And yet another season of music has begun. A very lovely beginning indeed.
I went for the SoI concert on the 30th, with Carlo Rizzi conducting the SoI.
The most common criticism, if it were, of western classical is that everything is written down and people just have to play with a conductor waving his hands about. While it is true that essentially the music is the same, the conductor/orchestra influence the sound so much that you may either like a piece of music, or be left cold, depending on the performance (which is why building a collection of W Classical is so tiresome). The timing, the emotional content, everything can change from one performance to another.
Which brings me to the point of this concert:
"Ta da da daaa"...how many times has one listened to the opening chords of Beethoven's Fifth. And different conductors take it on differently. Some at a fast pace (allegro), some weighty (generally preferred by me), some slowing down each note. In fact, I suspect that how it is played influences whether you like the piece or not (like the shimmering opening of Mahler's 1st).
Rizzi was of the allegro camp.
Which was underwhelming as it didn't meet what you thought it should be. But what a performance it was - all lithe with a focus on the melodies, texture and dynamics - it was like listening to a giant chamber orchestra.
Take for example the scherzo played pizzicato in the third movement. It was so beautiful and revelatory, it was like hearing for the very first time (sorry Madonna).
In fact, the commonly used adjective by members of the audience while talking about the concert was delicate. The strings played beautifully. And the newly commissioned double basses added a delightful growl to the sound.
All in all, it was a different, musical, delicate Beethoven's Fifth. If you listened to it instead of comparing to the other Beethoven Fifth's that you know (aka "my reference is Furtwangler, what is this?"), it was a treat.
The concert also featured Wagners beautiful Prelude and Liebestod (which means love death) which was bristling with emotions and, well, delicacy. And absolutely lousy coughing from the audience!
The other piece was Strauss Rosenkavalier, which I never got even while listening at home (perhaps good in an opera, but despite a beautiful waltz, I find it meandering in a way that I dont connect), and the same was true in the concert.
What a lovely concert experience. Thank you my friend TSB for getting me in!
I went for the SoI concert on the 30th, with Carlo Rizzi conducting the SoI.
The most common criticism, if it were, of western classical is that everything is written down and people just have to play with a conductor waving his hands about. While it is true that essentially the music is the same, the conductor/orchestra influence the sound so much that you may either like a piece of music, or be left cold, depending on the performance (which is why building a collection of W Classical is so tiresome). The timing, the emotional content, everything can change from one performance to another.
Which brings me to the point of this concert:
"Ta da da daaa"...how many times has one listened to the opening chords of Beethoven's Fifth. And different conductors take it on differently. Some at a fast pace (allegro), some weighty (generally preferred by me), some slowing down each note. In fact, I suspect that how it is played influences whether you like the piece or not (like the shimmering opening of Mahler's 1st).
Rizzi was of the allegro camp.
Which was underwhelming as it didn't meet what you thought it should be. But what a performance it was - all lithe with a focus on the melodies, texture and dynamics - it was like listening to a giant chamber orchestra.
Take for example the scherzo played pizzicato in the third movement. It was so beautiful and revelatory, it was like hearing for the very first time (sorry Madonna).
In fact, the commonly used adjective by members of the audience while talking about the concert was delicate. The strings played beautifully. And the newly commissioned double basses added a delightful growl to the sound.
All in all, it was a different, musical, delicate Beethoven's Fifth. If you listened to it instead of comparing to the other Beethoven Fifth's that you know (aka "my reference is Furtwangler, what is this?"), it was a treat.
The concert also featured Wagners beautiful Prelude and Liebestod (which means love death) which was bristling with emotions and, well, delicacy. And absolutely lousy coughing from the audience!
The other piece was Strauss Rosenkavalier, which I never got even while listening at home (perhaps good in an opera, but despite a beautiful waltz, I find it meandering in a way that I dont connect), and the same was true in the concert.
What a lovely concert experience. Thank you my friend TSB for getting me in!