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Showing posts from January, 2009

Indivisible art

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If a thing is worth doing once, it is worth doing over and over again - exploring it, probing it, demanding by its repetition that the public look at it ~ Mark Rothko Triumph is the only word I can use to describe Tate Modern's Mark Rothko exhibition , which closes tomorrow (Feb 1) after a four month run. The centrepiece is the huge space in which hang for the first time in one room, eleven of the massive murals that Rothko created in 1958/9. These were commissioned for the Four Seasons restaurant in New York's Seagram's Building, but Rothko withdrew from the commission and they were never hung in the restaurant. Less well-known, but equally if not more impressive in the flesh, are the Black-Form paintings in Room 6 . Pre-booking has been the order of the day at this Tate Modern exhibition. We were there on a wet January weekday afternoon and it was packed and buzzing. Most of that is down to Mark Rothko's genius. But, as classical music agonises over how to reach new

Best and worse covers please

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John has left a new comment on " China gates ":- This is not - for once - one of my 'fantastically tenuous links' , and I must declare an interest as a director of The Sixteen Productions, which produces the CORO CDs. I am glad to see the debate about cover designs (I am, of course, very glad also to see the positive comments about the contents of our Acoustic World series!): it seems to me to be such a subjective issue (look at the changing trends in book covers). If one could identify the perfect cover to shift the maximum number of CDs, well, how cool would that be? It would be great to see people's suggestions of the best and worst covers in their collections, with an honest appraisal of whether they affected their purchasing decisions. Come on readers, the best and worst covers in your collections, and do they affect your purchasing decisions? Here's a starter for ten. Early last year regular reader David Cavlovic wrote that 'Some of the best cover

Berio - exactly what it says on the label

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Luciano Berio's Sinfonia blends Mahler. Pierre Boulez made a definitive recording of the Sinfonia . He also warned of the dangers of third-pressing Mahler . That was the meant to be the end of a brief Friday afternoon post. But the trouble with these pieces is that they take on a life of their own. My Google research not only uncovered the Berio olive oil TV commercial seen below. It also uncovered that Malcolm Bruce was the composer of the music used in the commercial. Malcolm Bruce's CV lists three composition teachers. A few minutes more research uncovered yet more Berio synchronicity. One of Malcolm Bruce's teachers was Francis Shaw , who was taught by Goffredo Petrassi , whose composing style showed similarities to Berio's. Another teacher was Simon Bainbridge , who has performed the music of Berio with the Manson Ensemble . And the third teacher was Robert Saxton, who studied with Berio . At least Malcolm Bruce didn't study with Oliver Knussen . Yet more Fri

Can you feel the draft?

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George Gershwin's World War 1 draft card. From the US National Archives, Atlanta . John Ogdon programmed Gershwin alongside Boulez and Szymanowski. Read more in The Real Piano Man . With thanks to Bernard Tuyttens in Brussels for the heads up. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

China gates

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Thomas Tallis' Spem in Alium to a contemporary Chinese composer's improvisation inspired by a leading English football player is a pretty brave leap to make. At a time when being sensible is the new fashion, independent record label Coro are venturing well off the beaten path . Coro was founded in 2001 by choral ensemble The Sixteen and their founder Harry Christophers to re-issue the ensemble's back-catalaogue and release their new recordings, including a new version of Tallis' celebrated 40-part motet in surround sound. But last year Coro demonstrated their independent way of thinking by also launching a new world music label . One of the first releases on the new label, Acoustic World China , combines top musicians, outstanding sound (all instruments are acoustic), and music ranging from traditional to contemporary. The programme is built around four exponents of different living Chinese music traditions. Lin Youren plays the contemplative qin zither in trad

High school of cello playing

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Pablo Casals championed David Popper's music. My recent post about Popper attracted a lot of readers. Naxos has just released this double CD of the forty Études that make up Popper's Hohe Schule des Violoncello-Spiels (High School of Cello Playing). High school cello -> old school cello -> new school cello . I have not bought, received or heard a copy of the David Popper CD. I saw it on display in the priceless Prelude Records , Norwich, but the Overgrown Path CD buying budget for January is overspent. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

