Christoph Von Dohnanyi

Started by Sarkosian, April 09, 2008, 07:16:19 AM

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Sarkosian

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MN Dave


Brian

Quote from: Sarkosian on April 09, 2008, 07:27:36 AM
The way things are looking right now, there may not be a great many more of those left for us.


















Gustavo Dudamel - Alan Gilbert - Pietari Inkinen - Stephane Deneve - Kwame Ryan - Yannick Nezet-Seguin - Cristian Macelaru - JoAnn Falletta - Mikko Franck
This is going to be a great century for conducting!

toledobass


Brian

Quote from: toledobass on April 09, 2008, 09:43:58 AM
Falleta?  Really?

Allan
Well, she's a good bit older than the others to be sure, but still on the rise. What I've heard live and on disc, I've liked...

rubio

Quote from: Sarkosian on April 09, 2008, 07:16:19 AM
There is a conductor out there, still working as I post this, who seems great, great as conductors often were in the great days of arthur Nikitsch, Wilhelm Furtwangler or Arturo Toscanini.  Yet that conductor, though far from unknown, does not appear to have enjoyed the recognition he deserves.  What do you think?

Christoph Von Dohnanyi is that conductor.



I saw him some weeks ago conducting Strauss Heldenleben and Beethoven PC4 (w/ Bronfman) with his band, NDRSO. I definately agree he is a great and uniformly interesting conductor. I must say I also love Rozhdestvensky. His performance of Tchaikovsky's Manfred with Oslo PO in December was spell-binding! Oslo PO worked like a big organism, and Saraste (good as he is) has never achieved that to nealy that extent.

In other genres, people like Herreweghe (in Bach) are terrific.
"One good thing about music, when it hits- you feel no pain" Bob Marley

toledobass

Quote from: Brian on April 09, 2008, 10:42:25 AM
Well, she's a good bit older than the others to be sure, but still on the rise. What I've heard live and on disc, I've liked...

Hmmm, I've hated everything I've played under her.  More or less just a metronome on the podium.  That was a while ago though and things change.....

Allan

Renfield

I've heard him live in Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony, with the "Orchestre de la Swiss Romande". Fantastic concert.

And the other half of the programme was Stravinsky's "Petrushka" suite, but at the time I was not as acquainted with Stravinsky's work as to make value-judgements on the performance. I certainly did like it, though. :)

Peter Power Pop

#8
Quote from: Sarkosian on April 09, 2008, 07:16:19 AM
There is a conductor out there, still working as I post this, who seems great, great as conductors often were in the great days of arthur Nikitsch, Wilhelm Furtwangler or Arturo Toscanini.  Yet that conductor, though far from unknown, does not appear to have enjoyed the recognition he deserves.  What do you think?

Christoph Von Dohnanyi is that conductor.

I definitely second that vote for Christoph von Dohnányi. I've never seen (or heard) him in concert, but on record I think he's never less than splendid.

My two favourite CDs with CvD at the helm are:



Ravel - Orchestral Works
Alborada del gracioso
La Valse
Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2
Boléro
The Cleveland Orchestra / Christoph von Dohnányi


Amazon.com
ArkivMusic

This is my favourite single-disc of Ravel orchestral works. The Alborada del gracioso on this CD is stunning.

http://www.youtube.com/v/EeOJ_hqFqYM





Mendelssohn - The Complete Symphonies
Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 11
Die erste Walpurgisnacht (The First Walpurgis Night), Op. 60
Lobgesang (Hymn of Praise) (Symphony No. 2), Op. 52
Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 56 "Scottish"
Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90 "Italian"
Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 107 "Reformation"
Overture "The Hebrides" (Fingal's Cave), Op. 26
Overture "Calm Sea and Properous Voyage", Op. 27
Athalie, Op. 74 - Overture
Athalie, Op. 74 - War March of the Priests
Wiener Philharmoniker / Christoph von Dohnányi


Amazon.com
ArkivMusic

My favourite Mendelssohn symphony cycle. The performances are muscular and forthright, just the way I like 'em. Mendelssohn, as presented here, is not the lily-livered, overly sensitive milksop he's sometimes portrayed as. No sir.



https://www.youtube.com/v/nTlIdDgZS4k

Brian

I saw Dohnanyi once with the Philharmonia, in 2010: Schubert's Unfinished, a Mozart piano concerto (Angela Hewitt), Beethoven's Fifth. All very good, and nothing ever wrong, but nothing to really surprise or delight me, either.

Not that I mind: he gets a free pass. His work on record consistently surprises, delights, and gives joy.

Cosi bel do

#10
I have not seen him in concert yet, but appreciate his efforts as a conductor. Yes, his interpretations lack a kind of personality, creativity, they just flow naturally. But that's a quality in itself and many conductors who supposedly have personality do not do half of his work in terms of detail, precision, quality of phrasing... Von Dohanyi is a kind of Maazel without the materialistic tendency of his later style.

