|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
208.58.2.83
In Reply to: Someone's in the thrall of Levine posted by markrohr on February 11, 2007 at 14:30:32:
(Besides the French diction of one of the soloists.)clark
PS Boston's most musical music critic, Lloyd Schwartz, had this to say a few days ago:
James Levine was back in front of the BSO after his Christmas break, and as good as at least one of the guest conductors was (Sir Colin Davis), Levine’s conducting was more exciting, and so was his program: the last of his revelatory Beethoven/Schoenberg pairings... Symphony Hall reverberated with the powerful outbursts, and Levine captured Beethoven’s unsettling rhythmic juxtaposition of string section against string section.
Symphony No. 8 was genial, witty (a startling Haydnesque whisper ends the first movement), alternating delicate scampering and raucous vigor. Despite a few rough edges, it was one of the most engaging renditions I’ve heard of this least-performed of Beethoven’s nine symphonies.
Follow Ups:
Mr Schwartz may be a good critic but has penned a real whopper in the review Clark cites.The least performed Beethoven symphony, by a wide margin, is #4, followed by #1. In forty years of concertgoing I have yet to hear a live performance of either.
In this report from Philadelphis, it's #2. That gives us a wide range of choice, huh? Maybe it *is* #8.clark
The American Symphony Orchestra League Repertoire Report shows between 16 to 18 performances of Beethoven symphonies nos 1, 2, 4, and 8 in the most recent season for which statistics have been gathered. By contrast, the most frequently performed work was Beethoven symphony #7, with 92 performances!
I was playing Midsummer Night's Dream down at the ballet. It's not a piece I would go out of my way to hear in any event.But your general and repeated enthusiasm for Levine is not something I can relate to; I find him utterly ordinary.
Meanwhile there are issues with the band I can't not hear. At least the most musicallly destructive force in the brass has retired. A good first step, but it will be a long while.
Eichler, The Globe:Thursday night, the Tanglewood Festival Chorus proved itself up to the task, singing with both strength and tonal flexibility. The orchestra seemed to take a few extra moments to settle into its standard level of transparency and precision, but it just grew stronger and stronger as the night wore on, with many distinguished solo contributions. The sensitive English horn solos that accompany Marguerite's second song were a particular pleasure.
[Pity you leave yourself out of this loop.]
based on the company I keep, particularly critics, some of whom on that list I find myself disagreeing with on a regular basis. (The horror!) I'd wager that if you looked back at the press clippings back when Ozawa began his tenure you might find similar unanimity. Folks thought differently later on. Or some of them did, at any rate--those who didn't need to keep the door open for feature interviews."Pity you leave yourself out of this loop."
----That's just silly.
"The orchestra seemed to take a few extra moments to settle into its standard level of transparency and precision, but it just grew stronger and stronger as the night wore on, with many distinguished solo contributions. The sensitive English horn solos that accompany Marguerite's second song were a particular pleasure."
----You might note that I have never, ever, questioned the abilities or musicianship of any member of the BSO. A finer bunch of musicians you will not find. Some of them are my friends. But there are certain intrinsic issues there, unrelated to individual virtuosity, that prevent them from sounding as good together as they might, or have. Levine has his work cut out for him.
You seem to want everyone to be on "Jimmy's" bandwagon. I don't see any particular reason why everyone should, and I haven't noticed that you place much stock in group-think, either, apart from this. Chill.
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: