Charles Rosen - RIP

[Guest]

I only just heard about this via an obituary at the bottom of the Guardian's home page: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012.../charles-rosen

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Very sad news; a marvellously provokative and intellectually passionate writer.


Horrible year, isn't it.

[EdgeleyRob]

RIP.
What a depressing few days it's been.

[Op. XXXIX]

RIP indeed!

One of the most stimulating books on music I ever read was Rosen's 'The Romantic Generation'. (Stimulating even when I didn't always agree. )

[Keraulophone]

He had Style with The Classics - in performance and in print.

'marvellously provokative' - orthographically provocative, fhg?

[ahinton]

He had Style with The Classics - in performance and in print.

'marvellously provokative' - orthographically provocative, fhg?

He had a most remarkable and, I believe extremely rare way of writing high intellectual work that was nevertheless eminently capable of communicating with anyone possessing intelligence, regardless of how well versed they might have been in musical literacy; perhaps the biggest problem with him was that his literary writings were so stimulating, engaging and persuasive that some people tended to forget his greatness as a pianist, which was always his primary priority in life.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

'marvellously provokative' - orthographically provocative, fhg?

But of kourse.

[Steerpike]

Both as a player and as a writer one of the greatest I've known. In Beethoven he removed all thoughts of an intellectual versus a 'feeling' approach, he was always and magnificently both. A real loss.

[ostuni]

Wonderful writer, wonderful pianist. When I was a music student in the 70s, he was a hero of mine - both from 'the Classical Style', and his LPs of the Beethoven late sonatas, so it was a great thrill to have him come to Durham to play the Boulez 2nd sonata and the Beethoven Hammerklavier in a recital. I was on the organizing committee, and have fond memories of staying up late into the night after the recital, drinking lots of beer, and listening to him expounding on a wonderful variety of topics.

Apropos of the Eroica thread, and the discussion of tempi in op106/i, I remember him being very firm that this is an Allegro, not an Allegro Maestoso: to play it too grandly is to rob it of its visceral power.

[richardfinegold]

RIP indeed!

One of the most stimulating books on music I ever read was Rosen's 'The Romantic Generation'. (Stimulating even when I didn't always agree. )

"The Classical Style" taught me a lot, and I still look at it frequently, after 30 years.
He also made my favorite recording of Beethoven's Diabellis.
R.I.P.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

perhaps the biggest problem with him was that his literary writings were so stimulating, engaging and persuasive that some people tended to forget his greatness as a pianist, which was always his primary priority in life.

Indeed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWspGgzXiy4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8jpSV9N59k

Composer and dedicatee here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6sN1sRKm8Q

[Bryn]

I regret that I only ever got to attend one of his recitals. It was of the three Op. 31 sonatas of Beethoven. They remain in my memory the benchmark against which all other performances of those sonatas are measured (and usually found wanting). His late Beethoven on disc is also to be treasured, including the CD included with some editions of The Classical Style.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

His Classical Style has been passed on to sprog; i treasure this recording by him

[gurnemanz]

We saw him still on good form talking and playing at the Wiltshire Music Centre only last year. A formidable performer and intellect. I have his Art of Fugue on CD and shall play it today.

[amateur51]

I became aware of Charles Rosen when I was working in record shops in the 1970s and he became involved with Wyn Morris and the Symphonica of London in recording Beethoven piano concertos (a project that was not finished, I think). During the same period Rosen recorded Beethoven Diabelli variations, a recording that I played over & over. It seemed to me that his playing was informed by a tremendous seriousness that was never dull and often instructive, a quality of seriousness that isn't often encountered today.

His books are a joy to read even though I have no technical musical education.

He has gone and that is sad, but just from the wealth of evidence given on this thread it is clear that his impact is enormous. His books and recordings are available, his infkluence lives on - it was a life well lived