Western Classical Music Collection

Lang Lang plays Liszt - My Piano Hero

2011-11-08T05:58:32Z

Franz Liszt (October 22, 1811 – July 31, 1886) was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.

Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age. In the 1840s he was considered by some to be perhaps the greatest pianist of all time.[5] He was also a well-known composer, piano teacher, and conductor. He was a benefactor to other composers, including Richard Wagner, Hector Berlioz, Camille Saint-Saëns, Edvard Grieg and Alexander Borodin.

As a composer, Liszt was one of the most prominent representatives of the "Neudeutsche Schule" ("New German School"). He left behind an extensive and diverse body of work in which he influenced his forward-looking contemporaries and anticipated some 20th-century ideas and trends. Some of his most notable contributions were the invention of the symphonic poem, developing the concept of thematic transformation as part of his experiments in musical form and making radical departures in harmony.

Why Liszt Tops Lang Lang’s List

After first hearing Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in a Tom and Jerry cartoon at the age of 3, Lang Lang realized his purpose. Now approaching 30, Liszt is still a big part of his life – so much so, he’s dedicated virtually an entire CD to his idol aptly entitled “Lizst: My Piano Hero.”

Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 (2008) Conductor - Herbert von Karajan

2011-05-18T04:57:18Z

Please wait for the videos to download - it is worth it

Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 (2008)

Interesting Visual Interpretation

Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 9 in D minor is the last Symphony upon which he worked, leaving the last movement incomplete at the time of his death in 1896. The symphony was premiered under Ferdinand Löwe in Vienna in 1903, after Bruckner's death. Bruckner dedicated this symphony "to the beloved God" (in German, "dem lieben Gott").

The symphony has four movements, although the fourth is incomplete and fragmentary. Of this finale, it seems that much material in full score may have been lost very soon after the composer's death, and therefore large sections exist only in two-stave sketch format. The placement of the Scherzo second, and the key, D minor, are only two elements this work has in common with Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

The symphony is so often performed without any sort of finale that some authors describe "the form of this symphony [as] ... a massive arch, two slow movements straddling an energetic Scherzo."

The score calls for three each of flutes, oboes, clarinets in B-flat and A (Adagio only), bassoons, with eight horns (5.–8. Hrn. doubling on Wagner tubas), three trumpets in F, three trombones, contrabass tuba, timpani and strings.

First movement

Bruckner's tendency to telescope sonata form development and recapitulation finds its fullest realization in this movement, the form of which Robert Simpson describes as "Statement, Counterstatement and Coda." An unusually large number of motifs are given in the first subject group, and these are substantially and richly developed on restatement and in the coda. Bruckner also cites material from his earlier works: at a point near the coda, Bruckner quotes a passage from the first movement of his Seventh Symphony. The concluding page of the movement, in addition to the usual tonic (I) and dominant (V) chords, given out in a blaze of open fifths, uses a Neapolitan flat (ii) in grinding dissonance with both I and V.

Second movement

The opening chord of the Scherzo, often cited as prophetic of the harmonic advances of the 20th Century, is tonally ambiguous in regard to the principal D minor tonality of the movement. It could be said that folk elements are still in evidence, as in other Bruckner scherzi, but this music is of such savagery that such naïve elements are easier to ignore, even if they were intended by the composer.

The Trio is in the remote key of F-sharp major, and unusually fast in tempo for a Trio.

Third movement

Bruckner called this movement his "Farewell to Life." It begins in tonal ambiguity, and is the most troubled opening to a Bruckner adagio yet: though within bars it achieves lyrical serenity and awe. Throughout its course, the movement goes back to some of the troubled moods of the earlier movements. In fact, the final climax, given by full orchestra, concludes on the most dissonant chord. Before this climax, Bruckner made, as a kind of supplication, a citation of the Miserere nobis from the Gloria of his Mass in D minor. After the climax, in the most serene coda yet, the music alludes to the coda of the Adagio of the Eighth Symphony, and also hints at the Seventh Symphony. It is these measures of music which conclude most live performances and recordings of the symphony, though Bruckner was insistent that they be succeeded by a final, fourth movement.

Fourth movement

Bruckner had conceived the entire movement; whether the manuscripts he left would have made up the final form of the Finale is debatable. Several bifolios of the emerging autograph score survived, consecutively numbered by Bruckner himself, as well as numerous discarded bifolios and particellos sketches. The surviving manuscripts were all systematically ordered and published in a notable facsimile reprint, edited by J. A. Phillips, in the Bruckner Complete Edition, Vienna.

Because of Bruckner's individual composing habits, reconstructing the Finale is in some ways easier, and in some ways harder, than it would be to reconstruct an unfinished piece by another composer. Compounding the problem, collectible hunters ransacked Bruckner's house soon after his death. Sketches for the Finale have been found as far away from Austria as Washington D.C.

Large portions of the movement were almost completely orchestrated, and even some eminent sketches have been found for the coda (the initial crescendo/28 bars, and the progression towards the final cadenza, even proceeding into the final tonic pedalpoint/in all 32 bars), but only hearsay suggesting the coda would have integrated themes from all four movements: The Bruckner scholars Max Graf and Max Auer reported that they have actually seen such a sketch when they had access to the manuscripts, at that time in the possession of Franz Schalk. Today such a sketch appears to be lost.

More importantly than the loss of the score bifolios of the coda itself, composer and Bruckner scholar Robert Simpson asserts in his book The essence of Bruckner, is that the sketches that survive do not support the momentum to support such a conclusion. Some people[who?] think that there is no real inner continuity or coherence inherent to indicate an organically growing musical structure. But in fact, the publications of the Bruckner-Gesamtausgabe edited by John Phillips revealed that Bruckner has left an emerging autograph score, numbered consecutively bifolio by bifolio, which constituted the intact score, at least up to the beginning of the coda. Around 50% of this final phase must be considered lost today.

Bruckner knew he might not live to complete this Symphony and suggested his Te Deum to be played at the end of the concert. The presence in the sketches of the figuration heard in quarter-notes at the outset of the Te Deum led to a supposition that Bruckner was composing a link or transition between the two works. In fact, the sketch for such a transition can be found on two bifolios of the emerging autograph score. Some people think, at best this would have been a makeshift solution. The C major setting of the Te Deum conflicts with the D minor setting of the rest of the symphony. Because of this tonal clash, using the Te Deum as the Finale is rarely carried out. Others think one should better follow the composer's own wish and argue against the tonal clash theory, since the Adagio ends in another key (E major) as well. (WikiPedia)

Bruckner (1824-1896) - Symphony No. 9

Anton Bruckner still seems to completely polarise opinion: there are those who cannot stand his music, and those who cannot understand those who cannot stand his music. Discounting those who say, with consummate candour, “Anton who?” there are very few “floating voters”. Why? Ever since Brahms spat out that immortal condemnation of Brucker's “symphonic boa-constrictors”, poor Bruckner has been regarded with great suspicion. Yet, Brahms himself was not immune to this criticism - he'd also written “symphonic boa-constrictors”, only he called them “Concertos”. But, as they say, mud sticks. I think it's time to get out the hose-pipe.

Yes, Bruckner's symphonies are long - and long-winded - but it doesn't follow that they throttle their prey (sorry, “audiences”). They operate in a monumental time-frame that has nothing to do with Bruckner's idolisation of Wagner, the master of long-windedness, whose main impact was simply to crystallise Bruckner's technique for creating musical monuments. In spite of length, and accumulations of brass and Wagner Tubas, Bruckner remained very much his own man, stylistically speaking. So, for the real reason we must look further back - to Bruckner's reverence for God and His Creation. Bruckner was not the first to express reverence monumentally: it was fairly common - Monteverdi's Vespers, Bach's B Minor Mass, and Berlioz' Grande Messe immediately spring to mind. What set Bruckner apart was the inclusion of “His Creation”, which must have impressed so sensitive and simple a soul as he grew up amid majestic mountains and vast forests. This feeling of epic scale and grand design, of a World breathing across aeons, is virtually inescapable in his major symphonies, and never more than when a naive little polka is set by Bruckner, to measure Man and his ephemeral merriment against the might of God's Creation.

