Mitsuko Uchida Talks About the Schumann Piano Concerto

This week I have chosen two videos featuring pianist Mitsuko Uchida. In this video Uchida is featured in conversation with Sarah Willis, a member of the horn section of the BPO. The subject of their conversation is the Schumann Piano Concerto. In the other video we see an excerpt from this concerto with Uchida joined by Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic.

Uchida is a celebrated interpreter of the music of Mozart. She has recorded all the piano concertos with Jeffrey Tate and is now in the middle of a second recorded cycle directing from the keyboard. She is highly respected for her Beethoven too. She has recorded all the concertos with Kurt Sanderling conducting and is working on a second cycle with Colin Davis and the London Symphony. And let's not forget her fine performances of the piano music of Schubert and Schumann. This same artist, so much admired for her performances of the Viennese classics is also one of the great interpreters of the Schoenberg Piano Concerto which she has recorded with Pierre Boulez.

Paul E. Robinson

Encore: Another Movement From the Schubert Octet

I hope you enjoyed last week's performance of a movement from the Schubert Octet played by a fine ensemble led by Dutch violinist Janine Jansen. As an encore here is the last movement. This is a time of the year to be with family and friends and to be reminded about the meaning of life in terms of one's own religion or tradition. The Schubert Octet is not religious music but it certainly expresses the joy of being alive. Janine Jansen and her colleagues get right to the heart of the matter in a performance that is full of heartfelt sharing between musicians. This performance had me smiling as I watched and listened and long after the last note had sounded. I hope it does the same for you.

Paul E. Robinson

The King's Singers Version of Jingle Bells

It's that time of the year again and all the old familiar music is with us again. But here is a fresh version of Jingle Bells from the always inventive King's Singers.

Merry Christmas!

Paul E. Robinson

Jessye Norman Sings Die Nachtigall from Alban Berg's Sieben fruehe Lieder

This Saturday (Christmas Eve) marks the passing of Austrian composer Alban Berg (Feb. 9 1885 - Dec. 24 1935) 76 years ago. Berg, like Schoenberg and Webern, was an important exponent of the Second Viennese School and a master of serialism. But early in his career, he composed pieces in a highly tonal, Late Romantic style, such as his Sieben fruehe Lieder, a cycle often heard in recitals and is well represented on recordings. Of the seven songs, I am particularly fond of Die Nachtigall with its soaring melodic line and ingratiating harmonies. This song never fails to move me, especially when sung by a singer with as opulent a voice as Jessye Norman here. Her tone is so smooth, like dark mahogany, seemingly without edge - it really takes one's breath away, even if her mannerism is not to everyone's taste. The London Symphony Orchestra under Pierre Boulez is equally exquisite.  This is a desert island performance for me.

Joseph K. So

Jorge Bolet Master Class

Many years ago I had the pleasure of working with the late Jorge Bolet (1914-1990) for a performance of Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1. He was a great pianist and especially good in the music of Liszt and Rachmaninov. But he could be intimidating. He was a tall man with a thick black mustache and his normal facial expression suggested that he was upset about something. It always seemed to me that he was on the verge of exploding. Pity the poor student or conductor who had arrived unprepared. In this Master Class from 1983 Bolet is trying very hard to get the young pianist to give some shape to the music - Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3. The young man plays the notes very well but Bolet is clearly interested in something else.

Bolet was born in Cuba but lived most of his life in the United States. He studied at the Curtis Institute and later returned to succeed Rudolf Serkin as the Head of the Piano Department. The year before he died Bolet recorded both Chopin Piano Concertos with Dutoit and the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal.

Paul E. Robinson

Janine Jansen Leads the Schubert Octet

In the last few years Dutch violinist Janine Jansen has emerged as as one of the most exciting soloists of the younger generation. But she loves chamber music too and has started her own festival to spend more time doing it. She is artistic director of the International Chamber Music Festival Utrecht and has attracted some wonderful musicians to make music with her. This year's festival takes place between Dec. 26-30.

Our video this week is a fine example of Jansen's involvement in chamber music: a movement from Schubert's Octet. Jansen leads the ensemble with Julia-Maria Kretz, violin, Maxim Rysanov, viola, Jens Peter Maintz, cello, Stacey Watton, double bass, Chen Halevi, clarinet, Sergio Azzolini, bassoon, and Radovan Vlatkovic, horn. Each of the players has a distinguished career as a soloist and chamber music musician and it shows in this wonderful performance. Every detail has been carefully considered and the phrasing and rhythms perfectly realized. The tempo for the Trio section is just ideal: it makes you want to get up and dance! Also in the Trio the bassoonist's phrasing is a joy to hear.

Paul E. Robinson

Renata Tebaldi and Jussi Bjoerling in O soave fanciulla La boheme Act 1

Video Link

Next Monday (Dec. 19) marks the passing of the great Renata Tebaldi (Feb. 1 1922 - Dec. 19 2004), arguably the most beautiful soprano voice to have come out of Italy in the second half of the 20th Century. She made her debut as Elena in Boito's Mefistofele in 1944, and bid farewell to the stage in 1976. The Tebaldi voice in its prime was noted for its opulence and velvety timbre. Never a great actress, Tebaldi did all her emoting through her voice. It is often said that she and Maria Callas were polar opposites when it comes voice and theatricality - Callas was fiery and dramatic but her instrument was imperfect, while Tebaldi possessed a gorgeous instrument but she was not an inspired actress. To remember her passing, here is the duet that ends Act 1 of La boheme, with Tebaldi and the great Swedish tenor Jussi Bjoerling. It was filmed by NBC in 1955 - poor picture quality but what star power!

