Unsung concerts 2017

[hyperdanny]

@hadrianus

yes I know many if not most of those less played pieces, I even love some of them,for example the Gregoriano ..I concede that it would have been wiser for me to add "of his most famous pieces" and an "IMHO" , but I stand to the general meaning of what I wrote.....Respighi's most played and known pieces , like the Roman Trilogy "are" to my ears over-indulgent and turgid.
I remember that once I read a review (on Fanfare, maybe) stating that the problem with Respighi is that he "didn't know when to stop"..I never forgot it because it's exactly how I feel: there is always another more thundering climax, always another layer of instrumentation to add..
Those works are indeed different, but they are not the pieces that shaped Respighi's image and gave him stature.
Anyway it was never meant as a "verdict", just my personal feelings


PS I have the good chance to express my gratitude for your sterling work.

[adriano]

thanks, hyperdanny :-)
Even in FANFARE one can read some posh (and arrogant) nonsense... Do you take this particular statement on Respighi's tone poems as a musicologist's reference?
So what about Richard Strauss?
Respighi knew exactly when to stop and how to balance his tone poems, if you analyse them closely. They were conceived like mini-symphonies. Just examine where exactly "thundering climaxes" in his Roman Trilogy occur and how they are constructed.
And what exactly is meant by "there is always ... another layer of instrumentation"? Tone poems are interesting just because of various episodes with different instrumentations. Already Liszt knew about this.

[jimsemadeni]

Thanks, Hadrianus, your points are well stated, and who else but a conductor of your stature would know more about the music you play (besides the composer)? I understand and respect personal opinions, so, to state my own, apparently I hear "beauty" most places others hear "turgid". I think it is to my advantage to be an emotional listener rather than an analytical or educated one, and the experience of listening to Respighi is one of my favorite feelings.

[adriano]

Thanks very much, jimsemadeni :-)
I am such a highly emotional guy that I wonder for not having already died - or gone crazy -  for so many great pieces of music I heard, studied and conducted.
Incidentally, a new interview with me has just been published on MusicWeb. I agreed that it had to be expurgated, since it contained a lot of private details of less interest... The occasion is, that I am recording (and going crazy) since 30 years now...

[hyperdanny]

thanks hadrianus for your reply., it's a pleasure and an honor to interact with the person behind some beloved cd's in my collection....to the point: clearly it all comes down to personal taste..you appear to love Respighi's music much more than me, (just logical, with all those cd's you recorded) and I cannot possibly have anything to object against that.
But (even if I am not a respected musician, but just a humble music-lover) I stand by my point of view and yes you are right...I can't stand Strauss !  

In any case, I absolutely intend to go to the Sinfonia Drammatica concert, after writing my post about the concert I listened after years to the Downes cd, and I like it more than I remembered..I might be becoming prone to overindulgence with age...

[eschiss1]

I sometimes have similar issues- with Strauss anyway- but not with his oboe concerto, Metamorphosen, or quite a few other works. Ah well.
Still, maybe this could usefully branch into another thread- this is more an announcements thread, and will probably close in about 51-odd days.

[eschiss1]

Couple of still 2017 additions:

Dec. 21&22 2017 in Munich, a concert with Stenhammar's 2nd symphony conducted by Herbert Blomstedt.
An intriguing program on the 31st in Hamburg with Ives, Alain, Bach and Mozart that's not quite in this forum's remit, but, well...maybe the Ives and Alain New Year's Evening out with the Bach and the Mozart. (As though one didn't see that weak pun coming from half a world away...)