To some, all this epic grandeur is nothing more than mountains of rhetoric enfolding valleys of lassitude. Yet, this is only how it will seem to the impatient. Immediately we fall in step with Bruckner's pulse, we start to notice a profound architectural strength. In replacing the normal two subjects of sonata-form by three groups of subjects - a “masculine”, a “feminine”, and a third which combines the two - he achieves the requisite expansion of his canvas. At the other end, he “telescopes” his recapitulations into the ends of his developments, the apparently relatively brief reminders of the subjects creating the sensation of having made an immense journey from A to B, an impression very different from the “returning home” of normal sonata-form. Conveniently, this also acknowledges his audience's limited stamina.

His scherzos, on the other hand, are always tightly bound within the classical “nested” ternary form, looking back beyond Beethoven to Haydn. They are scaled up through the use of massive, driving ostinato materials, contrasted with trio sections that are generally expansive and lyrical - in effect the “industrial” and “pastoral” corners of Bruckner's symphonic “worlds”.

Bruckner's slow movements, though, are something else altogether. Formally, they come in all shapes and sizes, but each is inevitably the heart of its respective symphony: it is here that the melodic meets the monumental, the rhapsodic romantic melds with the stern symphonist - in a Bruckner adagio, the simple believer kneels to prayer in the greatest cathedral of all.

Of course, there are “mountains” and “valleys” in his music, not of rhetoric and lassitude but huge thrusting or arching climaxes replete with granitic brass and jagged string figurations, and contemplative episodes of ruminating woodwind and strings, often underpinned by warm brass chords. Sometimes these are connected by rivulets of ostinato, or one of those strategically placed silent “viewpoints” where the very world itself seems to hold its breath. Ostinato is also a favourite developmental device, lending a distinctive “pre-minimalist” feel to his music - until, that is, he unleashes one of those inspired, curving melodies.

Am I perhaps overstating my case? Listen: in our over-impatient age of ever briefer “sound-bites” and ever shorter “attention spans”, a Bruckner symphony delineates a space and time within which we can draw breath and reflect. “So what?” I hear, “So do the Minimalists!” True, I might sigh, but they lack both the sheer grandeur and the intricate musical machinery to expand my soul: Bruckner challenges my mind, makes me think more deeply, while Minimalists (in the main) merely make me sleep more easily.

I haven't mentioned his finales, largely because in the Ninth Symphony there isn't one. Like many a composer still active at his death, Bruckner left some work incomplete, in this case only sketches for a finale. This is a miracle to surpass even that of Schubert's Eighth. In both cases, we can really only guess at what wonders the composer might have wrought, while what we have seems so perfectly poised that we cannot imagine how anything could be added without detriment.

There's precious little room for specific notes on the movements - I've provided just a few signposts to guide the newcomer. No matter, just listen to the music (and reflect!), then buy a CD and try to wear it out. There's a superb Naxos disc (8.554268) costing a mere £5 - while you listen, reflect on that!

1. Feierlich, misterioso: This is how the universe began. Horns echo across the cosmos. Gradually, fragments coalesce into a vast torrent of sound. A pizzicato “rivulet” bridges to the second subject group, elaborated by strings, climaxing in expansive melody. The third subject creeps in on a solo oboe. Stealthily, the opening theme returns to initiate the development. With inexorable logic, momentum gathers through ostinati and vaulting outbursts, culminating in an apocalyptic climax: the recapitulation starts even while development continues, until another, slower “rivulet” is heard, from which point the telescoped reprise continues, ending on a hushed brass cadence. The coda grows over rippling strings; a first subject motive rises inexorably, surging into a massive peroration capped by searing trumpets.

2. Scherzo: Bewegt, lebhaft: Pizzicato strings and pecking woodwind pick out a perky tune which suddenly erupts into slabs of grinding discord, a daemonic ländler! Against this is set as counter-subject a lilting little oboe tune. Characteristically, Bruckner enlarges the coda of the main subject's repeat. The trio alternates a thrumming theme, fleet of foot, with a more leisurely flowing tune. The repeat of the scherzo, as always (well, with one exception!), is implacably exact.

3. Adagio: Langsam, feierlich: There are three subjects, the first is a soaring threnody, out of which bursts the second, a passionate effusion of trumpets and horns over a full orchestra. The third, an exquisite and richly attended tune, gradually evolves a dancing character (almost a “naive little polka”). Then the music develops, rondo-like, until an unearthly, widespread harmony of strings: soon after, there's a whirring, and a glowering third subject emerges from beneath. Unbearable tension becomes still less bearable when it breaks: fortissimo, seismic eruptions of the threnody's opening phrase thrust orchestral factions into tortured collision. Pause! A growing expectation of a re-emergence of the second subject is thwarted: the music softens, musing and revolving timelessly around its harmonies. Is this how the universe will end?

This unprecedented ending is so graphic that I can only see that colossal upheaval as a “death agony”, and the succeeding coda as a brief “purgatory” and a final “ascent into heaven”. If a confirmed atheist like me can feel that, there's surely hope for all of us. Paul Serotsky

AMAZON: Bruckner: Symphonies Nos. 8 & 9; Te Deum [DVD Video] (2008)

Indisputably one of the most important conductors of Anton Bruckner, Herbert von Karajan leads the Vienna Philharmonic with his Symphonies Nos. 8 & 9 and Te Deum. In addition to conducting Karajan also serves as director and artistic supervisor. Bruckner's Symphony No. 8, in an early version from 1887, was recorded live in the spring of 1979 at the splendid Baroque monastery church of St. Florian near Linz, where Bruckner spent many years as a student and teacher in his youth. Bruckner himself regarded the Adagio of his 8th Symphony as the greatest movement in any of his symphonies. The work was first performed by the Vienna Philharmonic in December 1892 under the direction of Hans Richter. Bruckner's last, unfinished symphonic masterpiece Symphony No. 9, and Te Deum were captured live from the Musikverein, in Vienna in 1978. Te Deum--one of Bruckner's most striking vocal works includes the superb cast of Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Agnes Baltsa, David Rendall, José van Dam and the Wiener Singverein.

PROGRAMME OF MUSIC

Rimsky Korsakov Scheherazade - Philadelphia Orchestra

2011-05-01T03:56:26Z

Rimsky Korsakov Scheherazade - Full Concert

"Scheherazade Went on with Her Story."

Illustration from Arabian Nights (1928) by Virginia Frances Sterret.

First Movement - The Sea and Sinbad's Ship (Largo e maestoso — Lento — Allegro non troppo — Tranquillo)

Second Movement Part I - The Kalendar Prince (Lento — Andantino — Allegro molto — Vivace scherzando — Moderato assai — Allegro molto ed animato)

Second Movement Part II

Third Movement - The Young Prince and The Young Princess (Andantino quasi allegretto — Pochissimo più mosso — Come prima — Pochissimo più animato)

Fourth Movement Part I - Festival At Baghdad. The Sea. The Ship Breaks against a Cliff Surmounted by a Bronze Horseman. (Allegro molto — Lento — Vivo — Allegro non troppo e maestoso — Tempo come I)

Fourth Movement Part II

Sheherazade (Scheherazade; Russian: Шехерезада, Shekherezada in transliteration), Op. 35, is a symphonic suite composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1888. Based on The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, sometimes known as The Arabian Nights, this orchestral work combines two features common to Russian music and of Rimsky-Korsakov, in particular: dazzling, colourful orchestration and an interest in the East, which figured greatly in the history of Imperial Russia, as well as orientalism in general. It is considered Rimsky-Korsakov's most popular work. The music was used in a ballet by Michel Fokine. This use of the music was denounced by the Rimsky-Korsakov estate, led by the composer's widow, Nadezhda Rimskaya-Korsakova.

I.    The Sea and Sinbad's Ship (Largo e maestoso — Lento — Allegro non troppo — Tranquillo)

This movement is composed of various melodies and contains a general A B C A1 B C1 form. Although each section is highly distinctive, aspects of melodic figures carry through and unite them into a movement. Although similar in form to the classical symphony, the movement is more similar to the variety of motives used in one of his previous works Antar. Antar however, used genuine Arabic melodies as opposed to Rimsky-Korsakov’s ideas of an oriental flavor.

II.    The Kalendar Prince (Lento — Andantino — Allegro molto — Vivace scherzando — Moderato assai — Allegro molto ed animato)

This movement follows a type of ternary theme and variation and is described as a fantastic narrative. The variations only change by virtue of the accompaniment, highlighting the Rimsky-ness in the sense of simple musical lines allowing for greater appreciation of the orchestral clarity and brightness. Inside the general melodic line, a fast section highlights changes within both tonality and structure of the fanfare motif, played by trombone and muted trumpet.

III.    The Young Prince and The Young Princess (Andantino quasi allegretto — Pochissimo più mosso — Come prima — Pochissimo più animato)

This movement is also ternary, and is considered the simplest movement in form and melodic content. The inner section is said to be based on the theme from Tamara, while the outer sections have song-like melodic content. The outer themes are related to the inner by tempo and common motif, and the whole movement is finished by a quick coda return to the inner motif, balancing it out nicely.

IV.    Festival At Baghdad. The Sea. The Ship Breaks against a Cliff Surmounted by a Bronze Horseman. (Allegro molto — Lento — Vivo — Allegro non troppo e maestoso — Tempo come I)

This movement ties in aspects of all the proceeding movements as well as adding some new ideas Including but not limited to: an introduction of both the beginning of the movement and the Vivace section based on Sultan Shakhriar’s theme, a repeat of the main Sheherazade violin theme, and a reiteration of the fanfare motif to portray the ship wreck. Coherence is maintained by the ordered repetition of melodies, and continues the impression of a symphonic suite, rather than separate movements. A final conflicting relationship of the subdominant minor Shakhriar theme to the tonic major cadence of the Scheherazade theme resolves in a fantastic, lyrical, and finally peaceful conclusion.

Rimsky wrote a brief introduction that he intended for use with the score, as well as the program for the premier:

    The Sultan Schariar, convinced that all women are false and faithless, vowed to put to death each of his wives after the first nuptial night. But the Sultana Sheherazade saved her life by entertaining her lord with fascinating tales, told seriatim, for a thousand and one nights. The Sultan, consumed with curiosity, postponed from day to day the execution of his wife, and finally repudiated his bloody vow entirely.

The grim bass motif that opens the first movement is supposed to represent the domineering Sultan. This theme emphasizes four notes of a descending whole tone scale: E-D-C-A#. But soon, after a few chords in the woodwinds reminiscent of the opening of Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream overture, we hear the leitmotif that represents the character of the storyteller herself, Scheherazade, his wife, who eventually succeeds at appeasing him with her stories. This theme is a tender, sensuously winding melody for violin solo, accompanied by harp. (Wikipedia)

Rimsky-Korsakov ; Sheherazade (1977) (DVD)

Philadelphia Orchestra - Conductor Eugene Ormandy

Return of the Firebird: Petrushka/Firebird/Scheherazade (DVD)

The disk is entitled, "Return of the Firebird." What is presented is three complete ballets: The Firebird, Petrushka, and Schehrazade. (There is no piece of music here entitled "Return of the Firebird.") The picture quality is sharp and crystal clear. The color balance is excellent. The cinematography includes close-ups, distant shots, and varying angles. The costumes are lavish, appropriate, and of extensive variety.

This review is from: Return of the Firebird: Petrushka/Firebird/Scheherazade (DVD)

In October 2004 I was in Riga, Latvia and saw the live performance of these three ballets by the "Russian Ballet" company. Very impressive performance. I bought the DVD when I returned to the United States and comparing it to the live performance I can say that this DVD is a rare treat. I highly recommend it.

CD's

PROGRAMME OF MUSIC

Simon Rattle - Leaving Home: Orchestral Music in the 20th Century

2011-05-01T03:07:08Z

I - Dancing on a Volcano

DANCING ON A VOLCANO is the first episode of Sir Simon Rattle's "Leaving Home", a television programme introducing 20th century orchestral music. We go between the brief lectures of Rattle, seated at a piano, and excepts from various pieces in performance by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Rattle. This first volume starts at the very beginning: Vienna before World War I, when tonality was being pushed to the limit by Wagner, Mahler, and Schoenberg, and then broken entirely by the first twelve-tone serialists.

For Rattle, Wagner's "Tristan" makes a convenient beginning, though some might want to contest the composer's intentions in its infamous atonal passage. Mahler (Symphony No. 7) comes along with some innovations so subtle that it took decades for people to recognise how original he was. Schoenberg ("Transfigured Night", "Five Orchestral Pieces") expands on the freedom of pitches, and then Webern ("Five Pieces for Orchestra") comes up with the sensible next step, twelve tones arrayed in a row after which there was nothing more to be said. Finally, Berg writes his Violin Concerto (performed here by the great Gidon Kremer) that elegantly reconciles the twelve-tone method with echoes of traditional harmony. As an epilogue, Rattle recounts how the new-music paradise that was Vienna perished with Nazism.

II - RHYTHM

RHYTHM is the second episode of Sir Simon Rattle's "Leaving Home", a television programme introducing 20th century orchestral music. We go between the brief lectures of Rattle, seated at a piano, and excepts from various pieces in performance by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Rattle. While the first episode introduced the expansion of tonality in early 20th century Vienna, here Rattle celebrates the exploration of musical pulse.

Rattle begins with a sensible starting point, Stravinsky's wild "Le Sacre du Printemps". Edgar Varese's "Ionisaton" is given as an example of how the changing landscape of the modern world, with its automobiles and skyscrapers, inspired new forms of composition. One of Conlon Nancarrow's pieces for player piano shows how technology can aid the composer towards new rhythmic possibilities when merely human performers would immediately tire out. Steve Reich's "Music for Pieces of Wood" shows African inspiration, while Pierre Boulez's "Rituel in Memoriam Bruno Maderna" updates the funeral dirge to serialist complexity. The treatment of two pieces, however, stands out. Rattle asserts that Ligeti's "Atmospheres", far from being a formless mass as is often perceived, is really an ingenious collection of many varied rhythmic experiments. This greatly expanded my appreciation of Ligeti's earliest micropolyphonic work. The last work discussed on the album is Olivier Messiaen's "Turangalila-Symphony", where the composer took everything he ever learned about Indian rhythms and applied it in the most exhuberant fashion. The shots of CBSO performing this, with Jeanne Loriod on ondes martenot and Peter Donohoe on piano, are quite exciting.

III - COLOUR

COLOUR is the third episode of Sir Simon Rattle's "Leaving Home", a television programme introducing 20th century orchestral music. We go between the brief lectures of Rattle, seated at a piano, and excepts from various pieces in performance by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Rattle. While the first episode introduced the expansion of tonality in early 20th century Vienna, and the second episode dealt with rhythm, here Rattle covers the exploration of timbre.

