One of the great concert pianists of his time, Sergey Rachmaninov (1873- 1943) is also one of the great late-romantic Russian composers. Only the second and third piano concertos, along with the “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini”, have gained a foothold in the repertoire and are frequently performed. Concerto No. 3 achieved unexpected popularity when it played a central role in the film “Shine”, whose star Geoffrey Rush was awarded an Oscar as Best Actor in 1997. In all three works a characteristic combination of surging melody, rhythmic excitement and brilliant pianistic display carries the composer’s unmistakable and personal stamp. Alexis Weissenberg, born in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 1929, gave his first triumphal recital in New York’s Carnegie Hall in 1947. He secured his international reputation especially with his interpretations of the works of Chopin, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov. This concert with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Herbert von Karajan was recorded live at the Berlin Philharmonie in 1973.
Brahms, Variations on a theme by Haydn, op.56
Tchaikovsky, Symphony No.5 in E minor, op.64
Commanding the podium with his slender figure, theatrical shock of hair and penetrating blue eyes, Herbert von Karajan projected the hieratic image of the conductor as officiant of some quasi-mystic rite. And anyone who ever saw him conduct live or on his many audiovisual recordings will agree that in his performances, music did indeed become a religion and Karajan its high-priest. Karajan (1908-1989) embodied classical music in the general consciousness as an epoch-making conductor, media star, opera producer, festival director and festival founder. But in spite of his Promethean and widely varied activities, he remained a superb conductor, with a grasp of the standard orchestral and operatic repertory from Mozart to Schoenberg that was unsurpassed among his peers.
Brahms, Symphony No.1 in C minor, op.68
This concert with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra was recorded at the Large Concert Hall in Jerusalem in 1973.
Brahms, Symphony No.4 in E minor, op.98
Composed during the summer months of 1884 and 1885 in Mürzzuschlag, southwest of Vienna, the Fourth Symphony tended to disconcert the public at first and had to prove itself in the concert circuit before gaining recognition as a masterwork of epoch-making stature. What Brahms’s contemporaries regarded as difficult and bewildering were above all the extreme constructive density of the score, the unusual layout, especially of the third and fourth movements, a number of archaic elements pointing back to the formulae and techniques of “early music” (the passacaglia in the fourth movement) and the austere, elegiac mood that permeates the entire work. The premiere of the Fourth Symphony was given by the Meiningen Court Orchestra in Meiningen under Brahms’s direction on 25 October 1885. Leonard Bernstein’s interpretation with the Boston Symphony Orchestra was recorded at Tanglewood. For Bernstein, Brahms was “a true Romantic, containing his passions in classical garb”, but also a “North-German classicist swept away to Vienna, and fired by Danubian, Carpathian and gypsy passions”. Bearing this dualism in mind, Bernstein underscored both the classicism and romanticism, the dramatic intensity and the sober restraint of Brahms’s music.
Beethoven, Symphony No.4 in B flat major, op.60
When, in the mid 1960s, Herbert von Karajan decided to record on film all nine Beethoven symphonies with the Berlin Philharmonic, he began with the “Fifth” and asked the famous French movie director Henri-Georges Clouzot (Quai des Orfèvres) to direct. Recognizing in the music-loving director a kindred soul and master of the symbolic image, Karajan found an inspired partner. In another of Karajan’s first efforts, he asked six directors to “stage” one movement each of a Beethoven symphony. For a full week, the directors had the Berlin Philharmonic and Herbert von Karajan – all in full dress – at their disposal, with all the 35mm film, cameras, lighting and technical assistance they needed. Karajan’s most controversial production was Hugo Niebeling’s highly personal interpretation of the “Pastorale”, with its abstract shots of instruments, rapid rhythms, fade-ins and symbolically arranged colors.
