Skrowaczewski Conducts Bruckner

Stanislaw Skrowaczewski has long been one of the world's great conductors, but he plying his trade or practicing his art just slightly out of the mainstream. In a word, he is under-appreciated. He spent some years with the Minnesota Orchestra but for the most part has worked in Europe or Japan. He has recorded all the Bruckner symphonies to great acclaim with the Saarbrucken Radio Symphony Orchestra in Germany. 

This video was made last year in Japan and shows Skrowaczewski in top form, at the age of 87, conducting the last movement from Bruckner's Eighth Symphony. Note that the Japanese trumpeters are using rotary valve instruments. We also get a good look at the Wagner tubas.

- Paul E. Robinson

Isaac Stern in the Library of Congress

Again this week I want to share with you a video featuring the late Isaac Stern. This video is part of a series celebrating the Library of Congress and its vast holdings. Stern examines manuscripts of concertos by Mozart and Brahms. I heard Stern in his prime give two of the finest performances of the Brahms Violin Concerto I ever expect to hear. The tone, the passion the phrasing were all unforgettable. Anything Stern has to say about the Brahms Concerto is worth hearing, and not once but several times. 

Paul E. Robinson

Csardas from Johann Strauss's Die Fledermaus

Today is the birthday of the great Viennese "Waltz King" Johann Strauss (October 25 1825 - June 3 1899).  He composed some 500 waltzes and polkas in his lifetime. He also composed  arguably the most popular of all operettas, Die Fledermaus.  Here is the aria, "Klange der Heimat" or more popularly known as the "Csardas", sung by Rosalinda in disguise as a Hungarian countess in the Act 2 Party Scene. There are many video clips of this great aria on Youtube. I've chosen Pamela Coburn in the 1987 Bavarian State Opera performance conducted by Carlos Kleiber. Interestingly it's a completely "authentic" cast of German/Austrian singers - except for the two women, Americans Pamela Coburn and Janet Perry as Rosalinda and Adele. But both ladies were totally idiomatic in their respective roles, and the conducting of Kleiber was sublime. 

- Joseph K. So

Isaac Stern Coaches the Miro Quartet

For many years Isaac Stern was one of the world's great violinists. He was also a great teacher and mentor for young artists. Here he is in 1998 at the Jerusalem Music Centre coaching the Miro Quartet. You will also see and hear Leon Fleisher and Pinchas Zukerman in this video. The Miro Quartet is currently in residence at the University of Texas in Austin and a well-established ensemble—and one of my favourites! 

- Paul E. Robinson

Eschenbach and SHMF Support Dutch Orchestras

The Dutch government has been threatening to make massive cutbacks in its supports of the arts, especially orchestras. Many orchestras and conductors around the world have expressed solidarity with their Dutch colleagues and made videos to spread the word. Among such orchestras and conductors are the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra in Germany and its conductor Christoph Eschenbach.

By the way, Eschenbach is currently on a long tour with the Vienna Philharmonic. It began in Perth, Australia and continued to Sydney and Brisbane. Then it moved to Hong Kong and Japan. Two of the Australian concerts were recorded live and are available in excellent sound on Eschenbach's website. The performances featuring music of Schubert, Mahler, Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart and Bruckner are wonderful. You can access them at www.christoph-eschenbach.com.  

Paul E. Robinson

Valery Gergiev Conducts the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra in Tchaikovsky Symphony no. 3

One of the joys of living in a big city like Toronto is that we are blessed with the occasional - too infrequent, alas - visits by great orchestras around the world. In the recent past, we've heard the Vienna Philharmonic, the La Scala Opera Orchestra, and the Rotterdam Philharmonic, if memory serves. Now we have the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra with none other than Valery Gergiev on the podium. Yes, the Russians will be in town this Friday October 21 at 8 p.m.  The program includes Shostakovich Symphony No. 1, Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 played by Alexander Toradze, and Stravinsky's Firebird Suite.  Watching Gergiev conduct is quite a unique experience - he's one of those who sometimes don't bother with a baton, or a score!  Just watching his fluttery fingers is a treat. The current print issue of La Scena Musicale has a very interesting cover story on Gergiev by Crystal Chan. Gergiev is a controversial figure - he has his champions and his detractors. The Roy Thomson Hall show is his only appearance in TO this season and not to be missed. Here is a video clip of Gergiev conducting the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra in Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 3, from Salle Pleyel in Paris in January 2010.

- Joseph K. So

Andras Schiff Master Class

Andras Schiff gives a Master Class on Bach's Partita No. 2. The best Master Classes assume a high level of artistry on the part of the students and this one is no exception. Schiff is not teaching youngsters how to play the piano. He is helping young artists understand the heart and soul of the music they are playing; they already know how to play the notes. But in helping the young performers Schiff is also giving us some of his own insights into the way his musical mind works. Schiff is a wonderful Bach player and this short video gives us at least a glimpse of what makes his Bach so special. 

Paul E. Robinson

Solti, Barenboim and Schiff Play Mozart

Not one conductor this week but two - and perhaps a third if you count Schiff - and three first-rate pianists all in the same performance. Mozart's Concerto for Three Pianos. As the senior artist involved Sir Georg Solti does the conducting but Daniel and Barenboim or Andras Schiff probably could have done it just as well. Solti was the distinguished music director of the Chicago Symphony and Daniel Barenboim was his successor in that post. Andras Schiff is seen in public and on recordings mostly as a pianist but he does conduct now and again.

This is an historic video; a rare occasion for such great artists to appear together. And, of course, Solti is no longer with us. The English Chamber Orchestra is the ensemble here and they recorded all the Mozart Piano Concertos with Barenboim as soloist and conductor for EMI.

Paul E. Robinson

Soprano Aprile Millo - A Life for Art

One of the few authentic Verdi sopranos of our generation, Aprile Millo is noted for her large, warm spinto sound and dramatic commitment.  After winning several European vocal competitions including ones in Bussetto and Barcelona, Millo was propelled to fame in 1982 as a replacement for an ailing Mirella Freni as Elvira in Ernani at La Scala. She was all of 24 at the time. Millo made her Met debut as Amelia in Simone Boccanegra in 1984, and in her many years of tenure there, sang over 160 performances. The Millo timbre bears a strong resemblance to the great Renata Tebaldi, who was one of her mentors.  Her repertoire of Verdi and verismo composers is also similar to Tebaldi's.  By mid 2000's, Millo cut back on her performances and has recently focused on teaching. Her appearances in Toronto has been very infrequent, limited to Maddalena in Andrea Chenier with the COC in 1989, and a recital in the Roy Thomson Hall.  So it is good to have Millo back in town on Tuesday, Oct. 11 when she gives a masterclass at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. There are plenty of video clips of Millo on Youtube, particularly interesting is this half hour compilation of her live performances, here called Millo: A Life for Art. The dates of the various performances are uncertain but my guess is 1985-95. Lots of wonderful singing, and always exciting, sincere and heart-felt.

- Joseph K. So

The Steve Jobs Legacy

Steve Jobs passed away this week at the age of only 56. But in his relatively short life he came up with more innovations than almost any other individual of his generation. He created Apple and all that that means to us today from remarkable personal computers to iPhones, iPods, iTunes and a whole lot more. And let's not forget his contribution to full-length animated films at Pixar. The man was a genius who practically recreated the world we all live in. If you want to learn more about Steve Jobs life and how he became the man he was, look up the offbeat and inspiring commencement address he gave at Stanford in 2005.

But as with any great innovator there is a downside. As a giant corporation Apple could be controlling and uncooperative. And in the field of music while Steve Jobs made all kinds of music more widely available than it had ever been before, performers and composers sometimes felt that they had been steamrolled and lost control of their own creations.

