tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post117039027486016679..comments2024-03-26T07:58:59.761+00:00Comments on I'll think of something later: The great Martinů divideDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-20423973488047192032012-09-30T18:59:39.781+01:002012-09-30T18:59:39.781+01:00Jan - good to see you here, and how right you are ...Jan - good to see you here, and how right you are about the confirmation of prejudices, and especially this: 'The critic is so busy with checking his checklist he does not really have time to recognize the elusive miracle taking place'.<br /><br />I think it must be that TV film you mention which a colleague of mine once played on a video, though I never got to see it. The video certainly hasn't yet made it to DVD transfer.<br /><br />And in the meantime I see Martinu 'criticism' has reached a new low in a Spectator review by Michael Tanner - whose style I usually like, though not always his opinions - ending in the word 'worthless'. So now we know.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-42822791693586311432012-09-30T18:11:21.952+01:002012-09-30T18:11:21.952+01:00Dear David,
thank you very much, both for your or...Dear David,<br /><br />thank you very much, both for your original review, and for this piece. I also wanted to contribute a few words but see now that most of what I could write here would be superfluous after all the wonderful comments here.<br /><br />I was surprised all the criticism of Martinů music was essentially the same as 30 years ago. Over the years, persons involved in the split have changed, yet the split remains the same. <br /><br />Max Brod, a music journalist among many other activities, once formulated his philosophy as reviewer. He saw is primary task was to accept the author´s standpoint at the beginning, to listen, to watch, to feel, to live with the piece and to enjoy it (if possible). ONLY THEN was time for analysis and review. <br /><br />In contrast I always imagine a critic "on the other side of the barrier" has a checklist. Instead of enjoying the piece he just checks. Does it have this? Does it have that? Is the development as it shoud be? Ah! Here! That was clearly borrowed from Stravinsky! The critic is so busy with checking his checklist he does not really have time to recognize the elusive miracle taking place in front of his eyes.<br /><br />Maybe a rather naive point, but that is how I see it.<br /><br />Ad Julietta: years ago, I saw two different Czech productions. As far as the stage and direction, it was probably very different from the London production. Still, I can very much agree with what "Hedgehog" wrote above.<br /><br />There is also a TV movie of the opera, <br /><br />http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1341197/<br /><br />To my knowledge, it was never broadcast, nor there is a DVD available.<br /><br />I could see it, as very young man, years ago in a special showing for the Martinů Society members. I can still remember the chill at the end of the final scene...<br /><br />Jan K.<br /><br />Jan Kuceranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-82503224563771047152012-09-24T20:24:23.955+01:002012-09-24T20:24:23.955+01:00Great news. The Second has the most joyous and liv...Great news. The Second has the most joyous and lively of all the finales, quite unlike any of his others: it makes me think of him striding purposefully through the streets of New York. And then comes the tragedy of the Third...Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-73213011324586613592012-09-24T00:46:05.511+01:002012-09-24T00:46:05.511+01:00I am listening to Martinů once again now, the firs...I am listening to Martinů once again now, the first, and now the second symphony. It will take me a bit to sort it all out, but the word that comes to mind immediately is transporting. I will be looking for opportunities to hear Martinů live from here on out.Susan Scheidhttp://prufrocksdilemma.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-88509824731255759402012-09-23T15:35:37.373+01:002012-09-23T15:35:37.373+01:00Thank you for this wonderful assessment, Hedgehog,...Thank you for this wonderful assessment, Hedgehog, and good to see you here again - I agree with every word, of course. But I couldn't have put the dilemma at the end as well as you have done: 'he is lost if he does and lost if he doesn’t. And just how like life that is!' Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-66159814989810396162012-09-23T15:09:50.604+01:002012-09-23T15:09:50.604+01:00Dear David,
