March 25, 2019.Composers, performers… This is another overabundant week.Franz Joseph Haydn was born on March 31st of 1732.And one of the most important composers of the first half of the 20th century, Béla Bartók, was born on this day, March 25th of 1881.The second half of the last century is also represented, by none other than Pierre Boulez, born on March 26th of 1925.And then there are two composers from previous eras: the 18th century Johann Adolph Hasse, born 320 years ago, on March 25th of 1699, whose opere serie were, for a while, some of the most popular in all of Europe – that, given that among his competitors were the young Handel and still very active Italians of the older generation, from Alessandro Scarlatti to Petri, Bononcini, Caldara, and Porpora.And from two centuries earlier, one of the most important composers of the Spanish Renaissance, Antonio de Cabezón, who was born on March 30th of 1510.(We’ve written about all them several times, for example here, here, here, and here).
And then there are two eminent pianists, Wilhelm Backhaus and Rudolf Serkin.Backhaus was born on March 26th of 1884 in Leipzig, Serkin – on March 28th of 1903 in Eger, a town in Bohemia now called Cheb.Both immensely talented, both great interpreters of the music of Beethoven, both native German speakers, both spent a lot of time in the US, but it’s hard to imagine more different biographies.Backhaus was close to the Nazis and knew Hitler personally, though eventually he emigrated from Nazi Germany to Switzerland.Serkin, of Russian-Jewish decent, lived in Vienna and then in Berlin, but after the rise of Nazism had to flee Germany first to Switzerland then to the US.We’ll write about both and compare some of their recordings.
That’s not all: Mstislav Rostropovich, one of the greatest cellists of the 20th century, was also born this week – on March 27th of 1927, in Baku, the capital of now-independent Azerbaijan.Not just a phenomenal cellist, he was also a conductor and, at the time when all civic activity was suppressed, an active supporter of the banned writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn.For that the Soviets punished Rostropovich, canceling all his foreign tours.In 1974, thanks to Senator Edward Kennedy and active Western public opinion, Rostropovich and his wife, the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, were allowed to leave the Soviet Union; they returned only after the fall of the Communist regime in 1991.Rostropovich is another brilliant musician on our “to do” list.And as if that wasn’t enough, Arturo Toscanini, who needs no introduction, was born on this day in 1867 in Parma.
The person whom we really wanted to write about this week is the conductor Willem Mengelberg.Of a Dutch-German artistic family (his father was a well-known sculptor), Mengelberg was born in Utrecht on March 28th of 1871.After studying the piano and organ in his native city, he went to the Cologne Conservatory, where he also studied composition.In 1895, at the age of 24, he was appointed the principal conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, and, during his tenure of 50 years, made it into one of the best European orchestras.Mengelberg met Gustav Mahler in Vienna in 1902 and invited the composer to Amsterdam to conduct one of his symphonies; Mahler did that in 1903, performing his Third Symphony.Then, in 1904, also at the Concertgebouw, and following Mengelberg’s suggestion, Mahler conducted his Fourth Symphony – twice during one concert, once before the break, and then again, in the second half!What a great idea, to play a complex composition, new to listeners’ ear, two times, so that it settles in one’s mind, becomes more understandable.This would’ve never happened in our time.Mengelberg and the Concertgebouw developed a tradition of playing Mahler, one of the strongest in Europe (the Austrians and the Germans weren’t big on Mahler at that time).In 1920, Mengelberg instituted a Mahler Festival.His tempos and rubatos sound a bit outdated, and the recording quality is not very good, but you may still enjoy his interpretations.Here, from 1939, is Mahler’s Symphony no. 4.
End of March, 2019
March 25, 2019. Composers, performers… This is another overabundant week. Franz Joseph Haydn was born on March 31st of 1732. And one of the most important composers of the first half of the 20th century, Béla Bartók, was born on this day, March 25th of 1881. The second half of the last century is also represented, by none other than Pierre Boulez, born on March 26th of 1925. And then there are two composers from previous eras: the 18th century Johann Adolph Hasse, born 320 years ago, on March 25th of 1699, whose opere serie were, for a while, some of the most popular in all of Europe – that, given that among his competitors were the young Handel and still very active Italians of the older generation, from Alessandro Scarlatti to Petri, Bononcini, Caldara, and Porpora. And from two centuries earlier, one of the most important composers of the Spanish Renaissance, Antonio de Cabezón, who was born on March 30th of 1510. (We’ve written about all them several times, for example here, here, here, and here).
And then there are two eminent pianists, Wilhelm Backhaus and Rudolf Serkin. Backhaus was born on March 26th of 1884 in Leipzig, Serkin – on March 28th of 1903 in Eger, a town in Bohemia now called Cheb. Both immensely talented, both great interpreters of the music of Beethoven, both native German speakers, both spent a lot of time in the US, but it’s hard to imagine more different biographies. Backhaus was close to the Nazis and knew Hitler personally, though eventually he emigrated from Nazi Germany to Switzerland. Serkin, of Russian-Jewish decent, lived in Vienna and then in Berlin, but after the rise of Nazism had to flee Germany first to Switzerland then to the US. We’ll write about both and compare some of their recordings.
That’s not all: Mstislav Rostropovich, one of the greatest cellists of the 20th century, was also born this week – on March 27th of 1927, in Baku, the capital of now-independent Azerbaijan. Not just a phenomenal cellist, he was also a conductor and, at the time when all civic activity was suppressed, an active supporter of the banned writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn. For that the Soviets punished Rostropovich, canceling all his foreign tours. In 1974, thanks to Senator Edward Kennedy and active Western public opinion, Rostropovich and his wife, the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, were allowed to leave the Soviet Union; they returned only after the fall of the Communist regime in 1991. Rostropovich is another brilliant musician on our “to do” list. And as if that wasn’t enough, Arturo Toscanini, who needs no introduction, was born on this day in 1867 in Parma.