When a treasured piece of music simply falls into our laps, the least we can is to take proper note of it

Or: "Found" free music! (Or at least free music samples. Not to worry, though -- we can fill them out!), Part 1

A Seattle Chamber Music Society team of Artistic Director James Ehnes and Tessa Lark, violins; Joan DerHovsepian, viola; and Mark Kosower and Julie Albers, cellos (apologies to Tessa, hidden by the camera angle!) launches the ethereal 2nd theme -- initially stated so mesmerizingly by the two cellos -- of the 1st movement of Schubert's String Quintet in C, D. 956. [From the SCMS -- watch the whole movement on YouTube.]

I had intended to drop the complete movement into the post a ways down, but we should be hearing it right now, right? -- Ed.

SCHUBERT: String Quintet in C, D. 956:

[19:13; our "2nd theme" clip starts c1:41] Seattle Chamber Music Society: James Ehnes and Tessa Lark, violins; Joan DerHovsepian, viola; Mark Kosower and Julie Albers, cellos. Live performance from the final event of SCMS Summer Festival 2025, in Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall, Aug. 1, 2025 [Thanks for tracking down the performance date, Gemini!]

by Ken

Yes, yes, we have all kinds of projects in the works. Don't I know it! But while I try to work out the next step (of which there are about a half-dozen versionettes duking it out on my HD), I thought I would share some tantalizing free music found recently amid the avalanche in my e-mailbox: Schubert from Seattle (via the U.K.) and Mahler from Berlin.

Alas, my customary habit of shilly-shallying combined with stretchifying (the operative philosophy, as near as I can reckon it, seems to be something like: "Why keep on trying to do today what you just might be able to do tomorrow?") has caused what was meant to be a simple post not only to overflow its bounds but to run up against a hard deadline. In consequence, all we're going to attempt in this newly consecrated "Part 1" is the first half of the mandate.

As compensation of sorts, at the end of Part 1 there will be a Schubert bonus. So let's proceed with what we've already started --

(1) SCHUBERT FROM THE SEATTLE CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY

Speaking of "one-two punches" (well, we will be in a moment), what do you think -- is Schubert D. 956 lurking in the background?

WELCOME, VISITORS FROM "'Found' free music! (Or at least free music samples. Not to worry, though -- we can fill them out!)," Jan. 23, 2026 [Of course, welcome too to visitors who traveled any other path]

This is a pickup from the post of May 19, 1924: "The question we're exploring: What good is a "symphonic adagio" anyways? Like, what can one of 'em do for us? -- Part 1"

[NOTE: I don't think there ever was a "Part 2" except in my head. There is an unpublished listing on the blog dashboard with the "The question we're exploring" title. That may have been the contemplated-but-missing Part 2. I haven't yet found the heart to open it and see what if anything is there. -- Ed.]

UPDATED later Friday -- with quick notes on the performances.

A composer known for rafter-shaking orchestral climaxes sure can scale it down: Over pp violin tremolos, a theme is sounded mf by solo horn with cellos rising two octaves to that high B (directed to use long bow strokes, as if the players wouldn't figure that out!) -- until the violas displace the horn.

And then: A solo tenor tuba, backed by a choir of a second tenor tuba, two bass tubas, and a contrabass tuba, sings with the violas, supported by cellos and basses, setting us up for the tinglingly vibrant string chorale.


FYI: The 5/19/2024 post had three sections before the byline!

[1] WE KNOW THE ARCHETYPAL SYMPHONIC ADAGIO,
BUT HERE ARE SOME DIFFERENT WAYS OF HEARING IT

[2] IN FACT, THERE HAVE BEEN SYMPHONIC ADAGIOS
ALMOST AS LONG AS THERE HAVE BEEN SYMPHONIES

And then --

[3] SO WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH A SYMPHONIC ADAGIO?
Hmm, is there anything else in music like this one-two punch?

[For as long as I've been listening to this symphony, these two movements, outwardly so different, have seemed to be telling essentially the same story, if from very different viewing points. I think of them as fraternal twins. -- Ed.]