Congratulations on, and many than...Dear David,<br /><br /> Congratulations on, and many thanks for, your excellent review on Arts Desk and on your perceptive piece here. I know what a passionate advocate you are of Martinů’s music, and thank heavens someone is out there doing this. I, too, adore his music, and yesterday evening, Saturday 22nd September, I had my first opportunity to see a production of ‘Julietta’ in the flesh. I should add that I had strongly proposed this piece to ENO’s folk during one of their Friends gatherings, and I thoroughly applaud their courage in putting it on, especially given the continuing, and to me incomprehensible, debate about the merits of Martinů’s music. Some of the more abrasive reviewers simply don’t get it, never have got it and never will.<br /><br /> Now, in the middle of Sunday afternoon, I am still feasting on my vivid memories. The sets and lighting were marvellously imaginative and no less breathtaking than Glyndebourne’s gorgeous ‘L’enfant’ this year, as our pictures show. The production honoured both the surreal fantasy of the text and the beauty of the music, and it also subtly balanced the genuinely funny surreal moments against the deeper tow of the dream/reality drama. And how fabulously the ENO players and Edward Gardner committed themselves to Martinů’s complex score. <br /><br /> For those with ears to hear, all the trademarks are there. I have a particular addiction to Martinů’s motoric motifs as they build up a head of steam, and I especially love what I would call those ‘percolating’ chromatic scales that bubble up right through the orchestra and end in a glorious burst of sunshine. And then, as you so rightly point out, there are those sublime ‘Julietta’ chords (Moravian cadence). I was very glad to have read your piece before I went yesterday and was on the lookout for their appearances at the ends of the Acts, but I was quite unprepared to be so overwhelmed by them in the ‘Love Duet’ and that wonderful passage that appears to start with a string quartet and builds into a huge climax. Also, if one listens carefully, as in the symphonies, one can hear constant echoes and small references to these chords, especially in Acts 2 & 3. <br /><br /> I expected to be a bit bored by Act 3 after the intensity of Act2. Not a bit of it. Michel’s desperation is heart-rending, and his final dream-sequence, working over the ‘Julietta’ chords, is heartbreaking. The Groundhog Day return at the end is brilliantly ambiguous; he is lost if he does and lost if he doesn’t. And just how like life that is! <br /><br /> There are numerous splendid individual performances in what is a genuinely ensemble production of great distinction. Julia Sporsén was excellent as Julietta, meeting all her dramatic and musical demands, while Peter Hoare as Michel was simply astonishing, both as a resilient and moving singer and as an extraordinary actor. What a stage animal he is! Quite mesmerizing. <br /> <br /> Now I realise just what those ‘Julietta’ chords mean within the context of the symphonies, and this makes them and the opera all the more poignant. <br /><br /> There are still four performances in the next couple of weeks. If you haven’t seen it and can get to it – please do so! A wonderful evening.<br /><br />23-09-2012Hedgehognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-26316027184274217772012-09-22T22:59:48.131+01:002012-09-22T22:59:48.131+01:00Will - Boston was so lucky to have Martinu on tap ...Will - Boston was so lucky to have Martinu on tap in the 1940s and 50s, and he was lucky to have Koussevitzky and Munch as interpreters. The First, Third and Sixth Symphonies were all first performed there, as no doubt you know; 3, which hit me like a ton of bricks when I first heard it in concert a couple of years back, has one of the great endings of any symphony, and the Fantaisies Symphoniques, in other words 6, have never been short of great intepreters.<br /><br />Howard - that's a good little set to have. The Fourth was the one out of the six I said I'd like to do for R3's Building a Library, chiefly because this time it has one of the greatest slow movements I know. So I'm glad that's there, and the Weller performance isn't bad. The dark and powerful Double Concerto contrasts nicely with the smaller-scale, but still as ever humane and personal, Concerto for string quarter and orchestra and wind Sinfonia Concertante. Memorial to Lidice is as grave and moving as it should be. Happy listening!<br /><br />Finally, Sue - you (perhaps diplomatically) didn't say whether you liked what you heard. I hope you did.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-39978295235670174512012-09-22T10:35:15.530+01:002012-09-22T10:35:15.530+01:00Julietta looks fab. I wonder if I can prise She aw...Julietta looks fab. I wonder if I can prise She away from her busy work schedule to get to see it before it closes? And I'm a sucker for anything involving accordions or bandoneons. Inspired by your enthusiasm I have dusted off a rarely played 2 CD set of Martinu's 4th Symphony with various concertos etc. acquired not long ago. Having said that I find it harder with age to decide on what music to hear and most of it stays on the rack these days, especially when you can call most anything up from youtube or trawl through iplayer. "In my youth" I was hungry to acquire and explore ever more stuff. Now I have your recommendations to follow!Howard Lanenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-48821900158140189472012-09-22T01:27:21.342+01:002012-09-22T01:27:21.342+01:00I fell in love with Martinů quite some while ago, ...I fell in love with Martinů quite some while ago, having moved to Boston for College. Boston is a very adventurous city musically and has a nice Martinů tradition at the Boston Symphony.