Cunning little vixen.
Sun, Apr 7 2013, 9:50AM
#2
RE: Cunning little vixen.
Then wallow in Kata Kabanova. Janacek heaven once more.
Sun, Apr 7 2013, 9:54AM
#3
RE: Cunning little vixen.
The pit at the Theatre Royal is tiny - but Glyndebourne managed to get Hansel and Gretel in there which according to a member of their own staff is played with the same sized band as Die meistersinger.
....and they will be doing it all again in December when it returns to Plymouth.
Sun, Apr 7 2013, 10:41AM
#4
RE: Cunning little vixen.
Then wallow in Kata Kabanova. Janacek heaven once more.
Indeed Sid, both works are full of life-enhancing music: needed it seems to offset the tetchy mood that pervades the forum lately!
And if those are not enough try the Sinfonietta and Glagolitic Mass: music full of a glorious excess of joie de vivre!
JFK, there's a lovely DVD of a cartoon version of Cunning Little Vixen (sung in English). Not so crazy when you remember that the source for the opera was a cartoon strip!. And if you wan't to get into Brahms I'd try any of his Lieder, especially the Deutsche Volkslieder, sung by Irmgard Seefried, for pure life-enhancing pleasure! If that doesn't work, well just try anything else sung by Seefried!
Chris
Sun, Apr 7 2013, 9:24PM
#5
RE: Cunning little vixen.
There you go. Once again we find that even amongst converts there’s little unanimity about what they like about a particular composer or where the best entry-point is.
I don’t necessarily agree that the Serenades are a good place to start, but I might know where Sid is coming from (high-risk assumption). For me, there’s no such thing as bad Brahms but if he has a weakness it’s a tendency to overdo the cerebral gymnastics. I listened to the Motets this morning, lots of intricate and technical stuff but short of emotion and spirituality, the best perhaps Fest – Und Gedenkspruche, which Brahms himself considered sub-par. It demonstrates a little of the unbuttoned zest for life that informs the Serenades.
Somebody once likened Symphony 4 to two learned people trying to out-clever eachother (sounds like some of the discussions on this forum). I agree. For me the works that show the best of Brahms – amazing technique and ingenuity combined with warmth and deep feeling – are the first three symphonies, the two piano concerti and Deutsches Requiem. His chamber music is excellent, especially works for larger forces like the Piano Quartets, Clarinet Quintet and String Sextets. Similar to Bax in one respect, his chamber works and solo piano music rather sound like transcriptions of orchestral scores. The lieder are fine (I only know the Norman/Barenboim recordings) but personally I wouldn’t start there.
Who plays Brahms is important to me. Kempe is miles ahead of everyone with the possible exception of Bohm. Karajan, no. Jochum perhaps. A conductor who can bring out the lyrical warmth without sounding forced or self-regarding.
Back to Janacek for a second. The Chatelet Vixen is available on dvd conducted by Mackerras. Superb. It does not come in a plain brown wrapper. Thomas Allen plays the forester/gamekeeper (gamekeeper surely, redolent of ‘Seven O’clock blowers a bit sin’ and all that). The Glyndebourne Katya (Kat’a? Katia?) dvd with Nancy Gustafson is excellent in all respects, mysteriously underrated by the critics and superior to the recent Teatro Real production, which enjoys a fine performance from Karita Mattila but falls short elsewhere.
I was fortunate enough to be living in Toronto when first Ancerl and then Andrew Davis had the orchestra. Two conductors who know (knew) how to do Janacek.
Sun, Apr 7 2013, 11:47PM
#6
RE: Cunning little vixen.
Thomas Allen is a fine forester. Whatever happened to the Rattle Vixen. I remember seeing it on TV some years ago but don't think it was ever released on DVD.
Tue, Apr 23 2013, 12:37PM
#7
RE: Cunning little vixen.
Sidney - pretty disappointing offering from GOT in Plymouth this year, not only have we seen the Hansel before, we've also seen the Donizetti before.
Wed, Apr 24 2013, 2:25AM
#8
RE: Cunning little vixen.
Henze: "20th century Telemann". This time, you excelled in your comparison, Mr. Donut. I wonder what might be his Tafelmusik...
Parla
JKH, while I don't believe the First Serenade is the best Brahms has to offer, it's still such a nice piece to get into the great realm of this wonderful composer. Since you appreciate voices and vocal music more, you may try some of his Songs and particularly these two special ones with viola. There are quite a few recordings with female voices and fewer with male ones.
Besides, his late piano music with his magnificent miniatures, full of marvelous music, gloriously melancolic or passionate melodies and such wonderful form are musical gems of the first order (op.116-119). His Chamber Music is more than anyone interested in this genre could expect. You may try almost anything he wrote in this field. His String Quintet, op.111 and his First Piano Quartet might be a great start. His Piano Quintet and his Clarinet Quintet are unique and top works in their medium.
However, in the larger forces works, Brahms excelled all the way too: maybe his Third Symphony is a good start and his Double Concerto an unusual one. Finally, his German Requiem is one of a kind, which, however, should not be dealt with, at a prima vista approach.
For the "Cunning Little Vixen", I think the English version with Rattle and a very good cast, on Chandos, might help you see it from a different but maybe more approachable angle.
Parla