. On the right is the opening of a small staircase leading to the floor below. In the background the Vatican and St. Peter's can be seen.</i><br />
<br />
*Don't know what a <i>casemate</i> (Italian: <i>casamatta</i>) is? I know I didn't. Per <i>American Heritage Dictionary,</i> 3rd ed.: "An armored compartment for artillery on a rampart."</blockquote>
<b>[2] @0:28 -- The curtain rises</b><br />
<blockquote><i>Night -- serene sky scintillating with stars.</i></blockquote>
<b>[3] @1:30 -- Sheep bells tinkle in the distance</b><br />
<blockquote><i>Gradually they becoming more and more faint. The voice of a shepherd boy is heard from even farther away.</i><br />
<br />
<b>SHEPHERD BOY</b>: I send you sighs,<br />
there are so many;<br />
as many as the leaves,<br />
blown by the winds.<br />
You despise me;<br />
my heart grieves,<br />
lamp of gold,<br />
I die for you.<br />
[<i>The first gray light that precedes dawn</i>]</blockquote>
<b>[4] @2:50 -- Church bells ring for matins</b><br />
<blockquote><i>Bells at various distances, starting very distant</i></blockquote>
<b>[5] @3:34 -- A jailer with a lantern emerges from the staircase</b><br />
<blockquote><i>He goes to the casemate and lights the lamp before the crucifix, then the lantern on the table. He goes to the rear of the parapet and surveys the courtyard below to see if the picket of soldiers bearing the condemned has arrived. He meets a sentry on patrol, exchanges a few words with him, then returns to the casemate, where he sits down to wait, half asleep.</i></blockquote>
<b>[6] @5:08 -- A picket commanded by a sergeant of the guard emerges onto the platform accompanying CAVARADOSSI</b><br />
<blockquote><i>The sergeant takes him to the casemate, where the</i> JAILER<i> rises and salutes. The sergeant gives him a paper, which he examines; then sitting at the table, he opens the register and writes.</i><br /></blockquote>
<b>[7] @6:42 -- While writing, the JAILER questions CAVARADOSSI</b><br />
<blockquote><b>JAILER</b>: Mario Cavaradossi?<br />
[CAVARADOSSI <i>nods assent; the</i> JAILER<i> hands the pen to the sergeant.</i>]<br />
For you.<br />
[<i>The sergeant signs the register, then leaves, followed by the soldiers.</i>]<br />
You have one hour left.<br />
A priest awaits your call.<br />
<b>CAVARADOSSI</b>: No, but one last favor<br />
I ask of you.<br />
<b>JAILER</b>: If I can.<br />
<b>CAVARADOSSI</b>: I leave behind<br />
a person dear to me.<br />
Permit me to write her<br />
a few words.<br />
[<i>Taking a ring from his finger --</i>]<br />
All that is left of my possessions<br />
is this ring.<br />
If you promise to give her<br />
my last farewell,<br />
it is yours.<br />
<b>JAILER</b> [<i>hesitating a little, then accepting and motioning</i> CAVARADOSSI<i> to be seated at the table</i>]: Write.</blockquote>
<b>[8] @8:25 -- CAVARADOSSI sits on the bench</b><br />
<blockquote><i>He thinks awhile, then begins to write. After a few lines, he is overcome by a flood of memories and stops writing.</i></blockquote>
<b>[9] @9:35 -- A clarinet, marked "<i>dolcissimo</i>," introduces CAVARADOSSI's musings (the aria "<i>E lucevan le stelle</i>")</b><br />
<blockquote>And the stars were shining<br />
and the earth was perfumed,<br />
the garden gate creaked,<br />
and footsteps grazed the path.<br />
She entered, all fragrance,<br />
she fell into my arms.<br />
O sweet kisses, o languid caresses,<br />
while I, trembling,<br />
unloosed the veils, revealing her beauty!<br />
Gone forever that dream of love --<br />
the hour has fled,<br />
and I die despairing, and I die despairing!<br />
Yet never before have I loved life, loved life so much!<br />
[<i>He breaks into tears, covering his face with his hands.</i>]</blockquote>
<b>[10] @12:39 -- From the staircase SPOLETTA emerges, accompanied by the sergeant and followed by TOSCA</b><br />
<blockquote>SPOLETTA<i> shows</i> TOSCA <i>where she will find </i>CAVARADOSSI,<i> then calls the</i> JAILER. <i>He warns the sentinel to keep an eye on the prisoner, then disappears down the steps again with the sergeant and the</i> JAILER. TOSCA <i>runs to</i> CAVARADOSSI <i>and, unable to speak for emotion, raises his head with both her hands and shows him the safe conduct.</i> CAVARADOSSI <i>leaps to his feet in surprise, then reads the paper.</i><br />
<br />
<b>CAVARADOSSI</b>: Ah! "Safe conduct for Floria Tosca --"<br />
<b>CAVARADOSSI and TOSCA</b>: "-- and the cavalier who accompanies her."<br />
<b>TOSCA</b>: You are free!<br />
<b>CAVARADOSSI</b> [<i>examining the signature</i>]:<br />
Scarpia! Scarpia so merciful?<br />
This is his first act of grace --<br />
<b>TOSCA</b> [<i>taking back the document and putting it in her purse</i>]: And the last!<br />
<b>CAVARADOSSI</b>: What are you saying? . . . <br />
[<i>Nope, sorry, we're not going to hear TOSCA's reply. That's another whole contemplating-and-listening unit.</i> -- Ed.]</blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/tosca-iii-beg-giacomini-muti" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Giuseppe Giacomini (t), Cavaradossi; with Jeffrey Smith (treble), the Shepherd; Charles Austin (bs), the Jailer; Carol Vaness (s), Tosca; Philadelphia Orchestra, Riccardo Muti, cond. Philips, recorded live in the Academy of Music, Mar. 1991 & Jan. 1992</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>HERE ARE OUR 11 PERFORMANCES -- in <i>chronological</i> order</b><br />
<br />
<b>Beniamino Gigli & Oliviero de Fabritiis (EMI, summer 1938)</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/tosca-iii-gigli-de-fabritiis" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[aria intro at 8:43, clarinet at 9:58] <i>Beniamino Gigli (t), Cavaradossi; with Anna Marcangeli (s), the Shepherd; Gino Conti (bs), the Jailer; Maria Caniglia (s), Tosca; Rome Opera Orchestra, Oliviero de Fabritiis, cond. EMI, recorded in the Teatro Reale ([June? July? Sept.?] 1938)</i><br />
<br />
<b>Giuseppe di Stefano & Victor de Sabata [EMI, 8/1953)</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/tosca-iii-beg-callas-de-sabata" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[aria intro at 8:42, clarinet at 9:42] <i>Giuseppe di Stefano (t), Cavaradossi; with Alvaro Cordova (treble), the Shepherd; Dario Caselli (bs), the Jailer; Maria Callas (s), Tosca; Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala (Milan), Victor de Sabata, cond. EMI, recorded at La Scala, Aug. 10-21, 1953</i><br />
<br />
<b>Jussi Bjoerling & Erich Leindorf (RCA, 7/1957)</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/tosca-act-iii-beg-bjoerling-leinsdorf" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[aria intro at 8:15, clarinet at 9:21] <i>Jussi Bjoerling (t), Cavaradossi; with Giovanni Bianchini (treble), the Shepherd; Vincenzo Preziosa (bs), the Jailer; Zinka Milanov (s), Tosca; Rome Opera Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf, cond. RCA, recorded in the Rome Opera House, July 1957</i><br />
<br />
<b>Giuseppe di Stefano & Herbert von Karajan (RCA-Decca, 9/1962)</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/tosca-iii-beg-di-stefano-karajan" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[aria intro at 8:36, clarinet at 9:39] <i>Giuseppe di Stefano (t), Cavaradossi; with Herbert Weiss (treble), the Shepherd; Alfredo Mariotti (bs), the Jailer; Leontyne Price (s), Tosca; Vienna Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan, cond. RCA-Decca, recorded in the Sofiensaal, September 1962</i><br />
<br />
<b>Carlo Bergonzi & Georges Prêtre (EMI, 12/1964-1/1965)</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/tosca-iii-beg-bergonzi-pretre" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[aria intro at 9:10, clarinet at 10:15] <i>Carlo Bergonzi (t), Cavaradossi; with David Sellar (treble), the Shepherd; Leonardo Monreale (bs), the Jailer; Maria Callas (s), Tosca; Paris Conservatory Orchestra, Georges Prêtre, cond. EMI, recorded in the Salle Wagram, Paris, Dec. 1964-Jan. 1965</i><br />
<br />
<b>Franco Corelli & Lorin Maazel (Decca, 6/1966]</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/tosca-iii-beg-maazel" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[aria intro at 8:49, clarinet at 9:54] <i>Franco Corelli (t), Cavaradossi; with Patrizio Veronelli (treble), the Shepherd; Libero Arbace (bs), the Jailer; Birgit Nilsson (s), Tosca; Orchestra of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia (Rome), Lorin Maazel, cond. Decca, recorded at the Accademia, June 1966</i><br />
<br />
<b>Plácido Domingo & Bruno Bartoletti (Unitel-DG video, 8/1976)</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/tosca-iii-beg-domingo-bartoletti" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[aria intro at 8:34, clarinet at 9:40] <i>Plácido Domingo (t), Cavaradossi; with Plácido Domingo Jr. (treble), the Shepherd; Domenico Medici (bs), the Jailer; Raina Kabaivanska (s), Tosca; New Philharmonia Orchestra, Bruno Bartoletti, cond. From the soundtrack of the Unitel-DG film, sound recorded in Walthamstow Assembly Hall, August 1976</i><br />
<br />
<b>Luciano Pavarotti & Nicola Rescigno (Decca, 6/1978)</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/toscai-iii-beg-pavarotti-rescigno" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[aria intro at 9:07, clarinet at 10:12] <i>Luciano Pavarotti (t), Cavaradossi; with Walter Baratti (treble), the Shepherd; John Tomlinson (bs), the Jailer; Mirella Freni (s), Tosca; National Philharmonic Orchestra, Nicola Rescigno, cond. Decca, recorded in Henry Wood Hall & Kingsway Hall, London, June 1978</i><br />
<br />
<b>Giacomo Aragall & Sir Georg Solti [Decca, 1984-85)</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/tosca-iii-beg-aragall-solti" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[aria intro at 9:15, clarinet at 10:24] <i>Giacomo Aragall (t), Cavaradossi; with Ivo Martinez (treble), the Shepherd; Nicholas Folwell (bs), the Jailer; Kiri Te Kanawa (s), Tosca; National Philharmnic Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti, cond. Decca, recorded in Walthamstow Assembly Hall, London, 1984-85</i><br />
<br />
<b>Giuseppe Giacomini & Riccardo Muti (Philips, 3/1991 & 1/1992)</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/tosca-iii-beg-giacomini-muti" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[aria intro at 8:28, clarinet at 9:35] <i>Giuseppe Giacomini (t), Cavaradossi; with Jeffrey Smith (treble), the Shepherd; Charles Austin (bs), the Jailer; Carol Vaness (s), Tosca; Philadelphia Orchestra, Riccardo Muti, cond. Philips, recorded live in the Academy of Music, Mar. 1991 & Jan. 1992</i><br />
<br />
<b>Jonas Kaufmann & Eivind Gullberg Jensen (live, Vienna, 5/2017)</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/tosca-iii-beg-kaufmann-jensen" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[aria intro at 8:33, clarinet at 9:44] <i>Jonas Kaufmann (t), Cavaradossi; with Rebekka Rennert (child soprano from the Opera School), the Shepherd; Ayk Martirossian (bs), the Jailer; Martina Serafin (s), Tosca; Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Eivind Gullberg Jensen, cond. Live performance from the Vienna State Opera, May 8, 2017</i><br />
[Note that after a nearly 4½-minute ovation, Kaufmann gives an encore peformance of "<i>E lucevan le stelle</i>."]<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>TO BE ADDED SHORTLY --</b><br />
<br />
Some fairly straightforward observations about the performances. Maybe beyond that I can offer some more specific notes on what seems to me especially interesting or occasionally problematic in our performances.<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>JULY 16 UPDATE:<br />
<i>Tosca</i> follow-up still to come</b><br />
<br />
In this post I couldn't pass up the sideways diversion to take a look at some of the extraordinary craftsmanship -- at the service of outsize genius -- is on view in those opening 14 minutes or so of Act III of <i>Tosca</i>. To which end I got as far as: (a) breaking the scene down into its component parts, and (b) assembling 11 audio clips taking us from Puccini's musical portrait of the awakening city of Rome to Cavaradossi's arrival at his imminent place of execution on through Tosca's entrance bringing -- she thinks -- documented word of his rescue.<br />
<br />
What I didn't get to was adding any comment on what all that aimed at pulling all this material together -- trying to show what those 11 performances have to tell us about Puccini's crafting of this extraordinary opera. I still want to give that a shot. In fact, I hoped to have it ready today. I didn't. Soon, though!<br />
<center>#</center>KenInNYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03712690425664894186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823063346488779206.post-33689790990009102192023-06-25T19:00:00.014-04:002023-06-25T20:50:26.645-04:00An orchestra principal's most visible job is playing orchestral solos written for his/her instrument. He-e-re's Stanley D.!<b>STANLEY DRUCKER (1929-2022)<br />
Continuing our remembrance: Part 1 of [<i>I think</i>] 3</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc_bN0n2gfEPPL-oX4q3kSykbwNJM7nTQf54ZAwGILmaqYRvPIyWL3arcHXGZ9AfyZd_Z-g3Ty6quJXnA4oyl9ozcKMK1KyrxThPb9iKfQJJMf8pZ1pO27aJ9mCi9eIoEGz3XrZNbX0CtKbsFBPCrQmR_yNOPYmeuzNz2UxfXr_PnvDsSE9pFeR8QEvkU/s1600/pini-del-gianicolo-at-night-540.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc_bN0n2gfEPPL-oX4q3kSykbwNJM7nTQf54ZAwGILmaqYRvPIyWL3arcHXGZ9AfyZd_Z-g3Ty6quJXnA4oyl9ozcKMK1KyrxThPb9iKfQJJMf8pZ1pO27aJ9mCi9eIoEGz3XrZNbX0CtKbsFBPCrQmR_yNOPYmeuzNz2UxfXr_PnvDsSE9pFeR8QEvkU/s1600/pini-del-gianicolo-at-night-540.jpg" /></a></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/pini-del-gianicolo-final-pages-lb-nyp" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="540"></iframe><br />
<i>Final pages of "Pines of the Gianicolo" -- with Stanley Drucker & nightingales</i><br />
<br />
<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>A CLARINET VET'S TOP 10 [or 11] CLARINET SOLOS</b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0MN0puTYAbEJ1W72dEP4KvQQ94TpBjQxJ2kWQf6Wf4G53DrVbrd_WOmlkt96p4XeaRcbBGMPPvQ9KP6Qdd65kpCBYd2QubM1kbMxLfzM542yl0MDoL0LeX-zAYTuzFr7xjKUip27IKmysm9QzKKz3908v5nFCBZ-L-q7KpmipR-3vOzTpjaSBh_3-/s1600/allan-rosenfeld-260.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1.25em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="411" data-original-width="260" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0MN0puTYAbEJ1W72dEP4KvQQ94TpBjQxJ2kWQf6Wf4G53DrVbrd_WOmlkt96p4XeaRcbBGMPPvQ9KP6Qdd65kpCBYd2QubM1kbMxLfzM542yl0MDoL0LeX-zAYTuzFr7xjKUip27IKmysm9QzKKz3908v5nFCBZ-L-q7KpmipR-3vOzTpjaSBh_3-/w127-h200/allan-rosenfeld-260.jpg" width="127" /></a></div>
"<b>As a 34-year veteran of the CSO, I am often asked what music I particularly like. With that in mind, I've devised a list of my top ten favorite orchestral clarinet solos.</b>" <i>-- Charlotte Symphony clarinetist <b>Allan Rosenfeld</b>, on the CSO's <a href="https://www.charlottesymphony.org/blog/clarinetist-allan-rosenfeld-top-10-orchestral-clarinet-solos/">Sound of Charlotte Blog</a>, Nov. 2020</i><br />
<br />
<i>In his blogpost, A.R. presented his "Top 10 Orchestral Clarinet Solos" -- really 11, with the inclusion of an "honorable mention" that rates pretty high in the "wow!" department -- illustrated with YouTube clips generally cued to the moment of clarinetic takeoff. In this series of posts we'll have A.R. introduce the 11 solos, which we'll hear played <b>mostly</b> by our guy Stanley D.</i></blockquote>
<br />
<b>by Ken</b><br />
<br />
During the long <i>Sunday Classics</i> blog silence -- which we're not going to talk about (right?) except to note that it was caused, as you probably realized, by those gosh-darn supply-chain issues -- one of the first things I actually did was a version of the journey we're now, finally, undertaking, through Allan Rosenfeld's Top 10 (or 11) Orchestral Clarinet Solos. One curious evolution I witnessed (more or less as a spectator!) was a shift of emphasis from Stanley Drucker himself to, well, <i>the music</i>. Lots of music. Until, as we now experience on the journey, there's lots of music that has very little directly to do with Stanley D., unless we count the zillions of performances he participated in.<br />
<br />
Which, come to think of it, isn't that different from the turns some other of my musical remembrances took, as with soprano Margaret Price and bass John Macurdy. And this, I kept telling myself as I watched this evolution and expansion, was kind of Drucker-esque, in that his in-all-ways-remarkable career seemed so squarely focused on <i>the music</i>.<br />
<br />
At the time of his retirement, in 2009, and then again after his death, in December, we were inundated with mind-boggling number. If I'm remembering correctly, the NY Phil's statsfolks reported not just that in his 61 years with the orchestra (49 of them as principal clarinet), he played in 10,700 concerts, but that this number represented, as of the time of his retirement, some 70 percent of all the concerts the orchestra had ever given.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>I KEEP WONDERING WHAT A CATALOG OF ALL THE<br />
WORKS STANLEY D. PLAYED IN WOULD LOOK LIKE</b><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Just think of those 61 seasons, for a performer who I don't believe was known as a performance-shirker, and try to imagine <i>the total number</i> of works, and <i>the range of repertory</i>, not to mention <i>the number of times</i> a large number of those works would have cropped up over that long a time -- including a number of the works on Allan Rosenfeld's list. I doubt that he was prone to coasting on previous performances when a work he'd played before -- even played <i>frequently</i> -- turned up on a program.<br />
<br />
Think just of Mahler! Eventually, when we contemplate Stanley D. not as orchestral soloist but as <i>actual</i> soloist, we're going to hear him say, in talking about the Copland Clarinet Concerto, a work dear to the heart of all clarinetists (how many concertos of this quality do they have?), and especially so to Stanley D. (just with the NY Phil he played it <i>64 times</i>!), speaking about the work's opening section: "Certainly the first part of the concerto is very soulful. It evokes perhaps a Mahler slow movement, before all the excitement enters."<br />
<br />
It's hard to imagine that any clarinetist who could have played more than a fraction of the Mahler Stanley D. did. Remember, all five NY Phil music directors he served as principal clarinet -- of course Lenny B. (till 1969, and thereafter laureate conductor), Pierre Boulez (1971-77), Zubin Mehta (1978-91), Kurt Masur (1991-2002), and Lorin Maazel (2002-09) -- were passionate about Mahler, and think how many guest conductors tried to wangled him onto their programs. (This is one reason I made a point of <a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2023/06/lets-open-this-book-of-spells-and-see.html">slipping in some Stanley D. Mahlerizing last week</a>.)<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>SO LET'S GET STARTED ON "THE LIST"</b><br />
<br />
Which in now-traditional "Top 10" form runs from No. 10 on down, or rather <i>up</i>. In this post we'll get down/up to No. 8.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span>❿</span></span></span></div>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>RESPIGHI: <i>Pines of Rome</i>:</b></span><br />
<b>end of "Pines of the Janiculum"</b></span><br />
<br /><b>A.R.</b>: "<i>Respighi effectively highlights the tremendous <b>ppp</b> (pianississimo, or "very very quiet") capabilities of the instrument. As the clarinet sound floats away, a recording of a nightingale can be faintly heard.</i>"</blockquote>
A.R., you'll note, specifies the fading-away solo (with the recorded bird call) at the <i>end</i> of the movement commemorating the pines of the hill of Gianicolo (or Janiculum), but we're going to hear the whole movement, which after all also <i>begins</i> with a clarinet solo.<br />
<br />
<b>RESPIGHI: <i>Pines of Rome</i>:<br />
iii. Pines of the Gianicolo (Janiculum): Lento</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/pines-of-the-gianicolo-bernstein" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[final clarinet solo at 6:11] <i>Stanley Drucker, clarinet; New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in Philharmonic Hall, Feb. 17, 1970</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/pines-of-rome-iii-bernstein-ypc-12-1970" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[final clarinet solo at 5:34] <i>Stanley Drucker, clarinet; New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. From the Young People's Concert <b>The Anatomy of a Symphony Orchestra</b>, video-recorded in Philharmonic Hall, originally broadcast May 24, 1970</i><br />
[Note that the YPC performance -- in TV sound, remember -- is a bit quicker and lighter.]<br />
<blockquote><b>Pining for the rest of the <i>Pines of Rome</i>?</b><br />
<br />
Yes, we're going to hear the whole of <i>Pines of Rome</i>, not once but twice, in a pair of <i>Pines of Rome</i> performances that I think will be instructive as well as enjoyable. You can read about <i>Pines of Rome</i> on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pines_of_Rome">Wikipedia</a>, but there's something else you should take in if you can: the Young People's Concert devoted to the piece which Lenny B. scheduled in the same NY Phil season in which he played (and recorded) it, using the piece to catalog the resources of a symphony orchestra.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSm3PDVuIkh26MdMWH17Pc5fY22eV_P1ip4ijdWh46voz0VGmz8y63KhUHp1SCIYCNDP2xzuvzU0a-I_E_LThgBbX6SQDZkETGZSlGaa8M2ZtrY4mAVlKyu3WJSpobg7lij0cdCzN8umgkibHigSwx7mRvyzMRo3HglbWyV2FdC25cbs_0OgGbmAblgdk/s1600/stanley-d-in-ypc-500.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSm3PDVuIkh26MdMWH17Pc5fY22eV_P1ip4ijdWh46voz0VGmz8y63KhUHp1SCIYCNDP2xzuvzU0a-I_E_LThgBbX6SQDZkETGZSlGaa8M2ZtrY4mAVlKyu3WJSpobg7lij0cdCzN8umgkibHigSwx7mRvyzMRo3HglbWyV2FdC25cbs_0OgGbmAblgdk/s1600/stanley-d-in-ypc-500.jpg" /></a></div>
<i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>In the May 1970 Young People's Concert <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gigp9lvA5rc&t=2952s">The Anatomy of a Symphony Orchestra</a></b> (which you can watch at the link), Stanley D. demonstrates his instrument for Maestro Bernstein.</i></div></i>
<br />
<i>Pines of Rome</i> is one of the rare cases of a work whose compact length and episodic structure enabled the maestro to provide ear-expanding commentary for all four movements and then a complete performance. It'll change the way you listen to Respighi. (You can also <a href="https://leonardbernstein.com/lectures/television-scripts/young-peoples-concerts/anatomy-of-symphony-orchestra">read a transcript here</a>.)<br />
<br />
<b>What we're going to hear --</b><br />
<br />