Then came the score-page reproductions and captions as above

AND THEN CAME THESE PERFORMANCES:

BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 7 in E:
i. Allegro moderato
ii. Adagio


[ii. at 20:51] Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Bruno Walter, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in the American Legion Hall, Hollywood, March 1961

[ii. at 21:21] BBC Symphony Orchestra, Reginald Goodall, cond. BBC Legends, recorded live in the Royal Festival Hall, Nov. 3, 1971 (released 2004)

[ii. at 21:01] Cleveland Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnányi, cond. Decca, recorded in Severance Hall, August 1990

[ii. at 21:10] Staatskapelle Dresden, Herbert Blomstedt, cond. Denon-Deutsche Schallplatten, recorded in Studio Lukaskirche, June 30-July 3, 1980

UPDATE: Some new (Jan. 2026) notes on the performances

The Walter must have been my first Bruckner 7, and though Bruno W.'s Columbia Symphony Bruckner recordings (of Nos. 4, 7, and 9) don't hold much sway with the Bruckner Faithful, I still love them. The L.A. pickup orchestra was on the mingy side for Beethoven and Brahms, and certainly isn't the dream orchestra we want to hear in Bruckner, but how honestly and feelingly they play, and how honestly and feelingly Bruno W. communicates the music.

If you want "deeper," try Goodall -- as with his Wagner, this performance digs deep. I quite love it too. And the Dohnányi as well, but then, I have vivid memories of hearing Dohnányi do Bruckner 7 with the Cleveland Orchestra in Carnegie Hall and thinking it was the loudest orchestral sound I'd ever heard -- and not just loud but beautiful. We may not think of this as that kind of orchestra, but under Dohnányi it could be. Not surprisingly, it's a more objective-style performance, but certainly not unfeeling.

Then there's Blomstedt, getting the Dresden Staatskapelle, in the Bruckner 4 and 7 he recorded for the Denon-Deutsche Schallplatten combine, to sound like the rich and glowing instrument it could be. He was 53 at the time, and in his full maturity, and the performance comes off sounding it. Forgive me for pointing ou that he's still conducting 25 years later, when he can, and still making beautiful music.

#

"Why is Messiah so popular?"asks Stephen J. Dubner (you know, the Freakonomics guy!)

AND WE DO SOME MESSIAH LISTENING OF OUR OWN!

"Why is Messiah so popular? I think it’s because what it is really about is ... hope. What do I mean by that? Well, this will take some explaining. Three episodes’ worth of explaining."

-- Stephen J. Dubner, in Part 1 of a Freakonomics podcast: Making Messiah

[3:46] Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Davis, cond. EMI, recorded in the Centre in the Square, Kitchener, Ont., Dec. 22-23, 1986

[A quick stroll through Andrew D.'s 1986 Messiah (which I love!) follows this intriguing news from Freakonomics Radio's Mr. D.]

by Ken

I don't listen regularly to Freakonomics Radio, the hybrid Public Radio broadcast and podcast conducted by Stephen J. Dubner (half of the Freakonomics team, with partner Steven D. Levitt). But while I was slaving away Sunday morning at what I hope will any day now (or any week, or month) yield half a dozen if not a full dozen Sunday Classics posts, all in a row!, I had the radio on. When the show came on, I was startled to hear Stephen D. talking about Messiah (yes, clearly Handel's Messiah!), and explaining that his explaining would require three installments -- all flowing from an unexpected passion for Messiah he contracted during the stressed times of COVID.

Mr. D. also discovered that personal passions for Messiah are widespread, and are found among startlingly varied folks of all sorts -- folks one mighjt hardly have expected to be thusly impassioned. Which led him to talk to a whole bunch of those folks about where this passion has led them. Longtime readers may recall that I have my own personal passion for Messiah, which I've indulged a number of times in this space over the years. (I could dig out some links if anyone cares.) Since I was otherwise occupied Sunday, I wasn't able to listen all that attentively to Part 1 of Making Messiah, and still haven't listened to any of Part 2. I made a point of ascertaining that the whole thing will remain accessible in various podcast forums, including YouTube -- check the website. Farther down you'll find links for Parts 1 and 2; I'll add a Part 3 link when it becomes available.

ONE THING I WANT TO STRESS ABOUT THE PODCAST --

is that this isn't your usual musicological Messiah deep dive that Stephen D. has undertaken. It's more of a cultural and historical perspective. While its findings bear directly on the text of the piece, it presupposes absolutely no knowledge of any of the subject matter. Yet its lines of inquiry seem to have produced results likely to be revelatory even to those of us who think we know the piece pretty well.

The Freakonomics podcast materials include full transcripts of the shows. I thought it could be helpful to dip into the Part 1 transcript to have Stephen D. himself explain the premise.

From the transcript of Part 1 of Making 'Messiah':
"The Greatest Piece of Participatory Art Ever Created"

Could these three ballet 'starters' be more different?

Sorry, but Part 2 of last week's "Chain of associations" post ("Retracing how 'Excerpt I' came into my head + the odd path to 'Excerpt II' + a stab at explaining how it mattered") isn't quite ready. I'm aiming for tomorrow.

In the meantime --

WE HAVE MUSIC RELEVANT TO THE WORK-IN-PROGRESS

Set design by Konstantin Ivanov for Ballet No. 1's first performance, 1892

The start of Ballet No. 1

[2:56] Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg, cond. Command, recorded in Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall, Apr. 29, 1964

The start of Ballet No. 2

[2:25] New Philharmonia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski, cond. Decca 'Phase 4', recorded in Kingsway Hall, London, September 1965

The start of Ballet No. 3

[2:29] Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet, cond. Decca, recorded in Victoria Hall, Geneva, November 1958

by Ken

Again, these are the openings of three really well-known ballets. I'll be surprised if you don't recognize all of them. In a moment -- well, right after the click-through -- we're going to hear them again, properly identified, and with additional performances of each of our ballets. Plus, as a bonus, we're going to hear how one of them continues on a bit once the stage action begins.

HERE ARE OUR THREE BALLETS PROPERLY IDENTIFIED
(And now with an interesting assortment of performances)

Chain of associations: Retracing how 'Excerpt I' came into my head + the odd path to 'Excerpt II' + a stab at explaining how it mattered

I KNOW I'LL REGRET IT, BUT I WANT TO TRY TALKING
ABOUT WHAT I THINK OF AS MUSICAL "AUTHENTICITY"
(Which has nothing to do with the kind usually talked about)

What is this distinguished-looking fellow up to? (FWIW,
note that whatever it is, he's doing it without a baton.)

EXCERPT  I

[2:47] New Philharmonia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski, cond. Decca 'Phase 4', recorded in Kingsway Hall, London, September 1965

EXCERPT  II

[Don't overboost the volume! Note that Excerpt II starts 'p' (soft); even the crescendo is only to 'poco più f ' (a little louder).]

[4:49] Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Leopold Stokowski, cond. Decca 'Phase 4', recorded in the Grand Théâtre, Geneva, Sept. 15-16, 1968

NOTE: Excerpt II is so startling in both conception and scoring, I've copied more of the score for when we hear it again. -- Ed.

A NOTE ON THE WORK THAT 'EXCERPT II' COMES FROM

Many (most?) people, when they think of it, think of the great love theme --


[2:48] Berlin Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan, cond. DG, recorded in the Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Oct. 12-13, 1966

But that's not where we're heading. This theme is kind of foolproof, can't-miss. It's hard to imagine any conductor misfiring with it. -- Ed.

by Ken

Sometimes it's intriguing to try to retrace a train of thought, back to its point of origin, to maybe see how it was hatched, and then how it morphed through its wanderings. As it happens, in this case -- the case of the specific part of the "odd path" I referenced above, from Excerpt I to Excerpt II -- the pathway, if not the actual thought collision, is easy to identify: On a Stoky "compilation" CD that Decca put out, they're the first and last of the 17 tracks.


HOW EXACTLY DID THOSE TRACKS AT OPPOSITE
ENDS OF A 17-TRACK CD CRASH INTO EACH OTHER?

Hear three themes get made over!(A sneaky way to sneak a peek into an imagination like none other?)

You'll probably know the composer(s?) who created our themes -- and why I've made a group out of these themes

[Partial revise, 7/28/2025: Timings for all of the audio clips, now stripped out of Internet Archive's clip-embedding format, have been added -- and some other problems have been addressed, in an all-too-micro way. -- Ed.]

[1:58] Norwegian Chamber Orchestra players (Per Kristian Skalstad, violin; Hanne Skjelbred, viola; Ole Eirik Ree, cello; Kenneth Ryland, double bass; Ole Christian Haagenrud, piano) deliver the second of our themes -- from an NCO chamber series called "Feel Good" ("a weekly dose of music that will lift and comfort your spirits"). [Watch on YouTube.]

