Silvestri

[Conchis]

Yesterday, I listened to the Silvestri/BSO recording of Scheherazade for the first time (on the Icon box set). It was a revelation: the sensation of the orchestral sections actually 'listening' to each other really hit me. Great engineering on this version, too.

Shamefully, Silvestri hadn't been on my radar before. Prior to this set's release, his recordings seem to have been oop.

Judging by what I've heard so far, he's a major discovery for me. His Tchaikovsky symphonies with the Philharmonia are almost equally good.

[gradus]

Another fan of these recordings here. Scheherezade was originally relased in Columbia's Sudio 2 Stereo and for that reason rather looked-down on by the sniffier critics but I think it a vivid, colourful performance.up there with Beecham. The Tchaikovsky symphony recordings - not Studio 2 Stereo originally - rarely get a mention these days. He had a distinctive way with the opening fanfares in the fourth and I've never heard anyone else perform them that way. I seem to recall he explained that his phrasing was how the piece was originally played and Hornspieler (who has some fascinating memories of Silvestri). in a thread from a year or two back remembered it in live peformance with him.

[Conchis]

Another fan of these recordings here. Scheherezade was originally relased in Columbia's Sudio 2 Stereo and for that reason rather looked-down on by the sniffier critics but I think it a vivid, colourful performance.up there with Beecham. The Tchaikovsky symphony recordings - not Studio 2 Stereo originally - rarely get a mention these days. He had a distinctive way with the opening fanfares in the fourth and I've never heard anyone else perform them that way. I seem to recall he explained that his phrasing was how the piece was originally played and Hornspieler (who has some fascinating memories of Silvestri). in a thread from a year or two back remembered it in live peformance with him.

Yes - the opening of the 4th really struck me when I listened to it last week. First thoughts were: 'Oh - bit eccentric! Don't think I'm going to like this....' But CS very quickly won me over when it became clear this was all part of his overview and he wasn't being 'different' just for the sake of it.

[Hornspieler]

Yes - the opening of the 4th really struck me when I listened to it last week. First thoughts were: 'Oh - bit eccentric! Don't think I'm going to like this....' But CS very quickly won me over when it became clear this was all part of his overview and he wasn't being 'different' just for the sake of it.

Yes. He wanted those triplet quavers replaced by 3 semiquavers and a gap. It creates a bit of a stutter and certainly took us unaware the first time we encounterd it. After that, we had to remember not to play it the same way when any other conductor was at the helm.

HS

* But when that same theme reappears in the climax in the finale, he played it as written, which was another trap for us to fall into.

[Conchis]

Had he not died so suddenly in 1969, I think Silvestri's would have a reputation today on a par with, say, Rudolf Kempe's (who died not all that long after but seems to be much better remembered).

[Hornspieler]

Had he not died so suddenly in 1969, I think Silvestri's would have a reputation today on a par with, say, Rudolf Kempe's (who died not all that long after but seems to be much better remembered).

I played at his last concert (Don Quixote)and my wife and I spent the interval talking with him in his dressing room.

When I was in Belfast, I had engaged him as a guest conductor and we invited him for a meal at our house.
My wife had bought a fresh lobster. straight from the dockside and she made a mayonnaise to accompany it.

Silvestri tucked in with enthusiasm.

CS This mayonnaise is good. Where you get this?

Aoife Oh, I made it myself.

CS You make this? I don't believe!

As we left his room on that evening in Exeter, his last remark was to Aoife.

" and I still don't forgot your lobster mayonnaise"

He died two days later. R.I.P.

HS

[Conchis]

I played at his last concert (Don Quixote)and my wife and I spent the interval talking with him during the interval.

When I was in Belfast, I had engaged him as a guest conductor and we invited him for a meal at our house.
My wife had bought a fresh lobster. straight from the dockside and she made a mayonnaise to accompany it.

Silvestri tucked in with enthusiasm.

CS This mayonnaise is good. Where you get this?

Aoife Oh, I made it myself.

CS You make this? I don't believe.

