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Music Lane It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes. |
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Music Lane It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes. |
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In Reply to: I agree posted by psgary on March 10, 2007 at 08:27:10:
The interesting thing is I think what kills Tchaikovsky in a performance is when the continuity and "animation" of the melodic line is not sustained. Which is what I say is exceptional about this performance. The secondary aspect is the episodic contrast, it's so difficult to find a pianist who can play both thunderous during the fireworks and so delicate during the legatos. (This is what I thought separated Vladimir Horowitz and Antonio Barbosa from the rest. With Rachmaninoff and Chopin respectively.) This too I thought was exceptional about the performance. A third aspect was how Dutoit kept the orchestra "restrained" during the accompaniment. I think this is a common failing in most performances of the Tchaikovsky First Concerto (and obvious in the other YouTube performances). Combined with the "continuity of melodic line" I mentioned above, it had that rare "Fritz Reiner" quality that really brought out the depth in the composer. (My favorite part of the Heifetz Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto is Reiner's intro at the very beginning. This is beyond definitive.) This enabled secondary lines in the orchestra to really sing (those wind calls during the buildup to the climax), bringing on another dimension to the music. And most-importantly, another striking difference in the performance, it enabled the pianist to play with greater dynamic depth, in the scope of the piano itself. (Every time I play that performance, I notice new facets of the work that was captured in that performance.)What's so frustrating about Tchaikovsky, for me, is I think I've heard such performances in the past, and it kills me whenever I hear performances that seem as if nobody on stage has a clue. Tchaikovsky done wrong, to me, can sound so cold, shallow, and lifeless. I think this is why opinion of the composer is all over the place. But when Tchaikovsky is done right, in my opinion, I cannot speak of another composer, aside from maybe Mozart or Wagner, the evokes a musical emotion to the extreme.
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Follow Ups
- Re: I agree - Todd Krieger 11:58:12 03/10/07 (1)
- Interesting points - psgary 19:21:10 03/10/07 (0)
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