This being said, what I prefer among his discography is :
- the Mendelssohn symphonies with the Wiener already mentioned, easily the best full cycle available, just a superb orchestral performance
- his recordings of the second Viennese school : Wozzeck and Erwartung with the Wiener, the Webern he recorded with Cleveland...
- other 20th century scores well rendered with Cleveland : Bartok, Lutoslawski, and also Ives
- his Shostakovich 10th is one of the best among the "Western" versions (meaning: still well behind lmost any Russian version)
- Dvorak 7-8-9 : beautifully crafted again, very nice and enticing (but they don't really compare to the most beautiful Czech versions...)
- his Bruckner symphonies are always very nice too, even if, again, lacking a little personality when compared to bigger names (but they can compete even against the Jochum cycles)

All that is sometimes a little too neat, literal, but always with great orchestral quality and generally the best Decca sound. It is better in the end than many average recordings with mediocre sound...

amw

I have Dohnányi's Cleveland Beethoven cycle on cd, somewhere. Haven't listened to it in a while. His Philharmonia Brahms recordings are definitely to my taste as are the last three Dvořáks.

He also features on one of my four Mahler recordings, conducting the Symphony No. 6. I think I've listened to it... once? But then I listen to Mahler about once a year so won't blame Dohnányi for that. There's also Schoenberg and Webern on the CD.

Mookalafalas

As I understand, they released a large box set of live material from his days in Cleveland some years back.  Apparently it was a limited edition and soon went OOP.  I would love to have one of those.
It's all good...

jut1972

Had tickets for his 85th birthday concert but he pulled out due to illness :( the stand in who's name escapes me did a great job considering the circumstances

Peter Power Pop

#14
Quote from: amw on November 01, 2014, 03:54:11 PM
I have Dohnányi's Cleveland Beethoven cycle on cd, somewhere. ...

I'm listening to it at the moment – and loving it. The sound quality's not great (the midrange is muddy), but you get used to it. The interpretation, on the other hand, is magnificent.



Quote from: amw on November 01, 2014, 03:54:11 PM... Haven't listened to it in a while. His Philharmonia Brahms recordings are definitely to my taste as are the last three Dvořáks.

I think I'm going to have to buy those last three Dvořák symphonies.

The combination of Dvořák's warm-heartedness and Dohnányi's clear-eyed humanity is something I definitely want to hear.



Quote from: amw on November 01, 2014, 03:54:11 PMHe also features on one of my four Mahler recordings, conducting the Symphony No. 6. I think I've listened to it... once? But then I listen to Mahler about once a year so won't blame Dohnányi for that. There's also Schoenberg and Webern on the CD.

Mirror Image

My favorite Dohnanyi performance without question is his Miraculous Mandarin with the Vienna Philharmonic on Decca. Absolute scorching performance from start to finish.

Bogey

Quote from: Peter Power Pop on November 02, 2014, 03:50:18 PM
I'm listening to it at the moment – and loving it. The sound quality's not great (the midrange is muddy), but you get used to it. The interpretation, on the other hand, is magnificent.



I think I'm going to have to buy those last three Dvořák symphonies.

The combination of Dvořák's warm-heartedness and Dohnányi's clear-eyed humanity is something I definitely want to hear.



His 9th is my favorite recording of that piece and one of the recordings that got me loving classical music.
There will never be another era like the Golden Age of Hollywood.  We didn't know how to blow up buildings then so we had no choice but to tell great stories with great characters.-Ben Mankiewicz

VonStupp

#17
I see in some reviews that conductor Christoph von Dohnányi is often viewed as bland and devoid of personality, but having recently listened to his Brahms' Symphony cycle (plus accoutrement and pictured below), I was completely convinced by his abilities and it was remarkably consistent - his Brahms Haydn Variations were a dream! It seems there is some love on this thread though.

Looking back, the last I listened to Dohnányi was a Mendelssohn Symphony cycle (currently listening to 3 with Cleveland), Dvořák's Slavonic Dances, and Busoni's Piano Concerto. I expressed a fondness for each of these recordings at the time, so I think I must be on the Dohnányi train. His style doesn't appear to be impetuous, but still muscular, nor is he rustic or edgy, particularly when it comes to Dvořák, yet his music shows intelligence and musicality.

He is certainly a 'middle-of-the-road' interpreter of the symphonic German repertoire, but I think it is in the best sense of the phrase. That is, strong concert hall performances that lack mannerisms or affectations, but he presents the music energetically and with musicality. Is this a lack of personality?

I haven't heard his Schubert, Schumann, or Beethoven symphony cycles, nor do I need another one of them, but I am curious. A few on this thread have mentioned him leading the Second Viennese School plus some other modernists, but I haven't met them yet. Any other love for Dohnányi that I have missed?


"All the good music has already been written by people with wigs and stuff."

VonStupp

"All the good music has already been written by people with wigs and stuff."

Spotted Horses

Quote from: VonStupp on September 19, 2021, 01:39:58 PM
Thanks! These weren't even on my radar.

VS

I seem to recall that this set was only sold to Cleveland Orchestra subscribers. I came across used copies of several volumes but never saw them offered new.
There are simply two kinds of music, good music and the other kind. - Duke Ellington