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..."your mention the other day of seeing Yvonne Loriod perform Vingt Regards with Messiaen in attendance"...
That was a "wow" moment for me as well. I only know one other person who can make the same claim. I would have loved to have heard her.
"And if we look at the works of J.S. Bach — a benevolent god to which all musicians should offer a prayer to defend themselves against mediocrity... -Debussy
"It's ok if you disagree with me. I can't force you to be right."
..."your mention the other day of seeing Yvonne Loriod perform Vingt Regards with Messiaen in attendance"...
That was a "wow" moment for me as well. I only know one other person who can make the same claim. I would have loved to have heard her.
Would have given anything to have heard Loriod in recital.
One of my uni profs was lucky to catch her at the 'Y' (?) in NYC back in the early '70's. I recall he told me she played some Debussy and I think some Messiaen in the first half. Then -the envelope please- in the second half she was joined by her husband for a performance of Visions de l'Amen. Now how amazing is that? (My prof said it was an incredible performance with the composer sounding more musical than his wife!)
OT: somehow as this thread got revived, the post counts went up dramatically. it was stuck at 2(3?) for the longest time. it's certainly an interesting phenomenon.
Jason, thanks for posting the Turangalila, one of my absolute favorite pieces in the orchestral repertoire. Had the opportunity a few years back to hear it live with Eschenbach conducting (from memory!) the Philadelphia Orchestra.
A couple of my favorites, which I've posted before:
A VERY young Nelson Freire playing Rachmaninoff.
Barenboim conducting Nimrod from Elgar's Enigma Variations. This performance was dedicated to Sir George Solti who had recently passed away. No matter how many times I've watched this video, it still is able to move me to tears.
Jason, thanks for posting the Turangalila, one of my absolute favorite pieces in the orchestral repertoire.
You are very welcome!
Quote
Barenboim conducting Nimrod from Elgar's Enigma Variations. This performance was dedicated to Sir George Solti who had recently passed away. No matter how many times I've watched this video, it still is able to move me to tears.
I am always moved to tears with Nimrod. It speaks very deeply to me.
Lotta bilge about Elgar not exporting outside of the UK. Nonsense. With the exception of a few flag-waving compositions -P&C Marches, Coronation Ode- there isn't anything particularly 'British' about Elgar's music. He belongs in the mainstream with Strauss and Mahler, he has more in common with them than any folkish British school.
But change the words to the Coronation Ode -or perhaps just sing it in German?- well there would no longer be any 'British' sound to it. It would be accepted as the very virtuoso composition for chorus and orchestra that it is. It is awesomely well written.
Some people claim to hear the sounds of the English countryside in Elgar's Serenade, but I don't hear any of that stuff. Might as well be Tyrolean associations for all it matters.
I've probably watched / listened to Tic-Toc -Choc at least 40 times today. This is a new favorite.
....and if you want to be even more impressed, get ahold of the score and try doing it yourself.
When I first saw/heard the video, I thought it was magical. After I tried it myself, I realized it was also impossible.
Since then I've seen other very excellent performances of it. But they don't have his magic.
+1
"And if we look at the works of J.S. Bach — a benevolent god to which all musicians should offer a prayer to defend themselves against mediocrity... -Debussy
"It's ok if you disagree with me. I can't force you to be right."
This isn't a youtube video but I just discovered this local PBS network that has archived videos of student recitals and some faculty recitals at Curtis. There were a few piano recitals on here. The program is called "On Stage at Curtis".
At 0:47 you can see some of his students, and the man on the right is Eric Heidsieck, a great pianist himself. I came to know him through the Paris amateur competition, where he has been a long-time judge for the finals, I've had coaching with him, and we continue corresponding.