THE THREE THEMES

[1] A familiar-to-us "Introduction" and "Theme" for flute and piano
(As we've heard, this stand-alone work gets a gorgeous "Introduction")

[4:56; Theme at 3;15] Alexander Korneyev, flute; Emil Gilels, piano. Melodiya, recorded in Moscow, 1958
[4:38; Theme at 3:01] Jean-Pierre Rampal, flute; Robert Veyron-Lacroix, piano. EMI, published 1959
[4:43; Theme at 2:46] Emmanuel Pahud, flute; Eric Le Sage, piano. Valois, recorded in the Salle de Châtonneyre (Switzerland), February 1994

[2] A theme for piano (+violin/viola/cello/double bass) quintet
(I've cheated and tacked on a variation, so we get to hear the piano! -- Ed.)

[1:58] Berlin Philharmonic soloists (Guy Braunstein, violin; Amihai Grosz, viola; Olaf Maninger, cello; Janne Saksala, double bass); Yuja Wang, piano. Live performance, Salle Pleyel, Paris, Mar. 20, 2011 [from the Yuja Wang Archives]
[2:05] Smetana Quartet members (Jiří Novák, violin; Milan Škampa, viola; Antonin Kohout, cello); František Pošta, double bass; Josef Hála, piano. Supra­phon-Denon, recorded in the House of Artists, Prague, Oct. 11-14, 1983
[2:18] Alexander Schneider, violin; Michael Tree, viola; David Soyer, cello; Julius Levine, double bass; Peter Serkin (age 18), piano. Vanguard, recorded in New York City, 1965
[UPDATE: From quickest performance to slowest, the timings broaden by only 7 and 13 seconds -- but hear what a difference those seconds make!]

Finally: [3] A haunting theme for string quartet --

[2:17] Tokyo String Quartet (Peter Oundjian and Kikue Ikoda, violins; Kazuhide Isomura, viola; Sadao Harada, cello). RCA, recorded in Richardson Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, Sept. 19-22, 1989
[2:27] Brandis Quartet (Thomas Brandis and Peter Brem, violins; Wilfried Strehle, viola; Wolfgang Boettcher, cello). Nimbus, recorded in the Concert Hall of the Nimbus Foundation, Wyastone Leys, Monmouth, Wales, Mar. 2-3, 1994
[2:58] Kodály Quartet (Attila Falvay and Tamás Szabo, violins; Gábor Fias, viola; János Devich, cello). Naxos, recorded in the Unitarian Church, Budapest, Oct. 8-11, 1991

The Tokyo and Brandis are our speed merchants here, but these are such solid and sonorous players that the music doesn't sound rushed, or at least not too rushed. But enter the wider-open, vibrant-toned, and yet lurkingly dangerous world of the Kodály, and now we've really got something! (Longtime readers know how easily seduced I am by the singing tones of a good Hungarian or Czech string ensemble.) We even get the sense of foreboding built into the music. I like this performance a lot. -- Ed.

by Ken

Anyone who happens to have kept tabs on these theoretically weekly posts knows that we're simultaneously immersed in an almost uncountable number of musical inquiries. Today I propose to begin cleaning up an unforgivable breach of Sunday Classics conduct. It dates back [link tk] to when I was taking note of the very musical transformations we're listening to "up-closer." But back then, I merely mentioned that we'd heard them all before and left it at that -- without providing so much as a link!

This isn't how we normally do business in this department. Wherever possible, I try to take advantage of our basic format opportunity: to actually hear stuff that comes up for discussion, or even just mention, not just yammering.


WHAT WE HEARD ARE ALREADY TRANSFORMATIONS --
NOW LET'S GO BACK TO THEIR "SOURCE" FORMS

The nature of those "sources" -- three songs -- is obviously how these themes have come to form a group. And as we hear them, we're also going to hear the final transformations that were wrought on them. I'm going to try to keep the chatter to a minimum, so it'll be (I hope) mostly listening and hearing.

THE THREE SONGS -- TAKING SOME NOTE NOW
OF THE TRANSFORMATION(S) THEY WOULD UNDERGO

(2) It's Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau's 100th birthday Wednesday!And (1) We ask a panel of experts:Can a flute do "somber"?

