tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post4006151712266438114..comments2024-03-26T07:58:59.761+00:00Comments on I'll think of something later: The bitter tears of Sergey RachmaninovDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-69542046140611626222015-02-19T22:47:31.130+00:002015-02-19T22:47:31.130+00:00The Petrenko/Trpceski combination is a fiery one. ...The Petrenko/Trpceski combination is a fiery one. Even I have forgiven Petrenko's crass comment about women conductors, above all in the light of his Shostakovich 4 and Berio Sinfonia with the European Union Youth Orchestra at the Proms: my top concert of 2014. He's tricksy to interview before an audience, plays to the crowd and tries to make a fool of the interviewer in my experience. But he's certainly the business, up there with Jurowski and Yannick. Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-65426720247653440952015-02-19T05:19:27.422+00:002015-02-19T05:19:27.422+00:00I see your point about contrasting YNS and VJ and ...I see your point about contrasting YNS and VJ and their styles. Just to explain the Philly thing before moving on, the one critic (to name names, Peter Dobrin) was totally gobsmacked the first time that VJ conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra, and has since been VJ's #1 fan-boy in Philly. He openly campaigned to get him hired as the next music director after Eschenbach, which obviously didn't work out.<br /><br />I guess that we agree to disagree on Vanska, which is fair. I should also point out that in the whole Minnesota Orchestra labor dispute-disaster, Vanska emerged as the shining hero with audiences, and with the orchestra overall. Vanska can be a tough customer in working orchestras in rehearsal, and it's not hard to surmise that some MN Orch musicians might have chafed at times. But the appallingly shabby treatment by the orchestra's prior management and board, and Vanska's standing up to them, most probably wiped out any ill feelings that any musicians might have had towards him.<br /><br />Back to Rachmaninov (finally); the SLSO is doing PC # 2 this week, with Andre Watts and Juraj Valcuha. I'll probably give this one a miss, since I don't need to hear either work live again any time soon. However, in April, we're set to get Simon Trpceski in PC # 3, with Vasily Petrenko as guest (his less-than-wise utterances about women conductors having been pretty much swept under the rug by now). The 2nd half is Scriabin's <i>The Divine Poem</i>, which will be a curiosity to hear live.Geo.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-72236409070404036092015-02-12T12:06:07.430+00:002015-02-12T12:06:07.430+00:00No need to choose between YNS and VJ: they're ...No need to choose between YNS and VJ: they're both wonderful in different ways, in my opinion: Yannick the more open-hearted, Vlad the great thinker (which is not to say he's always short on feeling).<br /><br />From talking to a Proms-related person last night - they keep their cards very close to their chests before press announcements - I understand that there will still be Sibelius symphonies + Nielsen concertos. No idea who's conducting, whether it's now divvided up. Personally I'd be glad not to see Vanska in the roster: I don't like his Sibelius at all for the most part. Also don't know who's conducting the Last Night (not that I ever care that much, though it was good to see Alsop there)Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-88922028370187116912015-02-11T19:19:05.365+00:002015-02-11T19:19:05.365+00:00Found the LSO program with Rach 1. It is an inter...Found the LSO program with Rach 1. It is an interesting concert, with Balakirev's <i>Tamara</i> and the Glazunov Violin Concerto on the same roster. YNS' Philadelphia program also had 3 works that I'd never heard live. YNS is leading all 3 Rachmaninov symphonies in Philly this season. He just re-upped for another 5 years, much to the disappointment, I'm sure, of the one critic at the <i>Philadelphia Inquirer</i> who's a VJ fan-boy big time. I might have mentioned in another thread that I heard VJ lead <i>The Bells</i> last season, which is another one to take off the classical bucket list. I think that my Rachmaninov bucket list is now pretty much down to much of the solo piano music, rather than the orchestral works. (Well, maybe also his operas.)<br /><br />Great to know that Oramo is doing so well with the BBC SO. It also does sound as though Belohlavek did gently and quietly lay the solid groundwork for Oramo in JB's 6 seasons, certainly a good thing, if unappreciated by those on the outside generally (present company excepted, of course).<br /><br />BTW, do you know if Oramo will get the Last Night this year? Given that it's Sibelius and Nielsen year, that would make sense, especially that he knows how to handle the Last Night. I also wonder what will happen with the intended Sibelius symphony cycle at The Proms this summer, as it was supposed to be Minnesota and Vanska originally, but the lockout knocked that out.Geo.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-80231996095745990612015-02-10T13:04:58.194+00:002015-02-10T13:04:58.194+00:00You can hop on a plane, Geo., and catch Rach 1 lat...You can hop on a plane, Geo., and catch Rach 1 later this month conducted by....Gergiev. Actually it's a piece I'm sure he conducts well but thanks to my self-imposed embargo (broken only for Shchedrin's Levsha), I won't be there.