is a pair of performances recorded five-plus years apart in the same venue (Carnegie Hall) by essentially the same orchestra (the Symphony of the Air was a major portion of the NBC Symphony striving to stay alive after NBC pulled the plug) under two <i>very different</i> legendary conductors. Even in 1953 mono, Toscanini's performance sounds bracing and lively; that there isn't an abundance of orchestral color may be more a function of what was heard in Carnegie Hall that day than of the engineering. Of course those five-plus years also made a <i>big</i> difference in recording technology, and Stokowski's performance, while hardly laggardly, comes with pretty vivid orchestral coloring.<br />
<br />
<b>i. Pines of the Villa Borghese: Allegretto vivace; Vivace<br />
ii. Pines Near a Catacomb: Lento<br />
iii. Pines of the Gianicolo (Janiculum): Lento<br />
iv. Pines of the Appian Way: Tempo di marcia</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/pines-toscanini-1953" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
[ii. at 2:35; iii. at 9:09; iv. at 15:57] <i>NBC Symphony Orchestra, Arturo Toscanini, cond. RCA, recorded in Carnegie Hall, Mar. 17, 1953</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/pines-stokowski-1958" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
[ii. at 2:42; iii. at 8:25; iv. at 14:50] <i>Symphony of the Air, Leopold Stokowski, cond. United Artists-EMI, recorded in Carnegie Hall, Dec. 13, 1958</i>
</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span>❾</span></span></span></div>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: medium;"><b>TCHAIKOVSKY: <i>Francesca da Rimini</i></b></span><br />
<br /><b>A.R.</b>: "<i>I love Tchaikovsky for his truly memorable melodies. This one especially shows off the expressive qualities of the instrument.</i>"</blockquote>
<b>"Andante cantabile non troppo" section, with lead-up:</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/francesca-clar-clip-bernstein" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[clarinet solo at 1:01] <i>Stanley Drucker with NY Phil, L. Bernstein, cond.</i><br />
<br />
<b>And the whole thing --</b><br />
<br />
<b>TCHAIKOVSKY: <i>Francesca da Rimini</i><br />
(symphonic fantasia), Op. 32</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/francesca-bernstein" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[our clip: roughly 8:31-13:19; clarinet solo at 9:31] <i>New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in Manhattan Center, Oct. 31, 1960</i><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span>❽</span></span></span></div>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #38761d;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">BRAHMS: Symphony No. 3:</span><br />
opening of second movement</b></span><br />
<br /><b>A.R.</b>: "<i>Gorgeous! You can hear in this solo with woodwind chorale that Brahms had a particular fondness for the sound of the clarinet, and he knew just how to make it sing.</i>"</blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/brahms-3-ii-opening-bernstein" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Stanley Drucker & NYP colleagues, Leonard Bernstein, cond. April 1964</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/brahms-symphony-no.-3-in-f-op.-90-ii.-andante-opening-masur-nyp-1993" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Stanley Drucker & NYP colleagues, Kurt Masur, cond. May 1993</i><br />
<br />
An interesting case, because here the clarinet functions both as a soloist and as part of a quartet "chorale," standing out, though, because as the top voice it carries the melody. I expect S.D. had more fun in Bernstein's more overtly expressive approach, not only here but in the rest of the movement. In the "solo," for example, Masur seems to be working for a more proper chorale of the paired clarinets and oboes. The first clarinet naturally stands out as "first among equals." I'm guessing that in both cases S.D. was giving the conductors what they wanted.<br />
<br />
<b>So what about the whole movement?</b><br />
<br />
<b>BRAHMS: Symphony No. 3 in F, Op. 90:<br />
ii. Andante</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/brahms-3-ii-bernstein-nyp" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in Manhattan Center, Apr. 17, 1964</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/brahms-3-ii-masur" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>New York Philharmonic, Kurt Masur, cond. Teldec, recorded live in Avery Fisher Hall, May 1993</i><br />
<br />
Above, I described Lenny B's approach as "more overtly expressive." If this suggests "effect-driven," I think that's kind of what I had in mind. Brahms 3, however, always seems to me the most secretive of the Brahms symphonies, more a scene of "covert" than of overt action, which made me want to hear LB's later recording. I happen to have it handy!<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/brahms-3-ii-bernstein-vienna-1981" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Vienna Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. DG, recorded live in the Vienna Musikverein, Feb. 23, 1981</i><br />
<br />
Hmm, the Vienna performance is a little slower, yes, but the general profile is fairly similar, no? I do think, though, that the Vienna performance is somewhat less nakedly "emotive."<br />
<blockquote><b>Anyone else feeling a yen to hear all of Brahms 3?</b><br />
<br />
I was thinking, maybe a performance I've had on my shelves since time immemorial and had hardly ever, if ever, listened to. I thought of this Italian broadcast performance by the nutty Romanian cult-conductor Sergiu Celibidache, from a two-concert traversal of the four Brahms symphonies in Milan in March 1959 -- a conductor with a passionate following who's never much interested me -- I've never heard the kinds of illuminating insights his follower seem to. Still, this was a chance to hear what he made of Brahms 3, at least on this day in Milan.<br />
<br />
And I was pleasantly surprised. The performance seems to grow out of a deep love for the piece, something that so often proves more a hindrance than a help to bringing a piece to life, but in this case it seems to me to breathe life into a piece that can be trickier to sustain than one might suppose. Listen to the gently effusive way Celibidache introduces the first movement's secondary theme (at 1:10), but even before that note how smoothly he transitions to it.<br />
<br />
<b>BRAHMS: Symphony No. 3 in F, Op. 90</b>:<br />
<b>i. Allegro con brio</b><br />
<b>ii. Andante</b> [at 9:03]<br />
<b>iii. Poco allegretto</b> [at 19:17]<br />
<b>iv. Allegro</b> [at 25:36]<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/brahms-3-celibidache-milan-1959" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>RAI Symphony Orchestra, Milan, Sergiu Celibidache, cond. Live performance from the Conservatorio "Giuseppe Verdi," Mar. 20, 1959</i></blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<b>NEXT UP: No. 7, "One of the greatest clarinet solos in opera literature, from one of the most readily recognizable Italian arias"</b><br />
<br />
KenInNYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03712690425664894186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823063346488779206.post-38456983153471286652023-06-19T23:57:00.024-04:002023-06-24T00:01:17.674-04:00Let's open this book of spells and see if we find a Stanley Drucker "moment" or two lurking inside<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM7I5qKMaRglaPKra_OIlSvS5bawq1y2AHaOEtgbhtr5VRQB_bvYdU3OwafyZoaEkPuX_ptxibhFXHFp9Z1wZP2CtjLdutjC8TalQGeDVONyFtDIENfC76tjR32egNO6xdqjclXrq9VcbKB2FoeqF9dRH1FsrRewaO-_1aE-5HF7eELAerwty1pq6q/s1600/des-knaben-wunderhorn-open-book-540.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM7I5qKMaRglaPKra_OIlSvS5bawq1y2AHaOEtgbhtr5VRQB_bvYdU3OwafyZoaEkPuX_ptxibhFXHFp9Z1wZP2CtjLdutjC8TalQGeDVONyFtDIENfC76tjR32egNO6xdqjclXrq9VcbKB2FoeqF9dRH1FsrRewaO-_1aE-5HF7eELAerwty1pq6q/s1600/des-knaben-wunderhorn-open-book-540.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><i>Okay, <b>Des Knaben Wunderhorn</b> (<b>The Youth's Magic Horn</b>) isn't really a "book of spells," but the three volumes of wildly diverse German folk poetry were a creative wellspring for Mahler. (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Des_Knaben_Wunderhorn">Wikipedia can get you up to speed.</a>)</i></div>
<br /><br />
<b>LET'S START OFF WITH WHAT CYNTHIA PHELPS*<br />
MIGHT CALL A STANLEY DRUCKER <i>MAHLER</i> "MOMENT"</b><br />
<blockquote>
*You recall <a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2023/06/still-remembering-stanley-drucker-whos.html">from last week</a> NY Phil principal violist <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc5kiwL7TlA">Cynthia P.'s quote</a> at the time Stanley D. retired (2009), at which point they'd been fellow principals since she joined the orchestra in 1992:<br />
<blockquote>
<i>"I think the thing I'll miss most about Stanley is his unbelievable creativity, his ability to make a moment anytime he has the opportunity."</i></blockquote></blockquote>
<br />
<b>OH, ONE MORE THING</b>: <i>As we listen to a pair of performances of one itty-bitty <b>Wunderhorn</b> song setting, just for now I'm not going to identify the performers. For</i> this moment, <i>we can call them, oh, "Team X" and "Team Y."</i><br /><br />
<br />
<b>MAHLER: <i>Songs from "Des Knaben Wunderhorn"</i>:<br />
"<i>Lob des hohen Verstandes</i>" ("In Praise of High Intellect")</b><br />
<blockquote>Once in a deep valley,<br />
a cuckoo and nightingale<br />
struck a wager:<br />
Whoever would sing a masterpiece,<br />
whether he won by art or luck,<br />
he would win the bet.<br />
<br />
The cuckoo spoke: "If you consent,<br />
I have chosen a judge."<br />
And he instantly appointed the ass.<br />
"For since he has two large ears,<br />
he can hear all the better,<br />
and know what is right."<br />
<br />
Soon they flew before the judge.<br />
When he was told about the matter,<br />
he decreed that they should sing.<br />
The nightingale sang out sweetly!<br />
The ass spoke: "You confuse me!<br />
Hee-haw! Hee-haw!<br />
I can't get it into my head."<br />
<br />
Thereupon the cuckoo immediately began<br />
his song with thirds, fourths, and fifths.<br />
It pleased the ass, who said only: "Wait!<br />
I will pronounce your judgment.<br />
<br />
"You have sung well, nightingale!<br />
But cuckoo, you sing a true anthem!<br />
And held the beat precisely!<br />
I say that from my great wisdom!<br />
And even if it costs a whole country,<br />
I thus pronounce you the winner."<br />
Cuckoo, cuckoo! Hee-haw!<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><i>-- translation by Cecilia H. Porter</i></div></blockquote>
<b>Team X</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lob-des-hohen-verstandnis-berry-orch" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<b>Team Y</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lob-des-hohen-verstandes-schwarzkopf-szell" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<br />
<b>by Ken</b><br />
<br />
The song, of course, is one of the dozen free-standing settings Mahler made in his first fully mature years -- roughly the decade 1892-1901 -- from the strange and wonderful, almost indescribably diverse three-volume collection of German folk verse <i>Des Knaben Wunderhorn</i> (<i>The Youth's Magic Horn</i>). (Again, keep <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Des_Knaben_Wunderhorn">the Wikipedia link</a> handy.) "<i>Lob des hohen Verstandes</i>" falls in a category we might call "Wacky-Satirical Plays on Nature," the most familiar of which would be the riverside sermon preached to the wild assortment of fishes by the good St. Anthony of Padua: "<i>Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt</i>." We're going to be hearing that too.<br />
<br />
Speaking of diversity, our two performances sure embody it, don't they? One thing they have in common is some pretty spiffy clarinet-playing (we'll talk about that later), but even that is different. Obviously one performance is sung by a man and the other by a woman, and just as obviously, one performance is a good deal perkier, if nothing else just plain <i>quicker</i>, than the other, which gives the song a markedly different character, I think. Maybe less obviously, or at least more subjectively, I would venture that one is warmer, more endearing, more user-friendly, though the other is equally, and cherishably, precise in its realization of the wealth of detail Mahler has crafted into both the vocal line and the orchestral setting.<br />
<br /><br />
<b>WHICH REMINDS ME: WE CAN ACTUALLY SEPARATE<br />
THE SONG FROM ITS ORCHESTRAL SWADDLING</b><br />
<br />
After all, like Mahler's other <i>Wunderhorn</i> settings, "<i>Lob des hohen Verstandes</i>" was composed first for voice and piano. If we get the orchestras cleared away, making room to wheel in the piano so Team Z can take their places, it'll sound like this:<br />
<br />
<b>Team Z</b>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lob-des-hohen-verstandes-berry-piano" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>AS I'M SURE YOU'VE FIGURED OUT, TEAM Z . . .</b><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>. . . is actually Team X, with Conductor X wielding a piano instead of a baton. So who then is/are Team X? Maybe we shoujld listen to our two performances again.<br />
<br />
<b>Team X</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCb67gchhYosme4TAc4EyHX2t60jD25RjlVOtTSZc8hrjzVdUuDY8vUdWFFnKn4xxE7LnsIERtiqMr99Q2VHjQPNwtB_dmttJvpVj8xfLk7j2mEuXM0u4md4X6KcBx70dEqQb7Hi6uTizEdnBzrGH2ViH8JhMOHXs3oDWlfKSC-pVBWDbi4ih1uKaf/s1600/DKW-lb-nyp-475.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="477" data-original-width="475" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCb67gchhYosme4TAc4EyHX2t60jD25RjlVOtTSZc8hrjzVdUuDY8vUdWFFnKn4xxE7LnsIERtiqMr99Q2VHjQPNwtB_dmttJvpVj8xfLk7j2mEuXM0u4md4X6KcBx70dEqQb7Hi6uTizEdnBzrGH2ViH8JhMOHXs3oDWlfKSC-pVBWDbi4ih1uKaf/s1600/DKW-lb-nyp-475.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><i>I'll say it straight out: I really love good old Columbia KS 7395.</i></div><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lob-des-hohen-verstandnis-berry-orch" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Walter Berry, bass-baritone; with Stanley Drucker, clarinet; New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in Philharmonic Hall, Oct. 17, 1967 or Feb. 18, 1969</i><br />
<blockquote><b>Oh yes, and "Team Z" --</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lob-des-hohen-verstandes-berry-piano" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>Walter Berry, bass-baritone; Leonard Bernstein, piano. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded live in the Vienna Konzerthaus, Apr. 24, 1968</i><br />
</blockquote>
I've said it before and I'll say it again: The Team X <i>DKW</i>, which came into the world in this gatefold album with the Team Z performance as a "bonus LP" (sweet deal!), is one of my favorite records. The orchestral recording was made, in what configuration I've never had any idea, in two single-day sessions 16 months apart; the piano-accompanied performance, as noted, is a live performance of the full <i>Wunderhorn</i> set in Vienna in April 1968, smack in between the October 1967 and February 1969 Philharmonic Hall orchestral-recording dates.<br />
<br />
And now that we've listened twice to Stanley D.'s bravura delivery of the 1st clarinet part, at the breakneck tempo chosen by Maestro Bernstein for Team X (you'll note the more moderate pace of the piano-accompanied performance), you may understand why "<i>Lob des hohen Verstandes</i>" was one of the first things I thought of when I began thinking about "Stanley D. moments." I'm sure the maestro went into the performance knowing that Stanley D. could deliver the goods. More to the point, though, heknew he had the whole orchestra playing this extraordinary orchestral part like chamber music, in collaboration with a pair of soloists -- you'll recall that at this time Christa Ludwig (whom we'll be hearing again in "<i>Antonius von Padua</i>") and Walter Berry were still a married couple -- who are about as close to ideal as I for one can imagine, ardently embracing the extraordinary emotional range of the Mahler <i>Wunderhorn</i> songs.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>SO WHAT ABOUT TEAM Y?</b><br />
<br />
Like the Team Z piano-accompanied Vienna <i>Wunderhorn</i>, the Team Y recording took place smack in between the two NY Phil recording sessions. Obviously that recording hadn't been released when this one was made, in March 1968, between the second and third of three live performances in London's Royal Festival Hall. John Steane's booklet note for EMI's 2000 "Great Recordings of the Century" CD reissue reminds (which I've finally gotten around to reading, and found in it a few points worth thinking about) us how little known, relatively speaking, the Mahler <i>Wunderhorn</i> songs were at the time. They certainly weren't <i>un</i>-known, but it's worth remembering -- yet another quarter-century later, when these songs are about as standard as standard repertory gets -- how different it was in 1967-69.<br />
<br />
Certainly EMI's "brand name" team of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and George Szell drew a new kind of attention to the <i>Wunderhorn</i> collection. For some of us, though, it's not necessarily the dream team that it is for other folks. Let's just say, for the benefit of newcomers, that Schwarzkopf isn't on my "favorite singers" list, while Fischer-Dieskau -- well, I'll have more to say when we get to his "Antonius von Padua." For now, suffice it to say that especially in repertory with the potential to tickle the ham actor in him, I often found it wise to approach with caution.<br />
<br />
So over the years I really haven't listened to this <i>Wunderhorn</i> recording that much. Now that I've gotten back to it, I've come to treasure it, and this song -- often almost a throw-away in performances of the set, an interlude of modest comic relief is a prime example of why, and it always comes back to George Szell. Outwardly he seems to be deploying a poker face. But note, for starters, the <i>extremely</i> moderate pace he sets for the song (I doubt that I've heard a longer performance), and then note how, with hardly so much as a hint of a wink, he's coaxing from the London Symphony, in top form, playing as rich in character and depth as it is in clarity.<br />
<br />
So let's hear from --<br />
<br />
<b>Team Y</b><br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><i>And this is becoming one of my favorite George Szell records.</i></div><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lob-des-hohen-verstandes-schwarzkopf-szell" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, soprano; with Gervase de Peyer, clarinet; London Symphony Orchestra, George Szell, cond. EMI, recorded in Kingsway Hall, Mar. 8-9, 1968</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>A LOT OF THE PLEASURE OF THE WILDLY VARIED <i>DKW</i><br />
SONGS LIES IN WONDERFULLY VARIED PERFORMANCES</b><br />
<br />
So, for example, appreciative as I am of Szell's more measured approach to "<i>Lob des hohen Verstandes</i>," I'm not sure Elisabeth Schwarzkopf was the ideal singer to fill those larger spaces. Nevertheless, she copes -- she had a long history of deploying strategies to get her voice through challenges it might not have been quite up to, and the fussiness and coyness she can't quite escape are arguably not entirely appropriate in this sort of song. Still, for a performance by a soprano, I'd much rather hear the vocally more affirmative, even luscious Barbara Bonney, who even offers us an actual trill.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/MahlerlobDesHohenVerstandesbarbaraBonney" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Barbara Bonney, soprano; Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly, cond. Decca, recorded in the Grote Zaal of the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, June 19-23, 2000</i><br />
<br />
I really don't think it's necessary for the singer to "act out" the song, as for example Bernd Weikl seems to think (though note Claus Tennstedt's characteristically vividly drawn orchestral part). Compare the unfailing dignity and almost courtliness of the fine Swiss bass-baritone Heinz Rehfuss, who knows that his conductor has his back.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lob-des-hohen-verstandes-weikl-tennstedt" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Bernd Weikl, baritone; London Philhamonic Orchestra, Klaus Tennstedt, cond. EMI, recorded in Abbey Road Studio No. 1, 1985-86</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lob-des-hohen-verstandes-rehfuss-prohaska" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Heinz Rehfuss, bass-baritone; Orchestra of the Vienna Festival, Felix Prohaska, cond. Vanguard, recorded in the Grosser Saal of the Vienna Konzerthaus, May 27-June 1, 1963</i><br />
<br />
It may be worth noting that when Lenny B. came to rerecord the <i>Wunderhorn</i> songs, he had a less frenetic go at "<i>Lob des hohen Verstandes</i>," and had as his male soloist the sturdy, dependably full-toned Andreas Schmidt, who made a career of giving hearty satisfaction in a broad of German baritone repertory. "Hearty satisfaction" isn't a bad description for the performance of Geraint Evans, backed ably by fellow Welshman Wyn Morris in one of his early Mahler outings, en route to becoming one of our most probing Mahlerians. Last but far from least, from both a vocal and a communicative standpoint, it would be hard to better Thomas Quasthoff, with excellent support from Claudio Abbado, at his best in making satisfying, seemingly straightforward sense of music of such rich complexity.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lob-des-hohen-verstandes-schmidt-bernstein" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Andreas Schmidt, baritone; Concertgebouw Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein, cond. DG, recorded live in the Grote Zaal of the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, October 1987</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lob-des-hohen-verstandes-morris" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Geraint Evans, baritone; London Philharmonic Orchestra, Wyn Morris, cond. Delysé-Nimbus-IMP Classics, recorded March 1966</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lob-des-hohen-verstandes-quasthoff-abbado" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Thomas Quasthoff, baritone; Berlin Philharmonic, Claudio Abbado, cond. DG, recorded live in the Grosser Saal of the Philharmonie, February 1998</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>NO ONE'S LIKELY TO CLAIM "<i>LOB DES HOHEN VERSTANDES</i>"<br />
AS A "FAVORITE" SONG, BUT "<i>ANTONIUS VON PADUA</i>" --</b><br />
<br />
