Rattling Through the Week

[cloughie]

Hiya cloughie,

I feel that composers, intrumentalists and conductors often do their best work when they are young, fresh and highly motivated. For my money Rattle's CBSO days are a case in point.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Many of my favourite composers don't support Stanf's suggestion - Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Bruckner, Brahms, Wagner, Mahler, Debussy, Janacek, Stravinsky, Schoenberg; they all produced work that is at least as fine as, and often better than, their youthful masterpieces at the end of their lives. (And my bete gris, Verdi, certainly did.

It's possibly true of instrumentalists (and certainly true of singers) - but conductors? Tintner, Wand, Tennstedt all reached pinnacles of their career well past their young and fresh years; and many others who established youthful names for themselves went on to produce their best work in later age.

[doversoul1]

Well they've got to fill concert spots with something now that the Proms are done! A good fanfare for the returning giant!

That was my point: now that the proms are over, I was hoping to see/hear more song recitals, chamber music, new music, and early music. But what we have is yet more large orchestras playing largely main stream works. Yes, Sir Simon is a great talent the UK should be proud of but there are so many talented performers and composers in the UK who would merit hugely from Radio 3’s encouragement and promotion, as it did once upon a time to the early music performers in the 70s (so I have heard/read). Ah well.

[teamsaint]

Many of my favourite composers don't support Stanf's suggestion - Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Bruckner, Brahms, Wagner, Mahler, Debussy, Janacek, Stravinsky, Schoenberg; they all produced work that is at least as fine as, and often better than, their youthful masterpieces at the end of their lives. (And my bete gris, Verdi, certainly did.

It's possibly true of instrumentalists (and certainly true of singers) - but conductors? Tintner, Wand, Tennstedt all reached pinnacles of their career well past their young and fresh years; and many others who established youthful names for themselves went on to produce their best work in later age.

I wonder if a perception that composers often produce their best work when young is a recent one ? I think it probably tends to be true of Rock music, ( don't know why, probably something to do with money and commerce) which of course has such a powerful hold on media and perception, but it so obviously doesn't apply to many classical composers, ( I'll throw in RVW and Dvorak) that you wonder why the idea would have any credibility at all. If it does.

[Stanfordian]

Many of my favourite composers don't support Stanf's suggestion - Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Bruckner, Brahms, Wagner, Mahler, Debussy, Janacek, Stravinsky, Schoenberg; they all produced work that is at least as fine as, and often better than, their youthful masterpieces at the end of their lives. (And my bete gris, Verdi, certainly did.

It's possibly true of instrumentalists (and certainly true of singers) - but conductors? Tintner, Wand, Tennstedt all reached pinnacles of their career well past their young and fresh years; and many others who established youthful names for themselves went on to produce their best work in later age.

Hiya ferneyhoughgeliebte,

Yes, I was getting rather carried away with my assertion that composer’s often do their best works when they are young. It would be more accurate to say that I am frequently surprised how excellent composer’s early works can be. I’m thinking of Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Mahler, Schumann, Britten, Glazunov, Shostakovich, RVW, Walton, Stravinsky, Schoenberg et al.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

It would be more accurate to say that I am frequently surprised how excellent composer’s early works can be. I’m thinking of Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Mahler, Schumann, Britten, Glazunov, Shostakovich, RVW, Walton, Stravinsky, Schoenberg et al.

[Nick Armstrong]

I like the look of this afternoon's concert in this series

Kabalevsky: Overture to Colas Breugnon
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30
William Walton, arr. Rattle: Orchestral Pieces from Façade
Dvořák: Slavonic Dances, Op. 72 (selection)

Daniil Trifonov (piano)
Berlin Philharmonic
conductor Simon Rattle.

Going to have to give that a listen, I think.

[vinteuil]

Many of my favourite composers don't support Stanf's suggestion - Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Bruckner, Brahms, Wagner, Mahler, Debussy, Janacek, Stravinsky, Schoenberg; they all produced work that is at least as fine as, and often better than, their youthful masterpieces at the end of their lives. (And my bete gris, Verdi, certainly did.

... and Rameau, producing his first opera [ Hippolyte et Aricie 1733 ] at the age of fifty.

And his last [ Abaris, ou les Boréades 1763 ] not bad for an eighty-year-old...


.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I like the look of this afternoon's concert in this series

Kabalevsky: Overture to Colas Breugnon
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30
William Walton, arr. Rattle: Orchestral Pieces from Façade
Dvořák: Slavonic Dances, Op. 72 (selection)

Daniil Trifonov (piano)
Berlin Philharmonic
conductor Simon Rattle.

Going to have to give that a listen, I think.

Ooh! I shall certainly listen to the Rachmaninoff - I hadn't noticed this; many thanks, Cali

[BBMmk2]

I'm doing some serious Radio 3 catch up this week. You might think being at home, I have time but there is still other things to do, doctor's appointments, hospital appointments, watching DVDs etc.

[Pianorak]

Ooh! I shall certainly listen to the Rachmaninoff - I hadn't noticed this; many thanks, Cali

Ditto.

[Nick Armstrong]

Ooh! I shall certainly listen to the Rachmaninoff - I hadn't noticed this; many thanks, Cali

Just got around to listening - not impressed. At all! Especially the horrible slowed down, camped up lead-in to the final climax.

Not a patch on - for example - the amazing Sunwook Kim / Bournemouth SO / Karabits live performance in 2015, which I've put on to wash out of the ears the mannered nonsense from Berlin

What did you think, ferney and pianorak?

[DracoM]

With you all the way, Caliban. Awful, soupy stuff. Sorry to say, that's Rattle. Our Simon not flavour of the month for me