<br /><br />Oramo said in interview - which I have to put up on The Arts Desk before the fourth instalment in the Nielsen cycle next week - that the BBCSO strings were the only ones he'd not had to knock into shape: high praise for Belohlavek's work.<br /><br />I'm much better, thanks, though getting back on my bike yesterday for the first time in three weeks was hard going. Not wishing to sound arrogant, but I led the good buzz about the superlative Mastersingers with the first review up on Sunday morning (other five-starrers promptly followed). Now THAT really is worth getting on a plane for. Wonderful time yesterday at my opera class, Richard Jones entertaining me and the students with his off-centre observationsDavidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-54384199255576810402015-02-10T01:30:50.424+00:002015-02-10T01:30:50.424+00:00Sorry to read about your recent health issues; hop...Sorry to read about your recent health issues; hope things are better, and that you got to see the ENO <i>Meistersinger</i> (sorry, <i>Mastersingers</i>) in good shape, given the good buzz that it seems to be getting, and which ENO needs now, for sure. But back to the topic here: I finally got around a while back to hearing the LPO/Jurowski concert on iPlayer, with Szymanowski, Scriabin, & Rach 1. It's the more impressive that such a concert with no popular works on it at all could get the crowd that you mentioned, which is some tribute to the LPO's marketing, presumably, as well as the 'long tail' effects of "The Rest Is Noise". Rach 1 is on my wish list of "100 classical works to hear before I die", and YNS conducted it in Philly last October, but I couldn't schedule time to travel. Not sure if/when I'll get another chance.<br /><br />The LPO certainly sounded on whiplash form with VJ in Rach 1, particularly in the finale. It was interesting to hear on iPlayer VJ's analogy to Mahler 6, which I hadn't thought about, but there's something to that, even if Rach 1 is less nihilistic in its close.<br /><br />There was also the recent BBC SO performance of both Rach 3 (concerto) and Nielsen 3 on iPlayer. While the 1st movement of Federico Colli's interpretation had perhaps too much slow burn in the 1st movement, it made more sense given that he was a 48-hours notice sub. My main interest in that concert was the Sibelius opener and Nielsen 3, to be honest. Terrific work in both. It really does sound as though Oramo and the orchestra are getting better and better together, if I'm not mistaken. Hopefully a contract extension is in the works, although one wonders about the renewal of the BBC's charter and how that might affect things (I have no idea how that works, of course).<br /><br />Speaking of Nielsen, one happy shock of the SLSO's schedule next season is that we are getting Nielsen 3 (not to mention Messiaen's <i>Des canyons aux etoiles</i>, but on the latter, I knew for months that it was coming, unlike the Nielsen, which I did not see coming).Geo.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-68759553237749312192015-02-06T11:56:20.991+00:002015-02-06T11:56:20.991+00:00It's true that Rachmaninov didn't have muc...It's true that Rachmaninov didn't have much of a perspective on tragedy (obviously he had some, or he wouldn't have been able to shape his major works as well as he did). Tchaikovsky seems to have had more of a sense of humour. So it's not a cultural thing.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-43790769487694889802015-02-03T17:16:14.588+00:002015-02-03T17:16:14.588+00:00Can I question "funny"...a "sense o...Can I question "funny"...a "sense of humour" in its best definition is the sign that the persons who have that humour can see the masks of tragedy and comedy as one, and can distance themselves from the tragic elements and see them in perspective. To be jolly about happy things and serious about serious things is not to have a sense of humour, but to be rather childish. The ambiguity of the human predicament is not seen by some cultures - which as a result can be dangerousDavid Damanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18409591480349323761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-90743610654083535762015-02-03T14:06:07.009+00:002015-02-03T14:06:07.009+00:00Indeed, touching anecdote about the young New Zeal...Indeed, touching anecdote about the young New Zealander. Russians really don't overestimate Pushkin: the analogy is not so much with Shakespeare - no one quite storms his highest heights - but with Mozart in the range and diversity of human interest.<br /><br />Rach is one of those souls who only ever 'composed himself' - but with what lugubrious intensity, as in that monologue and 'Tears'. He could be joyous and noble but, as Vladimir pointed out in the conversation, never actually funny; I don't think he had a sense of humour.