For Rattle, an ideal starting point is Debussy, whose "Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune" displays a formless mass on colour much like the Impressionist school of painting. Stravinsky ("Firebird Suite") and Ravel ("Daphnis et Chloe") are also shown as early pioneers, and even Schoenberg is recognized as a contributor with his "Five Orchestral Pieces" op. 16. The coverage of post-war composers and their works, however, is not entirely sensible. The piano version of the first of Boulez's "Notations" is played on piano by Rattle, and then the orchestral version is performed. While full of glittery colour, it's a very languid piece that might not catch the interest of one curious but skeptical about modern-classical music. "Notations II", with its drive and power would have been a better choice. Olivier Messiaen is featured again, with his "Et expecto resurrectioned mortuorum", but it's not an entirely convincing choice, and Messiaen already got enough attention on Vol. 2. Toru Takemitsu's "Dream/Window" is the last piece featured. This is a fantastic piece, and a fine example of exploiting timbre to the max.

IV - Three Journeys Through Dark Landscapes

This is the fourth in a series of seven approximately one hour programs, I believe originally aired on BBC TV, in which Simon Rattle discusses and leads his then orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, in seminal works of twentieth century music. In this segment, called 'Three Journeys Through Dark Landscapes,' he talks articulately about three eastern European composers whose lives were lived during the dark times of totalitarian Soviet Russia (Shostakovich), repressed Hungary under the thumb of Germany (Bartók) and Poland while a Soviet client state (Lutoslawski). He talks about how each managed to stay true to his own artistic vision while seeming, at least much of the time, to hew to the prevailing artistic directives in their respective countries. In each case, great masterpieces emerged. The works underlined here are Shostakovich's Fourth Symphony, Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra and Lutoslawski's own Concerto for Orchestra.

Rattle explicates some of the musical aspects of each piece and is seen conducting long passages from each of the works, as well as passages from such other works as Bartók's 'Bluebeard's Castle (with Anne-Sofie von Otter and Willard White) and Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony. As a bonus, there are audio tracks of the full Shostakovich Fourth and Bartók Concerto for Orchestra (although the tracks are mis-marked, at least on the copy I received; the full scores are there, as audio tracks, but at times the still pictures are mismatched, e.g., a picture of Bartók while Shostakovich is being played).

The overall arch of this series is wonderful to contemplate.

These programs aired in the mid-1990s. The visuals are marvelous, the sound is excellent (PCM Stereo) and the performances by the CBSO under Rattle are quite good. I can easily imagine these programs being used in music appreciation courses, rather like Bernstein's Young People's programs, now out on DVD, have been used.

V - The American Way

In this DVD release of the fifth of the hourly programs in the 1996 British television series, 'Orchestral Music in the 20th Century,' Simon Rattle examines the contributions of American composers. Using archival film interspersed with shots of him leading the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra he explores music by George Gershwin ('Rhapsody in Blue,' with Wayne Marshall, piano); Charles Ives ('Decoration Day' from 'Holidays'); Elliott Carter ('A Celebration Of 100 x 150 Notes'); Aaron Copland ('Appalachian Spring,' featuring footage of the Martha Graham company dancing to the score); Kurt Weill ('Lonely House' from 'Street Scene,' sung beautifully by Anthony Rolfe Johnson); Leonard Bernstein ('Symphony Dances,' from 'West Side Story'); John Cage ('First Construction in Metal'); Morton Feldman ('Madame Press Died Last Week at Ninety'); Terry Riley ('In C'); and John Adams ('Harmonium' with the CBSO Chorus).

The narrative is spoken by Rattle, whose well-known enthusiasm for American music is communicated almost breathlessly. The music is played expertly and we get long uninterrupted passages from the works mentioned, as well as footage of such things as street scenes in New York -- footage showing the World Trade Center twin towers comes as a bit of a shock, as well as a couple of clips of Duke Ellington's orchestra and Bessie Smith singing. This is all lovingly and expertly done.

VI - After the Wake

i) The DVD is fantastic on its own - includes excerpts from Strauss: Four Last Songs; Schoenberg: Survivor From Warsaw; Webern: 5 Pieces for Orchestra Op.10; Boulez: Marteau sans maitre; Britten: Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings; and Stravinsky: Agon, in addition to Gruppen. Other two conductors for Gruppen are John Carewe and Daniel Harding.

Camerawork is musically sensitive, and there's even a brief rehearsal clip of just the three conductors working it out amongst themselves.

ii) An excellent, articulate overview of this section of twentieth century music as outlined in the description. Rattle is an excellent narrator and the texts are very clear and precise without being simplistic.

The real prize for me is the 22 minute video of Stockhausen's Gruppen. This work for three ensembles with three conductors from the late 1950s cannot be recorded and played back with today's commercial technologies, but this is a valiant documentation of a live performance. The playing is mostly very solid, although the Eb clarinetist always looks anguished!

VII - Threads

THREADS is the seventh and final episode of Sir Simon Rattle's "Leaving Home", a television programme introducing 20th century orchestral music. We go between brief lectures by Rattle, seated at a piano, and excepts from various pieces in performance by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Rattle. Unlike earlier volumes of the series, which discussed influential composers of the past, THREADS is a selection of personal favourites by Rattle which he feels represent the future of contemporary music.

Rattle begins with Luciano Berio's "Laborintus II", showing that the high modernism of the past (represented by Boulez et al.) was opposed by the Italian composer's interest in the theatrical tradition of his homeland. The third movement of Berio's "Sinfonia" would probably be a more perfectly representative piece, but there wasn't enough time allotted, so "Laborintus II" has to suffice. Berio is no doubt a formidable composer, able to make important theoretical contributions while simultaneously providing zany entertainment. Unfortunately, the next composer Rattle selects is a charlatan: Hans Werner Henze. Rattle actually wants us to believe that this bore, who rejected every important additional to the vocabulary in the 20th century, leads the way for future music. If that's really true, we're doomed. A much better selection would have been Wolfgang Rihm, who still preserves that Teuton romanticism while at the same time boldly moves forward.

Sofia Gubaidulina, the profoundly religious Russian composer who is one of the most original musical figures of our time, and a veritable saint, is represented here by a piece she dedicated to Rattle, "Zeitgestalten" for symphony orchestra with two bass guitars. This is a work of tremendous, earth-shaking proportions, and is in my opinion the height of this episode. Its inclusion here makes THREADS all the more worth buying, since no part of the piece has been otherwise commercially recorded. Gubaidulina is followed by Gyorgy Kurtag, whose "Gravestone for Stephen" appears. I was disappointed to see that no space is dedicated to Kurtag's fascinating biography, but Rattle does dissect the work quite well.

The last two composers represented are Rattle's friends and compatriots, Harrison Birtwistle and Oliver Knussen. Birtwistle's "Ritual Fragment" is played, and since the composer doesn't care much for overly prominent conductors, Rattle helps out the ensemble by playing a drum. It's an interesting piece, and makes me want to check out more by Birtwistle. After a brief bit of news footage from the 1960s showing Oliver Knussen as an up-and-coming boy composer, the ensemble plays his "Flourish with Fireworks". The selection of Knussen makes THREADS, originally shown in the mid-1990s, a little dated. Knussen's output is limited and not terribly popular, and his achievements as a conductor are better appreciated today.

PROGRAMME OF MUSIC

Horowitz plays Schumann 'Traumerei' in Moscow

2011-04-23T23:05:50Z

Kinderszenen (original spelling Kinderscenen, "Scenes from Childhood"), Opus 15, by Robert Schumann, is a set of thirteen pieces of music for piano written in 1838. In this work, Schumann provides us with his adult reminiscences of childhood. Schumann had originally written 30 movements for this work, but chose 13 for the final version.