Yes, "Anthony of Padua's Fish-Preaching" is another matter. Now, seeing that this song too has lots of high-class clarinetting, we're going to start with the same two <i>Knaben Wunderhorn</i> recordings we started with for "<i>Lob des hohen Verstandes</i>," both featuring stellar clarinetists: the NY Phil's Stanley D. and the LSO's Gervase de Peyer. (We heard a lot of Gervase just recently: "<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2022/10/do-i-hear-clarinet.html">Do I hear a clarinet?</a>," Oct. 3, 2022.) Again, though, Stanley D. is a lot more likely to make you think, "Gee, I never heard it quite like that" -- not for the sake of being different but for the sake of capturing something special that he and the conductor in some combination have heard in the music. In other words, that "unbelievable creativity" Cynthia Phelps was talking about, "his ability to make a moment anytime he has the opportunity."<br />
<br />
One obvious difference between the previous and the present Bernstein-NYP and Szell-LSO performances: In both cases there's a change of cast.<br />
<br />
<b>MAHLER: <i>Songs from "Des Knaben Wunderhorn"<br />
("The Youth's Magic Horn")</i>: "<i>Des Antonius von Paduas Fischpredigt</i>" ("Anthony of Padua's Fish-preaching")</b><br />
<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/antoniusvonpludwigworch" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Christa Ludwig, mezzo-soprano; New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. CBS-Sony, recorded Oct. 17, 1967 or Feb. 18, 1969</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/09-des-knaben-wunderhorn-no.-6-des-antonius-von-padua-fischpredigt" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone; London Symphony Orchestra, George Szell, cond. EMI, recorded in Kingsway Hall, Mar. 8-9, 1968</i><br />
<br />
I expect that when it comes to divvying up the Mahler <i>Wunderhorn</i> songs between a male and a female singer, whether for live performance or recording, while there are a number of songs that either clearly or traditionally fall to one gender, and other songs that can be sung as duets (which doesn't necessarily mean they <i>should</i> be, but that's another discussion), when it comes time to assign <i>this</i> song, I suspect emotions run high.<br />
<br />
Remembering, for example, that Christa Ludwig and Walter Berry were still married at the time they <i>Wunderhorn</i>-ed with Lenny B., I wonder whether there weren't some shaprp marital dialogues, "<i>Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt</i>" being, after all, such a perfect fit vocally and temperamentally for Berry. Yet once we've heard what Ludwig made of it, as we just did, is anyone going to suggest that it <i>shouldn't</i> have been assigned to her?<br />
<br />
On further exploration, not only do I discover that there's a recording of Walter B. singing "<i>Antonius von Padua</i>," with piano accompaniment (by the very good pianist Rudolf Buchbinder), from a 1979 Salzburg Festival recital issued by Orfeo, which obviously I haven't heard, but I'm reminded of something I'm sure I once knew: that in fact he sang "<i>Antonius von Padua</i>" <i>with Lenny B. and the NY Phil!</i> (you can <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekjZ9VliyPw">watch it on YouTube</a>). On the Young People's Concert <i>A Toast to Vienna in 3/4 Time</i>, broadcast on Christmas Day 1967, in a three-song <i>DKW</i> sequence Christa sang "<i>Rheinlegendchen</i>," Walter sang "<i>Antonius von Padua</i>," and together they sang "<i>Verlor'ne Müh'</i>." <br />
<blockquote>
<b>I'm excited to hear Walter B. and Lenny B.'s<br />
"<i>Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt</i>"</b><br />
[<i>Sorry the sound isn't better, but heck, this is from 1967 TV.</i>]<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/antonius-von-p-berry-bernstein" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>Walter Berry, bass-baritone; New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. From the Young People's Concert <b>A Toast to Vienna in 3/4 Time</b>, video-recorded in Avery Fisher Hall, broadcast Dec. 25, 1967</i><br />
<br />
Please, don't ask me to choose between Christa and Walter! Hmm, would audiences -- either in the auditorium or later in record stores -- have objected if Team X had performed "<i>Antonius von Padua</i>" <i>twice</i>? Like maybe the second time as an encore?</blockquote>
<br />
<b>I KNOW WE'VE HEARD THE SONG BEFORE</b><br />
<br />
And sure enough, a peek in the SC Archive turned up a heap of audio clips, but a quick search didn't turn up the posts they might have appeared in. It's possible that some of the clips were made for posts-in-the-making that never got made. In any case, it seems a shame to let them just sit in the archive gathering e-dust.<br />
<br />
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau has already raised an issue that's worth contemplating as we listen to our performances. Do we want the singers to <i>act out</i> the events of the story, or to <i>tell the story</i>? It's not always a clearcut distinction, but when I hear contrived histrionics, my general response is "thanks but no thanks." Whereas, well, listen for yourself --<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/antoniusvonpaduabaker" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Janet Baker, mezzo-soprano; London Philharmonic Orchestra, Wyn Morris, cond. Delysé-Nimbus-IMP Classics, recorded March 1966</i><br />
<br />
This is the young Janet Baker, and she has clearly set out to tell us an engaging story, sometimes almost confidentially, while the orchestra does the heavy dramatic lifting. Of course this admirably suits her particular light-mezzo vocal resources. I happen also to find it enormously winning.<br />
<br />
<b>And at the other extreme, vocally --</b><br />
<br />
Longtime readers will recall that when it comes to Mahler singing of the female persuasion, the singers who for me stand in a class by themselves, for both vocal fit and innate feel for the music, are Christa Ludwig and Maureen Forrester -- though if you want to give me Yvonne Minton or Jessye Norman, I probably won't complain. We've already heard from Christa L. (and we're going to hear more, indeed some pretty startling stuff); happily we can also hear Maureen F. sing the story of our favorite fish-preaching saint. I won't say that Maureen was underappreciated in her time; I think everyone understood how good she was, and that there wasn't another contralto voice of that caliber anywhere. (Yes, there was Lili Chookasian, but she was actually <i>older</i>, b1921 vs. b1930).<br />
<br/>
But I guess somehow people sort of took singing of that vocal range, solidity, fluidity, and deep beauty as something we could always find, you know, somewhere. Oh yeah? Like where? It can't be possible that her recordings have actually gotten better year by year; it just seems that way because we've had no one to replace her. Certainly this is an "<i>Antonius von Padua</i>" like no other.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/MahlerdesAntoniusVonPaduaFischpredigtmaureenForrester" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Maureen Forrester, contralto; Orchestra of the Vienna Festival, Felix Prohaska, cond. Vanguard, recorded in the Grosser Saal of the Vienna Konzerthaus, May 27-June 1, 1963</i><br />
<br />
<b>What do <i>these</i> three performances have in common?</b><br />
<br />
No, I'm not for a moment suggesting that they're in any way alike -- and certainly not from the vocal standpoint, where they could hardly be more different. Let's listen, and then consider what the performances have in common. <br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/MahlerdesAntoniusVonPaduaFischpredigtshirley-quirk" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>John Shirley-Quirk, bass-baritone; Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink, cond. Philips, recorded in the Concertgebouw, April 1976</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/MahlerdesAntoniusVonPaduaFischpredigtpopp" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Lucia Popp, soprano; Concertgebouw Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein, cond. DG, recorded live in the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, October 1987</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/antoniusvonpaduagoerne" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Matthias Goerne, baritone; Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Riccardo Chailly, cond. Decca, recorded in the Grote Zaal of the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, June 19, 20 & 23, 2000</i><br />
<br />
All three singers, in their different ways, acquit themselves well:<br />
<br />
• John Shirley-Quirk doesn't have much vocal glamor to offer, but he works diligently with the verbal and musical text, and with beautifully sympathetic support from Bernard Haitink he serves up a highly pleasurable account.<br />
<br />• I wouldn't have thought of the ever-so-soprano-y Lucia Popp for most of her <i>DKW</i> assignments, but she's worked them all out vocally and really digs into the stories. It doesn't hurt that her partner here, while he may not be the fellow who pulled off that miraculous <i>DKW</i> recording two decades earlier, is still Lenny B., with as deep an appreciation and relish for the way these songs are put together and work as anybody who's ever performed them.<br />
<br />
• Finally, Matthias Goerne does do a fair amount of "acting out," not entirely believable, but he does sing the song really well, with some nice plush at the bottom of the voice, and this is after all quite a tale he has to tell.<br />
<br />
Well then, you say, there's the orchestra? And the hall in which it plays and records? Yes! This is the orchestra that grew into the acoustically gorgeous hall it was made to play in, where all the instruments seemed to project and blend so effortlessly -- and so the orchestra had to be top-notch in all its departments because everything was going to be heard. The orchestral <i>DKW</i> after all, is essentially orchestral chamber music, and what better a team could you ask for than Team Concertgebouw?<br />
<br />
<b>Finally, let's bring back our pals Thomas Q. and Claudio A.</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/MahlerdesAntoniusVonPaduaFischpredigtquasthoff" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Thomas Quasthoff, baritone; Berlin Philharmonic, Claudio Abbado, cond. DG, recorded in the Grosser Saal of the Philharmonie, February 1998</i><br />
<br />
And considering the strong impression they made in "<i>Lob des hohen Verstandes</i>," is there any reason not to expect even better things with the more flamboyant material of "<i>Antonius von Padua</i>"? Thomas Q. kind of puts me in mind of that beautifully unforced narrative we heard from the young Janet Baker, except with a fuller and quite beautiful sound. And again, he's got such a good collaborator in Claudio A., who has his Berlin Phil playing like, well, the Concertgebouw Orchestra! It's all so beautifully laid out and executed with such energy and enthusiasm. At the end I'm thinking, yes, I'll definitely want to listen to that again.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>NOW, WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU SWAP OUT THE <i>DKW</i><br />
ORCHESTRA FOR JUST A PIANO ACCOMPANIMENT?</b><br />
<br />
As we already noted, Mahler composed all these songs originally with piano accompaniment, and there's no reason to think that even after creating the orchestral versions he didn't consider the piano originals utterly performable. I would venture that "<i>Antonius von Padua</i>" has been heard a lot more in piano-accoompanied form than most of the other <i>Wunderhorn</i> songs, or indeed of Mahler's songs generally, partly because the piano part -- at least in the right hands -- captures a surprising amount of the "local color" of the orchestral accompaniment, but also undoubtedly because the song has such wow-factor appeal as a recital offering. Singers planning recital programs know the effect they can have on their audience if they can really deliver the song.<br />
<br />
We've already heard Christa Ludwig and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau sing "<i>Antonius von Padua</i>" with orchestra. Now we're going to hear them hooked up with two really special pianists.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/MahlerdesAntoniusVonPaduaFischpredigtludwigBernsteinpiano" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Christa Ludwig, mezzo-soprano; Leonard Bernstein, piano. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded live in the Vienna Konzerthaus, Apr. 24, 1968</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/des-antonius-von-padua-fd-moore-1962" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone; Gerald Moore, piano. EMI, live recording from the Salzburg Festival, July 1962</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/antoniusvonpadualudwigmoore" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Christa Ludwig, mezzo-soprano; Gerald Moore, piano. EMI, recorded in Abbey Road Studio No. 1, London, Nov. 11-20, 1957</i><br />
<br />
Lenny B. naturally brings all his "inside knowledge" of the song to his piano-playing -- you have to love, for example the feathery-shimmery soft sound he gets in the passage depicting the nightingale's singing. And then, Gerald Moore is, well, Gerald Moore, who could make a piano sing in ways perhaps nobody else could have even if they'd thought to try.<br />
<br />
In the case of "<i>Antonius von Padua</i>," I note as sheer coincidence that both DFD's and Christa L.'s performances with Gerald M. are a lot slower than both singers' other performances of the song. Indeed I don't think I've ever heard a performance as gradual as the Ludwig-Moore studio recording. This is really putting it out there, and I happen to love it! I expect Maureen Forrester, with that voluminous contralto sound, could have pulled this off, if she'd had a mind to, and maybe Jessye Norman (did she <i>record</i> the song? looking quickly, I haven't found a trace), but other than that? And I wonder if any pianist besides G.M. would have the nerve to try it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u>APPENDIX</u>: OMG, IT'S ST. ANTHONY CAVORTING IN<br />
THE MIDDLE OF MAHLER'S <i>RESURRECTION</i> SYMPHONY!</b><br />
<br />
The "canonical" 12 <i>Wunderhorn</i> settings Mahler composed in the decade (roughly) 1892-1901, which of course Mahler never intended or even thought of as a set, but which make up what we think of as the "set," don't at all delimit Mahler's immersion in the <i>Wunderhorn</i> collection, even solely in terms of song-source material. In what we know as his "early" songs there are a number of specimens, and even in the prime decade of <i>Wunderhorn</i> sourcing there are songs that found permanent places in the symphonies of what we might think of as his "<i>Wunderhorn</i> period": Nos. 2-4. "<i>Urlicht</i>" ("Primal Light"), possibly the most beautiful song -- or anything else -- that Mahler ever wrote found a home in Symphony No. 2 as a transition from the rambunctious third-movement scherzo (about which more in a moment) to the stupendous, ultimately heaven-storming "Resurrection"-themed finale; and "<i>Das himmlische Leben</i>" ("Heavenly Light"), a counterpoint of sorts to "<i>Das irdische Leben</i>" ("Earthly Life") became the finale of Symphony No 4.<br />
<br />
Now as to that "rambunctious third-movement scherzo" of the <i>Resurrection</i> Symphony, well, listen for yourself, noting as you listen the striking, if not startling, range of timings advancing from Boulez 2005 to Klemperer 1965. In between, given that there's a lot of wonderfully inventive clarinet writing, some solo but much of it for paired clarinets, a combination Mahler was hardly the first composer to discover can be so felicitous, I'm especially pleased to represent all four New York Philharmonic <i>Resurrection</i> recordings made while Stanley D. was a member of the orchestra, from the classic 1958 Bruno Walter recording (in which I presume he's playing 2nd clarinet) to the live performance recorded in 2003 as part of the NY Phil Mahler symphony cycle of the last of Stanley D.'s Philharmonic music directors, Lorin Maazel.<br />
<br />
<b>MAHLER: Symphony No. 2 in C minor (<i>Resurrection</i>):<br />
iii. In ruhig fliessender Bewegung (In peacefully flowing movement)</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/MahlerSymphonyNo.2Iii.InRuhigFliessenderBewegungboulez" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Vienna Philharmonic, Pierre Boulez, cond. DG, recorded in the Grosser Saal of the Vienna Singverein, May-June 2005</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/MahlerSymphonyNo.2Iii.InRuhigFliessenderBewegungwalter-nyp" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>with Stanley Drucker, 2nd clarinet; New York Philharmonic, Bruno Walter, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in Carnegie Hall, Feb. 17, 18 & 21, 1958</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/mahler-2-iii-bernstein-nyp-1963" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>with Stanley Drucker, 1st clarinet; New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in Manharttan Center, Sept. 29-30, 1963</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/mahler-2-iii-bernstein-nyp-1987" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>with Stanley Drucker, 1st clarinet; New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. DG, recorded live in Avery Fisher Hall, April 1987</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/mahler-2-iii-maazel-nyp" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>with Stanley Drucker, 1st clarinet; New York Philharmonic, Lorin Maazel, cond. New York Philharmonic, recorded live in Avery Fisher Hall, June 19-21, 2003</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/MahlerSymphonyNo.2Iii.InRuhigFliessenderBewegungklemperer-brso" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Otto Klemperer, cond. EMI, recorded live in the Herkulessaal, Munich, Jan. 29, 1965, released 1998</i><br />
<br />
In the matter of timings for the movement, in case you're wondering about the progress of Lenny B. from his 10:06 in 1963 (quicker than Walter, though not as quick as Boulez would one day take it) to his 11:25 in 1987 (closer to Klemperer's 12:01), the timing for his in-between <i>Resurrection</i> -- recorded in 1973 in Ely Cathedral with the London Symphony and the rest of the forces of his Edinburgh Festival performance (which Lenny and Columbia Masterworks then considered the official <i>Resurrection</i> of his Columbia Mahler symphony cycle) -- is a suitably in-between 10:50.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">#</div><br />
KenInNYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03712690425664894186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823063346488779206.post-88052145274070340702023-06-18T23:38:00.004-04:002023-06-18T23:49:28.498-04:00Just to give you a taste of what I'm working on for this week's post, here's, er, a taste of what I'm working on for this week's post<b>HINT</b>: <i>We want to be thinking about those Stanley Drucker "moments" of outsize creativity we heard NY Phil principal violist Cynthia Phelps citing in last week's post ("<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2023/06/still-remembering-stanley-drucker-whos.html">Still remembering Stanley Drucker (who's got me hearing voices -- including a lot from one source</a>"), and also those "voices" I started talking about. I still haven't quite figured out how I'm going to work those in. I guess we'll find out.</i> -- Ken<br />
<br />
<b>MAHLER: <i>Songs from "Des Knaben Wunderhorn"</i>:<br />
"<i>Lob des hohen Verstandes</i>" ("In Praise of High Intellect")</b><br />
<blockquote>Once in a deep valley,<br />
a cuckoo and nightingale<br />
struck a wager:<br />
Whoever would sing a masterpiece,<br />
whether he won by art or luck,<br />
he would win the best.<br />
<br />
The cuckoo spoke: "If you consent,<br />
I have chosen a judge."<br />
And he instantly appointed the ass.<br />
"For since he has two large ears,<br />
he can hear all the better,<br />
and know what is right."<br />
<br />
Soon they flew before the judge.<br />
When he was told about the matter,<br />
he decreed that they should sing.<br />
The nightingale sang out sweetly!<br />
The ass spoke: "You confuse me!<br />
Hee-haw! Hee-haw!<br />
I can't get it into my head."<br />
<br />
Thereupon the cuckoo immediately began<br />
his song with thirds, fourths, and fifths.<br />
It pleased the ass, who said only: "Wait!<br />
I will pronounce your judgment.<br />
<br />
"You have sung well, nightingale!<br />
But cuckoo, you sing a true anthem!<br />
And held the beat precisely!<br />
I say that from my great wisdom!<br />
And even if it costs a whole country,<br />
I thus pronounce you the winner."<br />
Cuckoo, cuckoo! Hee-haw!<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><i>-- translation by Cecilia H. Porter</i></div></blockquote>
<b>Team X</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lob-des-hohen-verstandnis-berry-orch" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<b>Team Y</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lob-des-hohen-verstandes-schwarzkopf-szell" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<b>Team Z</b>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lob-des-hohen-verstandes-berry-piano" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<br />
KenInNYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03712690425664894186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823063346488779206.post-15201807768480928362023-06-12T04:10:00.023-04:002023-06-12T17:54:14.512-04:00Still remembering Stanley Drucker (who's got me hearing voices -- including a lot from one source)<br />
<b>ALONG THE WAY WE'LL HAVE A COUPLE OF STORIES. BUT<br />
FIRST A FEW WORDS FROM A CERTIFIABLY EXPERT WITNESS</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3CWDiu11yzSj_KlxC2eadIlFW50pyxqZHMWcS_tjqZv72dwVISx7_LFiDGGK0vWhFauNo1IJ3XyEgBbQv7hPgaBErqm-47K3EGtHNUTY6Bpx2bwrzKFuy1I_yn52ljVwsRfD__0xHZ746x6JWgZVaY0uhuMpFIeSyizSUNAZgbdHVw8zgNhiYUcyM/s1600/cynthia-phelps-250.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="166" data-original-width="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3CWDiu11yzSj_KlxC2eadIlFW50pyxqZHMWcS_tjqZv72dwVISx7_LFiDGGK0vWhFauNo1IJ3XyEgBbQv7hPgaBErqm-47K3EGtHNUTY6Bpx2bwrzKFuy1I_yn52ljVwsRfD__0xHZ746x6JWgZVaY0uhuMpFIeSyizSUNAZgbdHVw8zgNhiYUcyM/s1600/cynthia-phelps-250.jpg" /></a></div><b>"I think the thing I'll miss most about Stanley is his unbelievable creativity, his ability to make a moment anytime he has the opportunity."</b><br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><i>
-- Cynthia Phelps, NY Phil principal violist since 1992, quoted at the time of Stanley Drucker's retirement, in 2009, when they'd been fellow principals for 17 years (requoted in a Dec. 2022 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc5kiwL7TlA">posting by the orchestra</a>)</i></div>
<br />
<b>SAY AGAIN, PLEASE, CYNTHIA?</b><br />
<blockquote>
<b>"His unbelievable creativity, his ability to make a moment anytime he has the opportunity"</b></blockquote>