WE'RE GOING TO ATTEMPT HERE SOMETHING WE'VE NEVER DONE BEFORE: THE BEGINNINGS OF TWO DIFFERENT POSTS

HAPPY 100th, DIETRICH F.-D.! (1925-2012)

With András Schiff, Fischer-Dieskau sings "Trockne Blumen" (1991).
Of course we're going to hear it, right after some administrative stuff.

[Screen cap from video of their Schöne Müllerin in Feldkirch (Austria)]

by Ken

Post No. 1 is the long-awaited follow-up to the April 21 post, "Schubert understood that life sometimes works out and other times . . . well, it doesn't." The beginning has been sitting ready for a while now, waiting for the rest of it to come together. Much progress has been made, but we're not there yet, and when, amid the huffing and puffing to get there, I was reminded that the Fischer-Dieskau centenary is imminent --

I got the idea for "Post No. 2," which could be made by simply ripping a completed chunk out of the draft of Post No. 1, with minimal alteration, as an introduction to a selection of Fischer-Dieskau gems from the SC Archive. Not so simple, alas, as I realized when I got as far as some Bach and Gluck. No problem: We'll reserve the full archival dip to a future date and tack the Bach and Gluck excerpts onto the chunk extracted from "Post No. 1."

OH, ONE MORE THING: We'll be hearing the two post-beginnings in reverse order. After all, it's Dieter F.-D.'s b'day!


Post No. 2
IT'S D.F.-D.'S 100th BIRTHDAY WEDNESDAY!

Just 'cause here's no longer with us is no reason not to mark the occasion.

SCHUBERT: Die schöne Müllerin (The Beautiful Milleress), D. 795:

[1] Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, as we heard in our last post, from his 1971 DG recording of Die schöne Müllerin with Gerald Moore at the piano
[2] AS PICTURED ABOVE: Fischer-Dieskau at 65 (!), with András Schiff, at the Schubertiade in Feldkirch (Austria), June 1991  [Watch here, at 47:18]
[3] Baritone Sanford Sylvan, with David Breitman accompanying on fortepiano, from their 1991 Schöne Müllerin for Elektra Nonesuch

Schubert understood that life sometimes works out and other times . . . well, it doesn't

PANICKY MONDAY 12:15pm UPDATE: OMG, after the heap of fixing and tinkering I've done, suddenly the audio clips aren't loading! I think it's an Internet Archive website problem and, um, maybe it'll fix itself? Please check back, and maybe pray? -- Ed.

RELIEVED MONDAY 12:50pm UPDATE: I think we're OK! In the meantime, I've fixed yet another incorrect clip. Sigh! -- Ed.

The world's first superstar flutist, Jean-Pierre Rampal, with his frequent collaborator -- on both harpsichord and piano -- Robert Veyron-Lacroix

I THINK SOMETHING OF A MIRACLE HAPPENS AT
THE VERY START OF THIS ROUSING MUSICAL BIT

For now let's call it "Flute & Piano Bit A," and note that it consists of a mere eight bars of music, repeated. Note too how differently our two elite performing teams imagine it. (If you need a hint, start by noting the timings.)

Jean-Pierre Rampal, flute; Robert Veyron-Lacroix, piano. EMI, ℗1959
Emmanuel Pahud, flute; Eric Le Sage, piano. Valois, recorded in the Salle de Châtonneyre (Switzerland), February 1994

BUT TO APPRECIATE WHAT HAPPENS AT THE START OF 'BIT A,'
WE NEED TO HEAR SOMETHING REALLY QUITE DIFFERENT

We can call it "Flute & Piano Bit B" -- and note again how differently our performers hear this music. (A word of caution: Be careful not to crank your volume up. Note that this bit begins pp [very soft] for the piano and p [soft] for the flute, and while it does heat up, it quickly cools back down.)

Jean-Pierre Rampal, flute; Robert Veyron-Lacroix, piano
Emmanuel Pahud, flute; Eric Le Sage, piano

by Ken

Before we go on, there are a few more things you should perhaps know about "Flute & Piano Bit A."

