The Classical Music Guide Forums

THEHORN

No, orchestras do not sound like today . I've never hear things this way . There have been CHANGES in the way individual orchestras sound as their personnel changes , but they still do not sound alike . True, French orchestras no longer use the same instruments they used decades ago , but they still...

THEHORN

New name to me . Does anyone know if she is related to the Bulgarian conductor and composer Emil Tabakov , who has recorded a surprisingly good Mahler cycle with the Sofia Philharmonic for the Capriccio label ?

THEHORN

Mravinsky's Bruckner recordings are remarkable, but the rough brass playing full of vibrato is just not idiomatic . This takes some getting used to

THEHORN

I remember a CBS/Melodiya LP of this opera from long, long ago which was in my local library , before the CD era . It's a really interesting opera with a rather creepy plot , and I like the music very much .
I would welcome a revival by Gergiev and the Mariinsky opera and a recording .

THEHORN

This looks really interesting . Erkel's operas are totally unknown in America , although there have been recordings of them available herefrom Hungaroton for as long as I can remember . They're naturally very popular in Hungary , and I believe there have been some performances in translation in othe...

THEHORN

I agree . The Sibelius 3rd is a very underrated and unjustly neglected work . There are plenty of excellent recordings of it it , but it's rarely performed live for some reason . This is the sunniest and most cheerful of the Sibelius symphonies . Or as the composer put it , "clear, fresh spring wate...

THEHORN

Several years ago, Chandos released the world premiere recording of the "World Requiem" by Foulds, a large scale work written to commemorate the terrible effects of the first world war . It does not use the traditional text of the Latin Requiem used by so many other great composers , but the English...

THEHORN

Ho him. Critics never seem to be able to avoid saying nasty things about the Met , and for the most part, they never have . The company is damned if it does and damned if it doesn't . If they do a traditional , realistic Zeffirelli production, the critic sneer . If they do s non realistic, non-tradi...

THEHORN

I haven't heard much of Zweden's conducting yet , so I will have to reserve judgment about how his relationship with the orchestra will work out . Apparently the orchestra really likes and respects him, otherwise he would not have been chosen . From all reports, the Dallas symphony and Zweden have b...

THEHORN

Jbuck, I don't think the Met's repertoire is all that conservative . Within the past 20 years or so it as broadened and diversified its repertoire considerably , doing numerous operas you would never have expected them to do in its early years at Lincoln center . This year they're doing the US premi...

THEHORN

This is a wonderful symphony , but sadly neglected because most conductors never bother to program any of the Dvorak symphonies beyond the last three . A pity . Audiences would love it if they got a chance to hear it live . And too many concertgoers don't want to hear anything other than their belov...

THEHORN

Good news - there is a new DVD of "Tsar Saltan " out from the Mariisky opera with Gergiev conducting . Must get this as soon as possible .

THEHORN

Not too long ago , I was watching reruns of the Joan Rovers show on cable TV and she had Robert Merrill as a guest . He was a really funny guy and made all kinds of wisecracks . He had the timing of a first rate standup comedian ! I think he could have made a career as one .

THEHORN

Whatever his faults, Furtwangler was no Anti-Semite , and there is absolutely no evidence of him ever having Anti-Semitic sentiments . He enabled many Jewish musicians to escape Germany , and he he were an Anti-Semite, Yehudi Menuhin, who regularly collaborated with him on violin concertos and admir...

THEHORN

I have the Naxos recording of his large scale "Ocean" symphony , which is about the length of a Mahler or Bruckner symphony , and airports to evoke the various world oceans and seas . It's certainly an interesting and even different work, but is somewhat repetitious . It's still well worth hearing, ...

THEHORN

"The full blooded vitality of their conducting (Petrenko and Nelsons ) is certainly welcome in a time when there's not so much of it about " ? John, are you really suggesting that the work of most of the other conductors of the present day is "lacking in vitality ?" With all due respect, how can you...

THEHORN

Actually, the two conductors are not related at all .

