The Classical Chat Thread

[Dancing Divertimentian]

A portrait of Geza Anda. For Steinway / @ListenMusicMag

"Only the Steinway piano provides me with wings."
https://www.steinway.com/artists/geza-anda ...




The title loses a wonderful pun in translation from the German, where the
same phrase ("Nur Steinway verleiht mir Flügel") also means: "Only
Steinway rents pianos out to me."

Thoroughly enjoyable write-up, Jet. I've been listening to quite a bit of Anda lately, so I'm especially appreciative of your timely article.

And that's a perfect "Anda-sized" bit of Steinway ad copy in the middle of your article. I have no doubts Anda would've approved.

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Thoroughly enjoyable write-up, Jet. I've been listening to quite a bit of Anda lately, so I'm especially appreciative of your timely article.

And that's a perfect "Anda-sized" bit of Steinway ad copy in the middle of your article. I have no doubts Anda would've approved.

Thanks for the kind words.

Also, the headline (not mine, but the editor's) is something to note, because it loses a wonderful pun in translation from the German, where the same phrase ("Nur Steinway verleiht mir Flügel") also means: "Only Steinway rents pianos out to me." Which is a really good play of words for someone who had only been in German-speaking countries for about a decade or so, when he came up with it in response to a Steinway request for a PR-usable quote.

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Latest on Forbes.com:


Latest on @ForbesOpinion: Classical #CDoftheWeek:
Alexei Lubimov And C.P.E. Bach Going Off On A Tangent
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenslaurson/2017/11/22/classical-cd-of-the-week-alexei-lubimov-and-c-p-e-bach-going-off-on-a-tangent/#50b50f666cb7

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Welcome to Graun Gardens!

Graun's just got a big boost, methinks! Now if only people pick up on it.

Major artist-love. And very well done, both in concert and on CD:


Classical CD Of The Week: Julia Lezhneva Discovers Graun

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Review: Visiting Nazgûl - An Evening Of Late Schumann And Darker Schubert

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenslaurson/2017/12/01/review-visiting-nazgul-an-evening-of-late-schumann-and-darker-schubert/#7d6043f623a9

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Review: Oh, Only The Best Schöne Müllerin Ever!

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenslaurson/2017/12/05/review-oh-only-the-best-schone-mullerin-ever/#535b615f632c

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Classical CD Of The Week: Dresden Gems And Storks In Love
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenslaurson/2017/12/21/classical-cd-of-the-week-dresden-gems-and-storks-in-love/#288ef8a7eb0f
J.F.Fasch, J.J.Quantz, J.D.Heinichen, A.Vivaldi, G.P.Telemann, A.Califano, A.Lotti, "Dresden", Zefiro / Alfredo Bernardini, Arcana

[Todd]

Not content with 97 and 102 key models, Stuart & Sons is building a nine octave, 108 key piano.

[SurprisedByBeauty]

A few reviews:

Classical CD Of The Week: Civilized Mozart-Beauty From Uchida And The Cleveland Orchestra
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenslaurson/2018/01/03/classical-cd-of-the-week-civilized-mozart-beauty-from-uchida-and-the-cleveland-orchestra/
Uchida and her Clevelanders flow from movement to movement with the greatest natural ease.


Classical CD Of The Week: Lied-And-Mélodie Beauties From Viktor Ullmann
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenslaurson/2018/01/10/classical-cd-of-the-week-lied-and-melodie-gems-from-viktor-ullmann/
Ullmann fashioned an ingratiating style of 20th-century modernism rooted in the romanticism of Mahler and Zemlinsky.


Review: A Dress, Two Stars And A Trout 'Electric-Eclectic'
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenslaurson/2018/01/11/review-a-dress-two-stars-and-a-trout-electric-eclectic/
Electric Egomania: You get a hint from the cover, where Mutter, wrapped in a red-fading-to-black dream of ruffled, strapless silk, drapes herself over a museum bench like a piece of molten minx; an astounding pose for which a mixing of metaphors is decidedly required...


