Jordan Hall is an absolutely beautiful place to hear a piece like this both acoustically and visually. For anyone who visits Boston and loves great music there are all kinds of performances going on here almost nightly and there is no admission charge.
One of my biggest pet peeves was alleviated with this recording. Brahms wrote that final soli line in the bass trombone and lower strings, but I almost never hear the bass trombone in any recordings, save this one and a few others. Bravo. If he didn't want it, it would not be there. Brahms was notorious for wanting more bass "oomph" as dictated by his extremely frequent writing for contrabassoon.
Hugh Wolff is the rare (truly) conductor who has ears and takes care to balance, that's one of the many reasons why his Debussy and Ravel (and BRAHMS) are so gorgeous! And outstanding.
Hugh Wolff's tempo might be quite a bit slower than is currently fashionable but it certainly has a place in music making. One of the glories of "classical" music is that different conductors can bring their own insight into a work - o.k. it's not always successful to our ears and there are outright bad performances (the objective side of music). This interpretation is very much in the tradition of say, Otto Klemperer in this later years, and none the worse for that! Wonderful playing.
High is such an intelligent musician -- I love his purposeful tempi. In Brahms especially it's such a joy to sing those gorgeous melodies and harmonies.
How slow and heavy (especially timps in the opening bars). Obviously does not agree with much of what Gunther Schuller points to. First and second movement almost the same pulse which makes it dull and stodgy. No comment needed about the return of the choral in the last movement. Tradition has ruined that for all of us.
But Schuller's recording, though interesting and, of course, text-observant, somehow wears out its welcome very quickly, especially given the seemingly rug-covered recording space he unfathomably favored. I know what you're saying about "tradition" but the great 20th-century conductors---e.g. Toscanini, Klemperer, Furtwangler---were not the "cottage cheese" GS would have us believe they were and made this music into something memorable. Hugh Wolff, via his great mentor, Leonard Shure, a student of Schnabel, is thus a grandchild of that tradition and cannot be summarily dismissed as you imply. His reading is more than respectable, though (I must admit) a little bit too "middle of the road" for me. He makes a much better case for the Schuert Great C Major, also available on UA-cam.
MrKlemps Dear MrKlemps: There is much that can be discussed back and forth. And, yes, Schuller’s performance is not perfect. But the thoughts are a better reflection of what is in the music. They have also helped me to better my own performances. Let me just remind you that before the continued “Wagnerisation” of the Beethoven Symphonies, Brahms’ first symphonic venture was of often symbolically referred to as Beethoven’s 10th. Being more of a purist in Beethoven as well I can only lament what damage Wagner did all around to his monumental works. Furthermore, NEC, my Alma Matar, should not be promoting the continued traditional distortion of this kind but instead should be striving for a purer sense of what is written. It is after all an educational facility. Once out in the real world students can follow their own clearly formulated and thought out interpretations from what they actually see in the score. Enough said.
Thank you for your thoughtful, non dogmatic reply. I agree with your stance, at least in theory, but there is certainly "room" for the greatest of the "old school conductors. And I hope you'd agree that without "gefuhl," the literal text-observant conductors don't take us very far. My favorites among the active living: Osmo Vanska, Ivan Fischer, and James Levine. I've not heard Daniel Harding live but have been impressed with what I've heard and seen on UA-cam.
MrKlemps Dear MrKlemps. Your comment about “gefuhl” reflects my thoughts perfectly. Rewriting compositions in one’s own image definitely does not however great the name may be. Perhaps you have aspirations to conduct. Why not investigate a fantastic opportunity at the Peter the Great Music Academy in St Petersburg, Russia. www.peterthegreatmusicacademy.com
JOHAN KATZ Imagine if you were able to listen to this performance without associating the music with anything; Gunther Schuller, your own performances, "tradition", etc. Only then can you deal judgement to the merit of this performance. Will it still be dull in your mind? Perhaps. But at least your opinion will be focused purely on the sounds rather than outside associations.
