Auteur : Guilhem Chameyrat
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Furtwangler conducts Brahms
The original podcast (narration in French, English and German subtitles) A little over a year ago, in June 2023, I took part in a series of short programmes on the Wilhelm Furtwangler Society’s YouTube channel called ‘The recording that made an impression on me’. I chose to present the legendary recording of Brahms’s 3rd Symphony,…
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Blind listening to Brahms’ first Piano Concerto
When preparing a blind listening session, there is always the question of which versions to choose. In the case of Brahms’s First Piano Concerto, there is no shortage of versions. I have chosen not to select the really old versions, recorded on 78 rpm. It’s not that they don’t have a place in the selection…
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Chopin by Guiomar Novaes
Guiomar Novaes (1895-1972) was an incarnation of the most absolute Romantic pianism, between possession and tenderness, caught up in emotional tensions that were at once incandescent and uncertain, at once fragile and determined. While Novaes’ discographic legacy is – unfairly and far too meagre – it remains an important sum devoted to the music of…
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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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