As we left his room on that evening in Exeter, his last remark was to Aoife.

" and I still don't forgot your lobster mayonnaise"

He died two days later. R.I.P.

HS

A lovely memory!

Given the totalitarian brutality that people from his part of the world had to put up with (and which we can scarcely imagine), his last years in the UK must have been blissful (or so I'd like to think).

[Barbirollians]

It is a cracking box of records .

[Hornspieler]

It is a cracking box of records .

Could you perhaps find a less controversial adjective?

HS

[Sir Velo]

As we left his room on that evening in Exeter, his last remark was to Aoife.

" and I still don't forgot your lobster mayonnaise"

He died two days later. R.I.P.

I trust there was no connection between the two events.

[Hornspieler]

I trust there was no connection between the two events.

I don't find that remark very funny.

When Silvestri conducted that final concert, he had to be helped onto the rostrum, but once there, the pain and sickness vanished as his whole body concentrated upon the music (the same phenominum occurred with Rudolf Kempe who was named as the future Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, but died before he could take up his appointment).

After that momentous performance of Strauss' Tone Poem, Silvestri was helped from the platform and driven straight to the hospital where he died less than 48 hours later.

Some people will do anything for a cheap laugh.

[secondfiddle]

[QUOTE=Conchis;491016]Yesterday, I listened to the Silvestri/BSO recording of Scheherazade for the first time (on the Icon box set). It was a revelation: the sensation of the orchestral sections actually 'listening' to each other really hit me. Great engineering on this version, too.

QUOTE]
It is good to see the name of Constantin Silvestri given some airing. Although to my great regret I never saw him conduct (Beecham too), it was clear that he was a remarkable conductor and I heard much about him from a good friend who played under him regularly.

Reading the comments posted about his commercial recording of Scheherazade made me look up an off-air recording I have of him doing the same work, and the care for phrasing and dynamics is clear in this performance. He makes you listen more intently to the work. It is a great pity that his recorded legacy is comparatively small, although the boxed set of his recordings seems excellent value. Fortunately there are a small number of BBC Legacy and Testament recordings of live performances, and the CD entitled ‘Constantin Silvestri – A Bournemouth Love Affair’ is worth having This is fortunate because Silvestri recorded (or had recorded) many of his broadcasts and these have been preserved in the Wessex Film and Sound Archive. Amongst his commercial recordings In the South has been rightly praised and his Dvorak Symphony No 8 is, I think, one of his best commercial recordings, filled with wonderful life and energy. His Manfred Symphony (available in both studio and live performances) should also be heard, and Enescu’s Roumanian Rhapsody No 1 was his party piece. Silvestri also included quite a wide range of British music in his repertoire.

Anyone wanting to learn more about Silvestri should read ’Constantin Silvestri – Magician – A view from the orchestra’ by Raymond Carpenter who was principal clarinet in the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. He makes many fascinating observations about Silvestri and his interpretations. There is also John Gritten’s well-researched biography of Silvestri.

There are a number of conductors less well known today (largely because of a small recording legacy) that deserve to be kept in the ‘hall of fame’ and Silvestri is certainly one of them. The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra was fortunate in having so fine a conductor – though sadly not for long as he died in 1969 aged only 55.

[richardfinegold]

Could you perhaps find a less controversial adjective?

HS

Perhaps Barbs choice of words was inspired by the story of the Lobster...
I have tha recording of the Tchaikovsky 4th because it was reissued in DVD Audio. I remember doing a double check with the first hearing after the opening chords to make sure the player hadn't malfunctioned

[seabright]

Those Tchaik 4 opening fanfares do indeed sound weird ... Has anyone else ever played them that way? ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WTJFxGywKg

[Dave2002]

Those Tchaik 4 opening fanfares do indeed sound weird ... Has anyone else ever played them that way? ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WTJFxGywKg

Is the way the opening of Tchaik 4 simply an unjustified quirk, which we might (or not) have to forgive Silvestri for, or is/was there any sensible basis for performing it that way?