This Week in Classical Music: March 14, 2022.Telemann. Just two weeks ago we complained that it’s difficult to find good music by Antonio Vivaldi other than the overexposed Four Seasons.Vivaldi wrote more than 500 concertos, some of them brilliant (clearly Johann Sebastian Bach thought so, as he transcribed a number of them) but many quite mediocre.The situation with Telemann is even more difficult.Georg Philipp Telemann, who was born on March 14th of 1681 in Magdeburg, was one of the most prolific composers in the history of Western music.He wrote more than 3000 compositions, including 1700 cantatas, of which 1400 are extant.Of course, much of the music was recycled, but Bach did the same on many occasions.How does one go through 1400 cantatas?How many of them have not been performed in the last 100 years?This problem confounds us every time we write about Telemann, and we addressed it directly a couple years ago.Though Telemann was very influential and highly regarded in the 18th century, his fame faded in the 19th, especially when musicologists like Spitta and Schweitzer started unfairly comparing him to Bach, even though during Telemann’s lifetime, and in the following decades, his music was favorably compared to that of Bach and Handel’s.Here is one of Telemann’s cantata’s, Du aber Daniel, gehe hin (Go thy way, Daniel).It is performed by the ensemble Cantus Cölln under the direction of Konrad Junghänel.We find the whole cantata very beautiful, the soprano aria Brecht, ihr müden Augenlieder especially so (it’s sung by Johanna Koslowsky).
A brief note on two recent concerts. Daniil Trifonov played last week in Chicago.That he is a pianist of huge talent becomes apparent almost immediately.He played a devilishly difficult, dense Szymanowski’s piano sonata no. 3, which seems to be influenced both by Schoenberg in his late tonal phase and Debussy.In Trifonov’s interpretation it became live, floating and very pianistic.Debussy (Pour le Piano) followed and then Prokofiev’s Sarcasms.Ukraine is on our mind: both the Polish Szymanowski and the Russian Prokofiev were born there.The second half of the concert was taken by Brahm’s enormous and somewhat unwieldy 3rd piano sonata.Brahms was just 20 when he wrote it and clearly it’s not his greatest composition but somehow Trifonov made it interesting to listen to.Trifonov is one of the most remarkable pianists on stage today and the concert was exhilarating.As one could’ve guessed, it has not been reviewed in the Chicago Tribune.The good news is that there were many young people in the audience.
A very different concert series took place several days later when Herbert Blomstedt came to town.Blomstedt is 94 and looks his age; he suffers from arthritis and walks slowly.Blomstedt conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in three concerts, with Mozart’s Piano Concerto no. 17 in the first half and Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony in the second.Martin Helmchen was the soloist in the Mozart, and he played well (we’d love to hear him in a recital); Blomstedt held everything together.But of course, the important part came later.The Fourth Symphony is one of Bruckner’s more popular pieces, it’s the one with the famous Scherzo for the third movement.There were some issues in the brass section (is it still the best in the world?) but those were minor.Blomstedt, with his small gestures, managed to propel the symphony forward, despite its many stops, turns and repetitions.All climaxes were thrilling and overall it was a marvelous performance.The score book rested in front of Blomstedt on the stand, its red cover visible.It was never opened: Blomstedt conducted the whole 70-minute symphony from memory.The man is 94!The ovation was long, Blomstedt brought up different sections of the orchestra, all greeted with great applause.At the end Blomstedt patted the score, indicating that it’s Bruckner who should be applauded.How very true.Once again, there were many young people in the hall.Is there still hope for classical music?
Telemann, two concerts 2022
This Week in Classical Music: March 14, 2022. Telemann. Just two weeks ago we complained that it’s difficult to find good music by Antonio Vivaldi other than the overexposed Four Seasons.
Vivaldi wrote more than 500 concertos, some of them brilliant (clearly Johann Sebastian Bach thought so, as he transcribed a number of them) but many quite mediocre. The situation with Telemann is even more difficult. Georg Philipp Telemann, who was born on March 14th of 1681 in Magdeburg, was one of the most prolific composers in the history of Western music. He wrote more than 3000 compositions, including 1700 cantatas, of which 1400 are extant. Of course, much of the music was recycled, but Bach did the same on many occasions. How does one go through 1400 cantatas? How many of them have not been performed in the last 100 years? This problem confounds us every time we write about Telemann, and we addressed it directly a couple years ago. Though Telemann was very influential and highly regarded in the 18th century, his fame faded in the 19th, especially when musicologists like Spitta and Schweitzer started unfairly comparing him to Bach, even though during Telemann’s lifetime, and in the following decades, his music was favorably compared to that of Bach and Handel’s. Here is one of Telemann’s cantata’s, Du aber Daniel, gehe hin (Go thy way, Daniel). It is performed by the ensemble Cantus Cölln under the direction of Konrad Junghänel. We find the whole cantata very beautiful, the soprano aria Brecht, ihr müden Augenlieder especially so (it’s sung by Johanna Koslowsky).
A brief note on two recent concerts. Daniil Trifonov played last week in Chicago. That he is a pianist of huge talent becomes apparent almost immediately. He played a devilishly difficult, dense Szymanowski’s piano sonata no. 3, which seems to be influenced both by Schoenberg in his late tonal phase and Debussy. In Trifonov’s interpretation it became live, floating and very pianistic. Debussy (Pour le Piano) followed and then Prokofiev’s Sarcasms. Ukraine is on our mind: both the Polish Szymanowski and the Russian Prokofiev were born there. The second half of the concert was taken by Brahm’s enormous and somewhat unwieldy 3rd piano sonata. Brahms was just 20 when he wrote it and clearly it’s not his greatest composition but somehow Trifonov made it interesting to listen to. Trifonov is one of the most remarkable pianists on stage today and the concert was exhilarating. As one could’ve guessed, it has not been reviewed in the Chicago Tribune. The good news is that there were many young people in the audience.
A very different concert series took place several days later when Herbert Blomstedt came to town. Blomstedt is 94 and looks his age; he suffers from arthritis and walks slowly. Blomstedt conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in three concerts, with Mozart’s Piano Concerto no. 17 in the first half and Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony in the second. Martin Helmchen was the soloist in the Mozart, and he played well (we’d love to hear him in a recital); Blomstedt held everything together. But of course, the important part came later. The Fourth Symphony is one of Bruckner’s more popular pieces, it’s the one with the famous Scherzo for the third movement. There were some issues in the brass section (is it still the best in the world?) but those were minor. Blomstedt, with his small gestures, managed to propel the symphony forward, despite its many stops, turns and repetitions. All climaxes were thrilling and overall it was a marvelous performance. The score book rested in front of Blomstedt on the stand, its red cover visible. It was never opened: Blomstedt conducted the whole 70-minute symphony from memory. The man is 94! The ovation was long, Blomstedt brought up different sections of the orchestra, all greeted with great applause. At the end Blomstedt patted the score, indicating that it’s Bruckner who should be applauded. How very true. Once again, there were many young people in the hall. Is there still hope for classical music?