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I believe I'm guilty of unfairness toward the “superstars” of classical music. I may have come to take them for granted while focusing my appreciation on those talents who may be lesser known but who possess extraordinary gifts.
Hearing Pinchas Zukerman with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in Jacksonville the other day has given me new appreciation for what I suppose I always have known: There is a reason the superstars became superstars. As both conductor and soloist in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, Zukerman was extraordinary.
I was most taken with his playing of the concerto. That he could project phrasing nuances that were at once strikingly original and yet so inevitable sounding was absolutely astounding to me. His expressivity was the kind that is only possible when extraordinary technical skills meet the gift of a great soul. It was among the most transcendently beautiful things I’ve ever experienced. Lesson learned!
-Bob
Follow Ups:
I always thought that the relative rankings, career-wise, of Messrs. Perlman and Zukerman should have been reversed.
Of course one must acknowledge Mr. Perlman's preternatural ability to get around on the violin technically--but, with all due respect, I think that his success came so fast that he was above criticism at far too young an age, and his career (and I am aware that by all reports he is a sweet human being and very generous) became something of a case of arrested artistic development.
(NB, I am not the only one who felt that way. Uber-critic Henry Roth took Perlman to task in the pages of "The Strad" for an LA recital in which Perlman clowned so much during a Beethoven sonata that the audience was laughing out loud.)
I tuned out when DG released his Elgar violin concerto, a piece about which he really had very little or nothing to say. To me he seemed to be marking time while waiting for the next technical challenge, so he could Perlmanistically Scintillate®... .
Whereas the Zukerman/Barenboim Chicago 1970s Elgar concerto is one for the ages. Full stop. Inarguable--so everybody please don't comment on that precise claim unless you have listened to that recording completely through, and have a working knowledge of all the other version. NB2, I did not say "the best," I said, "for the ages." Which is not a category exclusive to one.
Possibly the best solo-violin performance I ever ever heard was the Saturday night iteration of Joseph Silverstein's farewell performances with the BSO, of the Elgar violin concerto. I was not the only one holding my breath during long passages in the slow movement. I am sure that those performances were taped and archived and are in a vault, and that is where they will stay.
JM
Okay, he's not that good, but his music-making with the Chamber Orchestra was wonderful.
Put me down as also feeling "the other guy" was ridiculously overrated...
My specific criticism of the unreal hype over Mr. Perlman was that the mass-media praise was basically from semi-educated amateurs when it came to classical music--OR, if that sticks in throats--the praise was directed at people whose most immersive exposure to classical music was PBS Beg-a-Thons.
So the result was that IP was coronated as The Violinist for All Seasons and All Purposes.
But the reality was that he often played as though he were out of his depth in the deepest and most meaningful music. Bach, Beethoven, and Elgar are composers where I found him not really with it.
But the other side of the coin is that for "virtuoso," thrills and chills music from Tchakovsky to Wieniawski to Bazzini and all the way back to Paganini (which, when you think of it, is a pretty narrow slice of pie) he was the most brilliant and most scintillating of his time, and perhaps even decisively better than Heifetz and perhaps even the young Menuhin--in technical execution of showpieces.
In a way it is nice when mass media takes note of high culture, but especially these days there is not bandwidth for nuance and so a little knowledge becomes a dangerous thing, or at least a limiting thing.
And I do wish that someone would reboot the "First Hearing" concept, perhaps as a podcast...
jm
You put it very well, I certainly didn't mean to argue with any of that. FWIW, having seen and read interviews of Perlman, he's a reasonably modest guy as to his place in violin history with a sense of humor about himself. He is well aware of all the hype he has received, but pointed out a few years ago it hasn't made him fabulously wealthy, he still has to work for a living. At this point he's probably getting close to semi-retirement as a performer, or at least reduced concert touring.
OK, Performance Mustangs was a red herring.
jm
John,
What a coincidence you should mention Joseph Silverstein in this context. The most remarkable performance of the Beethoven VC in my memory, other than Zuckerman's, was by the very man himself. It was many years ago, with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra under Roger Nierenberg. It has always remained fresh in my memory as one of the great musical experiences of my life. Talk about an under-appreciated violinist!
-Bob
are both superb violinists of the very highest order. I frankly see no reason to rank them or compare them to Itzhak Perlman, another superb violinist. All have made excellent recordings, though I haven't heard Permlan's Elgar concerto, at least not recently.
Silverstein spent most of his performing career as concertmaster of the Boston Symphony, then turned to conducting. I couldn't recommend more highly the Boston Symphony Chamber Players recordings he participated in. And if Zukerman isn't as famous a soloist as Perlman, he is very nearly so.
However, Perlman has made many more solo recordings, and no doubt more solo recital appearances, than Zukerman, and vastly more than Silverstein. Many of these are outstanding (Prokofiev concertos, Brahms concerto and sonatas, Paganini caprices, for example). But it's logical that there is a better chance of a few below par recordings, and certainly live performances, from Perlman. And as John Marks knows, a lot can go wrong with a recording aside from having a soloist who is less than stellar or having an off day.
