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Posts Tagged ‘Stravinsky’

Day 107. Stravinsky, Ravel and Josquin.

Friday, June 11th, 2010

Some Ravel, some Stravinsky, some Josquin. The Josquin is a disc of motets, another with some of his music played on viols. The Stravinsky discs are a Philips ‘Two-fer’, CD re-issues of usually pretty good older recordings that were priced two-for-one. The two discs cover his ‘Symphonies and Concertos’, the stand out being Igor Markevitch’s recording of the ‘Symphony of Psalms’. Great performance and recording. I first got to know this piece by playing it at UC Berkeley (as part of an all Stravinsky program) and, compositionally, it comes to mind quite often. In some ways the work is quite classical (as Stravinsky would do at times). The opening chord and the melodic material between them has a bit of an echo of Beethoven, if not in content and color, but in how repetition and time are used. The violin concerto recording is also very well done, with Arthur Grumiaux on violin. Grumiaux is one of my favorite violinists in general. His Bach recordings are phenomenal, and his Stravinsky is right up there as well.

The Ravel disc is also a two-fer, but in the Decca / London version (the Double-Decker). Funny how classical music used some of these marketing schemes. Again, the performances are amazing… in this case, it is Pascal Rogé’s complete Ravel piano pieces. This is, and has been, one of my favorite discs for some time. Ravel is one of my favorite composers, and these discs are a big part of what got me into him. So much shimmer in his music… wonderful use of register and texture. These discs offer great performances of these works as well. They are older recordings though, a bit quiet, and could probably do with some clean-up. But one thing the background hiss caused me to do with these discs is not play them too loudly. And the funny thing is, it is because of this technical flaw that I actually started to listen to most of my classical music at proper volumes. There should be dynamics that allow the performance to go from a whisper to a roar. And while there is tape hiss in these recordings, it is better then having to deal with the compressed dynamics that so many digital recordings offer now. The piano is quiet on the Rogé discs when it is supposed to be quiet, and it is quite loud at other times. The recordings benefit as a result, and if you grab these yourself and find that the sound is sometimes very soft, that is probably because it should be. My suggestion would be to start the third movement of ‘Gaspard’, and find a comfortable (but loud volume), then don’t touch the knob on your stereo. Just enjoy the full range of sound and color on these discs.

More on Rogé and Ravel later – possibly tomorrow. Now I want to dig up his recordings of the trio and violin sonata… both are LOTS of fun as well.

Day 99. Mahler, Mozart, Berlioz and Stravinsky.

Saturday, May 29th, 2010

I’ve been a little slow to get to CDs this past couple of days, so I took the chance to throw some recent purchases from eMusic onto the computer. After a couple of playlists of orchestral music, I realized that I had so far been pulling off music that I had played while in the orchestra at UC Berkeley under Prof. David Milnes. I got to play in the orchestra for three years. Unfortunately, this was the bulk of my orchestral playing experience. I have subbed a couple of times for orchestras here in Seattle, but these are VERY few and VERY far between. And I think it was playing orchestral repertoire that did more for my playing then just about anything else I ever did. My first concert had Berlioz’s ‘Symphonie Fantastique’ on it, and there are some seriously difficult bass parts in that piece. Or – at least they were for someone who wasn’t really that experience playing double bass. That first concert was one of the best studies in rhythm and intonation that I ever had.

So – the pieces I went ahead and transferred over tonight were the Berlioz, the SF Symphony recording of Mahler 1, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra recordings of the last four Mozart symphonies and Bernstein’s recording of ‘The Rite of Spring’. I played quite a bit more in orchestra, but these pieces were a few turning points for me. Obviously, the Berlioz being my first orchestral piece is pretty significant, but even then, while it was amazing to be part of a group so big, I still saw the orchestra as a requirement. Later that year though, we did an all Stravinsky concert that included the ‘Rite of Spring’ and the ‘Symphony of Psalms’. This was the concert that got me hooked. First – it was amazing music to play, and difficult. I hadn’t practiced so hard on a piece before ‘Rite of Spring’, and felt like I got back WAY more then I put into it. It was an amazing experience. The best part though was on the second night. The performance was as tight as I could imagine any performance could be. And with the last chord, the most beautiful sound happened. There was nothing, absolutely nothing for about 3 seconds. Then the sold-out crowd went crazy. It was the best feeling in a performance I’ve ever had, and I have wanted to create a piece of my own that could create that kind of silence after the piece was over. I’ve cheated… but I haven’t done it yet.