This video deals exclusively with pop music but it is illuminating to anyone interested in any kind of music. Classical music is almost inconsequential as far as iTunes is concerned but can't help but be affected by any major technological changes in the way music is disseminated. For most people music is entertainment and for most people who control the industry music is a business. Those of us involved in classical music live on the fringes of this world. But there is no doubt that the movers and shakers like Steve Jobs are changing our world too. Ever wonder what happened to the big record companies? CDs? Classical music radio?

Paul E. Robinson

Michel Plasson Conducts Berlioz

French conductor Michel Plasson visited Montreal last week and gave some fine performances with the OSM. There was nothing new in his programming but lots of individuality nonetheless. Who else programmes the Gounod symphonies these days? And how many conductors give encores? Plasson did both and delighted his audiences.

In our video Plasson leads the Orchestre de Paris in the Hungarian March from Berlioz' Damnation of Faust. The performance was given in Versailles in 2009.

Paul E. Robinson

Tenor Ben Heppner Sings Strauss

I attended a concert at Glenn Gould Studio last evening celebrating the 75th anniversary of CBC Radio.  Lovingly produced by Senior CBC Classical Music producer Neil Crory, it was a very memorable evening.  Besides the lovely voices of Isabel Bayrakdarian, Julie Boulianne, Marianne Fiset, and Aline Kutan, a special "mystery guest" was the great Canadian tenor Ben Heppner. It was his first appearance since the COC 60th anniversary concert at the Four Seasons Centre in September 2010.  Heppner sang the ever popular "Dein ist mein ganzes Herz" from Lehar's The Land of Smiles.  Heppner was in fabulous voice, filling the hall with torrents of sound, his high notes like trumpets. It was an amazing performance. It shows that Heppner still has plenty to give and Calgary opera lovers can look forward to his Captain Ahab in Moby Dick in January.  The Glenn Gould Studio concert last evening will be broadcast on CBC Radio 2 and Espace Musique on October 30, as part of a total of 8 hours of programming celebrating 75 years of CBC Radio.  This is a one-day event NOT to be missed!  Here is Ben singing Strauss's "Cacilie" with James Levine conducting.

- Joseph K. So

Norrington Conducts Handel

Watch Video Here

Roger Norrington and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment performing excerpts from Handel's Water Music. I must confess that I am still skeptical about the use of the period instruments and so-called authentic performance practice. Fortunately, we have got past the time when period instrument ensembles could get away with poor intonation and generally inferior playing. The excuse was always made that these instruments are "really hard to play" and "to do it properly we need time to get the hang of it." Fair enough, and for concertgoers the novelty of the sound was usually enough.

But a lot of time has past since Harnoncourt, Hogwood, Pinnock, Norrington, Gardiner and our own Tafelmusik began their search for authenticity. And there is no question that the playing has improved. There also seems to be more room for "interpretation" and "expression" than there was in the early days.

In the end it does matter what the composer intended and how the music actually sounded at its first performance, and performing musicians need to deal with these issues. However, one of the lessons of the authenticity movement is what many musicians and thoughtful listeners knew already. Determining the intentions of a composer who lived more than 250 years ago, and knowing how the music sounded are problems with no definitive answers. The quest must go on but the search is neverending.

This video is a good example of how far we have come in understanding and mastering old instruments. The playing here is wonderful. Norrington is wonderful too in his seemingly casual style of conducting. Of course, most of his work has been done in rehearsal. But Norrington is also remarkable as being a pioneer in the authentic performance movement, as well as a first-rate conductor of all kinds of music with all kinds of ensembles. He recently stepped down from a long stint as conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony. With this orchestra he has recorded a great deal of standard repertoire - Tchaikovsky, Berlioz, Mahler, Beethoven, Elgar - but he has also taught the orchestra something of what he has learned about music from the Baroque and Classical periods.

Paul E. Robinson