Arrau seems to be underappreciated these days. His late recording of the Chopin nocturnes is one of the two most profound on record, in my opinion, along with the unsurpassed David Jones Connoisseur Society recordings of Ivan Moravec. Both explore the detail of the music in ways that take them far beyond parlor pieces. Arrau's is an old man's reading, meditative and bittersweet as no other I've heard, while Moravec's has a wider emotional palette and manages to coax a range of colors from his Bösendorfer that strains credulity. Thanks for calling our attention to Arrau again. A passionate and elegant artist.DonB wrote:Beethoven's sonata 23, op. 57, by my favourite pianist: Claudio Arrau
Please do click on the sprocket in the lower right corner to select 480p, it improves the sound quality as well.
Music of the Day
A change of atmosphere: THE POWERS OF MUSIC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3wi-jhX ... ata_player
Bittersweet
In my Hallucination
I saw my Beloved's flower garden
In my vertigo
In my dizziness
In my drunken haze
whirling and dancing
like a spinning wheel
I saw myself
as the source of existence
I was there in the beginning
and i was the spirit of love
Now I am sober
There is only the hangover
and the memory of love
And only the sorrow
I yearn for happiness
I ask for help
I want mercy
And my love says
Look at me and hear me
because i'm here just for that
I am your moon
and your moonlight too
I am your flower garden
and your water too
I have come all this way
eager for you
without shoes or shawl
I want to laugh
to kill all your worries
to love you
to nourish you
Oh Sweet Bitterness!
I will soothe you and heal you
I will bring you roses
I too have been covered with thorns
(Rumi)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3wi-jhX ... ata_player
Bittersweet
In my Hallucination
I saw my Beloved's flower garden
In my vertigo
In my dizziness
In my drunken haze
whirling and dancing
like a spinning wheel
I saw myself
as the source of existence
I was there in the beginning
and i was the spirit of love
Now I am sober
There is only the hangover
and the memory of love
And only the sorrow
I yearn for happiness
I ask for help
I want mercy
And my love says
Look at me and hear me
because i'm here just for that
I am your moon
and your moonlight too
I am your flower garden
and your water too
I have come all this way
eager for you
without shoes or shawl
I want to laugh
to kill all your worries
to love you
to nourish you
Oh Sweet Bitterness!
I will soothe you and heal you
I will bring you roses
I too have been covered with thorns
(Rumi)
Wonderful music, Costi!
My ear is not trained enough as to recognize different periods within Turkish music. Although now I know thanks to you that this is "Baroque" from very early XVIII century, for me it is still a "timeless" sound that I associate with the Middle East. And in this recording, at its best.
Changing subjetcs: this past Monday I attended a recital by baritone Matthias Goerne singing the 24 songs of Schubert´s Winterreise. It gave me goose spams. What a feast!
Once again I find him one of those artist who at times I enjoy best with the eyes closed. I found several of his performances in Youtube, including this one with the genial Alfred Brendel at the piano.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0uxvHQF ... EF0EF48518
My ear is not trained enough as to recognize different periods within Turkish music. Although now I know thanks to you that this is "Baroque" from very early XVIII century, for me it is still a "timeless" sound that I associate with the Middle East. And in this recording, at its best.
Changing subjetcs: this past Monday I attended a recital by baritone Matthias Goerne singing the 24 songs of Schubert´s Winterreise. It gave me goose spams. What a feast!
Once again I find him one of those artist who at times I enjoy best with the eyes closed. I found several of his performances in Youtube, including this one with the genial Alfred Brendel at the piano.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0uxvHQF ... EF0EF48518
Thank you, hectorm, I am glad you enjoyed our little oriental incursion.
Listening to recordings is such a pale facsimile of the experience of live music... Just this past week I incidentally listened to Dvorak's 9th Symphony ("From the New World") in two different interpretations - diversity just adds to the flavour...
Goerne makes your heart sink, indeed, as it is supposed to... I appreciate that the clip doesn't "illustrate" the "voyage" like others do with winter landscapes and sleighs - Schubert's is a journey inside, into the depths of despair, everything is symbolic.
Another intepretation I like very much and which you might appreciate is that of tenor Jan Bostridge:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSnsdCfE81U
You who rushed along so merrily,
You clear, wild stream,
How quiet you have become,
You offer no parting words.
With a hard, solid crust
You have clothed yourself.
You lie cold and motionless
Stretched out in the sand.
On your surface I carve
With a sharp stone
The name of my beloved
And the hour and the day:
The day of our first meeting,
The day I went away:
Name and numbers entwined
By a broken ring.
My heart, in this brook
Do you recognize your own image?
Is there, under your surface, too,
A surging torrent?
(what of this cinematographic approach?)
Listening to recordings is such a pale facsimile of the experience of live music... Just this past week I incidentally listened to Dvorak's 9th Symphony ("From the New World") in two different interpretations - diversity just adds to the flavour...
Goerne makes your heart sink, indeed, as it is supposed to... I appreciate that the clip doesn't "illustrate" the "voyage" like others do with winter landscapes and sleighs - Schubert's is a journey inside, into the depths of despair, everything is symbolic.
Another intepretation I like very much and which you might appreciate is that of tenor Jan Bostridge:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSnsdCfE81U
You who rushed along so merrily,
You clear, wild stream,
How quiet you have become,
You offer no parting words.
With a hard, solid crust
You have clothed yourself.
