Catégorie : Orchestra
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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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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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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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A legendary recording: Rudolf Kempe conducts the ideal Brahms Third in 1960
Rudolf Kempe is not the most talked-about conductor, and yet! Of course, Kempe’s name is still associated with Richard Strauss, and he was one of the greatest interpreters of his orchestral works, alongside conducting giants such as Herbert von Karajan and Fritz Reiner. The symphonic poems and symphonies were perhaps never as lively, natural, spontaneous…
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Brahms’ fourth, a discography
Table of content THE HISTORICAL VERSIONS: Fiedler, Weingartner, Mengelberg, De Sabata, Toscanini, Furtwangler, Kletzki, Abendroth, Busch THE GOLDEN AGE: Karajan, Walter, Beinum, Jochum, Stokowski, Klemperer, Reiner, Knappertsbusch, Schuricht, Bohm, Mravinsky, Schmidt-Isserstedt, Kempe, Szell, Kubelik, Gielen, Rosbaud, Bernstein, Sanderling, Celibidache, Giulini THE MODERNS: Kleiber, Haitink, Muti, Wand, Abbado, Mackerras, Chailly, Rattle, Ticciati, Blomstedt THE HISTORICAL VERSIONS…
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Beethoven’s Seventh : a discography
The historical versions Felix Weingartner delivers a sharp, and in a sense rather acidic, vision of the Seventh in a complete work that was a landmark because it was the first. The chords are marked, there is a remarkable clarity of line and the ensemble sings rather well. For all that, and perhaps this is…
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Comparison : Schubert’s « Great » Symphony
This is a symphony that has unleashed passions. Although it was Mendelssohn, to whom Schumann entrusted the score he had come across on a trip to Vienna, who premiered the work in Leipzig, the symphony, which lasts almost an hour, was no less revolutionary. The Austrian composer’s masterpiece marks a boundary between two worlds in…
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