<i>Let's rehear our clip of the first-movement intro, </i>Andante, ma non troppo<i>, leading into the</i> Allegro energico,<i> of the <b>Sibelius First Symphony</b> --</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFUprgcYpDbxg3w5XTofcCYBfxSGCKqSCvmcUelBikIPBIa4TONjnWSSGCC1ADUGlueC9R1KNztHH32C8y4Yno7l185RaspoZId2sv8N82u-D3bAvR6xkC-tmipju4rQmrRFkXN7Ug3Jg_zVVGrUsOoELD9g099C4zTdmtpSOBHG-99rtvWGf2uSos/s1600/lenny-stanley-c1967-540.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFUprgcYpDbxg3w5XTofcCYBfxSGCKqSCvmcUelBikIPBIa4TONjnWSSGCC1ADUGlueC9R1KNztHH32C8y4Yno7l185RaspoZId2sv8N82u-D3bAvR6xkC-tmipju4rQmrRFkXN7Ug3Jg_zVVGrUsOoELD9g099C4zTdmtpSOBHG-99rtvWGf2uSos/s1600/lenny-stanley-c1967-540.jpg" /></a></div>
<i>In Philharmonic Hall, c1967</i> [photo by Harry Bial, NY Phil Archives]<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/sibelius-1-i-opening-bernstein" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="550"></iframe><br />
<i>Stanley Drucker, clarinet; New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in Philharmonic Hall, Mar. 14, 1967</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>NOW, WITH OUR EARS ALREADY TUNED TO SIBELIUS --</b><br />
<br />
<i>Let's hear three fine but distinctly different performances of Sibelius's compulsively riveting tone poem <b>En Saga</b>, Op. 9. One is the performance that (in a story I'll tell in a moment) I happened to listen to one day which grabbed hold of my ears and wouldn't let go -- can you guess which? (If you're of a mind to cheat, you can scroll down a bit for the answer.)</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIVguYANtPOlQfndxLVS6bpH0_qH-aeSoU_MAl2f1msI3ygWyg4duZxgl1I7gNkMexDDh2AijlhkPIcIqP7nOmEj4n4qkRf-eO13LDhN6MS0oU-WsFxAPcvmaZ4DcMu1Hv10F5fr86deJLhSeHqek2mnWtahgK_Whoaxpbks_eHKwvi39vNEi_AXmD/s1600/en-saga-image-540.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIVguYANtPOlQfndxLVS6bpH0_qH-aeSoU_MAl2f1msI3ygWyg4duZxgl1I7gNkMexDDh2AijlhkPIcIqP7nOmEj4n4qkRf-eO13LDhN6MS0oU-WsFxAPcvmaZ4DcMu1Hv10F5fr86deJLhSeHqek2mnWtahgK_Whoaxpbks_eHKwvi39vNEi_AXmD/s1600/en-saga-image-540.jpg" /></a></div>
<i><b>En Saga</b> as visualized by painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865-1931), born in the same year as Sibelius -- they shared what curator and art historian William L. Coleman has described as "<a href="https://www.19thc-artworldwide.org/autumn14/coleman-on-sibelius-gallen-kallela-and-the-symposium">a complex creative friendship</a>."</i>
<blockquote>
<i>En Saga</i> is without program or literary source. Nevertheless, the adventurous, evocative character of the music has encouraged many listeners to offer their own interpretations, among them a fantasy landscape (such as that by the Finnish painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela [above]), a hunting expedition, a bard's storytelling, and the essence of Finnish people. Sibelius routinely declined to state a program . . . . [In] the 1940s [he] describ[ed] the work as "the expression of a certain state of mind" -- one with an unspecified, "painful" autobiographical component -- for which "all literary interpretations [were therefore] totally alien."<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><i>-- from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/En_saga">Wikipedia</a></i> [footnotes onsite]<br /></div></blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/en-saga-gibson-1974" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="540"></iframe><br />
<i>Scottish National Orchestra, Alexander Gibson, cond. Classics for Pleasure-EMI, recorded April 1974</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/en-saga-ormandy" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="540"></iframe><br />
<i>Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in the Philadelphia Athletic Club, Jan. 20, 1963</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/en-saga-segerstam" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="540"></iframe><br />
<i>Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Leif Segerstam, cond. Chandos, recorded in the Danish Radio Concert Hall, Copenhagen, Feb. 25-27, 1991</i><br />
<br />
<b>by Ken</b><br />
<br />
The long blog silence has been far from inactive, and a lot of the musical activity -- and pondering -- sprang from our remembrance-in-progress of the barely comprehensible career of clarinetist Stanley Drucker (1929-2022), who joined the New York Philharmonic as assistant principal in 1948 at the age of 19 and was elevated to principal clarinet in 1961, after which he held that post with unflagging distinction, under five music directors, until his retirement in 2009. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b>BACK TO <i>EN SAGA</i> -- AND THE STORY OF HOW ONE<br />
OF OUR PERFORMANCES SEIZED CONTROL OF ME</b><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>On the day in question, already in a Sibelian frame of mind, I was moved to put on a CD from a reissue set which begings with a performance I didn't recall ever listening to of the Violin Concerto -- a piece I love, and I mean <i>really love</i>. I wasn't listening closely, in part because I really wasn't especially enjoying the performance. Suddenly I noticed that my brain had moved into high alert. On that CD, following the Violin Concerto, is a performance, by totally different performers (believe me, I checked!), of <i>En Saga</i>, another piece I really, really love. Only now my brain was totally captive -- this performance spoke with such fullness and clarity of purpose, not to mention unforced beauty and honest relish, even <i>delight</i>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsA2coyJnmtcqO2Ej_C6lrJf-gnboDLR03aDRVrqCFqpgLKF4rE5LSy9YlA16YRtgfEoms7P0yPUwWwPAjuk5cqf4yLPl0glVKL6AXv7jJM_I_7dy9E9T14NVFaRbvKbbz7h4S90pAsu1GT5fmL0tgyflApav9QQik2XJSzkD3mIONUnz5JVZEMFlh/s1600/sir-alexander-in-rehearsal-1984-520.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsA2coyJnmtcqO2Ej_C6lrJf-gnboDLR03aDRVrqCFqpgLKF4rE5LSy9YlA16YRtgfEoms7P0yPUwWwPAjuk5cqf4yLPl0glVKL6AXv7jJM_I_7dy9E9T14NVFaRbvKbbz7h4S90pAsu1GT5fmL0tgyflApav9QQik2XJSzkD3mIONUnz5JVZEMFlh/s1600/sir-alexander-in-rehearsal-1984-520.jpg" /></a></div>
<i>Great Scot! [Sorry!] <b>Sir Alexander Gibson</b> (1926-1995) in rehearsal, 1984</i><br />
<br />
I really do like all three recordings we heard at the top of the post. Let's review, starting with Eugene Ormandy -- <i>En Saga</i> is just the sort of orchestral showpiece of which he was such a master.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/en-saga-ormandy" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="540"></iframe><br />
<i>Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in the Philadelphia Athletic Club, Jan. 20, 1963</i><br />
<br />
There's no room for dawdling on <i>this</i> journey, but there's an abundance of diversely delineated and richly realized character, and with the Fabulous Philadelphians performing at their peak, and the Columbia Masterworks recording team too, I don't think we could ask for a juicier, more invigorating <i>En Saga</i> of the extrovert persuasion.<br />
<br />
<b>And an <i>En Saga</i> of the <i>introvert</i> persuasion?</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/en-saga-segerstam" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="540"></iframe><br />
<i>Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Leif Segerstam, cond. Chandos, recorded in the Danish Radio Concert Hall, Copenhagen, Feb. 25-27, 1991</i><br />
<br />
We can guess just from the timings that Leif Segerstam, that pensive Dane, has a very different itinerary in mind for us. The landscape, or mindscape, he paints for us makes for a journey, whether we think of it as physical or metaphysical, that's chillier, more dangerous than usual -- and the piece is only too happy (maybe the wrong choice of word) to support this adventure in morbid anxiety. Certianly the not-quite-climactic late pages, in which the piece seems to be trailing off into oblivion, have never sounded more precarious -- or made more sense.<br />
<br />
<b>But the performance that knocked me out . . .</b><br />
<br />
. . . is what was, as far as I know, master Sibelian Alexander Gibson's first recording of <i>En Saga</i>:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/en-saga-gibson-1974" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="540"></iframe><br />
<i>Scottish National Orchestra, Alexander Gibson, cond. Classics for Pleasure-EMI, recorded April 1974</i><br />
<br />
Here everything seems to go right, and fits together with seemingly effortless ease, projecting in clear, unforced voice the piece's cascading and frequently overlapping musical events with such clarity and fullness that this listener, at least, is kept breathless to hear what comes next.<br />
<br />
<b>But I know of two later Gibson recordings, which<br />
both deserve to be heard</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/en-saga-gibson-sno-1977" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Scottish National Orchestra, Alexander Gibson, cond. RCA-Chandos, recorded in Glasgow City Hall, 1977</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/en-saga-gibson-rpo-1989" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Alexander Gibson, cond. Collins Classics, recorded in St. John's, Smith Square, London, August 1989</i><br />
<br />
The later Scottish National Orchestra recording, made only a few years later (if I've got the dates right, which I never take for granted), is different: noticeably more gradual and more, er, sophisticated in its presentation and subtle manipulation of musical events -- I'm tempted to call it "wintry-ish" in tone. I like it a lot, but I'm not sure it would have had the mesmerizing effect the 1974 performance did on the day in question.<br />
<br />
The find for me, though, is the 1989 recording, which I'd never heard before. And it's something else. Still fancier than the 1974 performance, but back at approximately the quicker earlier pacing, it now comes with a new confidence and boldness, interpetive and orchestral, while still recalling grace and poise so characteristic of 1974. Wow!<br />
<br />
<b>WHILE WE'RE AT IT, THOUGH, I CAN'T RESIST . . .</b><br />
<br />
. . . throwing in some other performances that give us still different kinds of journeys.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/en-saga-boult-c-1956" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>London Philharmonic Orchestra (originally credited for contractual reasons as "Philharmonic Promenade Orchestra of London"), Sir Adrian Boult, cond. Vanguard-Amadeo-Nixa(LP)-PRT(CD), recorded c1956</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/en-saga-boult-c-1956" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Järvi, cond. DG, recorded in the Konserthuset, Göteborg, December 1992</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/en-saga-ashkenazy" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Philharmonia Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy, cond. Decca, recorded in Kingsway Hall, March 1981</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/en-saga-sanderling-berlin-sym" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Kurt Sanderling, cond. Berlin Classics (Deutsche Schallplatten), recorded in the Christuskirche, November 1970</i><br />
<br />
From the two LPs' worth of <i>Tone Poems of Sibelius</i> <b>Sir Adrian Boult</b> recorded c1956, Precision Records & Tapes in 1980 resurrected, as far as I know, a single CD's worth, including this bracingly blunt <i>En Saga</i>. The mono recording sounds almost primitive alongside our other versions, but this kind of fits the performance, which is of a kind of primitive, bluntly striding nature -- very effective in its way.<br />
<br />
I've included the performance by <b>Neeme Järvi</b> (who incidentally succeded Sir Alexander as principal conductor of the RNSO in 1984, but stayed in the post only until 1988) because it's such a soul-satisfying blast. Järvi's discography is chock full of Sibelius -- with the Gothenburg Symphony, of which he was principal conductor from 1982 to 2004 -- he recorded two massive compendia of something like the complete orchestral works of Sibelius, first for BIS, then for DG, and I'm sorry to say I know only the three-LP set of nonsymphonic works, and I haven't listened to even that very much. It's now on my "to listen to" list.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpNN6-l7QOwLLdMPRxILa2A8kRuSVqxoH_CU8z_ppi_9G8k9YHgMLbwTgpjl0wd448wuY-eTgDhTiO8HfRM87FRtzFOm4mFmNf8DCYL2k1qCKep9C4kaH8LVvDJRuLbSJJSZe_qeZFrNu2llRsHoaRir7ojdZQWKJd32f7BgX-N6aY6UV0WoV-YZu-/s1600/kurt-sanderling-260.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="221" data-original-width="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpNN6-l7QOwLLdMPRxILa2A8kRuSVqxoH_CU8z_ppi_9G8k9YHgMLbwTgpjl0wd448wuY-eTgDhTiO8HfRM87FRtzFOm4mFmNf8DCYL2k1qCKep9C4kaH8LVvDJRuLbSJJSZe_qeZFrNu2llRsHoaRir7ojdZQWKJd32f7BgX-N6aY6UV0WoV-YZu-/s1600/kurt-sanderling-260.jpg" /></a></div><b>Vladimir Ashkenazy</b>'s <i>En Saga</i>, among our broader entries, is nice enough -- it's colorfully played and recorded, but a little stolid when it's gradual and a little slurry and under-articulated when it's quick. Which sets the stage nicely for our final entry. <b>Kurt Sanderling</b> [right] is broader still, but never loses the thread. From him we expect something seriously thought out in conception and have reasonable hope for something correspondingly impactful in execution. The sound has some of the muffly-distant quality characteristic of many East German recordings of the time, but this remains a lofty account, attentive both to the mysteries and to the discoveries of this journey.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>GETTING BACK TO GIBSON AND THE GRABBING POWER<br />
OF THAT 1974 <i>EN SAGA</i>: IT WASN'T A TOTAL SURPRISE</b><br />
<br />
Which brings us to another story, of another mind-blowing musical experience -- back in mid-January 1995. (You'll see in a moment how I'm able to date it.) I was working in what my boss called a "shop," more properly a warehouse loft from which he sold, mostly by phone, fax, and mail order, used classical LPs at prices that themselves kind of blew my mind.<br />
<br />
One of his specialty categories was "audiophile" LPs -- mostly the highly sought earliest pressings of such labels as RCA Living Stereo, British EMI and Decca, Mercury Living Presence, which I came to appreciate really did sound better than later pressings, not to mention the wretched approximation of musical sound tha came with the CD (which, however, came without the pops, ticks, scratches, and whatnot of increasingly aged LPs).<br />
<br />
It so happened that by that day in, you know, mid-January 1995, my boss had -- by virtue of trading components of the shop audio system in and out arrived at a system that was, to my ears, pretty damned gorgeous, and on this particular day it happened to strike my fancy (there must have been a reason, but I'm damned if I can remember what it might have been) to play a record that wasn't the highest-priced but nevertheless commanded fairly high prices whenever my boss offered it for sale: the RCA Living Stereo issue of a recording made by the company's U.K. partner at the time, Decca: the Sibelius Fifth Symphony and <i>Karelia Suite</i> played in 1959 by the London Symphony under -- you must have seen this coming -- Alexander Gibson.<br />
<br />
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<br />
It had always struck me as an improbable title to be so highly prized. I think I was at least skeptical, if not downright cynical. So maybe I saw a copy lying around and thought I might as well once and for all check it out. What I heard was something sort of like this:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/gibson-lso-sib-1-opening" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>London Symphony Orchestra, Alexander Gibson, cond. Decca-RCA, recorded in Kingsway Hall, Feb. 9-10, 1959</i><br />
<br />
Again, it was only "<i>something</i> like this" -- "this" being, after all, an mp3 file short from my computer over the Internet to however you're getting your connection and through whatever computer audio setup you have, as against my hearing of a high-quality early pressing of RCA LSC-2405 played on that splendid audio system. But I'm still getting something like the feeling I got that day -- in, you know, mid-January 1995.<br />
<br />
Which was, well, that this was one of the most beautiful things I had ever heard. Partly, this is because the opening of the Sibelius Fifth Symphony is one of the most beautiful musical creations ever created. But getting all those delicate pieces to fit together so harmoniously, and in such transparent, luminous recorded sound -- that's a feat, or rather an ensemble of feats.<br />
<blockquote>
<b>NOW, ABOUT THAT DATE</b> -- you know, mid-January 1995. I can't remember whether it was that same day when I got home, or the next day, and I can't remember whether I heard it on the radio, or maybe read it in one of the daily newspapers I was schlepping around in those days. "It" was a report that on January 14 the well-known Scottish conductor Sir Alexander Gibson had died.</blockquote>
Now I had planned to play some more with this marvel, the opening of the Sibelius Fifth Symphony, and we may yet do it -- but not now. I do still want to get back to the opening of the First Symphony. But we should perhaps at least hear the whole first movement of the Fifth:<br />
<br />
<b>SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 5 in E-flat, Op. 82:<br />
i. Allegretto</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/sibelius-5-i-gibson-lso" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>London Symphony Orchestra, Alexander Gibson, cond. Decca-RCA, recorded in Kingsway Hall, Feb. 9-10, 1959</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>WHAT I'M HEARING IS <i>VOICES</i> -- LIKE THE ONE SOUNDED<br />
BY STANLEY DRUCKER AT THE START OF SIBELIUS 1</b><br />
<br />
I'm sure you remember, but I'm afraid I just can't hear it enough.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/sibelius-1-i-opening-bernstein" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Stanley Drucker, clarinet; New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in Philharmonic Hall, Mar. 14, 1967</i><br />
<br />
It's not just that Stanley D. plays the solo so beautifully. Other clarinetists have played it plenty beautifully, but that he speaks-sings every "syllable" with such minutely detailed, expressively inflected purpose. It's a direct communication with us, communicating this nuanced account of something remarkable happening -- a voice serving notice that even more remarkable things lie in store for us.<br />
<br />
I don't mean something as hokey as "the voice of the composer." It's a voice created by the composer, sure, but what I'm hearing is <i>the voice of the piece</i>. Just as what I've been hearing in our multitude of <i>En Saga</i> performances is the sets of voices telling us about this remarkable journey -- whether in a space real or imagined or in a mind -- that's unfolding. And I'm thinking that one of the hallmarks of, for example, Alexander Gibson's greatness as a Sibelius conductor is the communicative power with which he gets his orchestras to articulate those voices, as we've heard both in <i>En Saga</i> and the opening of the Sibelius Fifth Symphony.<br />
<br />
With this in mind, let's go back, finally, to the opening movement of the Sibelius First Symphony. We're going to rehear some performances we've already heard along with some others.<br />
<br />
<b>SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39:<br />
i. Andante, ma non troppo; Allegro energico</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/sibelius-1-i-bernstein" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Stanley Drucker, clarinet; New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in Philharmonic Hall, Mar. 14, 1967</i><br />
<br />
You'll recall we've also heard Lenny B.'s rerecording, with the Vienna Philharmonic.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/sibelius-1-i-bernstein-vienna" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Vienna Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. DG, recorded live in the Grosser Saal of the Vienna Singverein, February 1990</i><br />
<br />
Very nice, certainly, but in the clarinet solo I don't hear much beyond a beautifully shaped, expressive reading.<br />
<br />
It occurred to me that there's another performance we might want to hear. IN my rummagings around the NY Phil Archives, I was surprised to discover that the first time Sibelius 1 appeared on a Philharmonic program during Stanley D.'s tenure as principal clarinet, the conductor wasn't Lenny B. but Lorin Maazel (who, by chance, would eventually be S.D.'s fifth and final NY Phil music director, when they would in fact again do Sibelius 1 together again.) I think it's safe to assume that Stanley D. was on the job for those April 1965 performances with Maazel -- it's hard to imagine anyting standing between an the principal clarinet of any orchestra and performances of Sibelius 1.<br />
<br />
Now it so happens that Maestro Maazel had as recently as September 1963 recorded Sibelius 1 as part of the Sibelius symphony cycle he was doing with the Vienna Philharmonic for Decca, and that record had been released in 1964. So you suppose we might hear some connection?<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/sibelius-1-i-maazel-vienna" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Vienna Philharmonic, Lorin Maazel, cond. Decca, recorded in the Sofiensaal, September 1963</i><br />
<br />
Is it my imagination, or does the Vienna principal's phrasing have a certain resonance alongside Stanley D.'s 1967 recording? Still, no, as beautifully as the Vienna clarinetist plays, from note to note there's not much variety in tone formation. <br />
<br />
Here's an even more extreme example.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/sibelius-1-i-davis-bso" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Boston Symphony Orchestra, Colin Davis, cond. Philips, recorded in Symphony Hall, April 1976</i><br />
<br />
Talk about beautiful clarinet playing -- it doesn't get much more beautiful, or more achingly soulful, than the solo of Harold (Buddy) Wright, the Boston Symphony's great principal clarinet from 1970 till his too-early death in 1993, at a mere 66. True, he's not getting any help from his conductor, but once we've heard Stanley D., we know that a major opportunity has been missed here.<br />
<br />
Okay, maybe one more, and this time we'll just listen first, and then I'll tell you who the performers were.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/sibelius-1-i-gibson-rpo-1989" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<br />
Hmm, there's something going on there, don't you think? No, it's not Stanley D., but it's, you know, <i>something</i>. And I like the performance.<br />
<br />
So who were we hearing? Well, you remember that outstanding, touching-all-the-bases 1989 <i>En Saga</i> we heard earlier? This is from those same London sessions -- from the same CD, in fact:<br />
<br />
<i>Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Alexander Gibson, cond. Collins Classics, recorded in St. John's, Smith Square, London, August 1989</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>WE'LL BE COMING BACK TO SIBELIUS RE. "VOICES," BUT<br />