THEHORN

Ranking orchestras is such a futile and subjective thing . Asking which is the "best" is like asking which would cuisine is the best ? Chinese? French? Italian ? Japanese ? The Vienna Philharmonic can be difficult for some conductors to manage, but when it's at its best , you can't beat them ! I rem...

THEHORN

The July issue of Opera News has a really interesting article on Kirill Petrenko , the rather mysterious and elusive Russian conductor who is set to succeed Sir Simon Rattle as chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, and who is currently music director of the Bavarian State opera . Petrenko avoi...

THEHORN

In the story, the reason why the empress cannot have children is because she is half human, and half member of the non-human spirit world . Her husband's fertility is not in question . In the end, her father Keikobad , ruler of the spirit world, grants her full humanity so she will be able to bear c...

THEHORN

Chris Martin, who had the difficult job of succeeding Herseth in Chicago but did an outstanding job, is now principal trumpet of the New York Philharmonic, succeeding Philip Smith , who is also a terrific trumpeter .

THEHORN

On the contrary , I've found Rattle's recordings of Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler etc to be highly insightful and fresh .Nothing " weak" about them . I've never heard a bad performance form Rattle or one that seemed just ho hum . You can disagree with him about the interpretation of this or th...

THEHORN

Sad news . He was certainly one of the foremost conductors of our time . His repertoire was huge, by no means limited to Russian music . Among other things he recorded the complete symphony of Bruckner in Moscow , including the various different extent revisions . He conducted English music , and ev...

THEHORN

Blomstedt has already recorded a Bruckner cycle with his former orchestra, the Gewandhaus, but I can't recall the label . Haven't heard it but would definitely like to . He has also recorded the 6th for Decca with the San Fransisco symphony , and a couple of others with the Staatskapelle, Dresden , ...

THEHORN

Also, while I enjoyed the get together at the Atlantic Grill, it was pretty loud because it was filled with customers and I had some difficulty with conversation because of this . At one of the previous dinners , we had a separate room where there was no difficulty with conversation .

THEHORN

I'd love to attend but transportation would be a problem, as I'm confined to a wheelchair andmy neurological condition which has made me unable to walk has been getting worse gradually .

THEHORN

This is not only interesting but a weird co-incidence ! I once answer an ad to be assistant to a world class musician in the zNY times around 1981 , and was called in for an interview with Bernstein's business manager Harry Kraut , and lo and behold I found out it was for being his assistant ! I did...

THEHORN

Daniel Gingrich is actually the acting principal horn of the CSO , and because principal when the legendary Dale Clevenger retired a few years ago . He used to be associate principal . Apparently, the orchestra has no intention of holding auditions for another principal horn . Muti is somewhat notor...

THEHORN

Happy birthday, Lance !

THEHORN

John, the Keilberth recording from the Bavarian State opera is from a live performance , although I hear that parts of it were possibly taken from the dress rehearsal .

THEHORN

I know this will be considered heretical by many , but I've long felt Mehta to be the most underrated and unjustly maligned conductor of our time . It's one thing not to like a particular conductor's work in general, but Mehta was treated like dirt by the music critics in New York when he was music ...

THEHORN

I've heard the Plasson with Van Damrecording and the earlier one conducted by Kazimierz Kord conducting on Decca and with Ghiaurov and Crsspin but haven't seen a staged production yet . I would certainly like to and the Met should definitely revive it . It's a beautiful opera and John, I would''t ca...

THEHORN

I don't agree about Mehta's tenure with the Philharmonic . In fact, the orchestra, especially the brass often sounded appallingly course under Bernstein and other conductors such as Mitropolous . Which is not to say they didn't do some terrific work with the orchestra . Mehta was treated in an unbel...

THEHORN

Have you heard his recording of the Reger Hiller variations on Berlin Classics with the Gewandhaus orchestra ? Absolutely first rate . His recordings of Der Fliegende Hollander and Tannhauser are also deservedly acclaimed .

