Mozart

[Mandryka]

Re the reorchestration (whatever it may be) he says

": I am a chamber musician, and this
disc features members of many French string quartets – the Ébène, the Arod,
the Hanson and so on. This chamber musical conception is very powerful. In fact,
that's the origin of Appassionato: a flexibly sized chamber orchestra, for which
I generally reorchestrate all kinds of works . . . , the reorchestration brings them something else, a new way of looking at them, that chamber
approach I mentioned earlier. And the primary quality of a chamber orchestra
is of course its precision, the possibility it offers of playing with musical time in
a different way, of taking certain liberties."

[Florestan]

Re the reorchestration (whatever it may be) he says

": I am a chamber musician, and this
disc features members of many French string quartets – the Ébène, the Arod,
the Hanson and so on. This chamber musical conception is very powerful. In fact,
that's the origin of Appassionato: a flexibly sized chamber orchestra, for which
I generally reorchestrate all kinds of works . . . , the reorchestration brings them something else, a new way of looking at them, that chamber
approach I mentioned earlier. And the primary quality of a chamber orchestra
is of course its precision, the possibility it offers of playing with musical time in
a different way, of taking certain liberties."

Did he reorchestrate Mozart's own orchestration? If yes, then gimme a break, Mr. Herzog, willya? 

[Ken B]

So Andrei, did Dante matter?

Before Dante no major artist in Italy wrote in the vernacular. After him they all did, and the Tuscan dialect assumed a privileged status. To me it looks like "pre Dante" and "post Dante" are meaningful terms that reflect an actual and important influence.

[Mandryka]

Did he reorchestrate Mozart's own orchestration?

That's what the notes seem to suggest, but I don't know the music well enough to say what he's actually done.

(Didn't Mozart reorchestrate something? Haendel's Messiah maybe?)

[Florestan]

So Andrei, did Dante matter?

Before Dante no major artist in Italy wrote in the vernacular. After him they all did, and the Tuscan dialect assumed a privileged status. To me it looks like "pre Dante" and "post Dante" are meaningful terms that reflect an actual and important influence.

You seem to might have a point.

But ---

--- "pre-Haydn" and "post-Haydn" are obviously meaningful terms that reflect an actual and important influence, of which Beethoven is part and parcel.

Now, pray tell me what "pre-Beethoven" means in this context?

As for any "post-Beethoven" meaningful term, what do you make of Chopin, Schumann or Tchaikovsky, whose music is as un-Beethovenian as it gets?

Plus --- time and again, the false analogy between language and music...

[Florestan]

That's what the notes seem to suggest, but I don't know the music well enough to say what he's actually done.

(Didn't Mozart reorchestrate something? Haendel's Messiah maybe?)

Okay, but there's a difference between Mozart's reorchestrating Haendel and Herzog's reorchestrating  Mozart... Ne sutor ultra crepidam!

[ritter]

... what do you make of Chopin, Schumann or Tchaikovsky, whose music is as un-Beethovenian as it gets?

Musical byways? 

[Florestan]

Musical byways? 

Much less, and healthier, than Wagner's... 

[Ghost of Baron Scarpia]

In fairness what he says is "powerful and massive orchestral tuttis", which may be partly a question of style. The arch enemy (sorry for the immature way of putting it) is Harnoncourt, it may be that Harnoncourt is gentler, less stormy and stressy, in the climaxes, whatever the size of the orchestra he was using.

Harnoncourt's Concertgebouw Mozart is the least "gentle" I have heard.

[Madiel]

As for any "post-Beethoven" meaningful term, what do you make of Chopin, Schumann or Tchaikovsky, whose music is as un-Beethovenian as it gets?

I have a box of Chopin recordings that observes how it's somewhat curious that Chopin disliked Beethoven, given how Chopin's own music contains incredible bursts of violence and power that are liable to remind one of Beethoven.

I don't know what's un-Beethovenian about Schumann. I really don't. There are times when he uses Beethoven as a model.

As for Tchaikovsky, well... I barely listen to Tchaikovsky. I've got nothing.

[Mandryka]

What would be good is if someone who knows the music well enough could listen to one of these Herzog performances and say what sort of recorchestration he's done. I'm not able to do it.

[Mandryka]

Harnoncourt's Concertgebouw Mozart is the least "gentle" I have heard.

Yes I strongly suspect that Herzog is full of shit.

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Re the reorchestration (whatever it may be) he says

": I am a chamber musician, and this
disc features members of many French string quartets – the Ébène, the Arod,
the Hanson and so on. This chamber musical conception is very powerful. In fact,
that's the origin of Appassionato: a flexibly sized chamber orchestra, for which
I generally reorchestrate all kinds of works . . . , the reorchestration brings them something else, a new way of looking at them, that chamber
approach I mentioned earlier. And the primary quality of a chamber orchestra
is of course its precision, the possibility it offers of playing with musical time in
a different way, of taking certain liberties."

That's not how I read it, actually. More that he USUALLY re-orchestrates stuff for them (that's not originally for orchestra). But we'll find out. I haven't heard the disc yet.

[Mandryka]

That's not how I read it, actually. More that he USUALLY re-orchestrates stuff for them (that's not originally for orchestra). But we'll find out. I haven't heard the disc yet.

I hope you're right!

[Mandryka]

That's not how I read it, actually. More that he USUALLY re-orchestrates stuff for them (that's not originally for orchestra). But we'll find out. I haven't heard the disc yet.

Did anyone get to the bottom of this?

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Did anyone get to the bottom of this?

Still on it.

[SurprisedByBeauty]

We have an answer:

No - I didn't arrange one note. I do that for concerts but not on the recordings and I will never do that. I believe in re-orchestration for live purposes but not for a recording.

[Mandryka]

We have an answer:

Well done! Thanks.

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Latest on @ClassicsToday: Sunday-Morning Mozart from Seong-Jin Cho and Yannick Nézet-Séguin

https://www.classicstoday.com/review/sunday-morning-mozart-from-seong-jin-cho-and-yannick-nezet-seguin/ ...

[SurprisedByBeauty]

#DipYourEars, No. 253 (Blomstedt's Terribly-Reasonably-Delightful #Mozart):