No rediscovered Renaissance masterpieces here

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Chance, yes honestly, there was a John Cage connection , uncovered this long-forgotten 3 LP set in my collection. The recordings from the French Forlane label date from 1981. Three English composers from the early 20th century are featured, and the main works are John Foulds' Pasquinade Symphonique No 1 , Hubert Parry's Symphony No 3 (The English), and Havergal Brian's complete Symphonic Movements from The Tigers . The sound on my LPs from the Luxembourg Radio Symphony Orchestra under Leopold Hager is surprisingly good, and the recording survives in the catalogue as 2 CDs . I'm not going to start all that nonsense about rediscovered masterpieces . But if English music of this period floats your boat this is worth worth exploring. These works are on a par with much of the orchestral music in the Naxos American Classics series . But the premium price is hardly an incentive to explore. Sir Adrian Boult recorded Parry's much superior Fifth Symphony. What is it a

Duende - a journey in search of radio

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There have been some thoughtful comments on Old is New from Adam Solomon who is an undergraduate at Yale. I followed the links on his email and found that Adam presents a monthly programme called Flamenco + Arabic Pop on WYBC Yale Radio . I'm listening to the stream of the November 2nd 2008 programme as I write, and one of the family has just come in to ask what the good music is. Student radio has a fairly impressive pedigree in the States. I think I am right in saying that the presenters on WHRB Harvard have included Marion Lignana Rosenberg , Vanessa Lann , John Rockwell , and Alex Ross . Read more on the Harvard classical music orgies here . Duende: A journey in Search of Flamenco by Jason Webster is published in the UK by Black Swan. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors

Everything is in the music

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In a lecture given in Tokyo in 1984 Takemitsu pointed out that programme notes were unnecessary, since a listener should hear everything in the music. Naxos do quite wonderful things. But it is also fair to say that some of their recordings, particularly older ones, make understandable compromises in performance and technical quality . Not so this highly recommended 1997 disc . Conductor Okko Kamu , soloist Petri Alanko, orchestra Tapiola Sinfonietta , and recording venue Tapiola Concert Hall in Espoo (feel that bass!) are all out of the top drawer. Nice programme notes as well. But more words are unnecessary . Everything is in the music . Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

Old is new

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Why is the masterpiece phenomenon so specific to classical music? Could you imagine how foolish someone would sound if they said the following: " Angels in America has some topical interest, but it's no Hamlet " ... "Vladimir Nabokov's novels are somewhat interesting but a bit on the modern side--I much prefer the novels of Sir Walter Scott" ... "I don't know what all the fuss is about this Picasso. Why can't people enjoy proper artists like Rembrandt?" ... " Schindler's List has a message but it's much too revolutionary for me. Why don't they make films the way they used to, like Gone With The Wind ?" Comparing the new music directly to works written several hundred years ago is a fruitless proposition. Yet in the opera world, people diss perfectly good operas all the time in stating their preference for operas out of a completely different time, place, and tradition. Why can't the classical music world (most sp

In retrospect ...

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The sad case of the jailing of early music specialist Robert King for indecently assaulting young men featured here in 2007 several times . With King in prison the King's Consort has been directed by Matthew Halls . The trustees of the ensemble have now decided it is time to change its name, and have chosen Retrospect Ensemble . Hardly a title given by the gods . Header image is In Retrospect by Bojana Randall . Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

True simplicity

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When true simplicity is gained To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed Simple, unplugged and live (the last track anyway) here. Header image is of little-known Shaker graphic design. Follow this link for more . See the similarities ? Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

