Anton Rubinstein's sacred opera Moses Op112

[adriano]

I am with you, Alan 
Still unable to decide listening to CD 3...

[gene schiller]

It appears critical opinion will always be divided as to the merits of Rubinstein's music....so be it; but this recording is worth hearing, if only for the Moses of Stanislav Kuflyuk.  The music itself achieves a declamatory eloquence to match the finer pages of Mussorgsky's "Boris Godunov" (Weinstock & Brockway's "World of Opera" makes a similar claim for Rubinstein's "Kaloshnikov"), and Kuflyuk is electrifying in the title role.  I encourage you to stick with it; by the time Moses/Kuflyuk hurls his final thunderbolt ("Jehovah ist dein Gott") you may be ready to join the faithful.

[Alan Howe]

I notice that Gramophone magazine gave the work short shrift this month, saying that 'this rediscovered opera isn't manna from heaven; it's very thin gruel.' Having spent the past month disovering Rimsky-Korsakov in all his operatic glory, I'm afraid Moses has caused me to revise my already low opinion of Rubinstein further downwards. 'Gruel' is right; and listening to it is a gruelling experience indeed, however good the performance might be.

[adriano]

 
Right, Alan. In my opinion it never matches the finer pages of "Boris Godunov". It's just nice and too frequently boring and conventional music.
"Demon" is much better and a bit more orignal too.

[Alan Howe]

Yes, 'Demon' is so much better - agreed. And R-K is on a completely different level altogether.

[Alan Howe]

and as such I found it no more dull than St. Paul or Gerontius.

Well, we might agree that the Mendelssohn is dull (I wouldn't), but the Elgar? I've heard it called many things (sentimental, cloying), but never dull. To compare Rubinstein's utterly dull Moses with the utterly memorable Gerontius seems inconceivable to me.

Ah well. But then, I'd take the dynamic Raff over the lumbering Brahms most days and Draeseke over both of them, so who am I to talk?

[Gareth Vaughan]

But, Alan, John is not saying St Paul or Gerontius are dull. He finds Moses far from dull and in that context writes that it is "no more dull than..." etc. So he is suggesting that Moses is equally as engaging as St Paul or Gerontius. One might disagree but that is what John's post states.

[Alan Howe]

Well, what he says is: "I found it no more dull than St. Paul or Gerontius" - in other words, in his view it is no duller than those two works. I profoundly disagree. It is far duller - nay, infinitely duller. It's 'drop off to sleep well before the end of the first CD' duller.

IMHO, of course.

Otherwise, point taken.

[Mark Thomas]

Isn't it interesting what a divisive composer Rubinstein is? I must confess that I'm very much on the fence. To my ear he had a fine grasp of melody, and I enjoy that in most of his works, but many of them are shoddily put together (most of the symphonies for instance) and so, although I enjoy the material, I find what he does with it disappointing. There are some pieces though, most commonly amongst his chamber and piano music, which are full of arresting ideas used sparingly and with intelligence. Rather to my surprise, I found Moses an engaging and powerful listen, although no masterwork.

[Alan Howe]

But where's the melody that raises Rubinstein's best work above the routine? Can't find it in Moses...

[Christopher]

Isn't it interesting what a divisive composer Rubinstein is?

He DEFINITELY gets Alan going, that's beyond doubt.  In every thread about Rubinstein, the Howe keyboard must get worn down!  What is it about him Alan, compared with other composers that you don't particularly like?  With this composers you simply can't resist having the last word, to re-emphasise that you just don't like him!

[Alan Howe]

It's just my opinion. But to fill in the picture: I greatly value his Violin Concerto, Piano Concertos, Cello Concertos, The Demon, Symphony Nos. 2 & 6, Cello Sonatas, Piano Sonatas, Piano Quartets - and probably many more. But I find various of his works (e.g. Symphonies 3,4,5 and Moses) exceptionally trying. To mis-quote Longfellow: 'When he was good, he was very, very, good, but when he was bad, he was horrid.'

Love this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5_5n5jTqW0
...I mean, it's inspired.

[Alan Howe]

I don't think the Lord will have anything to say about musical opinions honestly expressed - even wrong-headed ones. I'm content that my sins will have been entirely adequately covered by the blood of the Lamb when that day comes, whether accompanied by Verdi or Berlioz - or not, as I suspect. The misapplication of Scripture, though, is another matter...

Oh, and by the way, the 'lumbering Brahms' was how Draeseke scholar Dr Alan Krueck described the first movement of that composer's First Symphony.

And with that, back to Rubinstein...

[Alan Howe]

don't think for a minute that I was seriously invoking scriptural authority to condemn you

Oh, good. It was hard to tell.

As for our late friend's opinion...well, that Alan had his faults, too

I think we should avoid ad hominem arguments. Alan K. was simply asserting that the first subject (after the slow introduction) of the opening movement of Brahms 1 rather lumbers into life. I happen to agree with him. As with many of his views, he was content to go against the critical tide. I personally learned more from him over several years of correspondence than from anyone else I have known. Of course he had faults - we all have. And I have many too. So it doesn't get us anywhere to label someone as having faults when arguing against their point of view.

Anyway, let's move on. I think I've made my view of Moses clear enough, so I shall leave it to others to debate the pros and cons of the music.

[Kevin]

I had high hopes for this, considering the quality of the Demon. I got through half of it and decided to stop because it became too much for me. He just tends to ramble on and on and on, which would be okay if the melodic inspiration was strong but in this case it's not. The performances are committed but that wasn't enough for me, its the music itself I have a problem with. Bruch's Moses was also a complete bore, I'm left with the impression that the subject isn't strong enough to inspire composers.