Schumann had originally labeled this work Leichte Stücke (Easy Pieces). Likewise, the section titles were only added after the completion of the music, and Schumann described the titles as "nothing more than delicate hints for execution and interpretation". (Wikipedia)

1. Von fremden Ländern und Menschen
Of Foreign Lands and Peoples    G major

2. Kuriose Geschichte
A Curious Story    D major

3. Hasche-Mann
Blind Man's Bluff    B minor

4. Bittendes Kind
Pleading Child    D major

5. Glückes genug
Happy Enough    D major

6. Wichtige Begebenheit
An Important Event    A major

7. Träumerei
Dreaming    F major

8. Am Kamin
At the Fireside    F major

9. Ritter vom Steckenpferd
Knight of the Hobbyhorse    C major

10. Fast zu ernst
Almost Too Serious    G-sharp minor

11. Fürchtenmachen
Frightening    E minor

12. Kind im Einschlummern
Child Falling Asleep    E minor

13. Der Dichter spricht
The Poet Speaks

DVD's

CD's

PROGRAMME OF MUSIC

Claudio Arrau - Debussy, reflets dans l'eau

2011-04-17T08:07:10Z

Claude Debussy's piece Reflets dans l'eau ("Reflections in the Water") is the first of three independent pieces for the piano from his first volume of Images, which are frequently performed separately. It was written in 1905. As much of Debussy's work, it is referred to as Impressionistic, meaning that it expresses emotions and senses by making use of dysfunctional harmony and ambiguous key signatures usually the pieces mainly atonal and usually have some sort of sense of modality.

Reflets dans l'eau opens in a slow tempo (andantino molto) with a melody of A flat, F, E flat (which is repeated through much of the piece) while the right hand is playing a set of chords to accommodate the melody. It shares the main characteristics of French music of this period. For instance, the piece is characterized by ambiguous and fast changing harmonies.

The piece has several brief melody statements and climaxes that are more glimpses of music than full ideas, which is typical of Debussy's middle and late piano works. This is one of the many pieces Debussy wrote about water; in particular, light reflecting off of its surface. The piece creates an image of water being not quite still, then becoming rapid, then decreasing in motion again. Reflets dans l'eau is also an example of the new tone colors Debussy discovered for the piano in this part of his life, and although he later refined this style, this piece is part of the greater achievements Debussy reached with the instrument. (Wikipedia)

The Debussy Preludes

Claude Debussy's Préludes are two sets of pieces for solo piano. They are divided into two separate livres, or books, of twelve preludes each. Unlike previous collections of preludes, like those of Chopin, Debussy's do not follow a strict set pattern of key signatures, but instead allude to possible keys throughout the preludes. Both books took months to write. Book two appeared three years after book one. The first book was written between December 1909 and February 1910, and the second between the last months of 1912 and beginning of April 1913.

There is an ongoing debate whether or not Debussy intended the preludes to be performed in a cycle. Although Debussy never explicitly stated that the preludes were meant to be performed in a series, there is a strong tonal relationship between the preludes that suggests that the order of preludes is not arbitrary.For example, the first three preludes in the first book (Danseuses De Delphes, Voiles, and Le Vent Dans La Plaine) revolve around the key of Bb. In these first three preludes, allusions to the key of B♭ disappear and reappear, yet a strong sense of fluidity and connection between the preludes is still maintained.

In addition to the strong tonal relationship between the preludes, the titles of the preludes are equally as significant. The titles are written at the end of each movement, allowing the performer to discover impressions for himself, without being guided by Debussy's own thoughts. However, the titles were given by the composer to create images or sensory associations for the listener.[citation needed] For example, the first prelude in the second book, “Brouillards,” translated to English is “fog” or “mists.” The title directly reflects the piece’s tonal ambiguity and helps enhance the enigmatic quality of the piece. Several titles are poetically vague: for example, the meaning of Voiles, the title of the second prelude of the first book, is ambiguous, since the noun's gender is unknown (in French, voiles can mean either "veils" or "sails" depending on gender).

In addition to the visual effects the titles had on the listener, Debussy used visual elements in his playing of the piano to help create a unique sound in his preludes. For example, in “Brouillards” Debussy plays all white keys with his left hand and all black keys with his right. The visual contrast between black and white keys added a new sensorial element to Debussy’s composing of the preludes that transcended aural perception, helping to characterize his unique style.

The pieces' moods vary wildly, from the "profound calm" of La cathédrale engloutie to the tumultuous, unrestrained virtuosity of Ce qu'a vu le vent d'ouest, and from the mysterious Brouillards, to the explosive Feux d'artifice.

The most famous of the preludes are both from the first book; La fille aux cheveux de lin is a brief but harmonically complex Pre-Raphaelite expression of beauty. La cathédrale engloutie alludes to the legend of the sunken city of Ys in which the cathedral was allowed to rise once a day as a reminder of the glorious city that was lost, then become submerged again. (Wikipedia)

PROGRAMME OF MUSIC

Debussy: La Mer; Prélude à L'Apres-midi d'un Faune ( Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun) / Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No. 2; Bolero ~ Karajan

1. La Mer From Dawn till Noon on the Sea (De l'aube à midi sur la mer)
2. La Mer Play of the Waves (Jeux de vagues)
3. La Mer Dialogue of the Wind and the Sea (Dialogue du vent et de la mer)
4. Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune   Karlheinz Zoeller
5. Daphnis & Chloë - Suite No.2
6. Boléro

Essential Debussy

On this CD:

    Clair de lune, for orchestra or various other arrangements (from "Suite Bergamasque" for piano), L. 75/3
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    Performed by Boston Pops Orchestra
    Conducted by Arthur Fiedler

    Nocturnes, for female chorus & orchestra, L. 91 Nuages
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    Performed by Boston Pops Orchestra
    Conducted by Claudio Abbado

    Nocturnes, for female chorus & orchestra, L. 91 Fêtes
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    Performed by Boston Pops Orchestra
    Conducted by Claudio Abbado

    Ibéria, for orchestra, L. 122/2
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    Performed by Cleveland Orchestra
    Conducted by Pierre Boulez

    Children's Corner, suite for piano (or orchestra), L. 113
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    Performed by Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal
    Conducted by Charles Dutoit

    La Mer, symphonic sketches (3) for orchestra, L. 109
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conducted by Herbert von Karajan

    Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun), for orchestra, L. 86
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conducted by Herbert von Karajan

    Petite suite (4), for piano, 4 hands (or orchestra), L. 65 En Bateau
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    Performed by Suisse Romande Orchestra
    Conducted by Ernest Ansermet

    Petite suite (4), for piano, 4 hands (or orchestra), L. 65 Ballet
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    Performed by Suisse Romande Orchestra
    Conducted by Ernest Ansermet

    Arabesque, for piano No. 1 in E major, L. 66/1
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    with Pascal Roge

    La plus que lente, waltz for piano (or orchestra), L. 121
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    with Tamas Vasary

    Préludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117 Des pas sur la neige
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    with Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli

    Préludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117 The Girl with the Flaxen Hair
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    with Alexis Weissenberg

    Préludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117 The Sunken Cathedral
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    with Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli

    Préludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117 Minstrels
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    with Jean-Rodolphe Kars

    Préludes (12) for piano, Book II, L. 123 La Puerta del Vino
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    with Claudio Arrau

    Préludes (12) for piano, Book II, L. 123 Feux d'artifice
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    with Jorge Bolet

    Pour le piano, suite for piano, L. 95 Toccata
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    with Zoltan Kocsis

    L'isle joyeuse, for piano, L. 106
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    with Alexis Weissenberg

    Images (3), for piano, Set I, L. 110 Reflets dans l'eau
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    with Jean-Yves Thibaudet

    Estampes, for piano, L. 100 Jardins sous la pluie
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    with Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter

    Estampes, for piano, L. 100 La Soirée dans Grenade
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    with Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter

    Syrinx, for solo flute, L. 129
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    with Doriot Anthony Dwyer

Debussy: Pour le piano / Berenice Lipson-Gruzen

On this CD:

    Pour le piano, suite for piano, L. 95
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    with Berenice Lipson-Gruzen

    Estampes, for piano, L. 100 Evening in Grenada
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    with Berenice Lipson-Gruzen

    Préludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117 No. 3, The Wind on the Plain
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    with Berenice Lipson-Gruzen

    Préludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117 No. 2, Sails
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    with Berenice Lipson-Gruzen

    Préludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117 No. 5, The Hills of Anacapri
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    with Berenice Lipson-Gruzen

    Préludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117 No. 8, The Girl With the Flaxen Hair
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    with Berenice Lipson-Gruzen

    Préludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117 No. 7, What the West Wind Saw
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    with Berenice Lipson-Gruzen

    Préludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117 No. 9, The Interrupted Serenade
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    with Berenice Lipson-Gruzen

    Préludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117 No. 10, The Sunken Cathedral
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    with Berenice Lipson-Gruzen

    Préludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117 No. 12, Minstrels
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    with Berenice Lipson-Gruzen

    Images (3), for piano, Set I, L. 110 Reflections in the Water
    Composed by Claude Debussy
    with Berenice Lipson-Gruzen

This review is from: Debussy: Pour le piano / Berenice Lipson-Gruzen

Ms. Lipson-Gruzen performs some of Claude Debussy's best work here beautifully. The recording quality and piano sound are more than adequate, and the performances are very solid, technically impeccable, and notably expressive. One of my favorite debussy compositions has always been his classic "la fille aux cheveaux de lin" ("the girl with the flaxen hair") and it is one of my favorite pieces on this recording, with a brilliant performance. I think this CD is an exceptional value, and I feel almost anyone who enjoys music would love it.

Debussy: PrÃ©ludes, Books 1 & 2

Roger Woodward

On this CD:

1. Préludes, Book 1: Danseuses de Delphes

2. Préludes, Book 1: Voiles

3. Préludes, Book 1: Le vent dans la plaine

4. Préludes, Book 1: Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l'air du soir

5. Préludes, Book 1: Les collines d'Anacapri

6. Préludes, Book 1: Des pas sur la neige

7. Préludes, Book 1: Ce qu'a vu le vent d'ouest

8. Préludes, Book 1: La fille aux cheveux de lin

9. Préludes, Book 1: La sérénade interrompue

10. Préludes, Book 1: La cathédrale engloutie

11. Préludes, Book 1: La danse de Puck

12. Préludes, Book 1: Minstrels

13. Préludes, Book 2: Brouillards

14. Préludes, Book 2: Feuilles mortes

15. Préludes, Book 2: La Puerta del Vino

16. Préludes, Book 2: Les Fées sont d'exquises danseuses

17. Préludes, Book 2: Bruyères

18. Préludes, Book 2: Général Lavine - eccentric

19. Préludes, Book 2: La terrasse des audiences du clair de lune

20. Préludes, Book 2: Ondine

21. Préludes, Book 2: Hommage à S. Pickwick Esq. P.P.M.P.C.

22. Préludes, Book 2: Canope

23. Préludes, Book 2: Les tierces alternées

24. Préludes, Book 2: Feux d'artifice

CD's

Orchestral Works

PROGRAMME OF MUSIC

Debussy: L'après-midi d'un faune (Stokowski)

2011-04-17T08:00:07Z

A celebrated performance conducted by Leopold Stokowski with the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Festival Hall, London, 14 June 1972.

"Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune" by Claude Debussy.

Debussy: Prelude to "The Afternoon of a Faun"

I/II

II/II

Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, commonly known by its English title Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, is a symphonic poem for orchestra by Claude Debussy, approximately 10 minutes in duration. It was first performed in Paris on December 22, 1894, conducted by Gustave Doret.

The composition was inspired by the poem L'après-midi d'un faune by Stéphane Mallarmé, and later formed the basis for the ballet Afternoon of a Faun, choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky. It is one of Debussy's most famous works and is considered a turning point in the history of music; composer-conductor Pierre Boulez even dates the awakening of modern music from this score, observing that "the flute of the faun brought new breath to the art of music."It is a work that barely grasps onto tonality and harmonic function.

About his composition Debussy wrote:
“ The music of this prelude is a very free illustration of Mallarmé's beautiful poem. By no means does it claim to be a synthesis of it. Rather there is a succession of scenes through which pass the desires and dreams of the faun in the heat of the afternoon. Then, tired of pursuing the timorous flight of nymphs and naiads, he succumbs to intoxicating sleep, in which he can finally realize his dreams of possession in universal Nature.”

Paul Valéry reported that Mallarmé himself was unhappy with his poem being used as the basis for music: "He believed that his own music was sufficient, and that even with the best intentions in the world, it was a veritable crime as far as poetry was concerned to juxtapose poetry and music, even if it were the finest music there is."

However, Maurice Dumesnil states in his biography of Debussy that Mallarmé was enchanted by Debussy's composition, citing a short letter from Mallarmé to Debussy that read: "I have just come out of the concert, deeply moved. The marvel! Your illustration of the Afternoon of a Faun, which presents a dissonance with my text only by going much further, really, into nostalgia and into light, with finesse, with sensuality, with richness. I press your hand admiringly, Debussy. Yours, Mallarmé."

The opening flute solo is one the most famous passages in musical modernism, consisting of a chromatic descent to a tritone below the original pitch, and the subsequent ascent. (Wikipedia)

PROGRAMME OF MUSIC

Debussy: La Mer; Prélude à L'Apres-midi d'un Faune ( Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun) / Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No. 2; Bolero ~ Karajan

Essential Debussy

Debussy: Pour le piano / Berenice Lipson-Gruzen

Debussy: PrÃ©ludes, Books 1 & 2

Roger Woodward

On this CD:

PROGRAMME OF MUSIC

Debussy - Clair de lune

2011-04-17T07:35:47Z

Thomas Labé, Piano

The Suite bergamasque is one of the most famous piano suites by Claude Debussy. Debussy commenced the suite in 1890 at age 28, but he did not finish or publish it until 1905, when he was 43.

The Suite bergamasque consists of four movements:

    "Prélude"
    "Menuet"
    "Clair de lune"
    "Passepied"

Prélude

The first piece in the suite is entitled "Prélude". The Prélude is in the key of F, its tempo rubato. It is full of dynamic contrasts with a vigorous beginning and ending.. It is a festive piece, which holds much of the baroque style that is commonly found in preludes.

Menuet

The second part of the Suite Bergamasque is the "Menuet." Its playful main theme contrasts with an alternatively mysterious and dramatic middle section. This piece is particularly original, as it does not conform to the particular style that most minuets share. Rather than being very airy and dainty, this piece shows much more raw comedy. Again, Debussy sets a very novel piece in the guise of an old song style.

Clair de lune

"Clair de lune" — Movement 3 from Suite bergamasque

The third and most famous movement of Suite bergamasque is "Clair de lune," meaning "moonlight" in French. Its name comes from Paul Verlaine's poem of the same name which also refers to 'bergamasques' in its opening stanza: Votre âme est un paysage choisi / Que vont charmant masques et bergamasques / Jouant du luth et dansant et quasi / Tristes sous leurs déguisements fantasques.