I THINK FIRST WE'LL FOCUS ON THE VOICE OF STANLEY D.</b><br />
<br />
And those "moments" he made anytime he had the opportunity.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>AFTERTHOUGHT: THE WHOLE OF SIBELIUS 1</b><br />
<br />
All the time this post was taking shape, I had it in my mind, after all the picking at the first movement of the Sibelius First Symphony, to slip in the whole symphony -- so we could have a bit more actual musical content. The clip has been waiting, so let's do it. (I'm not going to say anything more about the piece. For guidance, you can turn to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._1_%28Sibelius%29">the Wikipedia article</a>.)<br />
<br />
<b>SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39:</b><br />
<b>i. Andante, ma non troppo -- Allegro energico</b> [at 0:01]<br />
<b>ii. Andante (ma non troppo lento)</b> [at 11:44]<br />
<b>iii. Scherzo: Allegro</b> [at 21:24]<br />
<b>iv. Finale: Quasi una fantasia</b> [at 26:56]<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/sibelius-1-sanderling" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Kurt Sanderling, cond. Berlin Classics (Deutsche Schallplatten), recorded in Studio Christuskirche, January 1976</i><br />
<br />
<b>AND THERE ARE LOTS OF PERFORMANCES ON YOUTUBE</b><br />
<br />
For example, if you want to hear the whole of the Sibelius Fifth Symphony, there's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRS6dIgn_QI">a live performance</a> by the Oslo Philharmonic under Jukka-Pekka Saraste, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMQRsWN-uGc">a more animated one</a> by the Turku Philharmonic under Leif Segerstam. (And a heads-up: We're going to be looking at the opening movement of the Sibelius Second as well. You might take a peek at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXU8EXL7a_4&t=146s">a 2019 performance</a> by the Frankfurt Radio Symphony under Susanna Mälkki, or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asjKsoP4u6U">this 2002 one</a> by the Oslo Philharmonic under the late, much-missed Mariss Jansons.)<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
#
</div>KenInNYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03712690425664894186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823063346488779206.post-12501246992219663982023-01-15T10:00:00.004-05:002023-01-16T00:52:40.994-05:00Intermission -- with clarinet<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmTx8-JS-tCruWNKsO8igidWtbFuDiEVLmQhlIA9kLLg2KivUHivOOP9W5bx60WzdjsSd5dKGf2zQukPDKkY9BjIs7WijkYoDMHtgGUreZuoHT1e222tVBztBm8uPTa37TNAS0UYfq_UWci-uw9iqDEMa9W0lkTfUfmwksmhT4VJe_hgrLL4hKANKp/s1600/alborada-520.png" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmTx8-JS-tCruWNKsO8igidWtbFuDiEVLmQhlIA9kLLg2KivUHivOOP9W5bx60WzdjsSd5dKGf2zQukPDKkY9BjIs7WijkYoDMHtgGUreZuoHT1e222tVBztBm8uPTa37TNAS0UYfq_UWci-uw9iqDEMa9W0lkTfUfmwksmhT4VJe_hgrLL4hKANKp/s1600/alborada-520.png" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>-- from <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alborada">Merriam-Webster.com</a></i><br /></div>
<br />
<b>PAIR A</b><br />
<br />
<b>RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: <i>Capriccio espagnol</i></b>:<br />
<b>i. Alborada: Vivo e strepitoso</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/cap-esp-i.-alborada-bernstein" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<b>iii. Alborada: Vivo e strepitoso</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/07-capriccio-espagnol-3.-alborada-bernstein" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<br />
<b>PAIR B</b><br />
<br />
<b>RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: <i>Capriccio espagnol</i></b>:<br />
<b>i. Alborada: Vivo e strepitoso</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/cap-esp-i.-alborada-masur-nyp" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<b>iii. Alborada: Vivo e strepitoso</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/cap-esp-iii.-alborada-masur" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<br />
<b>by Ken</b><br />
<br />
Okay, it's not going to happen this moment. I'm called away on a pressing mission, sitting here with armloads of blogchunks waiting to be assembled and properly stitched together.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, I thought I'd offer this tease, as a hint of what's to come: these two pairs of performances of the two Alborada movements from Rimsky-Korsakov's <i>Capriccio espagnol</i>.<br />
<br />
I can tell you this much: Each pair of performances is from the same source, and the orchestra throughout is the New York Philharmonic.<br />
<br />
KenInNYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03712690425664894186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823063346488779206.post-57489180728852711532023-01-13T22:13:00.003-05:002023-01-14T01:40:16.315-05:00Rapid hits: Part 4 of 3 -- There's more than one way you can launch a piece with a solo clarinet<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Our man in Frankfurt</b></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjVd4ouAmvwnOW5_xsvuvdF_5vG_Z5EXqakqgS__X3F58bODpk0LUJU7cbuktbv16x8FxK4adWfvhZF1HQL7jpFlSmd_ngf6HKBjQjxH1xtlr6sAWDgC0tJviMMgUa2qiubOvBhXXy0BtiXWX-8sAiPwLikADdb3QQ1F1smPcZFEAspfYugfPR4Qal/s1600/our-man-in-frankfurt-520.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="396" data-original-width="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjVd4ouAmvwnOW5_xsvuvdF_5vG_Z5EXqakqgS__X3F58bODpk0LUJU7cbuktbv16x8FxK4adWfvhZF1HQL7jpFlSmd_ngf6HKBjQjxH1xtlr6sAWDgC0tJviMMgUa2qiubOvBhXXy0BtiXWX-8sAiPwLikADdb3QQ1F1smPcZFEAspfYugfPR4Qal/s1600/our-man-in-frankfurt-520.jpg" /></a></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/rhapsody-opening-drucker-bernstein-frankfurt-1976" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Once again we hear <b>Stanley Drucker</b> tootling the opening of Gershwin's <b>Rhapsody in Blue</b>, this time in Frankfurt's Jahrhunderthalle, June 8-9, 1976, mere days after <a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2023/01/rapid-hits-part-3-of-3.html">the London performance we heard Wednesday</a> (and will hear more of below), in the New York Philharmonic's Bicentennial Tour of Europe with then-laureate conductor Leonard Bernstein.</i><br />
<br />
<b>SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39:<br />i. Andante, ma non troppo; Allegro energico - opening</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/sibelius-1-i-opening-bernstein" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Stanley Drucker, clarinet; New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in Philharmonic Hall, Mar. 14, 1967</i><br />
<br />
<blockquote><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>OH YES, WHAT AM I DOING ABOUT <a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2023/01/rapid-hits-part-3-of-3.html">THE TECH<br />
WALL I SMASHED INTO</a> ON WEDNESDAY?</b><br /></span>
<span style="color: #2b00fe;"><br />
Not much. I chickened out of trying to bludgeon my way through it, after posting -- as "<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2023/01/rapid-hits-part-3-of-3.html">Rapid hits: Part 3 of 3 -- Some quick(ish) thoughts on Stanley Drucker (1928-2022)</a>" -- the postable portion of the planned post and promising rapid action on a rehab-and-expansion of the rest. Looking at the positive, this has indeed enabled me to round up a better sampling of Stanley D. performing the most obvious assignment of an orchestra principal: playing solos in orchestral works. It's a grimly grinding project, but I've made progress since Wednesday and I'm still working on it. And I think we can get somewhere by listening to a pair of day-and-night-different clarinet-solo openings.<br /></span>
<span style="color: #2b00fe;"><br />
So in what I guess becomes "Part 4 of 3," we're setting our already-heard opening of Gershwin's <i>Rhapsody in Blue</i> alongside the singular opening Sibelius crafted for his First Symphony. (In the case of the Sibelius, it <i>has</i> occurred to me that maybe all we needed to do was hear Stanley D.'s chill-inducing performance.)</span></blockquote>
<br />
<b>by Ken</b><br />
<br />
This could just be me, but I hear either of these mind-enflaming orchestral openings and what I want to hear -- next-most to what comes next in each piece, of course -- is a repeat of the opening, again and again. In the case of the Gershwin <i>Rhapsody</i>, we're going to have the fixings for doing that -- over and over and, well, over and over. In the case of Stanley Drucker's riveting performance of the 28-bar opener of the Sibelius First Symphony, marked Andante, I have just this one performance, but that doesn't stop me from clicking to hear <i>it</i> over and over.<br />
<br />It's just 28 bars in all: the first 16 with the solo A clarinet singing its mournful song over a hushed but relentless single-note timpani roll, marked by a couple of swells and fadebacks; the remaining 12 bars entrusted solely to the clarinet, dying away (yes, it's marked "<i>morendo</i>") from <i>pp</i> to <i>ppp</i>, until the startling intrusion of the second violins with a tremolo-like repeated note (well, <i>pair</i> of notes) of their own, kick-starting the movement's main Allegro energico -- marked, interestingly, <i>mf</i>, only <i>moderately</i> loud. Sibelius means to build us a climax, and a whopper of a climax it's going to be.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>A FEW WORDS ABOUT LENNY B. AND SIBELIUS</b><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiauXSjcuNiBfYrMsRt-S0gOMEYS9cso2V4RogPOnHD3v8-egbSpG1QhujPAKWoYE7euGnaaQZ31IkcSoBZduFYN2gaE-isCE2-nDCxlbzVZ6WWctPLvuAEzFdQe5zXPIssD5uniArDGYWW9DRRKISeHg4aKp8vHShud9LX8cD62rPkNrcKTv_A3-Ez/s1600/bernstein-sibelius-300.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; padding: 0px 0px 0.25em 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="296" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiauXSjcuNiBfYrMsRt-S0gOMEYS9cso2V4RogPOnHD3v8-egbSpG1QhujPAKWoYE7euGnaaQZ31IkcSoBZduFYN2gaE-isCE2-nDCxlbzVZ6WWctPLvuAEzFdQe5zXPIssD5uniArDGYWW9DRRKISeHg4aKp8vHShud9LX8cD62rPkNrcKTv_A3-Ez/s1600/bernstein-sibelius-300.jpg" /></a></div>Although Leonard Bernstein had an important, and extremely interesting, couple of decades' worth of music-making ahead of him when he stepped down from the music directorship of the New York Philharmonic, by which time his career was already shifting emphasis to Europe, with assorted pursuits in various locations, the recorded legacy he and the New York Phil had built up remains an enormously rich one. Among those riches, not the least was the Sibelius symphony cycle they recorded for Columbia Masterworks. I don't know that anyone had Lenny pegged as a budding Sibelian, I don't know of any conductor who has more completely entered into Sibelius's particular musical universe and made its multitude of dimensions more fully his own.<br />
<br />
I like to think that most music lovers are aware of how competely he made the NY Phil a (if not <i>the</i>) preeminent Mahler orchestra, but his affinity for Mahler by contrast seems easy to explain, in terms of the correspondences -- in both the darknesses and lights -- between their backgrounds and personalities. Sibelius's sound and thought world is strikingly different, but it has its darknesses and lights too, and Lenny not only understood them and made them personal to him but also made them personal <i>to the orchestra</i>. And I think Stanley D.'s haunting performance of the Andante, ma non troppo of Sibelius 1 is both an evidence of this and an <i>agent</i> of it.<br />
<br />
A smart conductor, and especially a music director, who has such a particular relationship with the orchestra, understands the importance of the orchestra principals in imbuing the whole orchestra with his/her outlook on the music under consideration. S.D. in nearly 50 years as the Philharmonic's principal clarinet, and in that time, with his combination of technical mastery of his instrument, wide- and deep-ranging musical sympathies, communicative skills, and appreciation of his role in the orchestra, he made most if not all the music directors he served comfortable thinking of him as their "clarinet guy."<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>LET'S TAKE A FULLER LISTEN TO THE 1ST MOVEMENT<br />OF SIBELIUS 1 -- THERE ARE AUDIBLE LESSONS HERE</b><br />
<br />
Lessons about what makes not just a great clarinetist but a great <i>orchestral</i> clarinetist -- maybe even something about what makes a great conductor.<br />
<br />
I want to begin with an opporturnity for easy rehearing of just the opening of the movement, before moving on to the whole of it, after which you'll note that I've tacked on Lenny B.'s 1990 Sibelius 1 remake with the Vienna Philharmonic, his last Sibelius recording and one of his last recordings. It brought him four-sevenths (Nos. 1, 2, 5, and 7) of the way through a second complete Sibelius symphony cycle, which I imagine he expected he would be able to complete in due course.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaNCJeMi3cQvjKGlNGz1JU2Hz2RRt37REPxSRCbFiDga8J9EclqNLOWqCAN3GWto3wbpRV9C6CexthIx2vsJ0X2BR83KAi1WyCGM5K4-pMG1w-fqD1zoo6nEOXzeLh15UVKEKDXF-SIn8yGX7KqKBWU7uX9GRaKXE11q7zL1lfltf6cNGAc0Mac4zI/s1600/saul-goodman-520.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="286" data-original-width="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaNCJeMi3cQvjKGlNGz1JU2Hz2RRt37REPxSRCbFiDga8J9EclqNLOWqCAN3GWto3wbpRV9C6CexthIx2vsJ0X2BR83KAi1WyCGM5K4-pMG1w-fqD1zoo6nEOXzeLh15UVKEKDXF-SIn8yGX7KqKBWU7uX9GRaKXE11q7zL1lfltf6cNGAc0Mac4zI/s1600/saul-goodman-520.jpg"/></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><i>The legendary <b>Saul Goodman</b> (1907-1996) in 1938</i><br /></div>
<br />
<b>In the Andante, ma non troppo</b> I would call attention to the assertive, menace-laden contribution of timpanist Saul Goodman, nearling the end of his 46-year tenure (1926-72) as Philharmonic principal timpanist.<br />
<br />
<b>SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39:<br />
i. Andante, ma non troppo; Allegro energico (opening)</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/sibelius-1-i-opening-bernstein" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<b>And now the whole movement:</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/sibelius-1-i-bernstein" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Stanley Drucker, clarinet; New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in Philharmonic Hall, Mar. 14, 1967</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/sibelius-1-i-bernstein-vienna" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Vienna Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. DG, recorded live in the Grosser Saal of the Vienna Singverein, February 1990</i><br />
<br />
Clearly after more than two decades Lenny B. was hearing, shall we say, <i>other</i> things in the music, and the Vienna peformance is quite lovely. The soloist is presumably Ernst Ottensamer, who was Vienna Phil principal from 1983 till his death from a heart attack in 2017, leaving behind his son Daniel, who was already a principal clarinet alongside his father, and Daniel's brother Andreas (born 1986) has been a principal clarinet of the Berlin Philharmonic since 2011.<br />
<br />
All that said, the Vienna clarinetist in Lenny's DG Sibelius 1, beautifully as he plays, displays hardly any of the tonal and emotional range that makes S.D.'s performance so gripping.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>READY TO RETURN TO <i>RHAPSODY IN BLUE</i>?</b><br />
<br />
In the booklet for the Teldec <i>Fasil Say: Gershwin</i> CD on which the Turkish pianist plays not just a generous selection of shorter solo pieces but the <i>Rhapsody</i> and <i>"I Got Rhythm" Variations</i> with Kurt Masur and the New York Phil, the following quote appears:<br>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZVYtJZ5uzMaTWLsj0eyi3-55NMy1i9rEhQaulGwngW7KYESGz9VdUf2hm77p31cKnRtLDIxJ887YGuLIF_VsVIpe8pomxDZgvQGGyGJE1OBoM8YJZjaKoHY7hegEtyl5iBmqSx2zicSM69K39tWFHVBeKoO0JevnQpB1cD9tmQNDYZ-Q1IiWIl-_G/s1600/stanley-on-rhapsody-450.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="289" data-original-width="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZVYtJZ5uzMaTWLsj0eyi3-55NMy1i9rEhQaulGwngW7KYESGz9VdUf2hm77p31cKnRtLDIxJ887YGuLIF_VsVIpe8pomxDZgvQGGyGJE1OBoM8YJZjaKoHY7hegEtyl5iBmqSx2zicSM69K39tWFHVBeKoO0JevnQpB1cD9tmQNDYZ-Q1IiWIl-_G/s1600/stanley-on-rhapsody-450.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
And I'd be surprised if any listener who's heard any of S.D.'s <i>Rhapsody</i> performances has come away unmoved by it.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/rhapsody-opening-drucker-bernstein-rah-1976" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Stanley Drucker, clarinet; New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, piano and cond. Live performance from the Royal Albert Hall, London, June 3-4, 1976</i> [<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH2PH0auTUU">Watch here.</a>]<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/rhapsody-opening-drucker-bernstein-frankfurt-1976" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Stanley Drucker, clarinet; New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, piano and cond. Live performance from the Jahrhunderthalle (Centennial Hall), Frankfurt, June 8-9, 1976</i> [Again, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGpMLoFyjwA">watch here</a>.]<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/rhapsody-opening-graffman-mehta" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Stanley Drucker, clarinet; Gary Graffman, piano; New York Philharmonic, Zubin Mehta, cond. CBS-Sony, released 1979</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/gershwin-rhapsody-opening-say-masur" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Stanley Drucker, clarinet; Fazil Say, piano; New York Philharmonic, Kurt Masur, cond. Teldec, recorded in Avery Fisher Hall, December [12&15?] 1998</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/gershwin-rhapsody-opening-stockigt-masur" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Kurt Hiltawski, clarinet; Siegfried Stöckigt, piano; Gewandhaus Orchestra (Leipzig), Kurt Masur, cond. Deutsche Schallplatten-DG, recorded in the Kongresshalle, Leipzig, June 26, 1975</i><br />
<br />
So, we've heard S.D. <i>Rhapsod</i>-izing with three of his Philharmonic music directors, and it's only fitting that we have two performances with the first of them, even though, as far as I can recall, as often as they likely performed the piece together, they never made a commercial <i>recording</i> of it together -- though DG did release a DVD with the video recording of the 1976 Albert Hall performance. This lends special importance to both video performances I've encountered from the Philharmonic's 1976 "Bicentennial Tour": the London one and the days-later one from Frankfurt.<br />
<br />
They're both special. As regard's S.D.'s playing, listen to the famous opening upward slide in the London performance and hear the easy, seemingly effortlesly controlled beauty of the sustained note into which the slide resolves. The Frankfurt perfomance seems to have caught Lenny in an exceptionally open and expansive, while still quite intense, frame of mind.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzwFit1fRySHjzJ8fxdkZz5TSAw_w5DHib7aMeez7m2wVdf2_5R_oXkmz--KNjAgorA8DxRYj7_S-iYp8M4PCK9xSfNc6HbBC-oL01-tJdKwb8ZGqnPDtGxZ0M3rrOz-qbljvHt9wWNgASZZ6SjyulLOof24tl8L-zpEMJuwTZm1K2xrqovbPTmKIK/s1600/manhattan-soundtrack-350.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0 1em 0.25em 0; text-align: center; clear: left; float: left;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzwFit1fRySHjzJ8fxdkZz5TSAw_w5DHib7aMeez7m2wVdf2_5R_oXkmz--KNjAgorA8DxRYj7_S-iYp8M4PCK9xSfNc6HbBC-oL01-tJdKwb8ZGqnPDtGxZ0M3rrOz-qbljvHt9wWNgASZZ6SjyulLOof24tl8L-zpEMJuwTZm1K2xrqovbPTmKIK/s1600/manhattan-soundtrack-350.jpg"/></a></div>I don't get much nuance in the Graffman-Mehta performance, but there may have been some consideration of what might be suitable for use in a film soundtrack, since the LP's worth of Gershwiniana that Mehta was collaborating on was recorded for use in Woody Allen's <i>Manhattan</i>. It's also far from S.D.'s happiest account. Graffman seems to have some interesting ideas about a stricter classical approach to the more structured sections.<br />
<br />
Fazil Say gives an honest enough account of the <i>Rhapody</i>, with some attractive detail. Kurt Masur sounds well New York-ified, while bringing his own perspective on the piece, and the orchestra is highly responsive -- a really nice job. In case anyone imagined that Gershwin was a musical entity Masur had to "acquire" in his time in New York, I've thrown in, in both excerpt and full-length form, the recording of the <i>Rhapsody</i> he made back in Leipzig. Neither he nor pisnist Siegfried Stöckigt (nor clarinetist Kurt Hiltawski sounds entirely "inside" the assorted idioms Gershwin deploys, but they come pretty darned close -- the piece <i>plays</i>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>NEXT UP -- in er, Part 5 of 3:<br />
We finish our quick focus on Stanley Drucker<br />
(I'm thinking as Sunday's post?)</b><br /></nr></div><div style="text-align: center;"><nr>
#</nr></div>KenInNYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03712690425664894186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823063346488779206.post-84592871344052428272023-01-11T10:05:00.003-05:002023-01-11T10:07:00.902-05:00Rapid hits: Part 3 of 3 --<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2023/01/rapid-hits-part-1-of-3.html">(1) MEDIC NEEDED FOR VAUGHAN WILLIAMS'S LARK?</a> [Oct. 9]<br />
<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2023/01/rapid-hits-part-2-of-3.html">(2) ONE SOLOIST, MULTIPLE VIEWS OF VW'S <i>LARK</i></a> [Oct. 10]<br />
<b>(3) A WHOOSH OF MEMORY OF AN EPIC CLARINET GUY</b> [Oct. 11]<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>[SORRY, I'M BATTLNG A TECHNICAL GLITCH I'VE NEVER ENCOUNTERED. HERE'S THE START OF THE POST <i>-- Ken</i>]</b></span><br />
<br />
<b>(3) SOME QUICK(ISH) THOUGHTS ON STANLEY DRUCKER (1929-2022)</b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk2ks6pezFGQMRbBG-wA8gKVcEDVo8SFEee4MOmKarc6qeU46qRpMk5z2LGvlrKestq4sH3H1ehtIZmbl5JSknfgF46wGyEQYkwenytq1q7PHCLlKzJpJKy06yh_t6TuiN5yu67oay9LI6YWNe-H6XolQWTDfty5xRzaIpeoZBYksMJ8z50NE3skTs/s1600/young-stanley-450.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="573" data-original-width="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk2ks6pezFGQMRbBG-wA8gKVcEDVo8SFEee4MOmKarc6qeU46qRpMk5z2LGvlrKestq4sH3H1ehtIZmbl5JSknfgF46wGyEQYkwenytq1q7PHCLlKzJpJKy06yh_t6TuiN5yu67oay9LI6YWNe-H6XolQWTDfty5xRzaIpeoZBYksMJ8z50NE3skTs/s1600/young-stanley-450.jpg" /></a>
<div style="text-align: center;">
NY Phil caption: "<i>Stanley Drucker was appointed Assistant<br />Principal and E-Flat Clarinet by Bruno Walter in 1948."</i><br /></div>