<br /><br />That said, productions of his operas here are very few and very far between.Willhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14279473113628377106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-59202368431202499202012-09-21T17:15:57.374+01:002012-09-21T17:15:57.374+01:00Now I hear them! Thank you so much, and also for t...Now I hear them! Thank you so much, and also for the introduction to Martinů.Susan Scheidhttp://prufrocksdilemma.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-71522881229016037672012-09-21T10:01:36.910+01:002012-09-21T10:01:36.910+01:00Yes, Sue - they appear at 0'32 and again at 0&...Yes, Sue - they appear at 0'32 and again at 0'38 - not climactically, as in Michel's visions, but very much as a passing part of the general lilt. Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-786491836463354222012-09-21T01:48:29.336+01:002012-09-21T01:48:29.336+01:00“so naturally I want to challenge them.” Ah, wonde...“so naturally I want to challenge them.” Ah, wonderful words, and how marvelously you take up the challenge! I know not a whit about Martinů’s music, so am busily listening as I write. The quotation from Martinů is gorgeous and poignant (and, as you note, offers special personal resonance for many—of course, this put me in mind again of Adams’s The Wound-Dresser). I was struck particularly by this: "The world appears here only at the given moment, which is replaced by the next moment, and so everything rushes into emptiness.” Last not least, I heartily second what Willym has written in the first para of his response!<br /><br />Now, here's the thing: your pathetic amateur here can't find the Julietta chords in the Youtube you posted. If it's not a bother, would you be able to pinpoint the time on which they appear on the YouTube?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-8101192107284972582012-09-20T17:08:00.933+01:002012-09-20T17:08:00.933+01:00David, thank you for this review of an author we d...David, thank you for this review of an author we do not hear much of here in Ottawa. I too remember the production at the Massimo in Palermo of the Greek Passion, a beautiful piece of work. Am always interested in learning more about a composer and will look up the other works. Laurenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03297393116796129135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-61749003639186549192012-09-20T11:51:51.246+01:002012-09-20T11:51:51.246+01:00Willym - The Greek Passion couldn't be more di...Willym - The Greek Passion couldn't be more different than Julietta, but I love its relative simplicity, and who couldn't be moved by the final scene as the exiles move on? I've seen it twice at the Royal Opera, and Belohlavek gave a magnificent concert performance at the Edinburgh Festival some years ago. We should have seen it in Prague, too, but for some reason it was pulled in favour of Rigoletto. Which we still went to see, and I'm glad we did, since the baritone, Pavel Kamas from Brno, was the best I've ever heard in the role.<br /><br />Philip - Antony McDonald is as much a genius of the theatre as Richard Jones. His ballet designs, Cinderella especially, are amazing. I do hope you go on to listen to all the Martinu symphonies - each and every one a gem.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-28387943837471220582012-09-20T11:34:22.273+01:002012-09-20T11:34:22.273+01:00The set designs are amazing. Why is it that opera ...The set designs are amazing. Why is it that opera beats straight theatre hands down in terms of imaginative sets? I can't wait to see the opera now, and discover more of Martinu's music, after what you've written.Philip Cottamnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-61128904895218346002012-09-20T03:36:07.375+01:002012-09-20T03:36:07.375+01:00I can't tell you what a joy it is to read you ...I can't tell you what a joy it is to read you in full throttle explaining with passion why you love a piece of music. As always you bring me to things that are either unknown or that I have chosen to neglect.<br /><br />As you know we saw an incredibly emotional production of The Greek Passion in Palermo just before we left Italy. I came out of the performance trembling and on the verge on tears. I do wish I could be over there to see the Julietta. And by the way that clip of the 1st had me running to iTunes to see what was available.<br /><br />Mille grazie as alwaysWillymhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03652532356102638621noreply@blogger.com