The day Martha Argerich was locked up

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The Rostropovich concert was of special interest to me, since it was very hard to get him to the Proms: as his fee had become so enormous, it was only within the planning of a very clever operation like the European Community Youth Orchestra tour that it could be made to work. But I was alarmed when Mrs Bryer suggested that Martha Argerich might be the soloist. I was assured that, given her close relationship with Rostropovich, she would certainly turn up. When the day came, I was telephoned to say she had at least played in Brussels the previous night, and had arrived in London. She did not, however, attend the rehearsal in the afternoon, deciding instead to go for a walk in the park. When I arrived at the hall as usual at about 6.30, I heard the piano in the Artist’s Room being put through its paces with unmistakable effect. I heaved a sigh of relief, and quietly let myself into the room. I had not seen Martha for several years, but she greeted me as an old friend and asked what tim

Music of the other Germany

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Paul Dessau and Hanns Eisler have appeared on the path several times, notably in my article about classical music as seen through the prism of East Germany . But you rarely find their names appearing on concert programmes. So a big heads-up for Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra who are presenting “ Music of the Other Germany ” on Sunday, Jan 25th at Lincoln Center, New York. A great example of adventurous programming and stylish promotional material. Here is the music: * Hanns Eisler (1898-1962): Auferstanden aus Ruinen, Hymne der DDR (1949) * Paul Dessau (1894-1979): In memoriam Bertolt Brecht (1957) – US premiere * Rudolf Wagner-Régeny (1903-69): Mythological Figures (1951) – US premiere * Udo Zimmermann (born 1943): Sinfonia come un grande lamento , in memory of F. García Lorca (1977) – US premiere * Hanns Eisler: Goethe Rhapsody (1949) – US premiere * Siegfried Matthus (b. 1934): Responso (1977) – NY premiere A sobering, and topical , linkage. It was Aaron C

No more masterpieces please

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The Royal Opera, Covent Garden is giving the UK premiere of Erich Korngold's Die tote Stadt on Tuesday January 27th. This is wonderful music that richly deserves this London staging. Die tote Stadt is certainly in a very different league to John Foulds' World Requiem . But I just hope that the opera doesn't fall victim to promotional overkill in the way that Foulds' minorpiece did . The Covent Garden website is billing the opera as a 'rediscovered masterpiece' . This theme has been breathlessly taken up by BBC Radio 3, who, coincidentally, has the broadcast rights . I'll overlook the 'rediscovered' being applied in 2009 to a work that has been in and out of the record catalogue and opera houses over the years. But do you remember the days when geniuses like Bach, Beethoven and Mozart wrote masterpieces, and there was also a lot of other good (and not so good) music? Good music is no longer enough for today's hyperbole hungry media. Masterpi

Charting twentieth century music

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Music and mysticism , my post on Dane Rudhyar , attracted a lot of readers back in 2007. Below is a recommended introduction to Rudhyar's music. The CD of his piano music comes from the enterprising Swiss Hat Hut label . Excellent sleeve notes are from the absolutely present Kyle Gann . (There is a virtual prize for anyone who reads to the end of that link - whatever happened to minimalism ?) I notice that Boydell & Brewer has just published Dane Rudhyar, His Music, Thought, and Art by Deniz Ertan . The publisher says it ' is enriched with numerous color illustrations of Rudhyar's paintings'. Which takes us down a familiar path . My header image shows one of Rudhyar's natal charts. Dane Rudhyar was a member of the influential Halycon Theosophical Community in California. Theosophy attracted many musicians. Among them was Ruth Crawford Seeger . Who, most definitely, was not a Male American Pioneer . Mystical astronomy takes us here. I have not seen a copy of

Simple gifts - the CD

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A real, and topical , discovery that was first featured here in 2006 to share with you again today. Despite widespread interest in their culture, Shaker song remains virtually unknown with one glaring exception - Simple Gifts. This song has been reworked by Aaron Copland and so many others to the point that it is generally assumed that Simple Gifts and Shaker song are one and the same. This is both wrong and a great pity as there a lot more very fine music that deserves to reach a much wider audience. My discovery may help to do that. The library of the Shaker community at Sabbathday Lake , Maine has valuable music archives, including important manuscripts by Elder Otis Sawyer who was an important figure and musician in the Shaker movement. In 1994 a number of songs were transcribed from the Sabbathday Lake archive by Joel Cohen , who then recorded them directing an ensemble made up of singers from the Sabbathday Lake community, Boston Camerata and Schola Cantorum of Boston. Th

