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Off to dinner and a symphony tonight. Tonight the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra is being conducted by Xian Zhang (music Director with the Giuseppe Verdi Orchestra in Milan, Italy).
Tonight's Program:
Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835)
Overture to I Capuleti e I Montecchi
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Piano Concerto with Till Fellner, Pianist
Piotr Ilych Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Symphony No. 5
Should be another wonderful evening for my wife and me. We're celebrating out 16th anniversary this weekend. Dinner at the Spaghetti Factory before the show and ending with some Russian musical fireworks.
As usual, I will press on you fine folks here at the Asylum to provide me with your recommendations for best performances/recordings of any of the above. The only one I have currently is Tchaikovsky's 5th with Karajan and the Berliner on DG vinyl.
Do svidaniya!
Follow Ups:
What a wonderful, wonderful evening you've got planned. 2 masterpieces. Outstanding.
For a recording of the Tchaik syms, you must hear Mravinsky on DG. I can honestly say that they changed my musical life.
I'll keep an eye out for that performance. Thanks.
That's not to say that there aren't other good performances too, but the Mravinsky DG recordings (either the mono or the stereo performances, although the Fourth is conducted by Sanderlling on the mono set) are a must hear.
Thanks, Chris!
Good night at the symphony. The overture was short, but very energetic. Very enjoyable. The Schumann piano concerto was OK, but it didn't do anything for either of us. It's the first Schumann we've listened to. We both wife found it a bit wandering and lacking direction.
Tchaikovsy's 5th was very well done and we both agreed that it was a wonderful performance.
Xian Zhang was fun to watch and very animated. All in all, a good night.
Knowing a bit about the Genesis of the Schumann Piano Concerto will help a bit in listening to it. You may already know this, but it helps to know that the first movement was actually composed as a stand-alone work. The second and third movements were added later, to expand it into a full concerto. The first movement is sometimes performed by itself (often by student pianists), and it stands alone quite well. Listening with that knowledge may help you to get your head around it. Personally, I tend to listen to the movements somewhat independently of one another.This particular situation is certainly not unique to this work. Mahler composed what was to become the first movement of his 2nd symphony as a tone poem entitled "Totenfeier" (funeral rites). It can be, and often is, performed by itself. The first movement of the Brahms first piano concerto was originally conceived as the first movement of a symphony, and later reworked into a piano concerto. Knowing these things can broaden your appreciation of these works.
That said, don't worry too much about it if you do or don't like it. Trust yourself, find what you like and enjoy it. Coming to classical music later in life can be a wonderfully rewarding experience, but it can be a bit tricky. You need to walk a fine line between trusting your own opinions and becoming too "married" to them. Your tastes will evolve as you go along, and that's a natural part of the process. I'm 59, and I have lived with classical music my whole life. There are pieces that I loved as a kid (i.e. Scheherezade) which I subsequently "grew out of", only to come to appreciate them in a whole new light later in life. There are no rules, other than to enjoy yourself. You really seem to be going at it the right way, and I applaud you for that.
Most importantly, do not have any expectation that "I'll figure all this out eventually". There is no figuring it all out, and therein lies the beauty of the pursuit. The more you know, the more you discover that is yet to be learned.
Edits: 10/30/11 10/30/11 10/30/11
Thanks so much for that contribution. I had read about the way Schumann had composed the first movement based on a song (I think aboout a girl with the same name as his wife, Clara) and that she was the one who encouraged him to add orchestration and turn it into a concerto. I did not, however, make the mental leap of the way the movements might be different than what I had come to expect in my short classical education.
I will definitely give the concerto a listen in separate parts as one of the inmates provided me with the links to a fine performance broken down into its three parts.
Again, thanks for the wise and helpful suggestions.
If the Schumann sounded wandering and directionless, blame the performers. There are plenty of excellent performances out there--Fleisher/Szell, Moravec/Neumann, Andsnes/Jansons, etc., just to name a few in decent sound.
For a sample of a propulsive, organized performance, check out this video on youtube with Argerich/Chailly:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxGFP52NiAo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDnf2DKiMPk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE63wjVD20k
I have to agree with you. Schumann's music speaks directly to me, but for some reason he's easy to mess up. I would guess that this is because his emotional life, as revealed in his music, is quite intense and haqrd to deal with directly. Stephen Kovacevich delivers the goods on the concerto; his performance is probably my favorite, but I also like Murray Perahia.
pbarach,
Thanks for our comments and links. I just listened to Argerich's performance on the first movement, and while impressive with moments I really like, I'm going to have to give myself some time to digest Schumann. I'll listen to the remaining movements later today. For last night's performance, I'll give the benefit of the doubt to the performers and blame my wishy-washiness on my lack of understanding Schumann's music, and maybe a little on the minor food coma we were in.
I've only been listening to/studying classical music seriously for about 10 months or so and while some composers hit me right away like Bach, Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Mahler, Brahms, Berlioz, Prokofiiv, Franck, Dvorak and Grieg(in no particular order), some such as Schumann (at least this Piano Concerto) are going to require some time with me. I also am struggling with Chopin and Liszt piano pieces. Rachmaninoff, I liked right away. I'll figure all this out eventually
Here's to time and lots more listening...
I've had the food coma experience. Too much blood to the stomach, and not enough to the head. :-)
I think the timing of this one threw us off. It started 30 minutes earlier than normal. We were fine by the time Tchaikovsky's 5th started.
The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection, by Ted Libbey.
Don't let the "CD" part the title put you off - many/most of his recommended recordings were originally issued as LP.
He has nice descriptions of the "major" pieces, as well as interesting (brief) bios of many composers. An enjoyable/entertaining read, not just a dry reference book.
rlindsa
Got it already, thanks! Normally I get a lot of alternative recommendations from folks that aren't in the book. Besides, I'm normally looking for vinyl, not CDs.
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