The first three movements include a common motif:

    Prélude - F - E - F - E - D (bar 11)
    Menuet - G - F - G - F - E (bar 6)
    Clair de lune - F - E♭ - F - E♭ - D♭ (bars 1-2)

Passepied

The final movement is "Passepied" in F-sharp minor, allegretto ma non troppo. A passepied is a type of dance, which originated in Brittany, and means "pass foot". Debussy's Passepied is a happy, yet strangely mediaeval piece, which is surprisingly faster than its Baroque counterparts. Throughout most of its duration, the piece is played with staccato arpeggios in the left hand. (Wikipedia)

PROGRAMME OF MUSIC

Essential Debussy

Debussy: Pour le piano / Berenice Lipson-Gruzen

Roger Woodward

On this CD:

PROGRAMME OF MUSIC

Debussy - Prélude - La Cathédrale engloutie

2011-04-17T07:13:10Z

Alessandro Drago. live concert (1999) Teatro Ghione. Roma

La cathédrale engloutie

La cathédrale engloutie (The Sunken Cathedral) is a prelude written by the French composer Claude Debussy for solo piano. It was published in 1910 as the tenth prelude in Debussy’s first of two volumes of twelve piano preludes each. It is characteristic of Debussy in its form, harmony, and content.

This prelude is an example of Debussy's musical impressionism in that it is a musical depiction, or allusion, of an image or idea. Debussy quite often named his pieces with the exact image that he was composing about, like La Mer, Des pas sur la neige, or Jardins sous la pluie. In the case of the two volumes of preludes, he places the title of the piece at the end of the piece, either to allow the pianist to respond intuitively and individually to the music before finding out what Debussy intended the music to sound like, or to apply more ambiguity to the music's allusion.

The piece is based on an ancient Breton myth in which a cathedral, submerged underwater off the coast of the Island of Ys, rises up from the sea on clear mornings when the water is transparent. Sounds can be heard of priests chanting, bells chiming, and the organ playing, from across the sea. Accordingly, Debussy uses certain harmonies to allude to the plot of the legend, in the style of musical impressionism.

To begin the piece, Debussy uses parallel fifths. The first chord of the piece is made up of sonorous Gs and Ds (open fifths). The use of stark, open fifths here allude to the idea of church bells that sound from the distance, across the ocean. The opening measures, marked pianissimo, introduce us to the first series of rising parallel fifth chords, outlining a pentatonic scale. These chords bring to mind two things: 1) the Eastern pentatonic scale, which Debussy heard during a performance of Javanese gamelan music at the 1889 Universal Exhibition in Paris,and 2) medieval chant music, similar to the organa in parallel fifths from the Musica enchiriadis, a 9th century treatise on music. The shape of the ascending phrase is perhaps a representation of the cathedral's slow emergence from the water.

After the beginning section, Debussy gently brings the cathedral out of the water by modulating to B major, shaping the melody in a wave-like fashion, and including important narrative instructions in measure 16: Peu à peu sortant de la brume (Emerging from the fog little by little). This shows Debussy at his closest manifestation of musical impressionism.Then, after a section marked Augmentez progressivement (Slowly growing), the cathedral has emerged and the grand organ is heard at a dynamic level of fortissimo (measures 28-41). This is the loudest and most profound part of the piece, and is described in the score as Sonore sans dureté. Following the grand entrance and exit of the organ, the cathedral sinks back down into the ocean (measures 62-66) and the organ is heard once more, but from underwater. To attain this underwater effect, most performers use a "half-pedal," so that the dampers of the piano are only slightly off of the strings, creating a murky, muffled sound (measures 71-82). Finally, the cathedral is gone from sight, and only the bells are heard, at a distant pianissimo.

PROGRAMME OF MUSIC

Essential Debussy

Debussy: Pour le piano / Berenice Lipson-Gruzen

Roger Woodward

On this CD:

PROGRAMME OF MUSIC

Yehudi Menuhin plays Wieniawski's Scherzo Tarantelle

2011-04-17T06:14:04Z

Henryk Wieniawski (10 July 1835 – 31 March 1880) was a Polish violinist and composer.

He was born in Lublin, Congress Poland, Russian Empire. His father, Tobiasz Pietruszka, had converted to Catholicism. His talent for playing the violin was recognized early, and in 1843 he entered the Paris Conservatoire. After graduation, Wieniawski toured extensively and gave many recitals, where he was often accompanied by his brother Józef on piano. In 1847, Henryk Wieniawski published his first opus, a Grand Caprice Fantastique, the start of a modest but important catalog of 24 opus numbers.

Henryk Wieniawski was considered a violinist of genius and wrote some of the most important works in the violin repertoire, including two extremely difficult violin concertos, the second of which (in D minor, 1862) is more often performed than the first (in F♯ minor, 1853). His "L'Ecole Moderne, 10 Etudes-Caprices" is a very well-known and required work for aspiring violinists. His Scherzo-Tarantelle, Op. 16 and Légende, Op. 17 are also frequently performed works. He also wrote two popular mazurkas for solo violin and piano accompaniment (the second one, Obertas, in G Major), using techniques such as left-hand pizzicato, harmonics, large leaps, and many double stops. Wieniawski has been given a number of posthumous honors. His portrait appeared on a postage stamp of Poland in 1952 and again in 1957. A 100 Złoty coin was issued in 1979 bearing his image.

Scherzo Tarantelle

Listening to a performance of Henryk Wieniawski's Scherzo-tarantelle Op. 16 for violin and piano -- an electrifying, virtuosic walk on a tight-rope -- it is not hard to believe the stories of hard drinking and heavy gambling that have always surrounded the brilliant Polish-born violinist-composer: here is a piece of music whose every measure fully lives up to Wieniawski's personal motto, "Il faut risquer" (I must risk it). Life by that motto was not always kind to Wieniawski, and the rise and fall of both his career and his health were just about as rapid as the left-hand fireworks contained within this four-and-a-half-minute showpiece. Just 21 when Scherzo-tarantelle was first published (1856), Wieniawski was already the well-known author of over a dozen charming salon pieces for violin and piano, and very possibly the most famous violinist of the post-Paganini generation. But just six years later he would peak as both performer and composer (with the fabulous Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 22), thereafter starting a long decline towards his premature death.

With Scherzo-tarantelle, Wieniawski proves himself a master of miniature. Neither profundity of thought nor musical innovation were of any real concern to the composer (though with the Second Concerto he managed to achieve a good bit of both); he instead put his considerable skill towards impeccable craftsmanship and, most importantly, potent, immediate expression of all the violin's myriad characters.

After the violinist has plowed his or her way through an opening Presto filled -- as one expects in the traditional Italian tarantella -- with hectic, running eighth notes, there is an immediate change to the major mode for a Tranquillo whose sweeping, voluptuous violin melody is immediately restated by the piano, now accompanied by the violin. After a brief reunion with the music of the opening section, the composer reaches once again into his well-stocked bag of melody for a graceful cantabile. Scherzo-tarantelle is rounded off with a reprise of the Presto, now truncated and reshaped at the very end to hint, tantalizingly but insincerely, at a change to G major

PROGRAMME OF MUSIC

Yehudi Menuhin: The Complete 1951 Japanese Victor Recordings

On this CD:

    Sonata for solo violin No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001
    Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
    with Adolph Baller, Yehudi Menuhin

    Partita for solo violin No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004 Sarabande
    Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
    with Adolph Baller, Yehudi Menuhin

    Partita for solo violin No. 3 in E major, BWV 1006
    Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
    with Adolph Baller, Yehudi Menuhin

    Sonata for violin & continuo in G minor, B. g5 ("The Devil's Trill")
    Composed by Giuseppe Tartini
    with Adolph Baller, Yehudi Menuhin

    Sonata for violin & piano No. 5 in F major ("Spring"), Op. 24
    Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
    with Adolph Baller, Yehudi Menuhin

    Sonata for violin & piano No. 9 in A major ("Kreutzer"), Op. 47
    Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
    with Adolph Baller, Yehudi Menuhin