Review: HK Gruber's Birthday-Bash At The Vienna Konzerthaus -- Modern Music With A Smile
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenslaurson/2018/01/16/review-hk-grubers-birthday-bash-at-the-vienna-konzerthaus-modern-music-with-a-smile/
Composer-conductor HK Gruber got a birthday bash last Friday, conducting a concert of music of his friends, mentors, a protégé, and his own, leading the Vienna RSO of which he had been a member for a quarter century. And what a fun time was being had – befitting a 75th birthday celebration.

[Christabel]

According to 'insiders' the great Thomas Quasthoff is coming out of retirement and going back behind the microphone for recordings.  It's yet unclear whether this will be Jazz or Classical or both.  Great to have Quasthoff back in the business!!

[SurprisedByBeauty]

According to 'insiders' the great Thomas Quasthoff is coming out of retirement and going back behind the microphone for recordings.  It's yet unclear whether this will be Jazz or Classical or both.  Great to have Quasthoff back in the business!!

a.) Is it? b.) Anyone but Lebrecht report anything substantial on this?


In other news:


Trouble In Berlin: Whatever You Do, Don't Make A Shred Video Of Superstar Violinist Daniel Hope...
...or you will lose your job and face various other recriminations.

Or at least that is what Daniel Hope would like to happen, if this following open letter is to be believed. But from the top:

[Ken B]

Review: Oh, Only The Best Schöne Müllerin Ever!

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenslaurson/2017/12/05/review-oh-only-the-best-schone-mullerin-ever/#535b615f632c

The last thing I need is another Mullerin. I culled my collection a few years ago, to get it down to a stupidly large number. It was the first lieder I ever heard, and still my favorite. You didn't mention my preference though: Olaf Bär.

[Christabel]

a.) Is it? b.) Anyone but Lebrecht report anything substantial on this?


In other news:


Trouble In Berlin: Whatever You Do, Don't Make A Shred Video Of Superstar Violinist Daniel Hope...
...or you will lose your job and face various other recriminations.

Or at least that is what Daniel Hope would like to happen, if this following open letter is to be believed. But from the top:

Press release just in from Sony:

New York / Berlin, January 17, 2018

When bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff announced his retirement from public performance as a Lieder singer in 2012, he left a hole in both the jazz and the classical worlds, which until today has not been filled. But the three-time Grammy Award-winning artist was sure that the time was right because he had no other choice.  "It  is no secret  that extreme feelings make you speechless. After the death of my brother, my voice literally left me and I felt that I could no longer fulfill the expectations I had of myself and my artistry. That's why I gave up my career as a classical singer. Luckily, my voice came slowly back to me, and today I stand here as a very happy person and  I dedicate this new album to my brother Michael."

Sony Classical is proud to be able to join Thomas Quasthoff on his return to the recording studio. The first album, due for release in May 2018, will be a diverse programme of jazz classics with the celebrated NDR Bigband – The Hamburg Radio Jazz Orchestra and his trio partners Frank Chastenier, Dieter Ilg and Wolfgang Haffner.

[Pat B]

Trouble In Berlin: Whatever You Do, Don't Make A Shred Video Of Superstar Violinist Daniel Hope...
...or you will lose your job and face various other recriminations.

Or at least that is what Daniel Hope would like to happen, if this following open letter is to be believed. But from the top:

For a while I was thinking: maybe Lücker was already on thin ice at the Berliner Konzerthaus and this was the last straw.

But the comment from Der Herr Intendant makes it clear that his firing non-retention was indeed primarily for this video, which apparently hardly anybody saw anyway. Nice touch to fixate on the distinction between "fired" and "did not retain," which surely must have been greatly appreciated by all of the employment lawyers reading "Bad Blog of Musick." I guess that's one way to do damage control.

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Nice touch to fixate on the distinction between "fired" and "did not retain," which surely must have been greatly appreciated by all of the employment lawyers reading "Bad Blog of Musick." I guess that's one way to do damage control.

[Baron Scarpia]

The latest outrage of omission to catch my attention.

[asin]B00FETUPN4[/asin]

What happened to Mozart Symphony No 32 (KV318)?