(1) My proffer of "something of a miracle" may be misleading, given that we usually think of "miracles" as happy-making events. I think the composer was well aware of this, and really meant for what's happening here to sound happy-ish, but I don't want you to blame me if the "miracle" turns out to seem fairly catastrophic.

"Out-of-body" Beethoven, part 2: Is one of these three string-trio slow movements even more special than the other two?

BEETHOVEN: String Trio in G, Op. 9, No. 1:
ii. Adagio ma non tanto e cantabile (key: E major)

Itzhak Perlman, violin; Pinchas Zukerman, viola; Lynn Harrell, cello. EMI, recorded live at the 92nd Street Y, New York City, June 6-7, 1990

BEETHOVEN: String Trio in D, Op. 9, No. 2:
ii. Andante quasi allegretto (key: D minor)

Itzhak Perlman, violin; Pinchas Zukerman, viola; Lynn Harrell, cello

BEETHOVEN: String Trio in C minor, Op. 9, No. 3:
ii. Adagio con espressione (key: C major)

Itzhak Perlman, violin; Pinchas Zukerman, viola; Lynn Harrell, cello

"[These three] extraordinary slow movements in the key of E major [from the Piano Trio in G, Op. 1, No. 2; the String Trio in G, Op. 9, No. 1; and the String Quartet No. 8 in E minor, Op. 59, No. 2] . . . share an almost out-of-body quality, and it’s inspiring to wonder what this beautiful tonality must have meant to Beethoven."

-- David Finckel, in "Making the most out of chamber music coaching," from The Strad newsletter, Jan. 21, 2025

by Ken

The David Finckel quote, of course, is a pickup from last week's first installment of "'Out-of-body' Beethoven?," wherein we took advantage of this linkage of three Beethoven slow movements in E major, offered as an example of the kind of musical context he can offer to students as part of one of his most enjoyed yet enormously complex activities: coaching chamber music. I thought it would be fun as well as instructive to listen to David F.'s three E major slow movements -- along with two stringless ones I added, from the Op. 90 and Op. 109 Piano Sonatas.

For me there was no question that David F.'s trio of slow movements have something special in common. One thing I wanted to do was listen to what assorted performers have heard in them, to get some idea of how we might think about that special "E major quality." I also wanted to hear those movements in the context of the works they're part of, to get a sense of the kinds of use Beethoven made of that special quality (or qualities). And we're still going to attempt to do both of those things.

I'm still plugging away at that next step. Meanwhile I thought it would be interesting just to set one of those E major movements against alongside some comparable slow movements, which is what we've done above. The G major Trio, Op. 9, No. 1, is part of a set of three, and above we've heard the same performers play the slow movements of all three.

I suspect that for many of us, even the most confirmed Beethoven-philes, the string trios don't figure prominently in our listening. I'm always reminded when I have occasion to return to them (the three trios of Op. 9 were preceded by a six-movement Trio in E-flat, Op. 3, and the five-movement Serenade in D, Op. 8), I'm reminded that they're not only potentially more entertaining but more substantial than I remembered. It's generally pointed out that the trios were in some sense a preparation for the creative force that Beethoven would unleash in the Op. 18 set of six string quartets. Already I think it's fair to say that the three slow movements of Op. 9 are pretty gorgeous.

If the Adagio ma non tanto e cantabile of Op. 9, No. 1 were in E minor, it would be in the parallel minor key of the first movement's G major, but it's not in E minor, it's in E major. (We have this same relationship in the Op. 1, No. 2 Piano Trio.) In the remaining trios the slow movement is in the parallel minor or major of the first. The nervous tension of the D minor of Op. 9, No. 2 is a striking contrast to the D major of the first movement, while the C major of the harmonically ambiguous Adagio con espressione of Op. 9, No. 3 is about as un-C-majory a C major as I can think of.


AS A REMINDER, HERE ARE THE PERFORMANCES WE HEARD OF THE OP. 9, NO. 1 "ADAGIO MA NON TANTO E CANTABILE"

"Out-of-body" Beethoven? We have three gifted samples (and then we'll add a couple more)

"[These three] extraordinary slow movements in the key of E major . . . share an almost out-of-body quality, and it’s inspiring to wonder what this beautiful tonality must have meant to Beethoven."