Joseph K. So

Jansen and Rachlin Play Mozart

Dutch violinist Janine Jansen is among the most dynamic performers before classical music audiences today. But in addition, she is a fine artist. She frequently collaborates with Julian Rachlin, another great solo violinist. In this video Jansen and Rachlin appear together in Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante in E flat major K. 364 for violin, viola and orchestra. Rachlin shows that he is also a master of the viola. The interplay between the soloists is remarkable. They toss musical ideas back and forth almost as if they were improvising. This is great music-making. The excellent orchestra is the Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia - located in the Spanish city of Coruna - conducted by Victor Pablo Perez.

Next week another video featuring Janine Jansen leading an extraordinary performance of the Schubert Octet.

Paul E. Robinson

Kremer and Argerich Play Fritz Kreisler

Some joyous and charming music-making from an unlikely source! Violinist Gidon Kremer and pianist Martha Argerich are universally recognized as two of the most gifted and unique artists of their generation. They established themselves early in their careers on the concerto and recital circuits then decided to go their own ways. They still play concertos and recitals on occasion but much prefer to play chamber music - in Argerich's case - or explore new repertoire in Kremer's case. Both artists continue to surprise us.

But here they are together playing one of those delightful miniatures that Kreisler wrote for his own use as a violin soloist: Schon Rosmarin. Argerich gets no chance to display her legendary virtuosity but I am sure she didn't care one bit. This piece is one of those gems that violinists love to play and that audiences love to hear. And to make music with an old friend and colleague would have been satisfaction enough for Argerich.

Paul E. Robinson

Jose Carreras Sings "Nessun dorma" from Turandot

Yesterday (Dec. 5) Spanish tenor Jose Carreras turned 65.  A native of Barcelona, Carreras is of course one of The Three Tenors, the others being Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo.  They achieved tremendous popular fame with their first concert in Rome in 1990 at the time of the World Cup. CDs and DVDs of that concert sold in the millions. The Three Tenors continued until 2003 and spawned many imitators. Carreras first sang in public as a young boy of 8, and made his opera debut as Flavio in Norma in Barcelona in 1970. The Carreras tenor in its youthful prime - throughout the 1970s - was a glorious instrument. At the urging of Herbert von Karajan, Carreras took on roles that were too heavy for his lyric instrument, and by the mid 80's, his sound has lost its youthful sheen. In 1987, Carreras was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia, with a 10% chance of survival.  He underwent a grueling series of treatment in Seattle and eventually recovered and returned to singing, though his post-recovery repertoire was severely limited.  His work as one of the Three Tenors, while an enormous commercial success, does not show Carreras at his best. Here is a video clip of his "Nessun dorma" (Turandot) from Vienna in 1983, when the voice was still in relatively good shape. Today Carreras has retired from the operatic stage but continues to appear in concerts.

Joseph K. So

Szell Conducts Mussorgsky

Watch video here

George Szell died in 1970 but the first biography has just appeared under the title George Szell: A Life in Music. It was written by Michael Charry who was an assistant to Szell with the Cleveland Orchestra. Within a week or so I will post a lengthy review of the book on the LSM website. But let me just mention here that the book is well-researched and gives us a very comprehensive view of this great conductor. 

Szell was a child prodigy pianist and composer  who grew up in Vienna, became a protegee of composer-conductor Richard Strauss and worked for many years at leading opera houses included the Met. He was chosen to head the Cleveland Orchestra in 1946 and remained its musical director until his death. Under his direction the Cleveland Orchestra became one of the great orchestras of the world.

While Cleveland was the place he chose to use as home base, Szell had numerous offers to head other orchestras. He was asked twice to take over the Chicago Symphony but declined both times. In this 1961 video he is seen guest conducting the Chicago Symphony in the Prelude to the opera Khovantchina by Mussorgsky.

Paul E. Robinson

Helmut Rilling Conducts Bach's B Minor Mass

For more than forty years Helmut Rilling has been one of the leading interpreters of the choral works of J.S. Bach. He founded the Gachinger Kantorei in 1954, the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart in 1965 and the Oregon Bach Festival in 1970. 

Among his many distinctions he has made two recordings of the complete choral works of Bach as well as the major choral works of many other composers.

Although Rilling is widely respected for his Bach performances he is very much "old school" in the sense that he doesn't use period instruments in his performances and doesn't pay much attention to the work of conductor-scholars such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt or John Eliot Gardiner.

At the age of 78 Rilling is still very active but he will step down from the Oregon Bach Festival in 2013.

In this video Rilling gives a lecture on Bach's B Minor Mass and uses the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra and Chorus and soloists to illustrate his talk.

Paul E. Robinson