I assume they decided that it is not a real "symphony." (It has a peculiar form and musicologists have been arguing what theatrical piece it is supposed to be the overture for.) Grrrr!  I like the piece.  What harm would there be in recording it.

Even a worse offense than the Mosaiques omitting the revised finale of the Beethoven Quartet Op 130. (Not that the revised finale of Op 130 isn't a fine piece, but the Quatuor Mosaiques recording is a turd, so who cares what they record or don't record?)

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Trouble In Berlin: Whatever You Do, Don't Make A Shred Video Of Superstar Violinist Daniel Hope...
...or you will lose your job and face various other recriminations.

Or at least that is what Daniel Hope would like to happen, if this following open letter is to be believed. But from the top:

This story got more interesting: Van Magazine claimed that it was DG Prez. himself who asked for Luecker to be removed from his writing job at Neue Musikzeitung.

Forbes piece edited to quote that segment. Universal VP of Comm. quickly commented (well, he didn't mean to comment, he meant to tell) that Clemens Trautmann did NOT ask the NMZ to fire Luecker. Friendly tone and all... after all, he had a point. (Quote wasn't sourced by VAN Magazine... not that it needs to be for me to quote it... but as a matter of courtesy, one might refrain from multiplying such quotes.)

Forbes piece edited to impart to the readers that DG denied that story in that specific way. Universal VP of Comm.right back: This time no longer friendly. Not with the hammer, yet, just the hand behind their back, suggesting that they might not be holding candy.

I'm not sure the story is wrong, just more muddy and complicated and decidedly not 'official', as friendships and backroom channels are involved.

[Pat B]

This story got more interesting: Van Magazine claimed that it was DG Prez. himself who asked for Luecker to be removed from his writing job at Neue Musikzeitung.

Forbes piece edited to quote that segment. Universal VP of Comm. quickly commented (well, he didn't mean to comment, he meant to tell) that Clemens Trautmann did NOT ask the NMZ to fire Luecker. Friendly tone and all... after all, he had a point. (Quote wasn't sourced by VAN Magazine... not that it needs to be for me to quote it... but as a matter of courtesy, one might refrain from multiplying such quotes.)

Forbes piece edited to impart to the readers that DG denied that story in that specific way. Universal VP of Comm.right back: This time no longer friendly. Not with the hammer, yet, just the hand behind their back, suggesting that they might not be holding candy.

I'm not sure the story is wrong, just more muddy and complicated and decidedly not 'official', as friendships and backroom channels are involved.

Last year, Van Magazine published a piece called "The Decline of Deutsche Grammophon," which apparently spawned a backlash. I'm assuming there is some lingering resentment, probably in both directions.

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Last year, Van Magazine published a piece called "The Decline of Deutsche Grammophon," which apparently spawned a backlash. I'm assuming there is some lingering resentment, probably in both directions.

I remember that hazily. Not a particularly clever or balanced essay, I thought at the time. DG is clearly trying to be both, commercially successful in the old model (which you can't be with total highbrow) and, well, "DG". It's tough. Just an example: Among the 250 commercially most successful classical recordings in the UK over the last quarter century, the first arguably "serious" classical recording that registers is Nigel Kennedy's 4 Seasons and it comes in at No.100!

[SurprisedByBeauty]

How can I get an access to that? Is it full of Rieu, Bocelli and sorts?

Excatly. And then some Three Tenors and a surprising amount of Bryn Terfel. Charlotte Church, of course... and especially soundtracks! Oh, and this Katherine Jenkins woman.

Titanic. Russell Watson "The Voice". Hayley Westenra "Pure". Church "Voice of an Angel". Katherin Jenkins "Living A Dream". Katherin Jenkins "Second Nature". "Voices of the Valley". Rieu "Moonligth Serenade". "The Priests". Katherine Jenkins "Serenade" et al.

http://www.rhinegold.co.uk/classical_music/classic-fm-reveals-best-selling-classical-albums-past-25-years/
-> http://halloffame.classicfm.com/ultimate-chart/