My second year of orchestra, I felt like I knew what I was doing and had more confidence in general. We read through Mozart #41 for an upcoming concert, and it was a blast. VERY hard, but very fun to play. i felt like it was going pretty well when one of my biggest lessons was taught to me. Two weeks before the concert, we learned that a reduced orchestra was going to be playing the Mozart, and I didn’t make the cut. I was crushed. I really wanted to play this piece, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I was playing pretty sloppy. It was a good lesson (and one I got many times at Berkeley). Mostly – it didn’t matter in music how hard you tried. If someone was doing it better then you were, they were going to get the gig. There were no A’s for effort. You had to perform to perform.

So – by the time we got around to Mahler’s 1st, I was taking my chair (near the end of the row) in the double bass section very seriously. I rehearsed and practiced when I could, and was much more disciplined about it. By the time I left Berkeley, I was still no where near where I needed to be to focus on performance on the bass. But, I was much more serious about how to prepare for pieces then I ever would have been without that education. Thanks Prof. Milnes – I learned a lot.

Day 55. Stravinsky (happy Spring everyone).

Saturday, March 20th, 2010

In honor of the first day of spring, I usually listen to Stravinsky’s ‘Rite of Spring’. A little cliche, but it also makes sure I get some Stravinsky in on a yearly basis. Well this year was a little different since I decided I would copy the 22 CD Stravinsky performs Stravinsky box set that Tamiko got me a couple years ago for Christmas. I remember my conductor at UC Berkeley (David Milnes) saying that Stravinsky conducting didn’t provide the best performances of his works. And I pretty much agree, but they aren’t bad either. Some are quite fun (Petrushka especially!). There is often this misconception that simply because a composer is performing one of their works, that it must be somehow definitive. The thing is, just because someone composes doesn’t mean they should be conducting theirs, or anyone else’s works. Conductors spend their lives shaping / creating other people’s music, and just like any creative pursuit, the creator doesn’t always see the big picture. And – like any other skill conducting is one that takes years / decades to learn. So – why would we expect a composer who may not have much conducting experience to be able to conduct there work? Much less something as a difficult as ‘Rite of Spring’?

So – couple quick Stravinsky stories. First – I had Music History with one of THE Stravinsky scholars, Richard Taruskin. He just finished his HUGE two volume book on Stravinsky’s works through the opera Mavra. He told the class that he had sent it off… and that it had been the focus of his work for 12 years. ‘I guess I just go and die now’, he says. Then after a beat: “Beethoven!”. The second actually took place around a performance of ‘Rite of Spring’. We played that, the Mass and ‘Symphony of Psalms’ for a concert program one semester (amazing concert). The first night was ok – but the second night hit and hit hard. It was amazing. We finished the ‘Rite of Spring’ to a full house, and for about 5 seconds, there wasn’t any applause. It was the most amazing sound I have ever heard. A hall full of people after one of the most intense performances I had ever heard – then silence. When the applause started, it was thunderous. What a moment.

I am 16 CDs through the 22 CD set right now, but I have also been trying out a new streaming app (and thanks to Eric Flesher for testing it with me). Looks like ‘SimplifyMedia’ is selling out. They pulled the app and sharing for the most part. Quite disappointing. So I began the search again tonight and found DOT.TUNES. So far, it seems OK. Eric got connected, and I seem to be able to connect as well. A little buggy though. Crashed once for me and once for Eric. And – it is Mac only (which won’t do for my PC friends). And when the host computer is streaming, the CPU jumps to 100%. I imagine it will get a bit warm as a result. So – this may not be the solution, but for now it will work.