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| Alpine flowers in Austria |
You might think you know what Spanish guitar music sounds like, and you might think it an unexpectedly middle-of-the-road choice for Sean Shibe, who has always appeared more at home in programmes that set your ears slightly off-kilter ... But there’s nothing hackneyed about Camino. It’s a beautifully intimate recording, full of playing that is as far from classical-guitar cliche as a real flamenco dancer is from a postcard of a donkey in a sombrero.
I guess that's just journalism for you. Here is a sample from the album: Pavana triste from the Sonata by Antonio José:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBcrfV9SxdQ
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If you want to hear something, uh, unusual, head over to Slipped Disc: RUIN YOUR DAY: JENNIFER HUDSON SINGS NESSUN DORMA. As always, the comments are especially enjoyable.
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Alex Ross headed up to Tanglewood this summer and writes an article on Swedish conductor Herbert Blomstedt: The Most Vital Conductor of Beethoven Is Ninety-four. I don't know that this is actually true, but it could be and it certainly makes a great headline.
The assumption that conductors of great age radiate incalculable wisdom is a dubious one, smacking of musty personality worship. Then again, the classical-music world makes an equally dubious cult of fresh-faced youth. The esteem in which orchestras and audiences now hold Blomstedt is a belated reward for a resolutely unshowy musician who has gone about his business decade after decade. What he offers, above all, is a kind of preternatural rightness: no gesture feels out of place, no gesture feels routine.
Excellent piece, read the whole thing.
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Economist Tyler Cohen asks, who died too soon that we should give extra years to? The cultural life extension query. And the very plausible answer is: Schubert.
Schubert was just starting to peak, but we already have a significant amount of top-tier Mozart. And I take Mozart to be the number one contender for the designation. Schubert composed nine symphonies, and number seven still wasn’t that great. Some people think number eight was unfinished. Number nine is incredible. Furthermore, I believe the nature of his genius would have aged well with the man.
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The Emerson Quartet are disbanding: Celebrated String Quartet Will Disband, Ending 47-Year Run
The quartet, which began as a student group at the Juilliard School before turning professional in 1976, is one of best-known in the world. Its members have made more than 30 recordings together and have won nine Grammy Awards.
In addition to Setzer, the ensemble includes Eugene Drucker, 69, a violinist who is another founding member; the violist Lawrence Dutton, 67, joined in 1977, and the cellist Paul Watkins, 51, in 2013.
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And that brings us to our envois. First is Herbert Blomstedt conducting the Beethoven Symphony No. 7 with the NDR Symphony:
Next, here he is conducting the Bamberg Symphony in the Unfinished Symphony by Schubert:
Finally, here is one of my favorite clips of the Emerson Quartet playing one of the composers they specialized in, Shostakovich.
I had the pleasure of hearing ESQ a lot of times in Seattle. I was able to attend their concert series of presenting Shostakovich, Beethoven and they even did their Bartok cycle (which is just as amazing live as on disc). But I also appreciated that they premiered a string quartet by Joan Tower. They were known for doing great work with warhorse literature, to be sure, but I appreciated that they did premiere new works along the way, too.
ReplyDeleteSlipped Disc has gone the covid-19 route a bit, I see, but after so many decades of great music-making even the Emerson String Quartet gets to say they had a fantastic run and can disband the ensemble.
Perfect envoi for DSCH by ESQ there. :)
Bryan, thank you for taking the time to give us your concert reviews. The alpine flowers look to me like Grass of Parnassus. Five creamy white petals with fine green lines and attractive star-like stamens. I am pleased that your experience in a large group concert setting was so positive and hopefully COVID-free.
ReplyDeleteYes, they seem to have brought the whole thing off very safely. The halls were full for nearly every concert. Every person was checked for vaccination at the entry and FFP2 facemasks were worn at all times inside.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the name of the flower!
Shibe's album is recorded so beautifully. It's interesting how he has described wanting to return to Spanish repertoire during lockdown. The same thing happened to me, with particular interest in the Tarrega School. I even ended up cutting off my nails and have been making some recordings over the last half year, within the limits of my technical and technological ability, to try and help encourage interest in the technique and history. Though I hesitate somewhat to share them with a former concert guitarist of your ability, you may be interested; here's a recording of a little study by Pujol I just made, for example:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bkyxfnUgzE
A shame about the Emerson Quartet, but they have indeed left some great recordings. I used to listen to their recording of Ives' Second String Quartet all the time. I enjoyed the Shostakovich very much.
The pandemic seems to have encouraged musicians to reconnect with their roots. Steven, that is a lovely recording of the Pujol. I think he was a great and underrated teacher and I spent a great deal of time with his pedagogical books. I don't think I recall playing this study, but lots of others! Beautiful recording and beautiful sound!
ReplyDeleteThank Bryan, that means a lot coming from you! Yes I agree about Pujol. There's a few other studies I'd like to properly learn, as well as a number of scores of works written for Pujol by non-guitarist composers which I've been collecting, some of it quite "modern" music compared to the Segovia rep...
ReplyDeleteSegovia did tend to "big-foot" a lot of other guitarists like Barrios and composers like Llobet. People like Emilio Pujol were always in his shadow.
ReplyDelete