THEHORN

Heck,Franz Konwitschny is very little known in America and I don't believe he ever appeared here . But he left some terrific recordings, such as his Beethoven symphonies with the Gewandhaus orchestra to name only one example . I recently heard it on youtube and recommend it highly . He was I believe...

THEHORN

Excellent article . I remember the commentary of Miles Hoffmann on an NPR classical music program whose name I don't recall offhand , and his explanations of classical music terminology etc were the kind which are extremely helpful to people who may like classical music but don't know much about it ...

THEHORN

I don't think we can rule out the possibility of a Met production some time in the future . I'msure they could do it justice . I'm not familiar with the names of the cast other than Cokorinos. I got to know this wonderful opera long ago on LP from the excellent RCA recording with Cesare Siepi and An...

THEHORN

For me at least, one of the best things about classical CDs today is the incredible amount and variety of off-beat, out of the way repertoire which is so easily available . Why get your umpteenth recording of the nine Beethoven symphonies when you can the symphonies of Myaskovsky, Balakirev, Taneyev...

THEHORN

Performances at the Met vary in quality, the same as with every opera house period . Sometimes a performance may be vocally lackluster and other times it may be superlative . And thishas always been true of opera performances . No mater how badly any Met singer of the present day may sing, I guarant...

THEHORN

Bach was required to use a variety of religious texts for the cantatas he composed ; this was part of his job as a Cantor and Kapellmeister . So we can't be sure he agreed with all the sentiments expressed in them . Therefore, we can't be sure he was as hostile to Catholicism as the tex in the cant ...

THEHORN

I wasn't there for this performance, although I would loved to have heard it . John, the Bavarian State orchestra, which also plays concerts, is a wonderful orchestra, no doubt about it . I recently say a youtube video showing the overture to the recent Munich Tannhauser production with Petrenko con...

THEHORN

Interesting article, but the claim about Bach allegedly having a "contempt for Judaism, Catholicism and Islam " as well as for "foreigners " strikes me as questionable . As far as I know, there is no evidence that Bach, devout as he was as a Lutheran, was this intolerant toward other religions or fo...

THEHORN

Damn autocorrect ! I didn't even notice this ! But my eyesight isn't fully recovered from a recent cataract removal surgery .

THEHORN

OOPs ! I should have said "Once again I disagree with you John ."

THEHORN

Once again, I disagree with you on everything . Wand was an outstanding conductor ; he was never a flashy interpreter, but neither was he in any way a "kapellmeister" in the negative or derogatory sense of the word . I recently borrowed the set of the Beethoven symphonies with the NDR symphony , whi...

THEHORN

A couple of these paintings look like mountain landscapes from the Caucasus , which was not originally a part of Russia and has long been inhabited by a wide variety of indigenous Muslim mountain tribes such as the Chechens , Circassians and others .

THEHORN

I didn't hear enough of Gilbert's work with the Philharmonic to form a definite opinion about him , or his work with other orchestras. But what I have hear has been very impressive , and I am very confident about him and the Elbephilharmonie in Hamburg, previously the NDR symphony orchestra in the n...

THEHORN

MaestroB, I disagree with you about the New York Philharmonic . It has had great conductors since Bernstein, and they certainly gave many wonderful performances . Boulez, Mehta, Masur, Maazel - these aren't exactly chopped liver ! I heard some absolutely magnificent performances by the orchestra und...

THEHORN

Philippe Jordan is not as well known as Thielemann, Rattle, and Barenboim, but he's younger , and this may change . I've seen DVDs of him conducting Busoni' s Doktor Faust with the Zurich opera and Werher with eh Vienna State opera, and would recommend them to anyone . His work as music director of ...

THEHORN

I'm disappointed to see only four new productions next season , but I'm curious about the new Nico Muhly opera, and I supposed it's not a bad idea to do a new Adriana, since the old one dates to before the Met moved to Lincoln Center , and some people really like this opera . They could have done mo...

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