Eötvös - H&N Sat 14 May

[french frank]

The Total Immersion H&N on Peter Eötvös is tomorrow (Sat 14th May), 10.30pm, from the concert given earlier in the day at the Barbican with the BBCSO.

"Peter Eötvös is a composer who creates dazzling new sonorities, inventing astonishing combinations of instrumental and electronic textures and drawing listeners deep into the tonal fabric of his works. IMA, which portrays the biblical act of creation, is a sequel to Atlantis and is Eötvös's biggest choral work to date, employing the forces of a choir of solo singers and a main choir. Fragments of pieces written during his time as a student in Budapest in the early 1960s, meanwhile, supply an autobiographical flavour to Psychokosmos for cimbalom (a dulcimer used in Eastern European folk music) and "traditional" orchestra."

[Roehre]

I plan to listen, the programme looks interesting.

[MrGongGong]

Psychokosmos is a great piece indeed
as is Zero points
i'm looking forward to being there

[Sydney Grew]

I am sorry to have to say it, but I am very much deterred by the string of nonsensical names:

Zero Points
Psychokosmos
Levitation
IMA (Prayer)

It was Liszt was it not who really began this fad for "tone poems" which people like M. Eötvös have evidently still not managed to shake off. Myself I am an absolute-music man: if a composer is incapable of writing music that does not require evocative words as a crutch he is not a true composer, and indeed is well down the slippery slope towards charlatanism.

[MrGongGong]

I'm afraid Sydney thats utter nonsense

I was at the Barbican and these were some really wonderful pieces, full of colour and expertly executed.
If its the title that you object to (rather than the actual SOUND of the music ?) then what on earth do you make of

Dvorak 9th Symphony or even Beethoven 6 ???? nonsensical names ...........how about Surprise Symphony, Enigma Variations, Song of the Earth (we all know the earth can't sing !!!) .........maybe you crave Feldmans approach in some pieces
Three Clarinets, Cello and Piano : does what it says on the tin !

Eötvös is really worth listening to imv

[Chris Newman]

MrGG,

I do agree that Sid is talking utter nonsense and shutting his ears to some wonderful experiences.
Though I have to say that the Earth does sing (when it is in a glad mood) ... at every corner too!

bws
Chris.

[french frank]

I am sorry to have to say it, but I am very much deterred by the string of nonsensical names:

Oh, dear - that's a real shame. When you think about it, Sydney, should you - an intelligent and sensitive person with a profound interest in music - be 'deterred' from listening and forming an independent opinion on those grounds? Wouldn't this consideration hold even if the titles were nonsensical and pretentious?

Have a listen and let us know what you think

[amateur51]

I am sorry to have to say it, but I am very much deterred by the string of nonsensical names:

Zero Points
Psychokosmos
Levitation
IMA (Prayer)

It was Liszt was it not who really began this fad for "tone poems" which people like M. Eötvös have evidently still not managed to shake off. Myself I am an absolute-music man: if a composer is incapable of writing music that does not require evocative words as a crutch he is not a true composer, and indeed is well down the slippery slope towards charlatanism.

A glimmer of self-knowledge there, Mr Grew?

[hackneyvi]

I attended this concert on a whim and found some of the music really striking, rich and vivacious. The final, choral piece left me rather unmoved but the orchestral music - especially Zero Points - was often gorgeous and exhilerating. Having heard it live, I'm surprised Zero Points isn't played commonly because it's delightful, playful, approachable music.

Was the attendance - particularly thin after the interval - usual for one of these immersion events? I hadn't realised until I looked up at half-time that the balcony was empty/closed.

On a semi-related point, I'd much prefer to have been sitting upstairs. I'm a musical ignoramus but Zero Points reminded me of one of Prokofiev's piano concerti scherzos where the music dances around inside the orchestral groups. I heard it at Liverpool years ago, sitting behind the orchestra and it was my first experience of watching music move through an orchestra. Mr Eotvos' music also seemed to have a visual element to it; the sounds achieved by instrumental combinations that I was often unable disentangle by ear and even in row P of the stalls, I wasn't able to see over the strings to make out which instruments they might be made by.

A lovely composer whose music taught me a lesson about needing to 'see' music as well as hear it. I was really struck listening to Hear and Now at how (comparatively) serious and 2-dimensional it felt when the music in the hall was often so delicate and lightly energetic.

[Roehre]

Unfortunately a power cut threw a spanner in my planned listening to H&N.

Have to find a moment to listen to it through iPlayer, but that will be rather difficult (caused by the place where the computer stands )

[Bryn]

Roehre, you need to make room in your PM inbox. It is full.

[amateur51]

Great report, hackneyvi!

I've made a note to catch the programme on iPlayer as a result

Many thanks

[hackneyvi]

Great report, hackneyvi!

I've made a note to catch the programme on iPlayer as a result

Many thanks

Thankyou. I've never written a word about 'serious' music in my life before and I hope you won't be disappointed.

I've attended several concerts of modern/contemporary music lately; Louis Andriessen, Xenakis, Steve Reich, James Clarke and Eotvos. I've expected the music to be excessively challenging but - with the exception of the Andriessen which I found rather arid - the others have all been rewarding to some degree.

I was several times reminded of Michael Tippett's music from the 70s in that Eotvos is often rich and rhythmic. I think the right word is 'textures' (?) to describe the effects produced by the instrumentation. They do seem less pronounced on the radio than they were in the hall, but they're still there and clear. The second piece, Psychokosmos, is a concerto for a cymbalom which has some rowdy tuttis, but the softer passages - especially from around 32' on H&N are sometimes lovely.

I do hope you find something to like. The solo writing - the third piece is for 2 clarinets and orchestra - didn't always seem as purposeful or attractive as the softer orchestral music but there's a lot of lovely and joyful music here, I think. The players were full of smiles and applause for Mr Eotvos at the end.

[Sydney Grew]

According to Miss Rounds the authoress of An Essential Grammar the vowel represented by "ö" may be produced by pursing one's lips as though to say "oh!" but saying "eh!" instead. Example: "köszönöm" meaning "thank you."

The vowel represented by "ő" - the double acute you know - and not an orthographical item to which we in Western Europe are commonly exposed - is simply a longer version of the above. Examples: "héftő" meaning "Monday," and "Ernő Dohnányi" (of whom more presently).

Let it also be noted that as Siptár and Törkenczy in their invaluable Phonology of Hungarian point out "a Hungarian word typically has a single primary stress, which falls upon its initial syllable, no matter whether the word is simple, or derived, or a compound."

Oh - it should in addition be remembered that a) Hungarian possesses no diphthongs, and b) the vowel "e" has a sound between our "a" in "bat" and our "e" in "bet." Example: "reggel" (morning).

The composer's surname is thus trisyllabic.

[MrGongGong]

According to Miss Rounds in her Essential Grammar the vowel represented by "ö" may be produced by pursing one's lips as though to say "oh!" but saying "eh!" instead. Example: "köszönöm" meaning "thank you."

The vowel represented by "ő" - the double acute you know - and not an orthographical item to which we in Western Europe are commonly exposed - is simply a longer version of the above. Examples: "héftő" meaning "Monday," and "Ernő Dohnányi" (of whom more presently).

Let it also be noted that as Siptár and Törkenczy in their invaluable Phonology of Hungarian point out "a Hungarian word typically has a single primary stress, which falls upon its initial syllable, no matter whether the word is simple, or derived, or a compound."

Completely hatstand


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