You lie cold and motionless
Stretched out in the sand.
On your surface I carve
With a sharp stone
The name of my beloved
And the hour and the day:
The day of our first meeting,
The day I went away:
Name and numbers entwined
By a broken ring.
My heart, in this brook
Do you recognize your own image?
Is there, under your surface, too,
A surging torrent?
(what of this cinematographic approach?)
I know Schubert wrote Winterreise for tenor, but its transposition for baritone is more of my liking.
Regarding the cinematographic take (this one or any other) I remain undecided. Sometimes I think it adds something. Sometimes, when the singing is really good, it’s a distraction.
I remember that about 30 years ago, on big stages, there was a fad of adding surtitles to lieder recitals. As if the stages themselves were not a threat to the intimacy required ... on top of that surtitles.
That was distracting!
Regarding the cinematographic take (this one or any other) I remain undecided. Sometimes I think it adds something. Sometimes, when the singing is really good, it’s a distraction.
I remember that about 30 years ago, on big stages, there was a fad of adding surtitles to lieder recitals. As if the stages themselves were not a threat to the intimacy required ... on top of that surtitles.
That was distracting!
Winterreise is beautiful of course. I need some distraction afterwards, Tita Merello is perfect:
http://youtu.be/-sEUiCMLc0o
cheers, David
http://youtu.be/-sEUiCMLc0o
cheers, David
Well, I sort of added surtitles myself by citing the translated poem 
Of course, it's something else in a concert hall...
The beauty of the lied genre is that the perfect marriage between poetry and music starts from the word. "Lyrics" are not squeezed into ready-made musical phrases (often in pop), neither are they dissociated as it sometimes happens in other genres. Haendel (among others) was a master at "recycling" his own music: "Lascia la spina" in "Trionfo" or "Lascia ch'io pianga" in "Rinaldo" - it's almost the same identical music, but the lyrics tell very different stories.
In lied, however, poetry and music have a "bespoke" affaire: the music is made for a poem and only makes sense with it. It is this harmony that is to be enjoyed. This is also why it takes a special kind of sensibility (beyond vocal qualities) to be a good lied singer: you have to understand not just the words, but the nuances, the state of mind and soul behind them, and put those emotions into music.
Of course, ideally the audience should not only be able to understand the words, but possibly also know the poems beforehand, so that they may enjoy the interpretation. However, how often is this the case nowadays?... I agree that, if that is not the case, struggling with reading during the recital itself can ruin the pleasure. I really don't know if it's better to just listen to the music and rely on your own imagination as far as the subject is concerned (perhaps that is better, if I think of it). Adding surtitles takes an educative stance, which was perhaps justified 30 years ago (and flipping through printed notes during the recital is not a better option). Today, those who want to be educated can do it a lot easier today and come prepared, or study after a concert if they feel the urge to understand more.
Enjoy this one without surtitles, on the wings of imagination
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-gDkVE9 ... re=related
Of course, it's something else in a concert hall...The beauty of the lied genre is that the perfect marriage between poetry and music starts from the word. "Lyrics" are not squeezed into ready-made musical phrases (often in pop), neither are they dissociated as it sometimes happens in other genres. Haendel (among others) was a master at "recycling" his own music: "Lascia la spina" in "Trionfo" or "Lascia ch'io pianga" in "Rinaldo" - it's almost the same identical music, but the lyrics tell very different stories.
In lied, however, poetry and music have a "bespoke" affaire: the music is made for a poem and only makes sense with it. It is this harmony that is to be enjoyed. This is also why it takes a special kind of sensibility (beyond vocal qualities) to be a good lied singer: you have to understand not just the words, but the nuances, the state of mind and soul behind them, and put those emotions into music.
Of course, ideally the audience should not only be able to understand the words, but possibly also know the poems beforehand, so that they may enjoy the interpretation. However, how often is this the case nowadays?... I agree that, if that is not the case, struggling with reading during the recital itself can ruin the pleasure. I really don't know if it's better to just listen to the music and rely on your own imagination as far as the subject is concerned (perhaps that is better, if I think of it). Adding surtitles takes an educative stance, which was perhaps justified 30 years ago (and flipping through printed notes during the recital is not a better option). Today, those who want to be educated can do it a lot easier today and come prepared, or study after a concert if they feel the urge to understand more.
Enjoy this one without surtitles, on the wings of imagination
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-gDkVE9 ... re=related
davidhuh wrote:Winterreise is beautiful of course. I need some distraction afterwards, Tita Merello is perfect:
http://youtu.be/-sEUiCMLc0o
cheers, David
love it!Wow, I see there are fans of Tita Merello still and, of all places, in Switzerland. I did not expect that.davidhuh wrote: I need some distraction afterwards, Tita Merello is perfect:
I loved the post.
(Sandro Botticelli, "Spring")
...and the musical quality of this painting as rendered through Ottorino Respighi's inspiration:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjWFPOdH ... re=related
Just heard An die ferne Geliebte sung by Goerne - Hectorm would love it, but there is no youtube version 
However, Fritz Wunderlich is at least as beautiful: http://youtu.be/mmpv-9d8oMw
cheers, David
However, Fritz Wunderlich is at least as beautiful: http://youtu.be/mmpv-9d8oMw
cheers, David
Contemplating about the upcoming LL flannel book, this Rameau cantata crossed my mind http://youtu.be/uOgIlquJXb4
http://youtu.be/uOgIlquJXb4
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