tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post2261208687035293707..comments2024-03-26T15:57:13.443+00:00Comments on On An Overgrown Path: Goodbye conductor - hallo composerUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post-38781583299709149482008-04-08T20:15:00.000+01:002008-04-08T20:15:00.000+01:00Is it cheating for me to know that Martin Chalifor...<I>Is it cheating for me to know that Martin Chalifor is concert master of the Los Angeles Philharmonic given that I live here?</I><BR/><BR/>Hahaha, beat me to it. <BR/><BR/><I>And speaking of a rush to promote young conductors... Given the unquestioning media love-fest around our next music director, Gustavo Dudamel, Mr. Chalifor's prodigious skills may be needed more than everin these parts.</I><BR/><BR/>Brian, did you go to any of the Debussy/Bartok/Ravel concerts this past weekend? It's the fourth time I've heard Mr. Dudamel conduct and I have to say, I walked out of Disney Hall blown away. I didn't like the Simon Bolivar YO concert --the Mahler 5th was awful, IMO-- and didn't really like the <I>Symphonie Fantastique</I> from a few weeks ago, but damn! the concert on Saturday night just had *it*. I loved how he conducted the Debussy and Ravel, no washes of amorphous sound, but very rhythmically alert and pointed. I thought he did a fine job accompanying Leila Josefowicz, who played the hell out of the Bartok second violin concerto.<BR/><BR/>I do see the warning signs though: everything is pretty driven, there's not a lot of calm in the calm bits and there might be a tendency to go REALLY over the top in big tutti's instead of merely over the top, but on the whole, I'll sacrifice a bit of nuance for the thrills that compensate for that. <BR/><BR/>Can't wait to hear him conduct these concerts later in the year:<BR/><BR/>Ligeti: Atmospheres <BR/>Strauss: Four Last Songs <BR/>Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 <BR/><BR/>Kurtág: Stélé <BR/>Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23<BR/>Strauss: Alpine Symphony<BR/><BR/>The Kurtag is a fantastic piece.Henry Hollandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15871451112170286316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post-89495723006127558372008-04-08T10:35:00.000+01:002008-04-08T10:35:00.000+01:00This is interesting corroboration of Goodbye condu...This is interesting corroboration of <I>Goodbye conductor - hallo composer:</I><BR/><BR/>http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2008/04/macmillan-leads-bso.htmlPliablehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10616598845886342325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post-49971559078306912932008-04-08T07:15:00.000+01:002008-04-08T07:15:00.000+01:00As for conductor-composers, Felix Weingartner was ...As for conductor-composers, Felix Weingartner was excellent, better than Furtwangler imo. Really something worth hearing.JMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09520926883774598349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post-16620877466519652502008-04-08T06:09:00.000+01:002008-04-08T06:09:00.000+01:00Is it cheating for me to know that Martin Chalifor...Is it cheating for me to know that Martin Chalifor is concert master of the Los Angeles Philharmonic given that I live here?<BR/><BR/>And speaking of a rush to promote young conductors... Given the unquestioning media love-fest around our next music director, Gustavo Dudamel, Mr. Chalifor's prodigious skills may be needed more than everin these parts.Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13928908637908240871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post-57191255027246890542008-04-07T14:29:00.000+01:002008-04-07T14:29:00.000+01:00Garth, thanks for adding James MacMillan to the gr...Garth, thanks for adding James MacMillan to the growing list of composer/conductors. I have been meaning to include <I>Veni, Veni, Emmanuel</I> in my Future Radio programme, thanks for the reminder.<BR/><BR/>That Scottish link to composer/conductors reminds me that Peter Maxwell Davies is a great Gilbert and Sullivan fan. When Christopher Bishop was running the Royal Scottish National Orchestra he gave Max a G & S concert, and a great time was had by all.<BR/><BR/>It's a programme that another orchestra should pick up.Pliablehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10616598845886342325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post-20866239812807423372008-04-07T14:19:00.000+01:002008-04-07T14:19:00.000+01:00"So why did Herbert's birthday party fall so flat?..."So why did Herbert's birthday party fall so flat?"<BR/><BR/>Pliable, thank you for this fascinating article, as well as several additional recent very important articles and posts.<BR/><BR/>Regarding HvK, I wanted to note that Classical WETA-FM, in Washington, made HvK's 2-CD so-called DG 'Gold Album' compendium of favorite orchestral movements their featured CD pick of the week. I was most struck by the single movement from a Beethoven Sym. that they broadcast (perhaps given that they broadcast Dudamel's DG Beethoven Sym. #5, I believe, that same day.) HvK is still often represented on the broadcasts (though, of course, in standard repertoire short of Honneger's powerful 'Symphony Liturgique' or Orff's 'Comedy for the End of Time'.)<BR/><BR/>I also wanted to report that I heard James MacMillan conduct his own 'Stomp' and 'Piano Concerto #2' (with Rolf Hinds) with the Baltimore Sym. last week, and that Thomas Ades is due in for a Baltimore Sym. concert next month featuring him conducting his Violin Concerto and Beethoven #1 and 4. (MacMillan also did Beethoven Sym. #2). John Adams's 'El Nino' also makes a delayed appearance in the region next month (but not under Mr Adams).<BR/><BR/>Thanks again. (And thank you for the wonderful photo of Messiaen and Xenakis on your site this morning.)Garth Trinklhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11084463787729969177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post-351538663259634522008-04-07T13:52:00.000+01:002008-04-07T13:52:00.000+01:00Email received:All hail the composer-conductor! N...<I>Email received:</I><BR/><BR/>All hail the composer-conductor! Now that Richard Strauss is firmly ensconced as a composer, will the same happen for the afore mentioned Antal Dorati, or even Rafael Kubelik, or Otto Klemperer? <BR/><BR/>The REAL candidate for that should be Wilhelm Furtwängler. His 2nd Symphony gets occasional praise, but his chamber music is very good as well.<BR/><BR/>Cheers<BR/>David CavlovicPliablehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10616598845886342325noreply@blogger.com