Auteur : Guilhem Chameyrat
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The art of Clara Haskil
Clara Haskil is an artist who is not to be missed. She is one of those personalities who have left their mark on the history of performance and who have had a considerable impact on the pianists who have followed them. Haskil was a highly inspired pianist from an early age: as a child prodigy…
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Interpretations of Mozart’s symphonies, from the Golden Age to period instruments
Mozart’s symphonies seem to be imbued with a certain idea of perfection, a quest for intelligibility. There’s no denying that these are works with a certain physical impact – and it’s no coincidence that Mozart’s harmonies even have beneficial effects on plants, and are even used in New Zealand to cradle the vines. So how…
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Herbert von Karajan, the live recordings
Herbert von Karajan is, along with Leonard Bernstein, perhaps the most significant figure in conducting in the second half of the 20th century. With over two hundred million albums sold, Karajan was what you might call a real star, and yet I never really got into most of his commercial recordings. Of course there are…
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Arrau speaks
Claudio Arrau, photography by Allan Warren Between May 1980 and July 1981, Arrau gave a series of interviews to Joseph Horowitz, who published the collection in 1982. In them, Claudio Arrau talks about his practice of the instrument, his ideas about music and interpretation, and his own experience of the great historical movements of the…
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A legendary recording: Mitropoulos conducts Mahler’s Tragic Symphony
The career of Mitropoulos, the great conductor of the prestigious New York Philharmonic, took a tragic turn when, in 1957, he was attacked by the press for his private life – he was homosexual. He was forced to resign and was replaced by his protégé Leonard Bernstein, and his recordings gradually fell into oblivion. Yet…
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The art of Samuil Feinberg
Samuil Feinberg was an embodiment of the accuracy and intelligibility of the text. But even beyond the formal perfection, admittedly quite absolute, of his interpretations, the spirituality that emanated from them gave his readings of the great works of the repertoire an unheard-of depth. Feinberg was, like Artur Schnabel, both an important, if long forgotten,…
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Alfred Cortot commenting Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata
On 13th January 1958 and 4th June 1959, Alfred Cortot recorded this commentary on Beethoven’s Moonlight sonata, Op.27 No.2. In the order of the article, the French transcription is presented, followed by the English translation. The Masterclass with the commentary in French Original version / Transcription originale en français Sonate Quasia una fantasia, Opus 27…
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Deutsche Grammophon releases two « lost tapes » of Rudolf Serkin playing Beethoven’s « Waldstein » and « Appassionata » Sonatas
On this Friday 17th November, Deutsche Grammophon released two « lost tapes » by Rudolf Serkin, dated 1986 and 1989. The album contains two previously unreleased versions of the ‘Waldstein’ and ‘Appassionata’ sonatas, which the pianist was unable to validate. His daughter, Judith Serkin, agreed to publish these recordings, and also wrote the introductory text that appears…
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A legendary recording: Bruggen conducts Mozart
Frans Bruggen is one of the most singular exponents of historically informed conducting – in other words, conducting with period instruments. The conductor has shown that it is not an oxymoron to be a ‘barroqueux’ while claiming Furtwangler as his main inspiration. There is an organic vision of music in Bruggen’s art, and under his…
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The art of Dinu Lipatti
Liveliness is an essential characteristic of Lipatti’s playing. With the Romanian pianist, time never seems to stand still. At first, there is something calmer, without being frozen – which would be in contradiction with the moving and temporal character of the music. Some performers place their interpretations in a moment as if out of time…
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