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Post by John on Feb 1, 2021 8:43:53 GMT
Apologies this is not an album just a performance, but what a performance it is.
Jerry introduced me to this not long ago and I have played it every day since. The recording is really good somehow they really pulled it off. Her tone is just beautiful and she plays with so much joy, it is like she is feeling every note that is being played. According to Jules she has only recorded one album, all I can say what a waste of talent that she has not recorded more. I just find her performance merzmising!
Towards the end of the week I will add another selection that is more modern with occasional elements of post rock combined with contemporary classical music.
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Post by MartinT on Feb 1, 2021 10:08:42 GMT
Just one album and an appearance on another.
Thanks for this, John. I shall watch it on the secondary AV system so that I get the full visual experience.
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Post by julesd68 on Feb 1, 2021 13:12:04 GMT
I know I'm going to like this.
Super talented violinist + favourite concerto = job done for me.
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Post by MartinT on Feb 1, 2021 14:21:59 GMT
Wow, Jules, for someone who doesn't like most Beethoven that's quite a favourite. It's one of mine, too. |
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Post by julesd68 on Feb 1, 2021 15:34:20 GMT
If I had to pick just one VC it would most likely be the Beethoven.
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 1, 2021 17:28:30 GMT
It has to be a simply stunning 5 from me.
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Post by MartinT on Feb 1, 2021 21:56:42 GMT
I thought she improved throughout the concert, with some of her phrasing a little shaky at the start. Absolutely wonderful orchestral accompaniment. Picture and sound on our LG TV was also superb and a real joy to experience.
I do like the Beethoven VC ever since I got into classical music. I have heard better performances (the previously mentioned Nadia Salerno-Sonnenberg) and recordings (Gidon Kremer), so it gets a 4/5 from me.
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Post by Slinger on Feb 2, 2021 0:16:25 GMT
4/5 from me. It was very good, but for some reason it didn't "involve" me, although that might be my fault, rather than the musicians'.
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Post by julesd68 on Feb 2, 2021 14:19:49 GMT
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Post by julesd68 on Feb 3, 2021 18:54:40 GMT
This is a very interesting performance so forgive me if I delve into some detail.
I didn't like the orchestra at the start - sounded like they were playing at a wake ... Tempo just too ponderous for me - good grief I nearly qualified for a free bus pass before Soyoung made her entrance!
She has an exceptional tone there is no doubt and can play with an almost glittering delicacy. But not sure this really worked in the 1st - there were times I just wanted her to wring a bit more nobility and power when appropriate. The main issue was the tempo and labouring orchestra which really seemed to be inhibiting her flow and expression. I don't think she was comfortable and it's not a coincidence that the most successful part of the 1st by a country mile is her solo at the end where she sounds much less inhibited - at last some sparks were flying! A quite astonishing contrast to the accompanied sections.
The 2nd allows her sumptuous tone and delicate phrasing to really shine. You can clearly see in her face and body language she is much more at ease, and subsequently her intonation effortlessly slips up a gear or two. We can also hear the emotion and full expression of the music. Lovely.
I love the way she relaxes into the 3rd now the shackles are free. So much more confident than the 1st, she's almost playful and clearly enjoys herself - absolutely delightful! The orchestra respond in kind, vibrantly springing into life even if the conductor doesn't. A glorious finale indeed.
What a shame the 1st movement lets this down. On her day she is a 5* violinist, here I would give an overall 4* for her performance and null points for the metronomic conductor who was running on battery power and offers little to soloist or orchestra. I think she deserves much better and a change of tempo in the first to allow this to really take flight.
So whilst this wouldn't be my favourite performance, I found it most fascinating, many thanks John.
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Post by John on Feb 3, 2021 19:12:41 GMT
It is interesting for me. I am a bit of a outsider when it comes to classical music and different performances I just see and hear that joy she has whilst playing and that enchants me. I have no reference point to other performances.
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 3, 2021 20:00:50 GMT
That's the thing about classical music, John, there are always a wide range of ways to play it - speed variations, dynamic inflections - they can result in a very different feel to each performance or recording.
Now that you are familiar with this performance it might be interesting for you to have a listen to other recordings.
Maybe the one that Martin mentioned by Gidon Kremer and see what you think. I think it's this one...
By the way, I disagree with Jules about the 1st movement, I think the speed is just fine. Yes, it's slower than it can be, but that just allows extra expressiveness.
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Post by julesd68 on Feb 3, 2021 21:22:22 GMT
It's interesting to know that Hilary Hahn's teacher wouldn't let her play the Beethoven until she had mastered all the other core repertoire.
This approach is not uncommon but of course not followed by all. I saw AS Mutter playing it a couple of years back at the Festival Hall - her fabulous performance was so far ahead of her first recorded one with HVK on DG aged just 17, in terms of emotional depth and maturity. Perhaps not surprising but shows the benefits of the experience required to really nail this work.
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 3, 2021 21:39:22 GMT
This has been one of my favourites for ages, Stephanie Chase and the original instrument Hanover Band
Hmm, listening again to it now I'm not so keen - it's quite fast. Jules would approve!
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Post by julesd68 on Feb 3, 2021 21:58:30 GMT
LOL!!
I notice that Soyoung is due to play the Bruch in Poland in a couple of days time. No idea if it's going ahead.
Ordinarily I would have seriously considered that, would love to visit Gdansk.
Hopefully it will be recorded.
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Post by julesd68 on Feb 3, 2021 22:15:08 GMT
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 4, 2021 0:08:23 GMT
Gosh, I don't like Kremer, he's managed to extract all the beauty from the music. His playing seems spasmodic rather than flowing to me. He plays it like a combination of Brahms and Shostakovich. Both great, but not suitable for the Beethoven violin concerto! And as for the ugly Schnittke cadenza... just pass me the brown paper bag. 1/5.  |
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Post by julesd68 on Feb 4, 2021 0:57:12 GMT
Well I've listened to his Schnittke in isolation. There were parts of it I enjoyed but it gets increasingly disturbing and modernist - I couldn't quite make it to the end. A very strange affair.
If the soloist wants to show off they should play virtuosic encores and leave the concerto alone ideally. Or just keep it short. The Kreisler cadenza doesn't offend though.
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Post by John on Feb 4, 2021 15:06:25 GMT
A question for all you classical buffs.
Do composers when they score include the tempo of the music. Or is this left for the conductor to decide?
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Post by julesd68 on Feb 4, 2021 15:38:28 GMT
John, have a read through this short but well-written guide to Tempo. symphonynovascotia.ca/faqs/symphony-101/how-do-musicians-know-how-fast-to-play-a-piece-and-why-are-the-terms-in-italian/You will see how often it can be down to interpretation and there is plenty of room for the conductor to set their own pace. Another thing to keep in mind is that today's soloists in particular are often searching for new interpretations of works and to depart from traditional readings - one of the ways of doing this is through tempo. Khatia Buniatishvili for example isn't afraid to significantly play with tempo to find a different expression and emotion within the music. For example her Rach 2 with its much faster tempo has an amazing feeling of lightness and flight. I loved the depth of feeling in her recent Schubert D960 but some people couldn't cope with how slow it is. So departing from the norm is often controversial. |
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