Pat Kop

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

In their early days especially, the Arditti Quartet used to play very few works by dead composers and, notwithstanding my acceptance that, unlike most such ensembles, they had to spend considerable amounts of time addressing new playing techniques, notational conventions and the like, I did wonder whether this was a good idea, not least because the string quartet is such a long-standing and enduring ensemble.

Well ... it doesn't seem to have harmed the various regenerations of that fine enesemble. Far more deadly for the repertoire is the plethora of performers who on principle (?) don't touch Music by any composer other than those who have pushed up several generations of daisies.

[gurnemanz]

Only seen her once (RFH) and own no recordings. The composer was long dead and the work only fairly recently resuscitated - Schumann's Violin Concerto. "Flawed" it may be but it was a very committed performance, rivetingly put across, with Marin Alsop and OAE. Especially keen to hear it having heard about the strange background story. Jessica Duchen's book on the subject, "Ghost Variations", is a good read.

[ahinton]

O.k. One of the first Arditti recordings I bought, by the way, included some long dead guy's Grosse Fuge.

I know about that, of course, but I did write "very few works" and this was undoubtedly one of the more significant exceptions in their early repertoire (as was some Bartók and Nielsen).

[ahinton]

Well ... it doesn't seem to have harmed the various regenerations of that fine enesemble. Far more deadly for the repertoire is the plethora of performers who on principle (?) don't touch Music by any composer other than those who have pushed up several generations of daisies.

I agree wholeheartedly with the latter here, of course, but I do wonder at the notion of keeping a string quartet going for generations without playing a note of Haydn, Mozart and Schubert or a complete Beethoven quartet; also, in more recent times, the proportion of string quartets that eschew works by living composers is, I think, smaller than once it seemed to be and there are fabulous ensembles such as the Pacifica, Diotima and Danel Quartets who are prepared to rise to some of the greatest challenges in contemporary and near-contemporary quartet repertoire and perform it alongside established "classics".

[Bryn]

I agree wholeheartedly with the latter here, of course, but I do wonder at the notion of keeping a string quartet going for generations without playing a note of Haydn, Mozart and Schubert or a complete Beethoven quartet; also, in more recent times, the proportion of string quartets that eschew works by living composers is, I think, smaller than once it seemed to be and there are fabulous ensembles such as the Pacifica, Diotima and Danel Quartets who are prepared to rise to some of the greatest challenges in contemporary and near-contemporary quartet repertoire and perform it alongside established "classics".

Not forgetting Brooklyn Rider., whose Beethoven Op 131 is a must, as is their Bartok SQ2.

[Barbirollians]

The Hippites won't like what she says about the baroque repertoire

" I don't believe in the score actually. Notes are like handcuffs or braincuffs .I actually think one should forget everything about a piece and create a new piece in the moment . But that's probably illegal "

As for her curation of the last few days of the Aldeburgh Festival it is stated , admittedly by Snape , that her concerts will " articulate the sense of oppression of a classical musician who in conventional programming is limited to a mostly retrospective view of musical culture " - surprisingly in the light of the the centrepiece of one of her concerts is her directing the Mahler Chamber Orchestra from the violin in the Beethoven Concerto

[Stanfordian]

This is a bit different from the OP's "whinging about" doing this - and, judging from Stanf's list of the works on her latest release, it seems more like putting out the bins: there might well be "whinging", but it's still necessary and still gets done.

Hiya Ferney,

That's right, the composer's played on Pat Kop's new release Bartok, Poulenc, Ravel & Dohnányi whom are all dead!

On the other hand when I saw her at Philharmonie, part Berlin Musikfest 2014, she performed Péter Eötvös' Violin Concerto No. 2. The only 'rebellious' action that I saw from her at the Berlin concert was her playing in bare feet.

[vinteuil]

A partly fascinating and partly irritating interview with Pat Kop ... she seems to be channelling the younger Nigel Kennedy by whinging about playing the music of dead composers .

... whinging I can cope with : it's the whingeing that is so trying.


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[Padraig]

... whinging I can cope with : it's the whingeing that is so trying.


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Try a little whine.

[Bryn]

... whinging I can cope with : it's the whingeing that is so trying.


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To e or not to e? Depends which dictionary one is favouring.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

On the other hand when I saw her at Philharmonie, part Berlin Musikfest 2014, she performed Péter Eötvös' Violin Concerto No. 2. The only rebellious action that I saw from her at the Berlin concert was her playing in bare feet.

Honestly! Rebels today don't know they're born! Now, if she'd played with her bare feet ....

[ahinton]

Honestly! Rebels today don't know they're born! Now, if she'd played with her bare feet ....

!!! Very hard to maintain a reliable bow hold that way, or so I'm told; as for double stopping, well, forget it unless it involves an open string...

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

But the repertoire contains loads of sole-o Corncerti: archi e pizzicati, playing at the heel, etc

[Barbirollians]

Listened to another of her records this afternoon via Amazon music - a rather pulled about but very interesting Prokofiev 2 and the best performance of the Stravinsky Violin Concerto I have ever heard even topping Chung,Lin and Perlman to my ears . An extraordinary artist .

[Stanfordian]

Honestly! Rebels today don't know they're born! Now, if she'd played with her bare feet ....