Capturing the Greats: Danae Kara plays Beethoven and Bartok

This was a very nice concert indeed! We had the chance to hear three great works in a performance to match. 

Danae Kara, in this recital, chose to play Beethoven and Bartok.  She began with Beethoven's Sonata op.7 in E flat major. It is a long and difficult work, requiring intense concentration from both the soloist and the audience. Kara's sound was mature and well controlled throughout the piece. I particulary liked the deeply expressive sound of the 2nd movement (Largo, con gran espressione) - I can still hear the sensitive C major chord of the beginning. 

The second piece before the interval came Bartok's Piano Sonata BB 88 (Sz. 80) (1926). What struck me from the very first note was how clearly and decicevly Kara changed her sound character. Her sound became harsh, percussive, robust - exactly as it should be for music like this. The technical difficulties of the Sonata were successfully overcome, and her whole performance was utterly persuasive. It was obvious to me that Kara is well acquainted with this music.

(For those interested in listening to this Sonata with the score, here is a great live recording by Martha Argerich:)

  

In the second half Danae Kara returned to the stage to perform Beethoven's Sonata op.53 (The well-known "Waldstein".) Again, what made the greatest impression on me was how  the character of the music was firmly established from the very first note. The initial C major chords were full of joy and expectation, in a well established rhythm. I have played this Sonata in the past, and I am well aware of its difficulty! Kara's playing, once more, was a delight! 

To the warm applause of the audience, Danae responded by playing a very sweet valse  - by Beethoven again. 

All in all, a very demanding program, carried out with professionalism, care and love. 

  

 

Rachmaninoff's Valse from "Symphonic Dances"

 The Symphonic Dances op.45 is Rachmaninoff's last work. Of the three movements, the most dear to me is the Second - Andante con moto (Tempo di valse). Actually, I strongly believe that this particular movement is one of the greatest "moments" in Rachmaninoff's music.  Why do I say this? 
Well, because there are so many diversified elements in it, blending with each other in an absolutely harmonious way.    This valse is at same time gracious, magnificent, strange, subtle, dark, light, unpredictable, original, at times explosive! 

One feels that the melody has not "decided" its course, as if it is trying to find its way throughout the movement. There is also an unsettling feeling of rhythmic uncertainty which adds immensely to whole extraordinary effect. 

A strange and irresistibly charming Valse, full of unanswered questions, undecisive, hesitating...

Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances (and this Valse in particular) is, to me, the most persuasive proof of influence that R's music had on the work of the other great Russian composer - Sergei Prokofiev. 

A word on recordings: the best ever made, in my view and taste, is with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Vladimir Ashkenazy. (I do not think one can find it on youtube though).

Another very good recording is the one with Yevgeny Svetlanov conducting the State Symphony Orchestra of the Russian Federation. This recording was made in October 1995, in Moscow. It tends to be slower than I would prefer but, still, it conveys all the elements discussed above. 



 
 

 

Arcadi Volodos in Athens!

This was a truly unique occasion!  For the first time, the great Russian pianist Arcadi Volodos (about whom I've written many times in this blog) came to Greece and performed in a packed Athens Concert Hall. 

For me, this was the second time I have been fortunate to hear  the great pianist live- the first being in London (Royal Festival Hall), back in 2004, where he played Prokofiev's 2nd Piano Concerto. 

 

In Athens, Volodos decided to dedicate his program to "classic" works of the Romantic era. He started with Schubert's Sonata in C major D 279. (This is an early work, composed in 1815/6.)  From the very first note, he established the style of this music: well controlled dynamics, lightness, finesse. I particularly admired the Andante (2nd movement) - the extraordinary ease with which he managed to bring out each and every nuance of the musical phrase. 

Next came Brahms, Intermezzi op. 117.  I know the work quite well, I've played it in public many times.  All I can say is that this was truly a revelation.  Never have I heard such an introspective, pensive and personal interpretation of this work.  There was a certain, carefully "planned", freedom in his tempi which, however, helped to produce a magical effect. I had an overwhelming feeling of music brought to life, with unimaginable dimensions for so frequently played a piece.  This was music as close to poetry as can be.  The 2nd Intermezzo (in B flat minor) was a moment of profound and deep nostalgia - a world of bittersweet melancholy. Volodos managed to extact from the Steinway an extreme pianissimo one very rarely is blessed to hear.  I think that his Brahms was the best moment of the concert. 

In the second part, the great virtuoso played Schumman's well known Kinderszenen, op. 15.  Again, I've played this piece and I am well aware of its deceptive easy-ness. I witnessed Volodos's genius in being the absolute master of his sound. He brought out inner voices that I've never heard before  (especially in the repeats). His Traumerei was such a delight, and I was fascinated with the fast tempo of Ritter vom Steckenpferd.  The epilogue (Der Dichter spricht - the Poet Speaks), was indeed the poet - Volodos, that is, speaking...

