Robert Schumann wrote his Violoncello Concerto in Düsseldorf in only two weeks. He himself did not play the cello, a fact which is immediately apparent from his treatment of the solo part. Passages of sweeping lyricism contrast sharply with excruciatingly difficult technical passages quite unsuited to the instrument. They make the concerto one of the most fearsome in all of cello literature. Schumann never heard the concerto played in public: the first performance did not take place until four years after his death. Recorded in 1985/86 at the “Grosser Musikvereinssaal” in Vienna, this recording features world-renowned cellist Mischa Maisky as the soloist accompanied by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Leonard Bernstein.
Haydn, Symphony No.94 in G major “Surprise”
Haydn’s Symphony No. 94 in G major, which was first performed on 23 March 1792, testifies to the composer’s marked sense of musical fun. In a parody of the conventional practice of the time, the second movement proceeds at a slow, measured pace which sends the listener almost to sleep, only to be rudely awakened by a sudden loud stroke of the timpani. This touch of mockery is typical of the composer’s roguish sense of humor. Haydn told his biographer Gieringer that his principle motive for writing the symphony was the wish to put his pupil and rival Ignaz Pleyel firmly in his place – an aim in which he undoubtedly succeeded. Leonard Bernstein began conducting Haydn’s orchestral works when he was still Music Director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Since then, his interpretations of the symphonies have consistently met with unreserved critical acclaim. He, of all conductors, possessed precisely the qualities which Haydn’s music requires: grace, charm and a generous measure of wit. This production with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra was recorded in 1986.
Shostakovich, Symphony No.9 in E flat major, op.70 with an introductory essay by Leonard Bernstein
Recorded live at the Musikverein in Vienna in 1985, this concert features not only Shostakovich’s Ninth Symphony performed by the Vienna Philharmonic, but also an introductory essay by Leonard Bernstein. With respect to Shostakovich’s position as one of the few composers after Beethoven to reach a “ninth” symphony, Bernstein says: “The mystique of the number nine exerted itself in an odd way, so typical of Shostakovich: he didn’t avoid writing one out of either humility or superstition; he simply wrote the least predictable and most surprising Ninth there is – short, hilarious, circusy – an all-out fiesta, gleefully proclaiming ‘Hurray: the war is over!’ In short, Shostakovich thumbed his nose at the great tradition of Ninths – although he was perfectly capable of writing colossal symphonies, as we know from the 7th and 8th that had preceded them. But he was a great nose-thumber; it has even been suggested that he was thumbing it at Stalin himself.”
Beethoven, Choral Fantasy for Piano, Chorus and Orchestra in C minor, op.80
The Choral Fantasy is generally held to be a preliminary study for the 9th Symphony, even though it was composed as early as 1808, namely 16 years earlier. In the Choral Fantasy, Beethoven overcame confines and conventions of both form and orchestration to show the pleasure he derived from tonal experimentation. In contrast to the 9th Symphony, where his composition was stimulated by Schiller’s verse, Beethoven was not particularly enthusiastic about the flowery kitsch of Christoph Kuffner’s poem. After the first four lines, we already well understand Beethoven’s express request for a different text. The piano solo with which the work commences was probably extemporized by the composer at the premiere on 22 December 1808 in Vienna – the art of improvisation was expected of any virtuoso musician of Beethoven’s time. Leonard Bernstein conducts the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Wiener Jeunesse-Chor and pianist Homero Francesch. The recording was produced in 1986.
Cardillac
The world premiere of “Cardillac” in 1926 placed Hindemith in the forefront of contemporary composers. In 1952 Hindemith thoroughly revised the work, which originally celebrated the principle of uncompromising artistic license; the artist, whose only obligation is to his creations, stands outside the moral and ethical norms of society. For his production, Jean-Pierre Ponnelle chose the original version, which he found “more cheeky, youthful, aggressive. Cardillac was written during the great age of German expressionist film: Nosferatu, M, Caligari, Metropolis. For stylistic reasons alone I have put Cardillac in this milieu. I use elements of the expressionist film in the lighting, in the gestures, in the costumes.”
Bach, Johannespassion (St. John’s Passion) BWV 245
Johann Sebastian Bach composed the St. John Passion in Cöthen during the winter of 1722/23. The text is drawn from chapters 18 and 19 of the Gospel according to St. John, and includes some excerpts from St. Mathew and additional text from a Passion poem by the Hamburg town councillor Barthold Heinrich Brockes. The composer led the first performance at the Good Friday services on 7 April 1724 at St. Nicholas Church in Leipzig, where he had since become municipal music director and cantor of the Thomasschule. This Passion is heard less often today than the St. Matthew Passion, perhaps because the St. John Passion is in some ways more raw and evokes the anguish of the Passion more painfully than the St. Matthew work. A musician’s musician, an occasional firebrand and a constant paradox – Nikolaus Harnoncourt (born in 1929) is one of the most profound and intriguing conductors of our time. Considered one of the world’s leading specialists of Baroque music, he has long since turned his attention to Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and even to Jacques Offenbach and Johann Strauss. He spent many years as a cellist with the Wiener Symphoniker before founding the “Concentus Musicus Wien” with his wife Alice in 1953. It soon became one of the world’s most respected ensembles specializing in the performance of early music on original instruments. In the 1970s, Harnoncourt joined forces with Jean-Pierre Ponnelle to stage a series of Monteverdi operas at the Zurich Opera House. This universally acclaimed cycle contributed to a renaissance of Monteverdi’s music and set standards for early Baroque performance practice. He later began to turn his attention more and more to the music of Mozart, whom he considers “the most romantic of all composers”. Harnoncourt did not make his official debut at the Salzburg Festival until 1992. He has been conducting there regularly since then and is a sought-after guest conductor of such reputable ensembles as the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.
James Levine – A Life in Music
Die Nacht aus Blei (The Night of Lead)
Ozawa
This 1985 documentary focues on conductor Seiji Ozawa and the behind-the-scenes world of the symphony orchestra. It communicates the intensity and passion by Ozawa brings to his works as conductor and teacher, and shows him in the context of his relationshipwith former masters, current students and family. It also exproes the cultural tensions that caused him to leave Japan and begin a career in the West.
Horowitz: The Last Romantic
After a few years rest and some at-home unofficial rehabilitation Horowitz was ready to begin performing again. Horowitz recorded the material on this production in his own living room. We see a rejuvinated, different Horowitz, somone in much more control than in the 1982 and 1983 recitals. The only thing lacking in Horowitz’s performance from this point on was preparation, Horowitz admittedly did not practice very much and it shows. The film was awarded with two Emmy Awards in the category “Outstanding Classical Program in the Performing Arts”: Peter Gelb (executive producer), Susan Frömke (producer), Vladimir Horowitz (star) and in the category “Outstanding Individual Achievement – Classical Music/Dance Programming Directing”: Albert Maysles, David Maysles. It was nominated for Emmy Award in the category: “Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety or Music Series or a Special”: Lee Dichter (sound mixer), Lawrence Loewinger (sound mixer).Programme: J.S. Bach: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659 – Transcribed for piano Ferruccio Busoni – Mozart: Piano Sonata No.10 in C major, K.330 – Chopin: Mazurka No.13 in A minor Op.17 No.4, Scherzo No.1 in B minor, Op.20 – Schubert: 4 Impromptus, Op.90, D.899: No.4 in A flat – Liszt: 6 Consolations: No. 3 in D flat major (Lento, placido) – Schumann: Noveletten, Op.21: No.1 in F (Markiert und kräftig) – Rachmaninoff: Prélude in G sharp minor, Op.32, No.12 – Scriabin: Etude