Look no hands

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The French have an amazing propensity for producing talented young keyboard players. A major contributory factors must be the numerous church organist posts that provide such an excellent training ground. This is coupled with a commendable willingness on the part of the French to invest in new church organs of outstanding quality and specification; music education is of little use without instruments to play. Last summer we were lucky to attend two recitals by the, then, 23 year old Benjamin Alard in the exquisite church of Saint-Aignan-de-Grand-Lieu outside Nantes in western France. The church, which dates from the 16th to 18th century, is seen in my three photos below. I first came across Benjamin Alard when I bought the CD seen above in FNAC in Avignon in 2007. This disc , made for the maveric French independent label Editions Hortus , is of music from the notebook compiled by J.S. Bach's elder brother Johann Christoph . The title Andreas Bach Book comes from the name of J

Simple gifts?

Light at the end of the tunnel? Or a train coming the other way? Something rather more chewy here. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

Instrument of the moment

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More on the kora here Photo (c) On An Overgrown Path 2009. Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

Tallis in Wonderland

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My post about Vaughan Williams' Tallis Fantasia attracted a record number of readers. Now for something completely different. We have just bought tickets for Tallis in Wonderland with I Fagiolini at the Snape Easter Festival . Should be more fun than the Tenebrae Responsories . And strange but true. Hanns Eisler wrote a score for a Hollywood film of Alice in Wonderland. April 13 - Review of Tallis in Wonderland here. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

Found in meditation

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Some pretty extraordinary things happen On An Overgrown Path . Here is one of the more extraordinary: Jamyang Los Masos Study Group has left a new comment on " Lost in meditation ": Thank you for this interesting article . I was particularly happy to see the news of Osel Hita Torres and can add a few more details. I understand from another Tibetan Buddhist lama incarnation by the name of Gomo Tulku, now 20 years old (he was born, BTW, at 8 minutes past 8 on the 8th of the 8th, 1988!), that Osel (who prefers to be called simply "Oz") completed a 3-year course in cinematography at the University of Madrid last year, and being best friends the two of them hope to embark on careers as hip-hop megastars, promoting the Buddha's message on a vast scale through this medium in the language of young people nowadays. Gomo Tulku who said at the time that he fancied using the soubriquet " El Gomo " (it was last April when he had just arrived in France from Spain w

Stravinsky's rite action

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Lost in meditation is creating some fantastically tenuous links , and here is another one. The Joffrey Ballet's 1987 production of Vaslav Nijinsky and Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring used the original sets, costumes, and choreography from the 1913 production. In the image above I've used electronic trickery to turn the Joffrey production into an ersatz mandala. Because Nicholas Roerich, who co-wrote the scenario of The Rite with Stravinsky and also designed the sets and costumes for that first production, was a celebrated Tibetan scholar. And there are more fantastically tenuous Buddhist links to Stravinsky. The wife and daughter of Ernest Ansermet , who was a celebrated conductor of Stravinsky's music, were both ordained as Buddhist nuns. Read the whole story in an Overgrown Path exclusive . Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the reque

I am a camera - Berlin 1973

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I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording not thinking. Recording the man shaving at the window opposite and the woman in the kimono washing her hair. Some day, all all this will have to be developed, carefully printed, fixed. Those three sentences make up the second paragraph of Christopher Isherwood's Berlin Diary, which is dated autumn 1930. The four photographs were taken by me during my first visit to Berlin in 1973, at the height of the cold war - see Final approach to Berlin . They were taken on black & white film using an Olympus Pen S 35mm camera. They were then developed, carefully printed, fixed and mislaid during one of our numerous house moves. I found them a few weeks ago at the bottom of a drawer, and they have never been published before. The header photo was taken close to the notorious Spree River crossing point. It shows the memorials to those who were shot while attempting to swim the river and escape to the West. The two memori