![5 Pieces by Hans Zimmer \\ Iconic Soundtracks \\ Relaxing Piano [20min]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Os47nMrjw_Y/mqdefault.jpg)
Jordan Hall is an absolutely beautiful place to hear a piece like this both acoustically and visually. For anyone who visits Boston and loves great music there are all kinds of performances going on here almost nightly and there is no admission charge.
One of my biggest pet peeves was alleviated with this recording. Brahms wrote that final soli line in the bass trombone and lower strings, but I almost never hear the bass trombone in any recordings, save this one and a few others. Bravo. If he didn't want it, it would not be there. Brahms was notorious for wanting more bass "oomph" as dictated by his extremely frequent writing for contrabassoon.
Hugh Wolff is the rare (truly) conductor who has ears and takes care to balance, that's one of the many reasons why his Debussy and Ravel (and BRAHMS) are so gorgeous! And outstanding.
Hugh Wolff's tempo might be quite a bit slower than is currently fashionable but it certainly has a place in music making. One of the glories of "classical" music is that different conductors can bring their own insight into a work - o.k. it's not always successful to our ears and there are outright bad performances (the objective side of music). This interpretation is very much in the tradition of say, Otto Klemperer in this later years, and none the worse for that! Wonderful playing.
High is such an intelligent musician -- I love his purposeful tempi. In Brahms especially it's such a joy to sing those gorgeous melodies and harmonies.
32:57
The flautist is very Beautiful and sounds great in the solo parts. I love her Black Robson with little bow around her golden hair.
How slow and heavy (especially timps in the opening bars). Obviously does not agree with much of what Gunther Schuller points to. First and second movement almost the same pulse which makes it dull and stodgy. No comment needed about the return of the choral in the last movement. Tradition has ruined that for all of us.
But Schuller's recording, though interesting and, of course, text-observant, somehow wears out its welcome very quickly, especially given the seemingly rug-covered recording space he unfathomably favored. I know what you're saying about "tradition" but the great 20th-century conductors---e.g. Toscanini, Klemperer, Furtwangler---were not the "cottage cheese" GS would have us believe they were and made this music into something memorable. Hugh Wolff, via his great mentor, Leonard Shure, a student of Schnabel, is thus a grandchild of that tradition and cannot be summarily dismissed as you imply. His reading is more than respectable, though (I must admit) a little bit too "middle of the road" for me. He makes a much better case for the Schuert Great C Major, also available on UA-cam.
MrKlemps Dear MrKlemps: There is much that can be discussed back and forth. And, yes, Schuller’s performance is not perfect. But the thoughts are a better reflection of what is in the music. They have also helped me to better my own performances.
Let me just remind you that before the continued “Wagnerisation” of the Beethoven Symphonies, Brahms’ first symphonic venture was of often symbolically referred to as Beethoven’s 10th.
Being more of a purist in Beethoven as well I can only lament what damage Wagner did all around to his monumental works.
Furthermore, NEC, my Alma Matar, should not be promoting the continued traditional distortion of this kind but instead should be striving for a purer sense of what is written. It is after all an educational facility.
Once out in the real world students can follow their own clearly formulated and thought out interpretations from what they actually see in the score.
Enough said.
Thank you for your thoughtful, non dogmatic reply. I agree with your stance, at least in theory, but there is certainly "room" for the greatest of the "old school conductors. And I hope you'd agree that without "gefuhl," the literal text-observant conductors don't take us very far. My favorites among the active living: Osmo Vanska, Ivan Fischer, and James Levine. I've not heard Daniel Harding live but have been impressed with what I've heard and seen on UA-cam.
MrKlemps Dear MrKlemps. Your comment about “gefuhl” reflects my thoughts perfectly. Rewriting compositions in one’s own image definitely does not however great the name may be.
Perhaps you have aspirations to conduct. Why not investigate a fantastic opportunity at the Peter the Great Music Academy in St Petersburg, Russia. www.peterthegreatmusicacademy.com
JOHAN KATZ Imagine if you were able to listen to this performance without associating the music with anything;
Gunther Schuller, your own performances, "tradition", etc. Only then can you deal judgement to the merit of this performance. Will it still be dull in your mind? Perhaps. But at least your opinion will be focused purely on the sounds rather than outside associations.
STODGY TEMPO TOO BAD