<blockquote>"The New York Philharmonic deeply mourns the passing of the legendary orchestral clarinetist Stanley Drucker, who joined the Philharmonic in 1948, at age 19, and was appointed Principal Clarinet by Leonard Bernstein in 1960. Over the course of his 60-year tenure he appeared in more than 10,200 concerts in 60 countries, with solo turns including 64 performances of Copland’s Clarinet Concerto, and worked during the tenures of nine NY Phil Music Directors. Accolades on his retirement in 2009 included the Guinness World Record for “longest career as a clarinetist” and being named an Honorary Member of the New York Philharmonic. At the time, then Music Director Lorin Maazel said: “He stands alone in the world of clarinetists. His contribution to the orchestra and its fame is immeasurable.” The Philharmonic extends condolences to his wife, Naomi, and to his children and grandchildren." <i>-- from the <a href="https://nyphil.org/whats-new/2022/December/Stanley-Drucker-slideshow?utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mkt_20220105_nyphilnewsletter_jsl&utm_content=version_A&source=44585">New York Philharmonic website</a></i></blockquote>
As often happens these days, I was late catching up with the news, in this case of the passing, on December 19, of Stanley D., closing in on his 94th birthday, following a career that seems that beggars description -- I find myself reaching for words like "epic." For a while I thought I'd shove aside (temporarily, of course) all the work we're, you know, working on and do a musical remembrance, and we may yet do that. I even devised not one but two openers for such a post. One you've already seen, above. Here's the other:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSccBYh7Pyxw35DSCAYrBcyTIWISJQcN3DSOlqYEF42cfZ4NK7c4w1AcQNXsLtcHWIqi8aUvirEbMRuVLFHb1Jgj33kDRTXjyC8J8DEdot-aJljr9K5jZjZtyPtFARA8_3tRRbm_Ppz6vzbvFugcK6dpQym2yoQa70QKicYd1Sri-uqPTKpPZpJF1s/s1600/stanley-d-at-RAH-%281976%29-520.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="476" data-original-width="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSccBYh7Pyxw35DSCAYrBcyTIWISJQcN3DSOlqYEF42cfZ4NK7c4w1AcQNXsLtcHWIqi8aUvirEbMRuVLFHb1Jgj33kDRTXjyC8J8DEdot-aJljr9K5jZjZtyPtFARA8_3tRRbm_Ppz6vzbvFugcK6dpQym2yoQa70QKicYd1Sri-uqPTKpPZpJF1s/s1600/stanley-d-at-RAH-%281976%29-520.jpg"/></a></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/rhapsody-opening-drucker-bernstein-rah-1976" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="535"></iframe><br />
<b>Stanley D.</b> <i>plays the opening solo of Gershwin's <b>Rhapsody in Blue</b> -- with Leonard Bernstein of course playing the piano solo as well as conducting the New York Philharmonic -- in the Royal Albert Hall, London, June 3-4, 1976. (Not to worry, we <b>are</b> going to hear the whole performance. Have patience.)</i><br />
<br />
The Gershwin <i>Rhapsody</i> is a piece S.D. was closely associated with, and he played it like nobody else. Commentators have noted the ring of klezmer in parts of the piece, and not many clarinetists have been better positioned to bring that to life. One of the enduring fascinations of the career he built is that, growing up in Brooklyn, son of Russian Jewish immigrants, he seems to have had no serious music in his family history or in his surroundings. How then did he happen upon the clarinet? He mentioned in interviews that one thing that inclined him toward it was the sound of klezmer.<br />
<br />
<b>UP ABOVE I PROMISED THE WHOLE <i>RHAPSODY</i>. <br />
MAYBE WE SHOULD JUST GO AHEAD AND HEAR IT</b><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><b>GERSHWIN: <i>Rhapsody in Blue</i> (orch. Grofé)</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/gershwin-rhapsody-bernstein-rah-1976" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Stanley Drucker, clarinet; New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, piano and cond. Live performance from the Royal Albert Hall, London, June 3-4, 1976</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>A WEALTH OF ONLINE MATERIAL -- BUT LET'S FOCUS<br />
ON S.D.'S FIRST SOLO OPP WITH THE NEW YORK PHIL</b><br />
<br />
Given the length and breadth, not to mention reach and visibility of S.D.'s career, there's a vast amount of material online: performances, interviews, master classes, a trove of treasure it might take 93-going-on-94 years to take in. The thing about me and Stanley D. is that, well, it's personal. No, not that I ever so much as met him, to the best of my recollection. It's that, at least until his retirement from the Philharmonic, he was <i>always there</i>.<br />
<br />
By the time I was born he was recently but safely installed in his seat in the NYPhil, a seat that, except for his upgrade to the concermaster's in 1960, he wouldn't leave for those 60-plus years. By the time my family made it to NYC, as a matter of fact, he was installed as principal clarinet -- of my newly adopted hometown orchestra. You know, it must have been even as I was beginning my, um, educational labors at James Madison HS in Brooklyn that he made his first appearance as soloist with the orchestra, followed by his first recording as soloist.<br />
<br />
<b>DEBUSSY: <i>Première rapsodie</i> for orchestra with clarinet solo</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/debussy-rapsodie-drucker-bernstein" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Stanley Drucker, clarinet; New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in Manhattan Center, Oct. 16, 1961</i><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>[STAND BY FOR FUTHER DEVELOPMENTS -- <br />
I have to figure out what the heck is going on here!]</b></span><br />KenInNYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03712690425664894186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823063346488779206.post-88705623701945391322023-01-10T09:00:00.105-05:002023-01-11T10:14:55.012-05:00Rapid hits: Part 2 of 3 --<div><a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2023/01/rapid-hits-part-1-of-3.html">(1) MEDIC NEEDED FOR VAUGHAN WILLIAMS'S LARK?</a> [Oct. 9]<br />
<b>(2) ONE SOLOIST, MULTIPLE VIEWS OF VW'S <i>LARK</i></b> [Oct. 10]<br />
(3) A WHOOSH OF MEMORY OF AN EPIC CLARINET GUY [Oct. 11]<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>(2) VW'S <i>LARK</i>: ONE SOLOIST, THREE VARIED VISIONS</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFfb75Rsdb5NQ_e4OzfxF30xTB89gYplUWrpnn9vkxgjIYDCu4tj3HyeYNG9bZH3Hx3mppgPMcewdEuiBpbuqw6kXBWxgnXSMtddQEvmXbOyxUGQQIkVsQ5gKWjSDe3w6xGBfwLgNuj7bJOzV4CrAVsJaOugL_82FOW3kCVae5XioRTVRotmAKDDyg/s1600/marriner-brown-520.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFfb75Rsdb5NQ_e4OzfxF30xTB89gYplUWrpnn9vkxgjIYDCu4tj3HyeYNG9bZH3Hx3mppgPMcewdEuiBpbuqw6kXBWxgnXSMtddQEvmXbOyxUGQQIkVsQ5gKWjSDe3w6xGBfwLgNuj7bJOzV4CrAVsJaOugL_82FOW3kCVae5XioRTVRotmAKDDyg/s1600/marriner-brown-520.jpg" /></a></div>
<b>Neville Marriner & Iona Brown</b>: <i>Collaborators from the time I.B. joined the violins of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields (1964) -- in time becoming concertmaster, frequent soloist and conductor, eventually director.</i><br />
<br />
<b>by Ken</b><br />
<br />
It was yet another seemingly inescapable (try though a person might!) attention-diverter, but in this case a happy one. While playing with Vaughan Williams's musical lark, I kept being drawn back to one performance, liking it more and more: Iona Brown's 1983 Proms performance with conductor Elgar Howarth. I was responding to I.B.'s strikingly personal, boldly confident, even daredevilish playing, so different (my memory was telling me) from her decade-plus-earlier recording with Neville Marriner. Indeed, on rehearing, the 1971 performance seemed coolly, carefully poised -- the word "nocturnal" occurred to me. Listening to it more, I found it more and more fascinating in its own right, all the more intriguing for the contrast with the 1983 Royal Albert Hall performance.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYMbBhxlGIiLEcuW-GZ5Fy_77zTgsI_mTRB-n2bXlmCdFCRZ2F3DyoXAyvhRHRRvwSfGLrfuSmkgcPFh8jaSB5XFWGHPYP-QIjBR-5QFU3-aAaf369ywJOIcj-482vap-4ETkez6l2oKAwxxvYTICAzuNaB6qKR59lq1vjtMQ5jsZUtYOuBUcCx0UW/s1600/1983-lark-cd-REV.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYMbBhxlGIiLEcuW-GZ5Fy_77zTgsI_mTRB-n2bXlmCdFCRZ2F3DyoXAyvhRHRRvwSfGLrfuSmkgcPFh8jaSB5XFWGHPYP-QIjBR-5QFU3-aAaf369ywJOIcj-482vap-4ETkez6l2oKAwxxvYTICAzuNaB6qKR59lq1vjtMQ5jsZUtYOuBUcCx0UW/s1600/1983-lark-cd-REV.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><i>The CD with the 1983 <b>Lark</b> (unfortunately not in general circulation)</i><br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>THEN I REALIZED I HAVE A <i>THIRD</i> I.B. <i>LARK</i></b><br />
<br />
It's with Marriner again, and I'd kind of assumed it was a recoupling of assorted older Marriner recordings (the only other Vaughan Williams on the disc is the <i>Thomas Tallis Fantasia</i>) and safely shelved it away as a Marriner collection. But no, it's a 1982 recording -- a year before the Prom performance! It's not the 1983 performance, but it's not the 1971 either.<br />
<br />
Let's listen to just the opening in all three I.B. <i>Lark</i>s, featuring the grand, finger-twisting solo-violin cadenza.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXvAuODK0zoQaDgMA6dZpJMnq0VUxy83Ep-_m-neRDPtsZOmxqXBWhLRrF3CYTS2d0Fza2JyK0MrYABVa8K74pD-87q_r-ACI3dK1OZAIj99bmRvv7aiJFdXKdsOnDK9hOazIwE0ZG6UEhwpy0kMMkWXjA4YCU9DjRzwxjvYvE2ad_WtOrBeIwzxNE/s1600/larkscore-pgA-535.png" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="535" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXvAuODK0zoQaDgMA6dZpJMnq0VUxy83Ep-_m-neRDPtsZOmxqXBWhLRrF3CYTS2d0Fza2JyK0MrYABVa8K74pD-87q_r-ACI3dK1OZAIj99bmRvv7aiJFdXKdsOnDK9hOazIwE0ZG6UEhwpy0kMMkWXjA4YCU9DjRzwxjvYvE2ad_WtOrBeIwzxNE/s1600/larkscore-pgA-535.png" /></a></div>
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<br />
<b>First, the 1983 performance that kept drawing me back:</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lark-ascending-beg-brown-howarth" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Iona Brown, violin; BBC Symphony Orchestra, Elgar Howarth, cond. BBC Music Magazine, recorded live at the Proms, Royal Albert Hall, Aug. 18, 1983</i><br />
<br />
<b>Which sent me back to the easily underrated 1971 recording:</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lark-opening-brown-marriner" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Iona Brown, violin; Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Neville Marriner, cond. Decca, recorded in Kingsway Hall, May 11, 1971</i><br />
<br />
<b>And now the "resurrected" 1982 recording:</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lark-opening-brown-marriner-1982" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Iona Brown, violin; Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Neville Marriner, cond. ASV-Vanguard, recorded in EMI Abbey Road Studio No. 1, July 5-9, 1982</i><br />
<br />
The 1982 and 1983 performances also sent me back 30 years, but to a performance I hadn't known for most of that time -- it was only fairly recently that I'd been giving it much attention.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lark-opening-pougnet-boult" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Jean Pougnet, violin; London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult, cond. EMI, recorded in Abbey Road Studio No. 1, Oct. 21, 1952</i><br />
<br />
It's worth remembering that when Jean Pougnet and Sir Adrian Boult made this recording, <i>The Lark Ascending</i> wasn't being played on every street corner, the way it is today. Boult was of course the conductor most closely associated with Vaughan Williams, but Pougnet didn't have a "tradition" of a zillion performances crowding in on him -- he had to make his own way, and he found a richness in the violin writing, especially (duh!) in its lower reaches, that I find especially moving -- and I hear some of that in Brown's 1982 and especially the 1983 performance.<br />
<br />
We're not finished with <i>The Lark</i> either, by the way. There's a view of the piece as a last gasp of "innocent" pastoral fantasy speaking to us from the other side of the cataclysmic divide that was World War I, having been written in 1914 but not performed until 1921. This view of <i>The Lark</i>, as an artifact of Olden Times, is understandable but, I think, mostly wrong, and the reason why I think it's wrong is also the reason why <i>The Lark</i> seemed to me an excellent choice for ringing in the new year "<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2023/01/among-others-some-singing-larks-of.html">Among others, some singing larks of the nonverbal kind are here to wish everyone: Happy New Year! (quick version)</a>"). By way of explanation (or an attempt at explanation), I think we'll need to delve into This is sort of an example of the kind of thing that so easily diverts me from the best-laid blog plans.<br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYPSVr6hEj7T3J9Rn7nLG7EvuTuBFbwV4Ts_5Tb_bZPO8AVXb7L4W-Js-FFJzDV9w_Wnh64Y3yFzIU71Lw134gObPAVl9IU52hvHyUkdnjCLivzLsHw7vT0oOYNBpFL6zxu4IxrONZRX979pPCmammPUCebMmkJJlL_xJmbUQNGzaKX0AZSDsfw7hl/s1600/vanguard-issue-of-asv-disc-450.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYPSVr6hEj7T3J9Rn7nLG7EvuTuBFbwV4Ts_5Tb_bZPO8AVXb7L4W-Js-FFJzDV9w_Wnh64Y3yFzIU71Lw134gObPAVl9IU52hvHyUkdnjCLivzLsHw7vT0oOYNBpFL6zxu4IxrONZRX979pPCmammPUCebMmkJJlL_xJmbUQNGzaKX0AZSDsfw7hl/s1600/vanguard-issue-of-asv-disc-450.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><i>The Vanguard issue of the ASV CD with the 1982 <b>Lark</b></i><br /></div>
<br />
The fact that it's turned into something of a tribute to Iona Brown (1941-2004) doesn't bother me at all. She was a wonderful musician, in a wonderfully non-showoffy way that sort of mirrors Neville Marriner himself, who seemed to draw a lot of musicians of that sort to the Academy of St. Martin's, including another terrific violinist who rose to the rank of director of the Academy, whom we were listening to just recently, Kenneth Sillito (in "<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2022/10/taking-our-good-old-time-with-gabrieli.html">Taking our good old time with the Gabrieli Quartet</a>" [October 9], of which he was a cofounder and longtime first violinist). K.S., by the way, joins I.B. as the violin soloists in the Tippett <i>Fantasia on a Theme of Corelli</i> on that same 1982 ASV disc that includes the VW <i>Lark Ascending</i> and <i>Tallis Fantasia</i>; the fourth work on that disc is the always-welcome Elgar Serenade for Strings.)<br />
<br />
It occurs to me that you might want to hear those three Iona Brown <i>Lark Ascending</i>s whole. I just happen to have audio clips at the ready.<br />
<br />
<b>VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: <i>The Lark Ascending</i>, Romance<br />
for violin and orchestra</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lark-brown-howarth" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Iona Brown, violin; BBC Symphony Orchestra, Elgar Howarth, cond. BBC Music Magazine, recorded live at the Proms, Royal Albert Hall, Aug. 18, 1983</i><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">[<b>NOTE</b>: I've left the applause in so we can hear the seven seconds of silence after the performance ends, about 15:02, before any further sound is heard.]</span><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/vw-lark-ascending-brown-marriner-1982" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="535"></iframe><br />
<i>Iona Brown, violin; Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Neville Marriner, cond. ASV-Vanguard, recorded in EMI Abbey Road Studio No. 1, July 5-9, 1982</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lark-ascending-brown-marriner" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Iona Brown, violin; Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Neville Marriner, cond. Decca, recorded in Kingsway Hall, May 11, 1971</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/VwTheLarkAscendingpougnetBoult" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Jean Pougnet, violin; London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult, cond. EMI, recorded in Abbey Road Studio No. 1, Oct. 21, 1952</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>NEXT UP:<br />
<br />
(3) A WHOOSH OF MEMORY OF AN EPIC CLARINET GUY<br />
[posts at 9am Wednesday]</b><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>WEDNESDAY 10am UPDATE: Oops, I've encountered a technical glitch I've never enountered before. In the meantime I've posted a seemingly unaffected portion of the "Part 3" post while I try to figure out what the heck is going on. -- <i>Ken</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">
#</div>KenInNYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03712690425664894186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823063346488779206.post-71013805165411537292023-01-09T19:36:00.002-05:002023-01-10T11:13:25.959-05:00Rapid hits: Part 1 of 3 --<b>(1) MEDIC NEEDED FOR VAUGHAN WILLIAMS'S LARK?</b> [Oct. 9]<br />
<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2023/01/rapid-hits-part-2-of-3.html">(2) ONE SOLOIST, MULTIPLE VIEWS OF VW'S <i>LARK</i></a> [Oct. 10]<br />
(3) A WHOOSH OF MEMORY OF AN EPIC CLARINET GUY [Oct. 11]<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>(1) WHO LOVES A WHEEZING, WHINY, OR ASTHMATIC LARK?</b><br />
<blockquote>
<i>While harking unto our musical larks, as I played with Haydn's I tripped over a snag that had somehow never caught me. </i>-- Ken</blockquote>
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<br />
<b>Group I -- performances I own which share a particular oddness</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lark-opening-medici" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Paul Robertson, violin; with the rest of the Medici Quartet (David Matthews, violin; Paul Silverthorne, viola; Anthony Lewis, cello). EMI, recorded in Abbey Road Studio No. 1, London, Jan. 16, 1976</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lark-opening-festetics" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>István Kertész, violin; with the rest of the Festetics Quartet (Erika Petöfi, violin; Péter Ligeti, viola; Rezsö Pertorini, cello). Harmonia Mundi France, recorded in the Unitarian Church of Budapest, June-Dec. 1991</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lark-opening-salomon" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Simon Standage, violin; with the rest of the Salomon Quartet (Micaela Comberti, violin; Trevor Jones, viola; Jennifer Ward Clarke, cello). Hyperion, recorded Oct. 11-13, 1995</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lark-opening-buchberger" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Hubert Buchberger, violin; with the rest of the Buchberger Quartet (Julia Greve, violin; Joachim Etzel, viola; Helmut Sohler, cello). Brilliant Classics, recorded in the Evangelische Burgkirche Nieder-Rosbach, Germany, May 17-19, 2007</i><br />
<br />
<b>Group II, or shall we say: (a) "Subgroup II-A"</b><br />
<a name='more'></a><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/arvid-engegard-as-the-lark" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Arvid Engegard, violin; with the rest of the Orlando Quartet (Heinz Oberdorfer, violin; Ferdinand Erblich, viola; Stefan Metz, cello). Emergo Classics, released 1995
</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lark-opening-amadeus" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Norbert Brainin, violin; with the rest of the Amadeus Quartet (Siegmund Nissel, violin; Peter Schidlof, viola; Martin Lovett, cello). DG, recorded in the Plenarsaal of the Akademie der Wissenschaften in the Residenz, Munich, March 1974</i><br />
<br />
<b>and then: (b) "Subgroup II-B"</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/kenneth-sillito-as-the-lark" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Kenneth Sillito, violin; with the rest of the Gabrieli Quartet (Brendan O'Reilly, violin; Ian Jewel, viola; Keith Harvey, cello). Chandos, recorded in The Maltings, Snape (Surrey), England, Feb. 13-15, 1986</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/haydnlark-theme-tatrai" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Vilmos Tátrai, violin; with the rest of the Tátrai Quartet (István Várkonyi, violin; György Konrád, viola; Ede Banda, cello). Hungaroton, recorded in Hungaroton Studio, Budapest, Sept. 28, 1975</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>MIGHT IT HELP IF WE WERE TO HEAR THE WHOLE<br />
MOVEMENT? IT COULD AT LEAST BE WORTH TRYING</b><br />
<br />
<b>HAYDN: String Quartet in D, Op. 64, No. 5 (<i>The Lark</i>):<br />
i. Allegro moderato</b><br />
<br />
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<br />
<b>Group I</b> [<i>Never mind for now the extra repeat that merely bulks up the two over-eight-minute versions (there <b>can</b> be too much of a good thing!)</i>]<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/haydnlark-i-medici" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Medici Quartet (Paul Robertson and David Matthews, violins; Paul Silverthorne, viola; Anthony Lewis, cello). EMI, recorded in Abbey Road Studio No. 1, London, Jan. 16, 1976</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/haydnlark-i-festetics" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Festetics Quartet (István Kertész and Erika Petöfi, violins; Péter Ligeti, viola; Rezsö Pertorini, cello). Harmonia Mundi France, recorded in the Unitarian Church of Budapest, June-Dec. 1991</i><br /><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/haydnlark-i-salomon" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Salomon Quartet (Simon Standage and Micaela Comberti, violins; Trevor Jones, viola; Jennifer Ward Clarke, cello). Hyperion, recorded Oct. 11-13, 1995</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/larkqt-i-buchberger" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Buchberger Quartet (Hubert Buchberger and Julia Greve, violins; Joachim Etzel, viola; Helmut Sohler, cello). Brilliant Classics, recorded in the Evangelische Burgkirche Nieder-Rosbach (Germany), May 17-19, 2007</i><br />
<br />
<b>Subgroup II-A: maybe more "allegro" than "moderato"?</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/larkqt-i-orlando" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Orlando Quartet (Arvid Engegard and Heinz Oberdorfer, violins; Ferdinand Erblich, viola; Stefan Metz, cello). Emergo Classics, released 1995</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/larkqt-i-amadeus" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Amadeus Quartet (Norbert Brainin and Siegmund Nissel, violins; Peter Schidlof, viola; Martin Lovett, cello). DG, recorded in the Plenarsaal of the Akademie der Wissenschaften in the Residenz, Munich, March 1974</i><br />
<br />
