This Week in Classical Music: December 2, 2019.Three Francophones and more.As it often happens, the anniversaries of three French speaking (and mostly French) composers fall on the second week of December.They are César Franck’s, who was born on December 10th of 1822 in Liège, Belgium but spent much of his life in France, and two great Frenchmen: Olivier Messiaen and Hector Berlioz.Messiaen was born on December 10th of 1908 in Avignon, Berlioz – on December 11th of 1803 in La Côte-Saint-André, a small village not far from Grenoble.Messiaen was one of the greatest composers of the 20th century, while Berlioz occupies a similar place in the Pantheon of the 19th century composers, and we’ve written about both of them on many occasions (see, for example, here and here).Messiaen, as we know, was not only a composer, he was an amateur ornithologist; he also used real and imitated birdsongs in many of his compositions.In 1955 Pierre Boulez asked Messiaen to write a piece based on the songs of exotic birds, and that’s exactly what Messiaen came up with, Oiseaux exotiques, a composition for the piano and small orchestra.It was premiered in 1956 with Yvonne Loriod, Messiaen’s wife, at the piano.The birds Messiaen so exquisitely imitates include the cardinal, the Hindu mynah, the oriole and the mockingbird.Oiseaux exotiques is performed here by the pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under the direction of Riccardo Chailly.
Elliott Carter was one of the most important American modernist composers.He was born on December 11th of 1908, one day after Messiaen, in Manhattan and lived a very long and productive life: Carter died on November 5th of 2012 at the age of 103 and wrote his last composition, Epigrams for piano trio, that very year.Much of Carter’s music is complex and not easy to approach.This piece, Variations for Orchestra, was written in 1955 (as was Messiaen’s Oiseaux exotiques which we referenced above) and is considered one of his more accessible pieces.Everything, of course, is relative.Variations is performed by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Michael Gielen.
One of the greatest German sopranos of the 20th century, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf was born on December 9th of 1915 in Jarotschin in the Prussian Province of Posen (this now-Polish city is called Jarocin). Schwarzkopf also lived a long life – not as long as Elliott Carter, but still a full 90 years.Some of these years were difficult and morally ambiguous if not repugnant (she was a member of the Nazi party – but so was Herbert von Karajan).What we remember her for, though, is the clarity and beauty of her voice, which is unsurpassed, and the intelligence of her singing.And of course, she was also a beautiful woman with a great stage presence.Here’s a recording from 1951: Schwarzkopf singing Robert Schumann’s Der Nussbaum (The Walnut Tree), from his collection of songs, op. 25, Myrthen.Gerald Moore is on the piano.
Messiaen, Carter, Schwarzkopf 2019
This Week in Classical Music: December 2, 2019. Three Francophones and more. As it often happens, the anniversaries of three French speaking (and mostly French) composers fall on the second week of December. They are César Franck’s, who was born on December 10th of 1822 in Liège, Belgium but spent much of his life in France, and two great Frenchmen: Olivier
Messiaen and Hector Berlioz. Messiaen was born on December 10th of 1908 in Avignon, Berlioz – on December 11th of 1803 in La Côte-Saint-André, a small village not far from Grenoble. Messiaen was one of the greatest composers of the 20th century, while Berlioz occupies a similar place in the Pantheon of the 19th century composers, and we’ve written about both of them on many occasions (see, for example, here and here). Messiaen, as we know, was not only a composer, he was an amateur ornithologist; he also used real and imitated birdsongs in many of his compositions. In 1955 Pierre Boulez asked Messiaen to write a piece based on the songs of exotic birds, and that’s exactly what Messiaen came up with, Oiseaux exotiques, a composition for the piano and small orchestra. It was premiered in 1956 with Yvonne Loriod, Messiaen’s wife, at the piano. The birds Messiaen so exquisitely imitates include the cardinal, the Hindu mynah, the oriole and the mockingbird. Oiseaux exotiques is performed here by the pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under the direction of Riccardo Chailly.
Elliott Carter was one of the most important American modernist composers. He was born on December 11th of 1908, one day after Messiaen, in Manhattan and lived a very long and productive life: Carter died on November 5th of 2012 at the age of 103 and wrote his last composition, Epigrams for piano trio, that very year. Much of Carter’s music is complex and not easy to approach. This piece, Variations for Orchestra, was written in 1955 (as was Messiaen’s Oiseaux exotiques which we referenced above) and is considered one of his more accessible pieces. Everything, of course, is relative. Variations is performed by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Michael Gielen.
One of the greatest German sopranos of the 20th century, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf was born on
December 9th of 1915 in Jarotschin in the Prussian Province of Posen (this now-Polish city is called Jarocin). Schwarzkopf also lived a long life – not as long as Elliott Carter, but still a full 90 years. Some of these years were difficult and morally ambiguous if not repugnant (she was a member of the Nazi party – but so was Herbert von Karajan). What we remember her for, though, is the clarity and beauty of her voice, which is unsurpassed, and the intelligence of her singing. And of course, she was also a beautiful woman with a great stage presence. Here’s a recording from 1951: Schwarzkopf singing Robert Schumann’s Der Nussbaum (The Walnut Tree), from his collection of songs, op. 25, Myrthen. Gerald Moore is on the piano.