Transcribe, Transform - Víkingur Ólafsson (R3 Sunday 11pm)

[Nick Armstrong]

This three-part series seems to me to be a welcome return to the best of Radio 3. A fascinating and varied selection of music, thematically linked by a musician who seems ideally suited to this sort of communication (in addition to his powers of communication at the keyboard)

No gimmicks, no gushing: calm, deeply enthusiastic and wise, with great music.

Programmes no one should miss

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000nfv9

[french frank]

Ticks all the boxes, doesn't it? Just listened to the first part, so the second one awaits.

[Quarky]

This three-part series seems to me to be a welcome return to the best of Radio 3. A fascinating and varied selection of music, thematically linked by a musician who seems ideally suited to this sort of communication (in addition to his powers of communication at the keyboard)

No gimmicks, no gushing: calm, deeply enthusiastic and wise, with great music.

Programmes no one should miss

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000nfv9

Agreed.

But for me, it's a one way street - Big -> Small, the smaller the better.

Piano Transcriptions of Pictures at an Exhibition, Nut-Cracker Suite (for two pianos) sold me on the concept.

But for example Stokowski's orchestrations of Bach is driving in the wrong direction!

[Bryn]

Agreed.

But for me, it's a one way street - Big -> Small, the smaller the better.

Piano Transcriptions of Pictures at an Exhibition ...

Eh? It is a work conceived and composed for the piano. The transcriptions are the later embellishments by other composers. Oh, and my old bugbear, it's "from" not "at" an Exhibition. "at" is a mistranslation.

[Nick Armstrong]

Agreed.

But for me, it's a one way street - Big -> Small, the smaller the better.

I’d have to part ways with you there. It goes in both directions for me. One reason this series appeals to me is that I’ve long had a very soft spot for transcriptions of all sorts. ‘Reductions’ can work brilliantly, but so can ‘inflations’! That said, I’m no fan of the Stokowski versions of Bach either... but absolutely love what Elgar, Respighi, Schönberg et al did with Bach - this is one of my favourite CDs of all time: https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%209835

[ahinton]

Eh? It is a work conceived and composed for the piano. The transcriptions are the later embellishments by other composers. Oh, and my old bugbear, it's "from" not "at" an Exhibition. "at" is a mistranslation.

Yes, of course it is. Is it great piano writing? Not to me, much as I admire the work; it feels as though the composer has somehow gotten away with a great success despite his shortcomings at the instrument. The work which our mutual friend Dave Smith most amusingly re-entitled Exhibitionists at the pictures was perhaps crying out for transcriptions for other forces although, widely as the Ravel orchestration is admired (not least by me), the most effective that I've heard to date remains that which Elgar Howarth made for the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble and subsequently revised for the Grimethorpe Colliery Band. Details of the many versions may be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pictures_at_an_Exhibition in which Henry Wood's pre-Ravel one is cited although I've not heard it.

[french frank]

I think Ólafsson made a good case for Mozart's string trio arrangement from K404a of Bach's F# Fugue - even going as far as to say that, speaking 'pianistically', he actually preferred Mozart's version.

[Quarky]

I think Ólafsson made a good case for Mozart's string trio arrangement from K404a of Bach's F# Fugue - even going as far as to say that, speaking 'pianistically', he actually preferred Mozart's version.

Well Mozart had a lighter ("magic") touch, didn't he?

I was amazed by Mahan Esfahani's performance of Steve Reich's Piano Phase for Two Pianos. At first I thought he must have prerecorded one part, and then played over it - but no he was able to separate the phases of the two parts as he went along: " During a 2016 performance of Steve Reich's Piano Phase at the Kölner Philharmonie, parts of the audience booed, clapped and whistled. " Wiki.

[Bryn]

Well Mozart had a lighter ("magic") touch, didn't he?

I was amazed by Mahan Esfahani's performance of Steve Reich's Piano Phase for Two Pianos. At first I thought he must have prerecorded one part, and then played over it - but no he was able to separate the phases of the two parts as he went along: " During a 2016 performance of Steve Reich's Piano Phase at the Kölner Philharmonie, parts of the audience booed, clapped and whistled. " Wiki.

The legendarily irascible Esfahani's party trick with Reich's Piano Phase is by no means unique to him. Indeed, his playing of it is rather too step-like, to my ears, with the transitions nothing like as blurred as in a good performance by two performers. There should be a psychoacoustic element to the perception of a performance of this work, with the impression of a growingly reverberant acoustic preceding each switch to perceiving a distinct new canonic relationship between the parts of the 12 note phrase. The point at which each step-change is perceived will change from listener to listener and, to some extent, varies as the ear/brain interaction adapts to what is going on. So, good party trick to play it solo, but needs work on the rate of the gradual transitions between phase relationships.

[Nick Armstrong]

Programmes no one should miss

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000nfv9

Repeated, starting this evening, 11pm, for anyone who did...

[kernelbogey]

I agree with all the positive things posted above about the programme.

I was delighted to catch the Berio transcription of the Bocherini 'Ritirata' - haven't heard it in ages, love t!

[Mandryka]

Agreed.

But for me, it's a one way street - Big -> Small, the smaller the better.

Piano Transcriptions of Pictures at an Exhibition, Nut-Cracker Suite (for two pianos) sold me on the concept.

But for example Stokowski's orchestrations of Bach is driving in the wrong direction!

You may like this -- I love it



but I'm not sure I like this!



What I've always dreamed about is an a capella OVPP Missa Solemnis.

[Bryn]

It just got a partner:

https://www.ars-produktion.de/lounge/booklet/38222_booklet.php

Not the first slimmed-down option on record, of course.

Indeed, it looks to be the same reduction recorded by Storgårds.