<b>Subroup II-B: Vice versa -- maybe more "moderato" than "allegro"</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/haydnlark-op-64-5-i-tatrai" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Tátrai Quartet (Vilmos Tátrai and István Várkonyi, violins; György Konrád, viola; Ede Banda, cello). Hungaroton, recorded in Hungaroton Studio, Budapest, Sept. 28, 1975</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lark-i-gabrieli" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Gabrieli Quartet (Kenneth Sillito and Brendan O'Reilly, violins; Ian Jewel, viola; Keith Harvey, cello). Chandos, recorded in The Maltings, Snape (Surrey), England, Feb. 13-15, 1986</i><br />
<br />
Different as the Group I specimens are, they're all attempts at "period" performances, in instruments and performance practices. Meaning, for one thing, all gut strings -- and on a gut E-string there's not much chance of our poor lark getting off the ground, let alone soaring). And for another thing it means much-curtailed expressive devices, including little or no vibrato, so that especially when the line goes high or incorporates a held note, we get some species of flat, pallid sound -- a whine, or a wheeze, or maybe a siege of asthma.<br />
<br />
But, you say, isn't this, you know, <i>authentic</i>? Isn't it what Haydn would have heard? To which all I can say is: <i>not in his imagination</i>, not a chance.<br />
<br />
Okay, I can say this one thing more: It's hard to explain just how much the <i>Lark</i> Quartet has, since time unremembered, provided breathed comfort into the spaces of my psyche, but hear it this way and all the air whooshes out.<br />
<br />
<b>We're not done with Op. 64, No. 5 --</b><br />
<br />
It just didn't help in getting where I want to get to be sidetracked by this formidable issue, which for me leads into a dead end. And under these conditions, the idea of adding more repeats seems to me, er, unhelpful, merely adding layers of soulless repetition. As we're going to hear, the effect is pretty deadly too in the oughtta-be-gorgeous little Adagio that follows the opening movement.<br />
<br />
I'm thinking too that as long as we've found ourselves in the thick of one of the sets-of-six-works that were so popular in Haydn's time, we might take the opportunity to take at least a little look at how in his hands the six quartets of Op. 64 become in some ways a single 24-movement superstructure.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>NEXT UP: Part 2 --</b><br /><br />
<b>(2) ONE SOLOIST, MULTIPLE VIEWS OF VW'S <i>LARK</i></b><br />
<b>[posts Tuesday at 10am ET]</b><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
#</div>KenInNYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03712690425664894186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823063346488779206.post-499304250625377272023-01-01T18:45:00.010-05:002023-01-01T18:50:08.003-05:00Among others, some singing larks of the nonverbal kind are here to wish everyone: Happy New Year! (quick version)<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj0BBZ7XIltXbTMwdmIpJ0YASzVwgp-Tjp6DChLuLt1KtA99AqFHRgxdhuS5v28mLc1Pq2eHNhiR7fwF_B-ZHI2lJo5n0oPJPdwrpMEIkP6sWp6fhv8z8h6RKWyDQLk2PuKPANZtbgxV8rl-xCXqbRJnalK8zslePxQcqggPhgmkpT_xVgrIVGd6_Y/s1600/champagne-bottle-450.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj0BBZ7XIltXbTMwdmIpJ0YASzVwgp-Tjp6DChLuLt1KtA99AqFHRgxdhuS5v28mLc1Pq2eHNhiR7fwF_B-ZHI2lJo5n0oPJPdwrpMEIkP6sWp6fhv8z8h6RKWyDQLk2PuKPANZtbgxV8rl-xCXqbRJnalK8zslePxQcqggPhgmkpT_xVgrIVGd6_Y/s1600/champagne-bottle-450.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM VIENNA -- FIRST BY WAY<br />
OF NEW YORK -- AND, OH YES, FROM MUNICH TOO</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/so-muss-allein-e-ormandy-col" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[in English, lyrics by Howard Dietz] <i>Lily Pons (s), Adele; Ljuba Welitsch (s), Rosalinde; Charles Kullman (t), Eisenstein; Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded Dec. 24 & 29, 1950 & Jan. 7, 1951</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/es-gibt-ein-wiedersehen-e-met-1951" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="535"></iframe><br />
[in English, lyrics by Howard Dietz] <i>Patrice Munsel (s), Adele; Marguerite Piazza (s), Rosalinde; Charles Kullman (t), Eisenstein; Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, cond. Live performance, Jan. 20, 1951</i><br />
<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/es-gibt-ein-wiedersehen-karajan-1960" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="535"></iframe><br />
<i>Edita Gruberová (s), Adele; Kiri Te Kanawa (s), Rosalinde; Wolfgang Brendel (b), Eisenstein; Vienna Philharmonic, André Previn, cond. Philips, recorded in the Musikverein, November 1990</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/es-gibt-ein-wiedersehen-karajan-1960" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="535"></iframe><br />
<i>Erika Köth (s), Adele; Hilde Gueden (s), Rosalinde; Waldemar Kmentt (t), Eisenstein; Vienna Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan, cond. Decca, recorded in the Sofiensaal, June 1960</i><br />
<b>And here's an actual New Year's Eve performance:</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/es-gibt-ein-wiedersehen-c.-kleiber-1974" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="535"></iframe><br />
<i>Carol Malone (s), Adele; Gundula Janowitz (s), Rosalinde; Eberhard Wächter (b), Eisenstein; Bavarian State Orchestra, Carlos Kleiber, cond. Live performance from the Bavarian State Opera (Munich), Dec. 31, 1974</i><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">[<b>NOTE</b>: More than a third of this clip is applause. I was all set to snip it out, but even 48 years after the fact I just couldn't strip away the performers' earned plaudits.<i> -- Ed.</i>]</span><br />
<br />
[We'll be hearing the full version of this trio in the follow-up expanded-coverage version of this post scheduled for tomorrow. <i>-- Ed.</i>]
<br />
<br />
<b>NOW, HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM HAYDN'S LARK</b><br />
<blockquote>
<i>Fledermaus</i> of course is meat-and-potatoes (or maybe we should say champagne-and-caviar?) New Year's material, and we've got more of it in tomorrow's expanded post, but it occurred to me that in a New Year's frame of mind we might finish up our business with at least the nonvocal contingent of the musical larks we've been pursuing, starting with Haydn's -- in two really lovely and interestingly different performances (one of which we're going to hear in its entirety in a moment). <i>-- Ed.</i></blockquote>
<a name='more'></a><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/arvid-engegard-as-the-lark" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Arvid Engegard, violin; with the remaining members of the Orlando Quartet: Heinz Oberdorfer, violin; Ferdinand Erblich, viola; Stefan Metz, cello. Emergo Classics, released 1995</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/kenneth-sillito-as-the-lark" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Kenneth Sillito, violin; with the remaining members of the Gabrieli Quartet: Brendan O'Reilly, violin; Ian Jewel, viola; Keith Harvey, cello. Chandos, recorded in The Maltings, Snape (Surrey), England, Feb. 13-15, 1986</i><br />
<br />
<b>In the fuller version of this post</b>, scheduled for tomorrow, we're going to do some more proper listening to Haydn's <i>Lark</i> Quartet. But for now I thought it might be nice just to be able to hear the whole thing. And I thought it might be nice to honor a kind-of-forgotten performance, from a kind-of-forgotten period of the kind-of-forgotten Orlando Quartet.<br />
<br />
<b>HAYDN: String Quartet in D, Op. 64, No. 5 (<i>The Lark</i>)</b><br />
<b>i. Allegro moderato</b><br />
<b>ii. Adagio (Cantabile)</b><br />
<b>iii. Menuet: Allegretto</b><br />
<b>iv. Finale: Vivace</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/haydn-op-64-5-orlando-qt" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
[ii. at 5:38; iii. at 12:08; iv. at 15:25] <i>Orlando Quartet (Arvid Engegard and Heinz Oberdorfer, violins; Ferdinand Erblich, viola; Stefan Metz, cello). Emergo Classics, released 1995</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>AND A QUICK HIT FROM VAUGHAN WILLIAMS'S LARK</b><br />
<blockquote><div>He rises and begins to round,<br />
he drops the silver chain of sound<br />
of many links without a break,<br />
in chirrup, whistle, slur and shake,<br />
all intervolved and spreading wide,<br />
like water-dimples down a tide<br />
where ripple ripple overcurls<br />
and eddy into eddy whirls;<br />
a press of hurried notes that run<br />
so fleet they scarce are more than one . . .<br />
<i>-- the first 10 (of 122) lines of Meredith's "The Lark Ascending"</i><br />
(if it's important to you, you can <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Poems_and_Lyrics_of_the_Joy_of_Earth/The_Lark_Ascending">read the whole poem here</a>)</div></blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lark-ascending-beg-brown-howarth" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Iona Brown, violin; BBC Symphony Orchestra, Elgar Howarth, cond. BBC Music Magazine, recorded live at the Proms, Royal Albert Hall, Aug. 18, 1983</i><br />
<br />
Obviously this is just a taste of <b>The Lark Ascending</b> -- which we've already heard in full (in the two lovely recordings conducted by Sir Adrian Boult -- in "J<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2022/10/just-so-you-know-what-were-up-to-three.html">ust so you know what we're up to: Three familiar larks, a bonus lark, and (oh yes!) Death and a maiden</a>," October 18). But we haven't talked much about it, and we've got an interesting bunch of performances that have been sitting ready to go for ages. I don't know that anyone has ever thought of <b>The Lark</b> as New Year's material. I think it fits kind of well.<br />
<br />
Oh yes: Happy New Year, everyone! -- <i>Ken</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>COMING TOMORROW -- The rest of our <i>Fledermaus</i>-ian<br />and Lark-ish greeting for 2023</b><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
#</div>KenInNYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03712690425664894186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823063346488779206.post-58823167184834906782022-12-25T23:28:00.015-05:002022-12-25T23:42:29.182-05:00A holiday post of sorts: Werther may not qualify as "merry," but isn't it as completely a "Christmas opera" as you could imagine?<b>[NOTE: THIS ISN'T THE POST (OR <i>ANY</i> OF THE POSTS)<br />PLANNED FOR TODAY -- I'LL EXPLAIN EVENTUALLY]</b><br />
<br />
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<b>Christmas in July</b>: <i>Curtain rise of <b>Werther</b> [4:28 of the audio clip] finds the Bailiff -- here Jonathan Summers, seen with the younger children and the oldest, Charlotte (Joyce DiDonato), at Covent Garden in 2016 -- trying to coax out of his now-motherless brood a passable rendering of their little Christmas song. With such labors, he clearly believes, it's never too early to begin.</i><br />
<blockquote><b>The Bailiff's House (July 178_).</b> <i>At left, the house, with a wide bay window, with a usable veranda covered with greenery, accessed by a wooden stairway. At right, the garden. At the rear, a small door with a clear view. In front, a fountain.</i> THE BAILIFF <i>is sitting on the veranda with his youngest children, whom he's having sing.<br />
<br />
The curtain rises on a great burst of laughter, very prolonged, from the children.</i><br />
<br />
<b>THE BAILIFF</b> [<i>grumbling</i>]: Enough! Enough!<br />
Will you listen to me this time?<br />
Let's start again! Let's start again!<br />
Above all not too much voice, not too much voice!<br />
<b>THE CHILDREN</b> [<i>singing brusquely, very loud and without nuance</i>]: Noël! Noël! Noël!<br />
Jesus has just been born,<br />
here is our divine master . . .<br />
<b>BAILIFF</b> [<i>overlapping, annoyed</i>]:<br />
But no! It's not that!<br />
No! No! It's not that!<br />
[<i>Severely</i>] Do you dare to sing that way<br />
when your sister Charlotte is in there?<br />
She must be hearing everything on the other side of the door!<br />
[<i>The</i> CHILDREN<i> have appeared totally moved at</i> CHARLOTTE<i>'s name. They take up the "Noël" again with seriousness.</i>]<br />
<b>CHILDREN</b>: Noël! . . .<br />
<b>BAILIFF</b>: That's good!<br />
<b>CHILDREN</b>: Noël! . . .<br />
<b>BAILIFF</b>: That's good!<br />
<b>CHILDREN</b>: Jesus has just been born,<br />
here is our divine master,<br />
kings and shepherds of Israel!<br />
In the firmament,<br />
faithful guardian angels<br />
have opened their wings wide,<br />
and go about everywhere singing: Noël!<br />
<b>BAILIFF</b> [<i>joining in</i>]: Noël! <i>&c</i><br />
[<i>And as the</i> CHILDREN <i>continue the "Noël" --</i>]<br />
It's just like that!<br />
Noël! Noël Noël! Noël Noël!<br /></blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/werther-opening-chailly" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
[curtain rise at 4:28] <i>Kurt Moll (bs), the Bailiff; West German Radio (WDR) Symphony Orchestra, Cologne, Riccardo Chailly, cond. DG, recorded in the Forumhalle, Leverkusen (across the Rhine from Cologne), February 1979</i><br />
<br />
<b>by Ken</b><br />
<br />
And if <i>Werther</i> begins with "Christmas in July," it ends, of course, on Christmas Eve (in French "<i>la nuit de Noël</i>," "Christmas Night," which to them is definitely Christmas Eve and not, as we might take it, "the night of Christmas Day"). Let's recall the purely orchestral Scene 1 of Act IV:<br />
<br />
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<blockquote><b>Stage direction for the scene</b>: "<i>The little village of Wetzlar, Christmas Eve. -- The moon casts a great clarity on the roofs and trees, covered with snow. -- Some windows light up little by little. -- It's snowing. -- Then total obscurity.</i>"</blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/werther-iv-i-chailly" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>West German Radio (WDR) Symphony Orchestra, Cologne, Riccardo Chailly, cond. DG, recorded in the Forumhalle, Leverkusen (across the Rhine from Cologne), February 1979</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE CONTINUING (OR REALLY
<i>FINISHING UP</i>) WITH SCHUBERT'S THREE SERENADES</b><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>I did figure out how we want to proceed: by roughly framing the three serenades between two mileposts in the preposterously productive, explosively creative two and a half years before the composer's death, in November 1828, more than two months before his 32nd birthday: the last of his string quartets, the G major, D. 885 (June 1826), and the sublime C major String Quintet, D. 957 (August-September 1828).<br />
<br />
Which meant that, along with the already-designated material, I had to figure out how to do more than simply dump out performances of those two extaordinary works, which entailed a whole new round, or two new rounds, of clip-making. As I labored over that, I worried about an ongoing concern as we give final ponderance to performances of the three serenades: a crucial element that's missing in a lot of them, having to do with the basic dynamics of a serenade, and it occurred to me that one way to get at it would be to consider some "real" serenades, which is top say examples drawn from operas, where even the least theatrically adept singer has at least a basic idea of <i>the person he or she is singing to and why</i>. Which meant yet another round of pondering and clip-making.<br />
<br />
I think it means two further posts; I'll do my best to keep them from calving <i>more</i> posts. Meanwhile, the holiday season is apt at some point to project the wonderful opening scene of <i>Werther</i> in my head. We actually spent a fair amount of time on it in an April post, "<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2022/04/were-going-to-be-hearing-kurt-moll-in.html">We're going to be hearing Kurt Moll in his famously "Unexpected French Role" -- so curtain up!</a>."
<br />
<br />
<b>AT THE TIME OF THE APRIL POST I'D BEEN THINKING<br />
ABOUT HOW THIS SCENE CAN REDUCE TO CARTOONERY</b><br />
<br />
Hey, there's so much emotional upheaval to follow, the thinking might go: Why can't we just have some cheesy little domestic country-hick comedy?<br />
<br />
Which I think: (a) is a serious missed opportunity, and (b) can leave us seriously under-understanding the effect on young Werther's psyche produced by his encounter on his encounter with the home life of the Bailiff, his family, and his neighbors and friends. As I tried to explain in April,
<blockquote>the way we perceive the Bailiff can affect the way we perceive the two characters who are thrown together so fatefully in this act -- one of them the Bailiff's eldest child, the other a first-time visitor to this home, which is not just the physical setting but the world that underpins all the action of the opera.</blockquote>
Because Werther doesn't simply fall madly in love with Charlotte. He's enthralled by everything about the life of this home, in this unglamorous village. It's easy to reduce this to a simple perception of people living an idyic life, but it's a lot more than that. Behind the uncomplicated warmth and genrosity of his host, he becomes keenly aware of the trauma he and his household have been coping with in the loss of the person who held that household together: the Bailiff's wife, all those children's mother. He's overwhelmed by Charlotte's unhesitating and uncomplaining embrace of the role of replacement mother to all those brothers and sisters. Finally, when he's hit with the devastating news that Charlotte is engaged to Albert, it isn't even possible to dislike or resent the man who stands in the way of all his happiness, because there just isn't anything to dislike about Albert.<br />
<br />
The shame is that Werther doesn't have the emotional resiliency of the family he's come to feel so close to, that he could apply the lesson the Charlotte and the rest of her family applied to their cataclysmic loss: that life goes on.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>WHY NOT LISTEN AGAIN TO THE EARLY CHUNK OF THE<br />
SCENE, IN PERFORMANCS I HAPPED TO HAVE DIGITALLY?</b><br />
<br />
By way of introduction, here's the Prélude to Act I:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/werther-prelude-chailly" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="535"></iframe><br />
<i>West German Radio (WDR) Symphony Orchestra, Cologne, Riccardo Chailly, cond. DG, recorded in the Forumhalle, Leverkusen (across the Rhine from Cologne), February 1979</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/werther-prelude-bonynge" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="535"></iframe><br />
<i>Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Richard Bonynge, cond. Live performance, Feb. 3, 1979</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/werther-prelude-pappano" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="535"></iframe><br />
<i>London Symphony Orchestra, Antonio Pappano, cond. EMI, recorded in Abbey Road Studio No. 1, August 1998</i><br />
<br />
<b>NOW WE'RE READY FOR THE RISE OF THE CURTAIN</b><br />
<br />
<blockquote><b>The Bailiff's House (July 178_).</b> <i>At left, the house, with a wide bay window, with a usable veranda covered with greenery, accessed by a wooden stairway. At right, the garden. At the rear, a small door with a clear view. In front, a fountain.</i><br />
<br />
<i>At curtain rise</i> THE BAILIFF<i> is sitting on the veranda amid his six younger children, whom he's having sing. The curtain rises on a great burst of laughter, very prolonged, from the children.</i><br />
<br />
<b>THE BAILIFF</b> [<i>grumbling</i>]: Enough! Enough!<br />
Will you listen to me this time?<br />
Let's start again! Let's start again!<br />
Above all not too much! voice, not too much voice!<br />
<b>THE CHILDREN</b> [<i>singing brusquely, very loud and without nuance</i>]: Noël! Noël! Noël!<br />
Jesus has just been born,<br />
here is our divine master . . .<br />
<b>BAILIFF</b> [<i>overlapping, annoyed</i>]:<br />
But no! It's not that!<br />
No! No! It's not that!<br />
[<i>Severely</i>] Do you dare to sing that way<br />
when your sister Charlotte is in there?<br />
She must be hearing everything on the other side of the door!<br />
[<i>The</i> CHILDREN<i> have appeared totally moved at</i> CHARLOTTE<i>'s name. They take up the "Noël" again with seriousness.</i>]<br />
<b>CHILDREN</b>: Noël! . . .<br />
<b>BAILIFF</b>: That's good!<br />
<b>CHILDREN</b>: Noël! . . .<br />
<b>BAILIFF</b>: That's good!<br />
<b>CHILDREN</b>: Jesus has just been born,<br />
here is our divine master,<br />
kings and shepherds of Israel!<br />
In the firmament,<br />
faithful guardian angels<br />
have opened their wings wide,<br />
and go about everywhere singing: Noël!<br />
<b>BAILIFF</b> [<i>joining in</i>]: Noël! <i>&c</i><br />
[<i>And as the</i> CHILDREN <i>continue the "Noël" --</i>]<br />
It's just like that!<br />
Noël! Noël! Noël! Noël! Noël!<br />
[JOHANN <i>and</i> SCHMIDT<i>, who had stopped at the garden entrance to listen to the children's chorus on the other side of the greenery, have entered the yard.</i>]<br />
[<b>Note</b>: <i>Try to remember (I usually don't!) that the</i> BAILIFF<i>'s friend</i> SCHMIDT <i>is the <b>tenor</b>,</i> JOHANN <i>the <b>baritone</b>.</i> -- Ed.]<br />
<b>JOHANN</b>: Bravo for the children!<br />
<b>SCHMIDT</b>: Bravo for the couplet!<br />
<b>CHILDREN</b> [<i>running up joyfully</i>]:<br />
Ah, Monsieur Schmidt! Ah, Monsieur Johann!<br />
[SCHMIDT <i>and</i> JOHANN<i> hug and congratulate the children.</i>]<br />
<b>JOHANN</b> [<i>to the</i> BAILIFF]: Eh, but you're singing "Noël" in July,<br />
Bailiff, isn't that getting way ahead of time?<br />
<b>BAILIFF</b> [<i>who has come down and shakes his friends' hands</i>]: That makes you laugh, Johann!<br />
But why? Everyone isn't an artist like you!<br />
And it's no bagatelle teaching singing,<br />
singing, to these young brains.<br />
<b>SCHMIDT</b> [<i>to</i> SOPHIE<i>, who has just entered</i>]: Good day, Sophie!<br />
Eh, eh! Charlotte won't be far away!<br />
<b>SOPHIE</b> [<i>doing a little curtsy for him</i>]:<br />
Indeed, Monsieur Schmidt, since we take care,<br />
Charlotte and I, of the family.<br />
<b>JOHANN</b> [<i>to the</i> BAILIFF]: Superb weather! You'll come?<br />
<b>BAILIFF</b> [<i>to</i> JOHANN]: In an instant . . .<br />
<b>SOPHIE</b> [<i>to</i> JOHANN<i>, continuing their conversation</i>]:<br />
My sister is getting dressed for the ball.<br />
<b>BAILIFF</b> [<i>turning back to</i> SCHMIDT]:<br />
Yes, the ball for friends and relatives<br />
that they're putting on in Wetzlar.<br />
They're coming to pick Charlotte up.<br />
<b>SCHMIDT</b>: Just so!<br />
Koffel will wear his old dress coat.<br />
Steiner has hired the brewer's horse.<br />
Hoffmann has his gig, and Goulden his berlin.<br />
Even Monsieur Werther has seemed to me less dreamy.<br />
<b>BAILIFF</b> [<i>to his two friends</i>]: Very nice, that young man!<br />
<b>JOHANN</b>: But not so strong in matters of cuisine.<br />
<b>BAILIFF</b> [<i>insisting</i>]: He's educated, very distinguished.<br />
<b>SCHMIDT</b>: A little melancholy!<br />
<b>BAILIFF</b> [<i>pursuing his idea</i>]:<br />
The Prince promises him, they say, an ambassadorship.<br />
