What a wonderful piece of "Halloween music" and a great recording! I'm so glad this is on youtube for all to see. Daniel Glover is a fantastic pianist--watch his fingers fly over passages both exciting and poetic. Thank you to Mr. Glover, Mr. Klein, and the Saratoga Symphony for performing this, and thank you to videographer Terry Dudley!
I found Victor Hugo's poem, "The Jinn", which inspired Cesar Franck to compose this concerto, on Wikipedia. Reading the poem while listening to the pianist's and the orchestra's performance, gave me even a better "picture" of what concerto was expressing, in music, what the poem was all about. There is the passage in the poem: "Seems like a bell of a dwarf who jumps, it is a gallop, he flees and rushes....." this section of the poem juxtaposes perfectly when we hear the pianist's initial entry into the concerto (Time frame [2:07]). The pianist and orchestra also expresses beautifully in music: "They have passed! - Their cohort flies away, and flees, and their feet cease to beat my door with their multiplied blows." (Time frame [8:55]). BRAVO!!
Thanks Greg. Other critics have also pointed out how well Franck illustrates the terror of the poem. They have also praised the prayer in the middle as being very powerful emotionally.
What a wonderful piece of "Halloween music" and a great recording! I'm so glad this is on youtube for all to see. Daniel Glover is a fantastic pianist--watch his fingers fly over passages both exciting and poetic. Thank you to Mr. Glover, Mr. Klein, and the Saratoga Symphony for performing this, and thank you to videographer Terry Dudley!
Glad you enjoyed it, Karen. It’s a joy to play: love the four bassoons and the brooding sound they make.
I found Victor Hugo's poem, "The Jinn", which inspired Cesar Franck to compose this concerto, on Wikipedia. Reading the poem while listening to the pianist's and the orchestra's performance, gave me even a better "picture" of what concerto was expressing, in music, what the poem was all about. There is the passage in the poem: "Seems like a bell of a dwarf who jumps, it is a gallop, he flees and rushes....." this section of the poem juxtaposes perfectly when we hear the pianist's initial entry into the concerto (Time frame [2:07]). The pianist and orchestra also expresses beautifully in music: "They have passed! - Their cohort flies away, and flees, and their feet cease to beat my door with their multiplied blows." (Time frame [8:55]). BRAVO!!
Thanks Greg. Other critics have also pointed out how well Franck illustrates the terror of the poem. They have also praised the prayer in the middle as being very powerful emotionally.