Silverstein's recordings of the Bartok #2 and Stravinsky concertos with BSO/Leinsdorf are wonderful but apparently out of print.
Sadly, I can find nothing to indicate it ever made it past the above pictured RCA 'Dynagroove' label.
And I am sure that his meltingly lovely solos in "Venus" were a major factor in my decades-long advocacy of that near-perfect discing.
Unfortunately, the Steinberg BSO Planets Venus is not up on YT.
jm
PS: Everyone is entitled to their opinions. And people who pay to read Stereophile are entitled to mine... . I frankly see a host of very important reasons for a professional journalist to point out to people some specific reasons why a given recording by "The Clown Prince of Violinists" just might not be the go-to recording of that particular work, or even--dare I say it--that it might not even be something that would be taken all that seriously if it were auditioned blind--like George Jellinek, bless his heart, used to do in his radio program, which if I recall correctly was called "First Hearing." His parents sent him to New York to avoid the Hungarian Army draft, but they did not get out and they both died at Auschwitz. What a life story his was.
was hosted by the late Lloyd Moss, pictured above.
And yes, certainly miss both he and George Jellinek!
Those two plus 'The Record Shelf' with Jim Svejda, were my three favorite Classical FM shows during my Utah years. KBYU transmitted about the cleanest FM signal that my KT-8300 ever saw.
What a golden age that was. Is there anyone doing for classical music what Tony Randall did?
IIRC, when Arturo Delmoni's first LP was on First Hearing, everybody was very impressed by his Smetana "From the Home Country," and nobody hazarded a guess as to who the violinist was, when Arturo's name was announced, Tony Randall made the most eloquent non-verbal noise, as if to say, "Well, ya coulda fooled me!" I later met him at a NARAS New York function and he was charming and gracious.
jm
Nowadays, the best of the Hollywood stars in this regard is probably Alec Baldwin. But he's no Tony Randall. Remember Marilyn Horne's guest appearance on The Odd Couple TV show? Randall was a true opera expert.
nt
George Jellinek was wonderful, as was his radio program. As for Perlman, you get no argument from me. But he is one of those celebrity /stars, like Pavarotti, or even James Galway, for whom a serious and experienced critic, familiar with other great violinists, or tenors, or flutists, will inevitably have reason to view as overrated and outdone by one or more of his less well known colleagues, at least in some instances.
I'm reading the Leonard Bernstein Letters right now. A classic celebrity / golden boy in his day. What are the chances that at least some knowledgeable critics would come to view him as overrated, both as a conductor and as a composer, especially after his charismatic personality departed this life? 100 percent. And some started sniping at him well before he died.
Some performers, due to charisma, good timing, or other factors, are so celebrated that they are (perhaps rightly) viewed as overrated, no matter what they accomplish.
Used to pick up his show on Classical KBYU while living in Utah over a decade ago.What a treat, a few of those shows are archived at the link below:
Edits: 01/20/15
I have my share of musicians whom I razz on, notably Bang Bang, Alisa Weilerstein, Pappano, and Bell.
But we should not forget that (1) playing any instrument at the level of competence of these artists who are being tagged as overrated is way beyond the capability of any of us here, and (2) soloists are *performance artists* whose achievements and popularity are as much dependent upon publicity, marketing and flat out luck as upon technical wizardry and talent.
As for Mr Zuckerman, I saw/heard him play the Beethoven VC just Saturday night. Now I must admit that the Beethoven VC is not among my favorite violin concertos, but I've got many recordings of it, am familiar with it through and through, and have seen it in concert many times. Zuckerman's was not among the greatest performances I've enjoyed, complicated by his dual role as conductor on this night. And if this were my only exposure to Mr Zuckerman, I would have a lower opinion of his competence as a soloist.
We can pick many nits about musicians and recordings and performances. I tend to be overly critical at times myself. But perhaps it is because we have such a wonderful wealth of choices. We have become spoiled. I am most of all just thankful that there are people so endowed with talent and the perseverance to tour and record, so that I may have my moments of sublime joy, afforded by their musicianship.
"Life without music is a mistake" (Nietzsche)
Whenever any classical musician becomes a media sensation, I find it partly amusing, and partly gratifying that any classical musician can still become such a celebrity for any reason nowadays. (I'm happier if the reason is not related to crime, nudity or miming to a recording at a presidential inauguration).
Of course these media darlings are overrated, but no point in worrying too much about that. As you say, best to enjoy whatever talent anyone is able to bring to the stage, screen, record or page.
Did you notice whether the RPO musicians were flipping pages in their score? That seems like a stupid question for many, I suppose, but I was present when RPO (led by Zuckerman) played Brahms 1st Symphony Saturday night, and the musicians did not flip pages during the performance.
"Life without music is a mistake" (Nietzsche)
Actually, I did not notice. I usually listen with my eyes closed to prevent the visual stimuli from overburdening my pathetically inadequate brain. :-)
-Bob
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