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-52366303827976046012015-01-26T17:13:17.402+00:002015-01-26T17:13:17.402+00:00David D: That is a wonderful, wonderful, story abo...David D: That is a wonderful, wonderful, story about the young New Zealander!Susan Scheidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09250142489341777926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-71602579256295143942015-01-24T21:09:06.677+00:002015-01-24T21:09:06.677+00:00Have now had the chance to listen to the two Rachm...Have now had the chance to listen to the two Rachmaninov selections, and can't thank you enough for drawing attention to how the Suite's ostinato is developed in the opera. It's certainly not a connection I would have been able to draw myself, even had I known the opera (the Suite I know, though I haven't listened to it for a very long time), but it's immediately apparent, and a pleasure to hear that connection. Rachmaninov wrote a lot of very beautiful music, didn't he? (Really a rhetorical question.)Susan Scheidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09250142489341777926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-67360065778465116852015-01-24T15:38:47.991+00:002015-01-24T15:38:47.991+00:00David: I remember that comment of yours, though I ...David: I remember that comment of yours, though I didn't recall for sure if it was Long Yu. I did suspect, signing on to this, that he might be the one, and I was prepared (somewhat) for the worst. So, as Allen Ginsberg might say, I'm with you in Rockland (this is very oblique, just a silly way of saying I'm with you on this). It's not always easy for me to discern what is the conductor and what is the work, and in this case, my judgment was further complicated by a dawning recognition that I absolutely would not put this in the top tier of Shos's symphonies (and for more reasons than the finale). But I'm suspecting now, from what you say, that my being left absolutely cold by the Largo, particularly, may have had more to do with his conducting than I thought. Glad for your confirmation on the Pushkin. I was really surprised by that.Susan Scheidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09250142489341777926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-37964615793024523262015-01-24T11:41:40.007+00:002015-01-24T11:41:40.007+00:00In 1972 I stayed in the Australian Embassy in Mosc...In 1972 I stayed in the Australian Embassy in Moscow, which looked after students from Australia and New Zealand studying in the USSR ( rather necessary in view of the regime at that time). On one occasion a young New Zealand student ( of Russian literature) arrived for a drink trembling with excitement. He had stood at the tomb of PushkinDavid Damanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18409591480349323761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-42244065898198591692015-01-24T09:16:22.046+00:002015-01-24T09:16:22.046+00:00If I'd known you were going to that concert, S...If I'd known you were going to that concert, Sue, I'd have recommended the garlic and crucifix. Long Yu is possibly The Worst Conductor In A Position of Power, seemingly an apparatchik with umpteen posts in China. His Cockaigne Overture with the BBC Symphony Orchestra was the worst of anything I've heard (look back to the post 'Elgar the European'). And that turned out only to be the tip of the iceberg from what two players told me about rehearsals. Still, the deal was the orchestra's trip to China...<br /><br />So I'm curious to know how it went.<br /><br />And yes, the Pushkin setting quotation is pretty much a first stop in any talk on Shostakovich 5. The 'Carmen' references are optional and more debateable.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-63777440672983639392015-01-24T03:30:00.853+00:002015-01-24T03:30:00.853+00:00David: Remarkable post. I am well and truly behind...David: Remarkable post. I am well and truly behind this week, but I've marked both Rachmaninovs for listening. (Notice the v. I'm learning . . .) Jurowski seems to be the ideal as an inventive programmer. Very much unlike my experience yesterday--in my effort to hear all the Shostakovich symphonies (except 2, 3, 12) live, I signed on for a Shos 5 with Long Yu conducting, paired with Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto. Jurowski, first of all, would have chosen a more interesting Shos work; second of all would have paired it with something more resonant.<br /><br />Moving on to Pushkin, the pre-concert talk was fine, but also peculiar in a couple respects that did bring to mind conversations we've had here and there. First, the commentator noted "both sides" of interpreting the finale, quoting Volkov for the one (with some recognition of its lack of authenticity), but then pointedly refused to take a stand on the Volkov. (As you know, I'm with Fay, and from a point of view of good scholarship, I think there's only one stand to take.) The other thing was, and more to the point here, she didn't mention the Pushkin/Regeneration quote. I went up afterward to ask, thinking perhaps I'd misremembered (I later confirmed I remembered correctly), and was left with the impression that she wasn't aware of it. This is now the second time in which I seemed to be aware of something that an "expert" didn't know. It's a weird feeling. Anyway, it led me back to the Pushkin poem, which is a beauty.Susan Scheidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09250142489341777926noreply@blogger.com