Händel, Concerto for Organ in B flat major, op.4/6
Born in Saxony in 1926, Karl Richter discovered his true musical vocation in Leipzig, where he studied under the great Karl Straube and Günther Ramin. The organ and the harpsichord were at the origin of his career, and his first performances were devoted to serving Bach through these keyboard instruments on which he was a virtuoso and a poet. Soon, however, Richter was swept up by a passion for the orchestra and the choral masses. He founded the Munich Bach Choir and the Munich Bach Orchestra in the 1950s, toured with his ensembles all over the world and made about 150 recordings. Richter was perhaps at his most compelling when interpreting his two great fellow countrymen Bach and Handel. He was superb at translating Handel’s monumental rhythms and vast soundscapes, the dynamic writing and sanguine spirit of his music. Although Richter saw several dramatic shifts in Baroque performance practice during his lifetime, he remained true to his own style, which was considered revolutionary in the 1950s and 60s. This was a “de-romanticized” approach to the Baroque which was characterized, among other things, by a reduced body of performers more in keeping with the original forces. Richter’s style also accented a cool, brisk, almost abstract attitude toward the music, which eschewed exaggerated dynamics and rubato.
Händel, Concerto for Organ in B flat major, op.7/1
Born in Saxony in 1926, Karl Richter discovered his true musical vocation in Leipzig, where he studied under the great Karl Straube and Günther Ramin. The organ and the harpsichord were at the origin of his career, and his first performances were devoted to serving Bach through these keyboard instruments on which he was a virtuoso and a poet. Soon, however, Richter was swept up by a passion for the orchestra and the choral masses. He founded the Munich Bach Choir and the Munich Bach Orchestra in the 1950s, toured with his ensembles all over the world and made about 150 recordings. Richter was perhaps at his most compelling when interpreting his two great fellow countrymen Bach and Handel. He was superb at translating Handel’s monumental rhythms and vast soundscapes, the dynamic writing and sanguine spirit of his music. Although Richter saw several dramatic shifts in Baroque performance practice during his lifetime, he remained true to his own style, which was considered revolutionary in the 1950s and 60s. This was a “de-romanticized” approach to the Baroque which was characterized, among other things, by a reduced body of performers more in keeping with the original forces. Richter’s style also accented a cool, brisk, almost abstract attitude toward the music, which eschewed exaggerated dynamics and rubato.
Händel, Concerto for Organ in B flat major, op.7/3
Born in Saxony in 1926, Karl Richter discovered his true musical vocation in Leipzig, where he studied under the great Karl Straube and Günther Ramin. The organ and the harpsichord were at the origin of his career, and his first performances were devoted to serving Bach through these keyboard instruments on which he was a virtuoso and a poet. Soon, however, Richter was swept up by a passion for the orchestra and the choral masses. He founded the Munich Bach Choir and the Munich Bach Orchestra in the 1950s, toured with his ensembles all over the world and made about 150 recordings. Richter was perhaps at his most compelling when interpreting his two great fellow countrymen Bach and Handel. He was superb at translating Handel’s monumental rhythms and vast soundscapes, the dynamic writing and sanguine spirit of his music. Although Richter saw several dramatic shifts in Baroque performance practice during his lifetime, he remained true to his own style, which was considered revolutionary in the 1950s and 60s. This was a “de-romanticized” approach to the Baroque which was characterized, among other things, by a reduced body of performers more in keeping with the original forces. Richter’s style also accented a cool, brisk, almost abstract attitude toward the music, which eschewed exaggerated dynamics and rubato.
Händel, Concerto for Organ in D minor, op.7/4
Born in Saxony in 1926, Karl Richter discovered his true musical vocation in Leipzig, where he studied under the great Karl Straube and Günther Ramin. The organ and the harpsichord were at the origin of his career, and his first performances were devoted to serving Bach through these keyboard instruments on which he was a virtuoso and a poet. Soon, however, Richter was swept up by a passion for the orchestra and the choral masses. He founded the Munich Bach Choir and the Munich Bach Orchestra in the 1950s, toured with his ensembles all over the world and made about 150 recordings. Richter was perhaps at his most compelling when interpreting his two great fellow countrymen Bach and Handel. He was superb at translating Handel’s monumental rhythms and vast soundscapes, the dynamic writing and sanguine spirit of his music. Although Richter saw several dramatic shifts in Baroque performance practice during his lifetime, he remained true to his own style, which was considered revolutionary in the 1950s and 60s. This was a “de-romanticized” approach to the Baroque which was characterized, among other things, by a reduced body of performers more in keeping with the original forces. Richter’s style also accented a cool, brisk, almost abstract attitude toward the music, which eschewed exaggerated dynamics and rubato.