He esteems him and wishes him well.<br />
<b>JOHANN</b> [<i>with contempt</i>]: A diplomat! Bah!<br />
That counts for nothing at table!<br />
<b>SCHMIDT</b> [<i>the same</i>]: That one doesn't know how to drink down a real drink!<br />
<b>JOHANN</b> [<i>to the</i> BAILIFF<i>, shaking his hands</i>]:<br />
Until a little later, at the Golden Grape?<br />
<b>SCHMIDT</b> [<i>the same</i>]: You still owe us a return match!<br />
<b>BAILIFF</b> [<i>crying out</i>]: Still?<br />
<b>JOHANN</b> [<i>retracing his steps</i>]: Indeed!<br />
And then, today is crayfish day!<br />
Big ones, fat like your arm -- Gretchen promised us!<br />
<b>BAILIFF</b>: O the gourmands! Two accomplices!<br />
[<i>The two men make a show of leaving.</i>]<br />
<b>BAILIFF</b>: Then you're not waiting for Charlotte, my friends?<br />
<b>SCHMIDT</b> [t<i></i>o JOHANN]: We'll see her this evening.<br />
We want to take a little walk along the rampart.<br />
<b>BAILIFF</b> [<i>smiling, to</i> JOHANN]: To expand your appetite?<br />
<b>JOHANN</b> [<i>growling a little, to</i> SCHMIDT]:<br />
Always he exaggerates. Let's go, come, it's late.<br />
<b>SCHMIDT</b> [<i>coming back to the</i> BAILLIFF]:<br />
By the way, when does Albert return?<br />
<b>BAILIFF</b> [<i>simply</i>]: I'm not aware.<br />
He still hasn't said anything to me about it.<br />
But he writes to me that his business is going really well.<br />
<b>SCHMIDT</b>: Perfect! Albert is a worthy and faithful lad.<br />
He's a model husband for your Charlotte,<br />
and we old-timers will dance<br />
till our breath gives out at their upcoming wedding.<br />
[<i>The two men go off arm in arm.</i>]<br />
[<i>Gaily</i>] Hey, good night, children!<br />
<b>JOHANN</b> [<i>gaily</i>]: Good night, children!<br />
<b>SCHMIDT</b> [<i>to the</i> BAILIFF <i>quietly</i>]: Till later!<br />
<b>JOHANN</b> [<i>the same</i>]: Till later!<br />
<b>SOPHIE</b>, <b>BAILIFF</b>, <b>SCHMIDT</b>, <b>JOHANN</b>, and the<br />
<b>CHILDREN</b>: Good night! Good night! Good night!<br />
<b>JOHANN</b> and <b>SCHMIDT</b> [<i>in full voice</i>]:<br />
<i>Vivat Bacchus! semper vivat! Vivat Bacchus! semper vivat!</i><br />
<i>&c</i> [<i>fading into the distance</i>]<br />
<b>BAILIFF</b> [<i>to the</i> CHILDREN]: Go back in!<br />
We'll repeat our Noël this evening before supper, note for note.<br />
[THE BAILIFF <i>has climbed the steps, and once in the house --</i>]<br />
Sophie, you have to go see what Charlotte is doing.<br />
[SOPHIE <i>leaves.</i> THE BAILIFF <i>settles into his leather armchair. His younger children huddle around his knees and listen religiously to the lesson he gives them.</i>]<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><i>-- French libretto by Edouard Blau, Paul Milliet, and Georges Hartmann, based on Goethe's <b>Sorrows of Young Werther</b></i></div></blockquote><p>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/werther-opening-scene-chailly" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Kurt Moll (bs), the Bailiff; László Anderko (b), Johann; Alejandro Vazquez (t), Schmidt; Arleen Augér (s), Sophie; Cologne Children's Chorus, West German Radio (WDR) Symphony Orchestra, Cologne, Riccardo Chailly, cond. DG, recorded in the Forumhalle, Leverkusen (across the Rhine from Cologne), February 1979</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/werther-opening-cut-bonynge" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Andrew Foldi (bs), the Bailiff; Andrij Dobriansky (bs), Johann; Nico Castel (t), Schmidt; Kathleen Battle (s), Sophie; Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Richard Bonynge, cond. Live performance, Feb. 3, 1979</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/werther-opening-cut-pappano" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Jean-Philippe Courtis (bs), the Bailiff; Jean-Marie Frémeau (b), Johann; Jean-Paul Fouchécourt (t), Schmidt; Patricia Petibon (s), Sophie; Tiffin Children's Choir, London Symphony Orchestra, Antonio Pappano, cond. EMI, recorded in Abbey Road Studio No. 1, August 1998</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>AT THIS POINT IN APRIL, I HAD A SUBHEAD THAT READ:</b><br />
<br />
<b>"I wonder if you're feeling that the dignity of Molly's Bailiff affects the feeling of the scene."</b><br />
<br />
I think it's safe to say that I was.<br />
<br />
At this point in April, I had to take note of how little of Act I we'd gotten through -- we were right up to the moment of Werther's entry but just hadn't managed to get him onstage! Also, we hadn't even gotten to the end of teh Bailiff's role (after the opening scene he never appears again), and I was keen on pushing a bit farther into the act, and had even made audio clips for that purpose. If you're curious, you can check them out <a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2022/04/were-going-to-be-hearing-kurt-moll-in.html">in the original post</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>COMING UP --</b><br />
<br />
Again, as I noted earlier, we're probably going to be setting the stage for our final reckoning with the Schubert serenades by checking out some classic musical serenades, starting with another go at Fenton's "<i>Horch', die Lerche singt im Hain</i>" from Nicolai's <i>Merry Wives of Windsor</i>. Then we have Rossini's Count Almaviva with his two serenades in <i>The Barber of Seville</i>, Mozart's Don Giovanni, and I'm thinking Gounod's and/or Berlioz's Méphistophélès.<br />
<center>#</center>KenInNYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03712690425664894186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823063346488779206.post-46016299609717595772022-12-19T05:03:00.007-05:002022-12-19T20:34:52.889-05:00As all veteran serenaders know, the enterprise comes with no guarantee of success<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSqYMY2mSAaUbMPZam3hKSSTCapEdV3gfgYRxhfw8teX19D_IcEc6gOm-MiSP6x3iee6ilRaATfS98dvkRObMSkmbqy1wLIGPgmEbKUJFIb8el-aWwDJzTBQwYEuZG0_lE2rq2iSy-LVr9lsRCpCiz3r5bIZdUfT22JUoNAzUUQGmm3534IVvn-ipX/s1600/serenade-%28judith-leyster%29-480.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="654" data-original-width="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSqYMY2mSAaUbMPZam3hKSSTCapEdV3gfgYRxhfw8teX19D_IcEc6gOm-MiSP6x3iee6ilRaATfS98dvkRObMSkmbqy1wLIGPgmEbKUJFIb8el-aWwDJzTBQwYEuZG0_lE2rq2iSy-LVr9lsRCpCiz3r5bIZdUfT22JUoNAzUUQGmm3534IVvn-ipX/s1600/serenade-%28judith-leyster%29-480.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Serenade</b> by Judith Leyster (1609-1660), in the Rijksmuseum</i><br /></div>
<br />
<b>Let's see how these randomly chosen serenaders make out --<br />and how they handle, er, lack of response (oops, spoiler!)</b><br />
<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/last-stanza-of-schubert-d-921-fassbaender-werba" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Brigitte Fassbaender, mezzo-soprano; with women of the Bavarian State Opera Chorus, Munich; Erik Werba, piano. EMI, recorded in the Bürgerbräu, Munich, June 18-20, 1973</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/schubert-d-920-final-stanza-walker-johnson" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Sarah Walker, mezzo-soprano; with male vocal ensemble (6 tenors, 5 baritones and basses); Graham Johnson, piano. From Vol. 8 of the <b>Hyperion Schubert Edition</b>, recorded May 29-31, 1989</i><br />
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<i>Peter Schreier, tenor; András Schiff, piano. Decca, recorded in the Mozartsaal of the Vienna Konzerthaus, August 1989</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/d-957-iv-2nd-stanza-hagegard" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Håkan Hagegård, baritone; Emanuel Ax, piano. RCA, recorded in RCA Studio A, New York City, Oct. 31-Nov. 2, 1984</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/d.-957-iv-2nd-stanza-goerne-brendel" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Matthias Goerne, baritone; Alfred Brendel, piano. Decca, recorded live in Wigmore Hall, Nov. 5 & 7, 2003</i><br />
<br />
<b>by Ken</b><br />
<br />
To recapitulate: We have slid through a wormhole into the world of Schubert's serenades. We came by way of matters larkish -- originally my fondly remembered old trio of larks: Haydn's <i>Lark</i> Quartet (Op. 64, No. 5), Nicolai's setting of Shakespeare's "Hark, hark, the lark" in Act II of <i>The Merry Wives of Windsor</i>, and Vaughan Williams's "rhapsody for violin and orchstra <i>The Lark Ascending</i>. (The relevant posts are "<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2022/10/just-so-you-know-what-were-up-to-three.html">Just so you know what we're up to: Three familiar larks, a bonus lark, and (oh yes!) Death and a maiden</a>," Oct. 16, and "<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2022/11/if-were-musical-lark-harking-we-really.html">If we're musical-lark-harking, we really need to count the number of: (1) 'hark's and (2) stanzas ['finally' (?) updated version]</a>," Nov. 21.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>THEN I REMEMBERED THAT SCHUBERT<br />
TOO HAD SET "HARK, HARK, THE LARK"</b><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>It had never struck me as more than a pleasant little song, but Graham Johnson argues a mighty persuasive case for the Schubert <i>Ständchen</i> "<i>Horch, horch, die Lerch' im Ätheblau</i>" -- in both his voluminous commentaries and his performance in the <i>Hyperion Schubert Edition</i>. (About the "littleness" of the song, though, you'll recall that Graham is particularly insistent. Not only are the posthumously added second and third stanzas bogus, he notes, but they wreak havoc with one of the song's miraculous qualities: its brevity.)<br />
<br />
In the post that's not quite ready we'll be listening again to "<i>Horch, horch</i>" again. Meanwhile it seemed only sensible, while we were dealing with this Schubert serenade, to remember that it's really the "other" Schubert serenade, not to be confused with the Rellstab setting "<i>Leise flehen meine Lieder</i>" ("Lingering quietly, in the dark's nighttime stillness"). The Rellstab <i>Ständchen</i>, after all, part of the groups of Rellstab and Heine settings that were clearly intended to be the basis of some kind of song collection , is merely one of the most loved pieces of music ever written. (Here the relevant posts are "When you think 'Schubert Serenade,' isn't <i>this</i> the one -- 'one of the most beloved of melodies' -- you're thinking of?," <a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2022/12/when-you-think-schubert-serenade-isnt_0533521401.html">Part 1</a> and <a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2022/12/when-you-think-schubert-serenade-isnt.html">Part 2</a>, both Dec. 4.)<br />
<br />
And yet, as Graham J argues, "The cost of such fame to the music has been high. It has become so hackneyed, and such a symbol of Schubert in his <i>Lilac Time</i> incarnation, that one must always make a constant effort to hear it with fresh ears."
Among the many things he points out about the song, perhaps the most glaring obliteration is the simple fact that this serenade fails -- the serenader, so desperate for any kind of attention from his beloved, gets none at all, and is devastated, all of which is easily lost in the wash of the beautiful tune.<br />
<br />
This seems worth remembering as we extend our inquiry to the <i>other</i> "other" Schubert serenade, which we've heard as well, in the "temporary post "<a href="https://sundayclassicswithken.blogspot.com/2022/12/as-all-veteran-serenaders-know.html">From the Loose Ends Dept.: Yet <i>another</i> Schubert serenade</a>." So as we approach a hearing of all three Schubert serenades, I thought it worth thinking in terms of their <i>outcomes</i> -- after all, a serenade doesn't happen unless the serenader is looking for some kind of response from the <i>object</i> of the serenade.<br />
<br />
It's not an issue with "<i>Horch, horch, die Lerch'</i>," where there's no reason to expect an unsatisfactory outcome. Interestingly, it so happens that the outcome is very much an issue with "<i>Zögernd leise</i>," the <i>other</i> "other" serenade. We still have a lot to talk about regarding its creation, its two versions, and its place in Schubert's output, but for now I thought it might be interesting to focuse just on the <i>outcomes</i> of "<i>Zögernd leise</i>" and "<i>Leise flehen</i>," which is why we've heard their final stanzas -- the former's fourth, the latter's second. One point already crying for notice is that word "<i>leise</i>--softly, quietly, gently. Not an altogether surprising word for a night song like a serenade, but a word worth paying attention to in both songs.<br />
<br />
To get back to what we've actually heard, I thought about including the third stanza of the four that make up "<i>Zögernd leise</i>," but here the serenader is still merely importuning the object of the serenade not to sleep; it's left to the final stanza to deal with the reality that the serenade has produced no response from the beloved. So that's what we heard; the final stanza.<br />
<br />
The structure of <i>Leise flehen</i>" is more complicated. As Graham points out, in "<i>Leise flehen</i>" Schubert begins by combining two of Rellstab's five stanzas into a single strophe, then makes of Rellstab's third stanza what seems like the start of a matching second strophe, until everything starts going haywire. The serenader ratchets up the urgency of the plea -- now the subject is "<i>Liebeschmerz</i>," the pain of love, and with the continuing lack of any response, the extra stanza from the poem is merged into the now-supersize second musical strophe. So in the case of "<i>Leise flehen</i>" I've presented the whole of this "superstrophe," and gone back to the whole of the interlude, which occasioned so such eraptured comment from Graham.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>IT SEEMS ONLY FAIR TO HEAR THE PERFORMANCES<br />
EXCERPTED ATOP THE POST IN THEIR ENTIRETY</b><br />
<br />
And I can say that a number of factors went into their choosing.<br />
<br />
<b>"<i>Zögernd leise</i>"</b><br />
<br />
As I mentioned in the "temporary post" presenting our originally four, then six, performances of the two versions of "<i>Zögernd leise</i>" I really like all of them. For once we get to choose, not so much among betters-and-worses, but among <i>interestingly different</i> performances, and even managed to include a specimen of each of the two versions. Among the soloists, Brigitte Fassbaender respresents the fuller-voiced type mezzo-soprano (also represented in our group by Christa Ludwig), while Sarah Walker, to some extent holding back for interpretive reasons, I think, respresents a lighter-voiced importuner (which in our group would also include Janet Baker and Anne Sofie von Otter).<br />
<br />
In addition, the performances we've sampled here represent the fastest (Fassbaender-Werba) and slowest of our six (Walker-Johnson). Indeed, Graham's performance really stands apart from the others -- gentler in pace and temperament, with a quite distinct kind of loveliness. I also love Erik Werba's accompaniment, though; he was just such a good song partner. That said, the quality of the accompaniments of all six of our performances is remarkably high. Interestingly, two of the most striking accompaniments -- along with Graham's -- come from performers we think of more as conductors, Wolfgang Sawallisch (with Fassbaender, in her first recording of the song) and Raymond Leppard (with Janet Baker). Overall, you get the feeling that this is a song singers like to sing and pianists like to accompany.<br />
<br />
<b>SCHUBERT: <i>Ständchen</i> (Serenade), "<i>Zögend leise in des Dunkels nächt'ger Hülle</i>" ("Lingering quietly in the dark's nighttime stillness"), D. 920 and 921</b><br />
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<b>Second version, for alto with women's chorus, D. 921</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/schubert-d-921-fassbaender-werba" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Brigitte Fassbaender, mezzo-soprano; with women of the Bavarian State Opera Chorus, Munich; Erik Werba, piano. EMI, recorded in the Bürgerbräu, Munich, June 18-20, 1973</i><br />
<b>First version, for alto with men's voices, D. 920</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/schubert-d-920-walker" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Sarah Walker, mezzo-soprano; with male vocal ensemble (6 tenors, 5 baritones and basses); Graham Johnson, piano. From Vol. 8 of the <b>Hyperion Schubert Edition</b>, recorded May 29-31, 1989</i><br /><br />
<br />
<b>"<i>Leise flehen</i>"</b><br />
<br />
In the earlier posts in this series we've heard a whole bunch of performances of "the" serenade, and now we're starting with an entirely new group -- and again a pretty diverse one, starting with three very different sorts of voices. Let's listen to the three performances we've already sampled, and then I'll say just a bit more.<br />
<br />
<b>SCHUBERT: <i>Schwanengesang</i> (<i>Swan Song</i>), D. 957: No. 4, <i>Ständchen</i> (Serenade), "<i>Leise flehen meine Lieder</i>" ("Softly my songs implore through the night to you")</b><br />
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<i>Peter Schreier, tenor; András Schiff, piano. Decca, recorded in the Mozartsaal of the Vienna Konzerthaus, August 1989</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/d-957-iv-hagegard" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Håkan Hagegård, baritone; Emanuel Ax, piano. RCA, recorded in RCA Studio A, New York City, Oct. 31-Nov. 2, 1984</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/d-957-iv-goerne-brendel" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Matthias Goerne, baritone; Alfred Brendel, piano. Decca, recorded live in Wigmore Hall, London, Nov. 5 & 7, 2003</i><br />
<br />
I think Peter Schreier is only the second tenor we've heard sing "<i>Leise flehen,</i>" the first having been John Mark Ainsley -- with Graham J! Not an accident. Even though "<i>Schwanengesang</i>" has seemed largely the property of baritones, the songs seem generally to have been written with tenor range and perhaps also vocal sensibility in mind, so it's not surprising that Graham went that way with his "casting." He divvies up the collection between two tenors: the seven Rellstab songs to Ainsley and the six Heine songs, prevailingly darker and more dramatic, a tougher sell for a tenor, plus the Seidl setting "<i>Die Taubenpost</i>," Schubert's last song, possibly also intended for whatever collection he had in mind, and often thought of (as in some early published editions) as part of the <i>Schwanengesang</i> set, to Anthony Rolfe Johnson.<br />
<br />
Here's A.R.J. in "<i>Am Meer</i>," certainly not as vocally deep or dramatically charged as "<i>Der Atlas</i>" or "<i>Der Doppelgänger</i>" -- and for comparison, well, how about Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau? (Over a two-decade interval!) And while we're at it, maybe we could hear our other tenor, Peter Schreier?<br />
<br />
<b>SCHUBERT: <i>Schwanengesang</i> (<i>Swan Song</i>), D. 957:<br />
No. 12, "<i>Am Meer</i>" ("By the Sea")</b><br />
<blockquote>The sea glimmered, boundless,<br />
in the dying sun of evening;<br />
we sat by the fisherman's solitary hut,<br />
silent and alone.<br />
<br />
The mists rose, the water surged,<br />
the gull flew to and fro;<br />
from your loving eyes<br />
the tears did flow.<br />
<br />
I saw them fall upon your hand,<br />
and sank down on my knees;<br />
from your white hand<br />
i drank the tears away.<br />
<br />
Since that hour my body is consumed,<br />
my soul dies with longing;<br />
that unhappy woman<br />
has poisoned me with her tears.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><i>-- poem by Heinrich Heine, translation by Friedel Becker</i></div></blockquote>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/d-957-12-a.r.johnson-g.johnson" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Anthony Rolfe Johnson, tenor; Graham Johnson, piano. From Vol. 37 of the <b>Hyperion Schubert Edition</b>, recorded in 1998-99</i>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/d-957-12-fischer-dieskau-moore-1951" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone; Gerald Moore, piano. EMI, recorded in Abbey Road Studios, London, Oct. 3-7, 1951</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/d-957-12-fischer-dieskau-moore-1973" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone; Gerald Moore, piano. DG, recorded in UFA-Ton-Studio, Berlin, March 1972</i><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/d-957-12-schreier-schiff" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="520"></iframe><br />
<i>Peter Schreier, tenor; András Schiff, piano. Decca, recorded in the Mozartsaal of the Vienna Konzerthaus, August 1989</i><br />
<br />
As it happens, I love Schreier's "<i>Leise flehen</i>." This was never an especially lush or beautiful tenor, but listen to how much lyrical quality he brings to music that would be lost without it, and there's all kinds of connection to the situation in his singing. And I love András Schiff's beautifully judged contribution I can't say, though, that I love their "<i>Am Meer</i>," or Anthony Rolfe Johnson's with Graham J, for that matter. Whatever the theoretical case for a tenor, I don't think it's entirely surprising that baritones have largely taken over <i>Schwanengesang</i>, especially when it comes to the Heine songs. Also, in a song like "<i>Am Meer</i>" it's sure nice to have both the pianistic strength and the tonal precision and delicacy of Gerald Moore.<br />
<br />
And the other baritones whose "<i>Leise flehen</i> we've heard? I think Håkan Hagegård delivers a highly serviceable account. I included him here specifically for the second stanza, to hear a singer who is at least noticing the "<i>Liebesschmerz</i>" our Serenader is suffering, and especially for the truly hopeless-sounding final "<i>Beglücke mich</i>." You may recall the point Graham J made of the two "<i>Liebchen, beglücke mich</i>"s -- the second one sung loudly, as if the singer is bluffing taking charge, and then the utterly forlorn simple "<i>Beglücke mich</i>." I've included Matthias Goerne here as a more contemporary example of the kind of baritone voice we're used to hearing in <i>Schwanengesang</i>, and maybe a little for Alfred Brendel's agreeable, sensible playing.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>MOVING FORWARD --</b><br />
<br />
We still need to pull the three Schubert serenades together, and set them in the context of this amazing final flowering Schubert experienced. Knowing his time was running out, as the syphilis gradually wore down his physical resources, he nevertheless he thought he had more time than it turned out he did. Still, to nearly the very end his mind retained its astonishing powers, almost up to the very end. There really isn't anything like the music he produced in this period.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
#</div>KenInNYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03712690425664894186noreply@blogger.com0