Friday Miscellanea

The New York Times has a review of the opening concerts: The Salzburg Festival Opens in Search of Elusive Peace

The opening was meant to feature the Britten requiem with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra from England, which premiered it in 1962, and its chorus, under its music director, Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla.

But pandemic restrictions affecting performers traveling from England, combined with the ensemble’s massive roster for the piece — which calls for two choirs and two orchestras — made the appearance impossible. And, in something of a post-Brexit message of European unity, a new group was quickly assembled from nearly 20 countries: members of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Wiener Singverein. Grazinyte-Tyla still conducted, admirably, but not always eliciting a performance in which the details penetrated the sheer scale of the piece — though there were standouts in the tenor Allan Clayton, his sound by turns bitter and beautiful, and in Florian Boesch’s hauntingly somber baritone.

* * * 

Here's the kind of story I enjoy: Reconstructing a 12th-century pipe organ discovered in the Holy Land

In the early 20th century, a team of archaeologists unearthed a 12th-century organ from beneath the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The organ, which was preserved by the dry climate for centuries, is the oldest extant example of a pipe organ. Now, Spanish music historian and organist David Catalunya will attempt to reconstruct it so it might sound again. 

To call the piece an organ is a bit of an exaggeration, as only the pipes and bells were recovered. The rest of the organ is traditionally constructed from wooden pieces that would not have survived. Still, these metal aerophones are the heart of the organ, which produce sound as air moves through the pipe. 

* * *

I tend to approach the New York Times' recurring feature 5 Classical Albums to Hear Right Now with something of a raised eyebrow as if to ask, "uh-huh, and just what do they want to pass off as "classical" this time?" The solidly classical is an album of madrigals by Sigismondo d'India and that is followed by a collection of mono recordings with Rafael Kubelik and the Chicago Symphony. But then it goes rather offtrack with some hard to categorize, but semi-pop/new age meanderings by Gabriella Smith and Pamela Z. If I spent more time listening I might be able to offer a better categorization, but my interest waned early on. Wrapping up is a lite classical album by French pianist Lise de la Salle. So, ok, three out of five. But honestly, the only one that seems really interesting is the Sigismondo d'India. But that's just me.

* * *

At The Guardian, Simon Rattle talks about the impact the pandemic has had on musicians:

Rattle said many freelance musicians he had approached to perform in a concert planned for earlier this year turned the down opportunity because they had moved on to other forms of employment.

“Many of the first-choice people said, ‘Look I’m sorry, I’m not doing this any more. I have a family. I had to take another profession. Six months ago, I’d have welcomed it’,” he said.

“We are not going to realise about this for a long time, and then it’s going to be too late. A lot of musicians are looking into the abyss.”

* * *

Back to the New York Times for an example of what I would call "motivated reasoning." Asian Composers Reflect on Careers in Western Classical Music :

Asian composers who write in Western classical musical forms, like symphonies and operas, tend to have a few things in common. Many learned European styles from an early age, and finished their studies at conservatories there or in the United States. And many later found themselves relegated to programming ghettos like Lunar New Year concerts. (One recent study found that works by Asian composers make up only about 2 percent of American orchestral performances planned for the coming season.)

* * *

This fellow built a very long piano:

It occurred to me that long bass strings sounded better. When I was 14 I asked my piano teacher how long a bass a string would need to be if it had no copper on it at all. The answer was “Adrian the string would be so long it would go on for ever!” so with this in mind I did an experiment where I could find that measurement.

I knocked a waratah (metal fence post) into the ground at both ends and with a big piece of timber with a hole and tuning pin in it I strung up an enormous bass string. After finding a safe tension I tuned it to the lowest A on a piano by moving rocks along the wire.

Here I discovered the most interesting sound and from this point I was determined to build a piano to have the longest string sounding like this. I later did more experimenting. Fifteen year old me said “Mum I’m going to build a piano!”

I think because I was so young I absolutely knew it was totally possible to do, I was fully determined and without consulting any professionals I had no barrier stopping me.

* * *

I first heard the Britten War Requiem in London in 1974. Here is a 1964 performance conducted by the composer:

 Here is music by Cabezon played on the historic Covarrubias organ by Paulino Ortiz:

And here is music by Sigismondo d'India performed by Erika Tandiono soprano and Bernhard Reichel Chitarrone.