Schumann's Fantasia (op. 17) is, to me, one of the least appealing works of the German composer.  In fact, I fail to grasp the structure of the work, plus I confess that I find it long, uninteresting and boring.  But with Volodos, I got at least a sense of overall unity, a persuasive presentation of the various ideas penetrating the work. 

Responding generously to the enthusiastic response of the audience, Volodos played 4-5 encores!  I did not know most of these (what a shame!), and I would be very interested to find out, if someone was there and could tell me.

All in all, it was an unforgetable occasion; rarely do we have the chance to hear such prodigious sounds in our city!

I went and congratulated him afterwards - here is a picture!!

  

 PS I like the way he sits at the piano: he never uses a stool but leans back on a chair, which creates a relaxing atmosphere. I was also impressed by the way he looked up while playing - as if the music he was playing was bestowed from heaven...

 

O Magnum Mysterium - Francis Poulenc

Last year's final post was dedicated to Morten Lauridsen's moving "O Magnum Mysterium". I still believe this is one of the most moving and beautiful things I've ever heard. It's humbling that there are still composers who are able to write such glorious music. 

So, I thought it might be a good idea to say goodbye to 2012 with this same motet, but this time set to music by Francis Poulenc (1899-1963), one of the leading French composers of the 20th century. 

This motet is part of Poulenc's Quatre motets pour le temps de Noël, composed in 1952.  It is a magnificent setting. The beginning is quite dark, with unusual harmonies sung by the basses and tenors. But then, in the middle of this darkness the soprano voices emerge like a ray of heavenly light, with a hauntingly beautiful descending melodic line. And then in "Beata Virgo" (1:42), see how the melody and harmony shift in such an unpredictable and ingenious way, bringing freshness to the piece. The music is predominantly minor, both in scale and in mood, except for the final chord which is a reassuring and uplifting major...

 

The words, here below: 

O Magnum Mysterium

et admirabile sacramentum

ut animalia viderent Dominum natum

Beata Virgo cujus viscera

jacentem in praesepio!

meruerunt portare

Dominum Christum

Alleluia!

 My very best wishes for 2013, to all friends of this blog. 

 

 

A New Year Carol by Benjamin Britten

New Year is approaching! Of all the (Western) carols composed for the day (and there are many), I would like to share with you this wonderful melody written by the British composer Benjamin Britten. 

Britten composed this piece in 1934, having discovered the words in Walter de la Mare's anthology entitled "Tom Tiddler's Ground". Apparently, the carol stems from an ancient tradition of blessing the houses in villages by young people, in exchange for a coin. 

I am not very familiar with the meaning of the lyrics but the words "levy dew" can be interpreted in two ways: it could be a corruption of "levedy" ("Lady"), or (rather) a corruption of the French "Levez a Dieu" ("Raise to God").  

Here is the poem: 

Here we bring new water from the well so clear,
For to worship God with, this happy new year;
Sing levy dew, sing levy dew, the water and the wine,
With seven bright gold wires, and bugles that do shine;

Sing reign of fair maid, with gold upon her toe;
Open you the west door and turn the old year go;
Sing levy dew, sing levy dew, the water and the wine,
With seven bright gold wires, and bugles that do shine;

Sing reign of fair maid, with gold upon her chin.
Open you the east door and let the new year in!
Sing levy dew, sing levy dew, the water and the wine,
With seven bright gold wires, and bugles that do shine. 

... And here is the music, interpreted by the Dale Warland Singers, a music of unadorned simplicity and beauty...

I hope you will love this carol as much as I do... 





 

  

"O Come, O Come Emmanuel!"

Talking about Christmas music - its majesty, beauty and wisdom of lyrics- here is one very representative example:

This Carol, O come, O come Emmanuel is one of my favorites. And I find the words of this hymn to be rich in theological depth as well as beautiful in poetic expression. 

The hymn is actually a latin ecclesiastical text dated 8th Century, based on the well-known prophecy of Isaiah. The first verse of the original latin hymn is the following: 

"Veni, veni Emmanuel;
Captivum solve Israel,
Qui gemit in exilio,
Privatus Dei Filio"

But the English translation is a very succesful one. 

1. O come, O come, Emmanuel!
Redeem thy captive Israel
That into exile drear is gone,
Far from the face of God's dear Son.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

2. O come, thou Branch of Jesse! draw1
The quarry from the lion's claw;
From the dread caverns of the grave,
From nether hell, thy people save.

3. O come, O come, thou Dayspring bright!
Pour on our souls thy healing light;
Dispel the long night's lingering gloom,
And pierce the shadows of the tomb.

4. O Come, thou Lord of David's Key!
The royal door fling wide and free;
Safeguard for us the heavenward road,
And bar the way to death's abode.

5. O come, O come, Adonai,
Who in thy glorious majesty
From that high mountain clothed in awe,
Gavest thy folk the elder Law. 

The best interpretation of this hymn (on youtube), in English, is the performance by the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge. Timothy Brown is the conductor. Here it is!



And here is the (original) Latin version of this hymn, splendidly performed here by L'Accorche-Choeur, Ensemble vocal Fribourg.