    Hungarian Dance for piano, 4 hands, in G minor, WoO 1/1
    Composed by Johannes Brahms
    with Adolph Baller, Yehudi Menuhin

    Slavonic Dance No. 1 for violin & piano in G minor (transcription of Dvorák's Slavonic Dance No. 2, Op. 46/2)
    Composed by Fritz Kreisler
    with Adolph Baller, Yehudi Menuhin

    Negro Spiritual Melody for violin & piano (arr. from Dvorak's Symphony No. 9) Negro Spiritual Melody
    Composed by Fritz Kreisler
    with Adolph Baller, Yehudi Menuhin

    Perpetuum Mobile, for violin & orchestra
    Composed by Ottokar Novacek
    with Adolph Baller, Yehudi Menuhin

    Work(s) Spanish Dance in E minor
    Composed by Enrique Granados
    with Adolph Baller, Yehudi Menuhin

    Romanza Andalusa
    Composed by Pablo de Sarasate
    with Adolph Baller, Yehudi Menuhin

    Spanish Dances: Malagueña y Habanera, for violin & piano, Op 21
    Composed by Pablo de Sarasate
    with Adolph Baller, Yehudi Menuhin

    Habañera from Bizet's "Carmen"
    Composed by Pablo de Sarasate
    with Adolph Baller, Yehudi Menuhin

    Vocalise-Étude en forme de Habanera, for voice & piano
    Composed by Maurice Ravel
    with Adolph Baller, Yehudi Menuhin

    Scherzo-tarantelle, for violin & piano in G minor, Op. 16
    Composed by Henryk Wieniawski
    with Adolph Baller, Yehudi Menuhin

    Caprice Viennois for violin & piano/orchestra, Op.2
    Composed by Fritz Kreisler
    with Adolph Baller, Yehudi Menuhin

    Romanian Folk Dances (7) for violin & piano (arranged by Zoltán Szekely from piano version), Sz. 56, BB 68
    Composed by Bela Bartok
    with Adolph Baller, Yehudi Menuhin

This review is from: Yehudi Menuhin: The Complete 1951 Japanese Victor Recordings

While this CD is not for those who must hear only the most modern sound, or are allergic to surface noise, for the rest of us, and particularly for younger listeners, it is something not to be missed. Here we have the great Yehudi in top form joined by Adolph Baller, one of the best chamber music pianists of the twentieth century, in a program consisting of some of the greatest of violin works (Beethoven sonatas, Bach unaccompanied sonatas), Bartok (the Rumanian Dances), and encore pieces -- Brahms-Joachim Hungarian Dance, Kreisler, and Wienawski (Scherzo-Tarantelle). All are played with brilliance and splendid musicanship. The Menuhin-Baller partnership sets a standard. Those who have heard Menuhin only when he was past his prime are in for a real treat. Only the Kreisler pieces disappoint (the opening siciliana of the Tartini Devil's Trill too slow for my taste), but no one has played quite like Kreisler, and this is still a wonderful tribute to the great Austrian (Caprice Viennois) as a composer.

The Great Violin Concertos: Bach / Mozart / Beethoven / Mendelssohn / Brahms / Bruch

On this CD:

    Concerto for 2 violins, strings & continuo in D minor ("Double"), BWV 1043
    Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performed by Bath Festival Orchestra
    with Christian Ferras
    Conducted by Yehudi Menuhin

    Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K. 216
    Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
    Performed by Bath Festival Orchestra
    Conducted by Yehudi Menuhin

    Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major ("Turkish") K. 219
    Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
    Performed by Bath Festival Orchestra
    Conducted by Yehudi Menuhin

    Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61
    Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
    Performed by Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conducted by Constantin Silvestri

    Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64
    Composed by Felix Mendelssohn
    Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra
    Conducted by Efrem Kurtz

    Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77
    Composed by Johannes Brahms
    Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conducted by Rudolf Kempe

    Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor, Op. 26
    Composed by Max Bruch
    Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra
    Conducted by Walter Susskind

This review is from: The Great Violin Concertos: Bach / Mozart / Beethoven / Mendelssohn / Brahms / Bruch

I have to admit that in this recording Yehudi is not as sharp as he is in earlier ones, but the fine-tuned expressiveness has not been lost. I would buy this cd simply for the Bruch Violin Concerto, if nothing else, which is a dangerous undertaking to listen to at all, as one is liable to forget to breathe. The Brahms is definitely worth finding a different recording of, however, the 1949 EMI classics is much better.
The most important thing to remember about this album, however, is that Menuhin has never been, and never claimed to be, the best technical player ever. It is his unique interpretation and earnestness that people really fall in love with, and that, he still has.

DVD's

CD's

Yehudi Menuhin: The Great EMI Recordings [Box set]

This review is from: Yehudi Menuhin: The Great EMI Recordings

I am extremely happy I got this big box of Yehudi Menuhin performances. The music is absolutely fantastic. However, audiophiles should be aware that a full 20 of the 50 music CDs in this set are mono recordings. Sound quality is not the strong suit of many of these older discs. However, many others really do sound terrific for mono -- as good as mono can sound. They have been cleaned up well. I haven't yet been distracted by loud hisses or record needle noise.

The bulk of the recordings are from the 1950s through 1970s, and there are even a couple from the 1980s. The sound is very nice indeed on the later recordings.

(Almost) all the major repertoire violin concertos are here, many in multiple versions that show how Menuhin's approach developed over time. I really enjoy putting on different versions of the Beethoven concerto, for example, they each have something different to offer. Apart from the Beethoven and the Mendelssohn, with four versions each, the duplication of works on this set is really not too bad at all, although there is some.

The set includes Menuhin's 1932 recording of the Elgar concerto with Elgar conducting. Again, the sound suffers a bit, but it really has been cleaned up quite well and it is an exciting performance. The set also includes a nice complete cycle of Mozart's five violin concertos from the early 1960s.

Another historical highlight is the Beethoven concerto from 1947 with Wilhelm Furtwängler and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra. Menuhin's agreement to appear with Furtwängler was an incredibly important gesture that perhaps more than any other single event helped "rehabilitate" the conductor's image after WWII, when he was under tremendous fire for having stayed in Germany to direct the Berlin Philharmonic under the Nazis. Menuhin worked frequently with Furtwängler after that, and this set includes a second Beethoven concerto and Romances 1 and 2 from 1953, a Brahms concerto from 1949, and a Mendelssohn concerto from 1952.

The set includes plenty of Sir Adrian Boult as conductor (of Bruch, Berkeley, Williamson, Vaughan Williams, Tchaikovsky and Sibelius). Also a great Berg concerto with Pierre Boulez conducting in 1968.

The selection of chamber works is extensive, including all the Beethoven violin sonatas, all the Bach sonatas and partitas (from 1935), and a wide range of other sonatas, trios and the two Brahms string sextets. Accompanying him on a large number of sonatas is his sister, Hephzibah Menuhin.

The last musical disc in the set are his terrific jazz recordings with Stéphane Grappelli from the mid-1970s, featuring above all tunes by Gershwin and Grappelli.

Finally, I love documentaries as well, so I was very pleased with the "bonus" 51st disc, which contains a musical biography of Menuhin based on interviews conducted with him in 1995.

If you love violin works, this set is for you! Unless you are a real stickler for the latest in sound technology. If you have even a medium tolerance for mono and the "muted" sound of some older recordings, I'm sure you'll enjoy the set. Even if you only listened to the 30 stereo discs, however, it still might be worthwhile to get this set, especially at the $62 price effective so far during much of September 2009.

There are two good sources for the track listing. One is a customer image submitted to Amazon on this page, which contains a legible track listing taken from the side of the box. Combine that with a track list on the EMI Classics website that contains remastering information -- but sadly not the names of the works or the composers.

PROGRAMME OF MUSIC