Blowing away the recession

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And I thought I had problems. The Metropolitan Opera is down to its last $200 million. Everywhere there are reports of artistic gloom, yet there is very little news of anything being done about it. But here's some. Live music at a top music venue for just £4, or £2 if you are under 27. Aldeburgh Music are running open sessions of chamber music, drama and jazz as extensions of their artistic residencies at Snape. We've bought tickets for saxophonist Andy Sheppard's Open Sesssion on February 6th and will keep you posted. Andy has a new recording contract for ECM and some of the music from his residency may find its way on to a future release. Deep River by Joanna MacGregor and Andy Sheppard on Joanna's own SoundCircus label is a gorgeous disc . Listen via that previous link while you read more about Deep River here. Deep River was bought from Borders Norwich outlet before it changed hands and went to the dogs. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as

Bowled over by Buddhism

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John has left a new comment on " Lost in meditation : Fantastically tenuous link, but see the connection between Buddist monks, Britten Sinfonia, Aldeburgh Music and cricket here : John, I just love fantastically tenuous links. The world would be a better place if the New York Philharmonic and Metropolitan Opera were occasionally more fantastically tenuous. Photo credit Britten Sinfonia. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

Lost in meditation

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Philip Glass' score for Kundun is the realization of a long-cherished dream. For years I had hoped to work with Glass, and in Kundun we found the ideal subject for a special collabaration. His Buddhist faith and deep understanding of Tibetan culture combine with the sublety of his compositions to play an essential role in our movie on the life of the Dalai Lama. Martin Scorsese writes about his 1997 film Kundun . It tells the true story of the search in Tibet for the fourteenth reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, and the subsequent flight of the young reincarnation into exile in India. The current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso , is believed to be the latest incarnation, or tulku , in the lineage. A tulku is a Tibetan Buddhist lama who has consciously determined to be reborn, often many times. This allows him to return to continue his work in the material world, rather than remaining in Nirvana. Reincarnation is one of the most difficult Buddhist concepts for Western minds to grasp. Al

Provincial beyond criticism

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'Vulgar, self-indulgent and provincial beyond criticism' Virgil Thomson describes Sibelius' Second Symphony. Quoted from Barbirolli the authorised biography by Michael Kennedy. But other critics thought Sibelius' genius remains unrecognised . Photo shows Sibelius at Villa Ainola aged seventy-nine. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

Classical music is the hot investment tip

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Brian Rossmann has left a new comment on " Label me obsessed ": I have the CD re-issue and agree that this is a very special performance. But, sadly an original LP has so far eluded me. This recording has often been promoted by Art Dudley and others in the American audio press as not only a brilliant recording and performance, but an ideal introduction to classical music for the uninitiated. Consequently originals have become even more collectible and difficult to find. It was released in the US as Ang. S 36101. I'd settle for either but would dearly love to add the EMI to my collection. If anybody has a lead on a clean copy please get in touch. bwr000 at gmail.com This email prompted me to search the auctions sites. It appears my mint copy of the original LP issue of Barbirolli conducting English string music (ASD 521 in the UK) is worth upwards of 50 pounds sterling. I wonder how many MP3 files will be worth that in 45 years time? Brian, perhaps it is worth looking he

Breaking the silence of Jarvenpaa

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The silence of Järvenpää was not absolute. Although Sibelius wrote no major works between 1927 and his death thirty years later, he did produce some music. One of the last creative tasks he completed was the 1948 orchestration for strings and harp of Ett Ensamt Skidspår (Lonely Ski-Trail) which was originally written for piano and narrator in 1924. Ett Ensamt Skidspår was first recorded in 1993 by the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra conducted by Juha Kangas for the Finlandia label. My copy of the original CD, which was released in 1996, is seen above. The Finlandia release of Works for String Orchestra by Sibelius has now transferred to Warner's budget Apex label in different packaging , and it is quite a bargain. As well as Lonely Ski-Trail there is another Sibelius premiere recording on the disc, Grevinnans konterfej (The Countess's Portrait). The programme also includes Rakastava, Andante Festivo , and other more familiar works. The Finnish narrations on the two short