-- David Finckel, in "Making the most out of chamber music coaching,"

from The Strad newsletter, Jan. 21, 2025 [from which much more below]

(1) from the Piano Trio No. 2 in G, Op. 1, No. 2:
ii. Largo con espressione (Largo with expression)

Suk Trio (Josef Suk, violin; Josef Chuchro, cello; Josef Hála, piano). Supraphon-Denon, recorded in the House of Artists, Prague, April 1984
[NOTE: Volume on this clip is a bit low -- you might nudge your level up.]

Isaac Stern, violin; Leonard Rose, cello; Eugene Istomin, piano. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in CBS 30th Street Studio, July 11 & Dec. 18-19, 1969

(2) from the String Trio in G, Op. 9, No. 1:
ii. Adagio ma non tanto e cantabile (Adagio but not too much and cantabile)

Jascha Heifetz, violin; William Primrose, viola; Gregor Piatigorsky, cello. RCA, recorded in Radio Recorders Studios, Hollywood, Mar. 27, 1957 (mono)

Trio à cordes français (Gérard Jarry, violin; Serge Collot, viola; Michel Tournus, cello). EMI France, recorded 1970

(3) from the String Quartet No. 8 in E minor, Op. 59, No. 2 (Rasumovsky No. 2): ii. Molto adagio. Si tratta questo pezzo con molto di sentimento (This piece is to be treated with much feeling)

Brandis Quartet (Thomas Brandis and Peter Brem, violins; Wilfried Strehle, viola; Wolfgang Boettcher, cello). Harmonia Mundi France, recorded November 1986

Borodin Quartet (Ruben Aharonian and Andrei Abramenkov, violins; Igor Naidin, viola; Valentin Berlinsky, cello). Chandos, recorded in the Small Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, March 2003

by Ken

Yes, yes, we have many important projects afoot, and during the long silence I've been toiling away at them. All I can say is, watch this space. Then, as part of my daily online dose of The Strad, that invaluable publication that takes as its brief everything and everyone having to do with string instruments, I found myself immersed in the above-referenced piece by cellist, professor, and general music administrator-impresario David Finckel offering an overview of one of his favorite and at the same time most demanding musical activities: coaching chamber music.

from "Making the most out of chamber music coaching"
(from The Strad newsletter, Jan. 21, 2025)

by David Finckel

"Teaching chamber music has been one of the greatest pleasures of my professional life. Students who seek my guidance garner my utmost admiration for their pursuit of expertise in one of the highest forms of art ever devised by humankind. I cannot possibly encourage them enough.

The start of an all-too-quick remembrance of a special singer we'll be hearing from (too briefly) in an upcoming Mahler 3 post

[(MORE) PROPER EXPLANATION TO COME,
plus another whole installment (though not today for that!)]

MOZART: Exsultate, jubilate (motet, Exult, rejoice),
K. 165: iv. Alleluja

Judith Raskin, soprano; Cleveland Orchestra members, George Szell, cond. Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in Severance Hall, May 11, 1964

by Ken

Yes, yes, we have some things to talk about, but not just now. There's all kinds of things in the works, which I'll tell you a bit more about when I get the rest of this "sampler" post up -- execept to note that when we return to Mahler 3, we're going to be hearing, all too briefly, from a singer I worry has been forgotten. Although she had a lovely voice, it wasn't one of the sort that by itself thrills you, and you didn't necessarily feel you'd had a chunk of repertory suddenly illuminated for you. But Judith Raskin (1928-1984) did something maybe better: A performance of hers pretty much always left you feeling good.

I have these clips ready (though the Stravinsky is so fresh, it's still warm), and I really wanted to get something posted on Sunday. But even in so skimpy a sampler, there's more I want to share -- like some moments from her Nannetta when Leonard Bernstein conducted Falstaff at the Met, and more Mozart, and some songs . . . and, well, I'm still not quite sure what else. Maybe I'll have something to say about these excerpts, or then again maybe I won't. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

(1) ABOUT THE "ALLELUJA"

This luscious performance comes from an Exsultate, jubilate that originally occupied one side of a Szell Mozart LP that otherwise didn't have absolutely tight logic, in spite of which it became one of the readiest "go to" record in my collection.

