Stokowski died in 1977 so the number of concert-goers who still recall seeing him at the RAH or RFH must now be dwindling. I only mention this because a 40-minute Magyar TV documentary has just popped up on YouTube in which the cameras followed him all round Budapest in the winter of 1967. He meets Kodaly, dines in a cafe whilst enduring the strains an over-loud folk-music band, visits the cathedral in the snow and rehearses the Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra. The last part of this documentary is best, as you see him conducting Beethoven and Stravinsky whilst the camera is on him practically all the time, showing that even at 85 he was still in full command of his faculties ...
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RVW's "Christmas Carols Fantasia" from Paris and New York ...
Choir and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France ...
NBC Symphony in December 1943 with an orchestral version ...
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Originally posted by seabright View PostRVW's "Christmas Carols Fantasia" from Paris and New York ...
Choir and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France ...
NBC Symphony in December 1943 with an orchestral version ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6WtaMTBnok
Many thanks for posting these links seabright“Music is the best means we have of digesting time." — Igor StravinskyComment
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I'm glad you like them! ... It's amazing what you can find on YouTube. Here for example is Elgar from Madrid, the "Pompa y Circunstancia" Numero Uno, conducted by Enrique Garcia Asensio, and played in a mostly wind-and brass arrangement by an enormous ensemble in a huge auditorium. Even bigger is the Spanish chorus, ranged all around the back and at the sides, who join in with "Land of Hope and Glory" at the end. Nice to know that Elgar and RVW travel well! ...
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Not YouTube but a page with an 'interesting' video clip on it:
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Thank you. I hope they raised lots of money for the water wells in Ghana!Originally posted by seabright View PostComment
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In view of the up-coming BAL on the "Enigma Variations," I thought that the Elgarians amongst you might like to see three "live" video'd performances from foreign climes, though please don't expect carbon copies of Boult or Barbirolli. These guys have got their own ideas, which I think is all to the good! ...
First, from Poland with the Warsaw Philharmonic conducted by Jacek Kaspszyk ...
Next, from Germany with the Mannheim Philharmonic conducted by Boian Videnoff ...
Finally, from Russia with the Perm Opera and Ballet Orchestra, conducted by Valeriy Platonov ...
Interestingly, I thought Platonov's tempo for the opening Theme seemed a bit on the slow side until I checked Elgar's own recording. It turned out that the Russian's tempo is almost identical to the composer's. I also thought that here and there in this performance, the spirit of Tchaikovsky was hovering very slightly overhead. Anyway, here is Elgar from abroad and it's nice to know that he is still being played there!Comment
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More Elgar from abroad ... In my opinion, a stunning performance of the Cello Concerto with Sheku Kanneh-Mason and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra under Nicholas Collon ... And to think that Sheku is still only 20 ... An amazing talent ...
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What strange and counterproductive microphone placement. If omnis they are for too close together. If cardioid, why point them up in the air? There again, the YouTube clip may have used the integral mic(s) on the camera. Prodigious playing though, I concur.Originally posted by Alison View PostComment
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Friday Concert no. 1
Maximilian Steinberg: Fantaisie dramatique opus 9 (1910)
Sir Charles Stanford: Piano Concerto no. 2 in C minor, opus 126 (1911)
Hugo Alfvén: Symphony no. 3 in E major, opus 23 (1905):
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I intend to put on a new concert every Friday, each containing a programme you will never hear in real life.
If you have any problems with my links - advertizing fiends or the like - please advise and I will provide alternatives.Last edited by Sydney Grew; 16-01-20, 04:37.Comment
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Many thanks for this service! No problems with the links, and I've just listened to the Steinberg - a fine piece with the Gothenburgers clearly on top form.Originally posted by Sydney Grew View PostMaximilian Steinberg: Fantaisie dramatique opus 9 (1910)
Sir Charles Stanford: Piano Concerto no. 2 in C minor, opus 126 (1911)
Hugo Alfvén: Symphony no. 3 in E major, opus 23 (1905):
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I intend to put on a new concert every Friday, each containing a programme you will never hear in real life.
If you have any problems with my links - advertizing fiends or the like - please advise and I will provide alternatives.
I happen to have a different recording of the Stanford with Malcolm Binns as soloist - part of a Lyrita set of British piano concertos.
I shall definitely listen to the Alfven as soon time permits - I'm always up for lesser known Nordic symphonies! ( I once offended a Finnish work colleague by referring to Sibelius as 'Scandinavian' .....)Comment
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On a trip to New Zealand, I heard (on their Classical radio station) composer Gareth Farr tell this story:
…..early in his ….career in the mid-90s. He was performing the tubular bells in a Hindemith piece with the NZSO, conducted by Franz-Paul Decker.
During rehearsals Decker was on Farr’s “case”. “He did not like me,” he says. “He kept saying ‘What’s wrong with you? Can’t you play it any louder?’ The team found Farr the biggest, hardest mallet they could find. He was hitting the bells so hard that chips were flying off the mallet during rehearsal.
In the performance, at the Auckland Town Hall, Farr sat in silence, growing more anxious as his part approached – about 10 minutes into the piece. When it was time, he hit the tubular bell so hard that the string broke and it flew off the stand. “I can see it in slow motion disappearing away from me,” Farr laughs. “It missed the principal trombonist’s head by four centimetres… dented the stage… and rolled across the stage stopping against the double basses.”
He continued to play his part, despite the missing bell. And what did the conductor do? “He didn’t say a word.”
https://www.rnz.co.nz/concert/progra...fabulous-at-50Comment
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