Most of a lifetime later I can vouch that I adore both works, but I can't imagine that at the time I was looking for this particular coupling -- and I honestly don't remember which work I was shopping for. The Exsultate you now know something about; the Sinfonia Concertante -- featuring Cleveland concertmaster Rafael Druian and principal violist Abraham Skernick -- is still possibly my favorite recording of a piece I adore. I guess it worked out, because both sides of that LP got plenty of play. Nevertheless, it seems worth noting that since that original LP issue I don't believe the two performances have ever shared a disc. I have them both on CD, but on separate CDs. The Exsultate is still only semi-logically coupled, sharing a CD with the performance we're about to hear --

As we've noted, there's more than one reason to care about Mahler's loopy little Wunderhorn song "Ablösung im Sommer," Part 1

FOR STARTERS, IS THIS THE SAME SONG?

MAHLER: Lieder aus der Jugendzeit (Songs from Youth):
"Ablösung im Sommer" ("Summer Replacement")

Cuckoo has fallen to his death
on a green willow tree.
Cuckoo is dead!
Fallen to his death.

Who then for us this whole summer
will while away the time?
Cuckoo! Cuckoo!
Hey! Lady Nightingale must do so!

She sits on a green branch:
the small, delicate Nightingale,
the dear, sweet Nightingale!
She sings and hops, is ever happy,
even when other birds are silent.

We'll wait for Lady Nightingale,
who lives in green hedgerows.
And if the cuckoo is at an end,
then she will start to warble.

-- original text "based on" Des Knaben Wunderhorn but
mostly by Mahler, translation (mostly) by William Mann

Listen on YouTube (audio only)
Or click here to go to Internet Archive, then press ► to play


Janet Baker, mezzo-soprano; Geoffrey Parsons, piano. Hyperion, recorded in Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel, Hampstead, London, Feb. 24-25, 1983

Or click here to go to Internet Archive, then press ► to play


Diana Damrau, soprano; Stephan Matthias Lademann, piano. Telos Music, recorded in Telos Music Studios, Mechernich-Floisdorf, Germany, May or Sept. 2003

Click here to listen on Internet Archive, then press ► to play


Anny Felbermayer, soprano; Viktor Graf, piano. Vanugard, recorded in Vienna, 1952

Click here to listen on Internet Archive, then press ► to play


Judith Raskin, soprano; George Schick, piano. Epic-CBS-Sony, recorded in New York City, June 1965

A NOTE ON THIS WEEK'S MUSIC (AND SOME
CONSIDERATIONS GOING FORWARD)

Happily, Internet Archive seems back to something like normal functioning, meaning that it's once again possible to draw on Sunday Classics clips that reside there. However, this post, as you may recall, was originally conceived to depend on YouTube for music, and so a fair amount of today's music is so sourced, though it's all audio-only.

A number of today's performances already existed in the SC Archive (chez Internet Archive), and I've returned to embedding clips, hoping they'll play normally. But for these selections I've also included links to their Internet Archive pages. And I've included them in a particular form: with the "Webamp" player active. I've done this for another reason. While I.A. was grounded, the team was also working on a new version of its player, which is what 's used to play the clips that are embedded here. So that even after access to the archive was restored, for a while it was necessary, even if you were listening on-site, to switch to the Webamp option in order to hear anything.

At some point the new player must have been activated, but it appears that, understandably, it wasn't designed to work on old, no-longer-supported browser versions. So anyone who's dependent on such browsers isn't going to be hearing much music. If there are any SC readers in that situation, I'd love to know about it, because this means that all those years' worth of posts are going to be music-less for you. K can at least continue going forward to provide on-site links.

by Ken

In last week's post ("Not that it takes much, but I'm in an 'Urlicht' frame of mind -- and we're going to have some other Mahler Wunderhorn songs too," Oct. 28) we listened to a pair of Mahler's great song hits, "
Urlicht" and "Father Anthony's Fish Sermon," both settings of texts drawn from the folk-song anthology Des Knaben Wunderhorn" ("The Youth's Magic Horn") -- and a little wisp of a third, less consequential Wunderhorn song: the song we've just heard again in an almost confounding range of renderings, "Ablösung im Sommer." It's one of Mahler's early Wunderhorn settings, which he felt no need (or reason) to orchestrate himself, though we've already heard it with orchestra (and we have in store performances with orchestratations by several different hands).


IT'S A CHARMING, PERHAPS GOOFY
OR MAYBE EVEN WEIRD LITTLE SONG