|
Post by Dave Dexter on Mar 1, 2019 0:00:14 GMT
I'm sure some of you knew his "real" work - I had no idea he was a composer as well as conductor until today - but it can't be too great a crime to re-share his classic Morecambe & Wise sketch. I could only find the full version embedded here.
|
|
|
Post by Mike Hewer on Mar 1, 2019 8:48:30 GMT
Classic...
Eric Morecombe played that piece better than me! I will always treasure Previn's Rach 2 (symphony) with the LSO, especially the slow mvt. In fact a lot of my favourite recordings are by him. Anyone heard his violin concerto? I'm still looking out for a concerto he did years ago for jazz trio and orchestra.
|
|
|
Post by driscollmusick on Mar 1, 2019 16:22:23 GMT
I'm afraid I was exposed to a few too many uninspired live conducting performances one summer in Tanglewood to be a true fan, but I do admire some of his recordings. I will check out his Rach 2. I also remember not taking to his violin concerto, if I recall written for Anne Sophie Mutter (his wife!), but I will revisit it today, too...
Edit: Tried the concerto again. To my ears it is clearly inspired by the lush lydian world of the Korngold concerto with some neoclassical Stravinsky repeated figures mixed in for contrast... I can understand why it was popular.
Edit: The Rachmaninoff is great and I haven't even finished listening yet! There's a Dizzy Gillespie quote about Previn on Wikipedia which seems to illustrate why Rachmaninoff was such a good match:
|
|
|
Post by gx on Mar 1, 2019 18:27:15 GMT
There is a recording fro the 80's - iirc, 'a different kind go blues' . Previn with Perlman on violin, and small ensemble.. which I enjoyed quite a bit, way back.. (Mike, it's hard to hear Rach w fresh ears these days.. especially the concertos.. (interminable arpeggios, and such ).. I do still enjoy his later stuff.) I think VillaLobos took (partly) his cue for his rich vocal solo pieces from Rach's 'vocalise'. Rach hated the fact that a piece he wrote at 17, was constantly requested for the rest of his life.. Did you know, he started off as a circus acrobat of sorts, balancing 2 or 3 women while riding a small tricycle.. Sorry for the digression…
|
|
|
Post by Tim Marko on Mar 1, 2019 20:44:30 GMT
I never realized he was a composer as well. A whole new playlist to listen to.
|
|
|
Post by Mike Hewer on Mar 2, 2019 10:42:21 GMT
Yeah you're spot on about the vln concerto John. Mutter brought out the romantic in him at what age? Glad you had a listen to the Rach2 and enjoyed it, there is something about that interpretation. His Vaughn Williams is lovely too. I'm jealous you got to Tanglewood, so much conducting history has passed through there. Was it just for concerts or did you actually go to study?
Greg, I'm still a sucker for Rach's concertos and wouldn't like to choose a favourite. I have Ashkenazy playing them. Rach also came to hate the csharp minor prelude too. Did you hear about a piano recital he attended and said to the pianist (can't remember who) that if he played that prelude, he would stand up and walk out? The pianist went on to play a piece that starts similarly to the prelude with those a-gsharp to csharp notes (Chopin I think...not sure though) and Rach was almost out of his seat when he realised it wasn't his piece.
Oh another tale. Rach was doing a concert with a violinist (Heifetz I think). They where playing some Bach and Heifetz got a bit lost. Improvising as he went, he sidled over and asked Rach where they where to which he replied.."Carnegie Hall"....
|
|
|
Post by fuguestate on Mar 2, 2019 16:12:43 GMT
I know this thread is supposed to be about Previn, but I can't help commenting on the Rach discussion. Personally, I can't stand his 1st PC... my favorites are the 2nd and 4th. The 3rd has that wonderful, famous opening melody, but after the 1st mvmt I find it drags on for far too long, esp. the last mvmt. In terms of overall structural balance I find the 2nd PC a lot better. I used to hate the 4th... but then one time I attended a live performance of it by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and the pianist did such a good job that it opened up a whole new vista of that work to me. It deviates somewhat from the "stereotypical Rach" exemplified by the 2nd and 3rd PCs, and IMO should not be evaluated in that context, but on its own merits. Once I got past that mental barrier I came to really appreciate the 4th PC. It's truly a musical expression of uncertainty, and IMO a representative of Rach's more mature output. I still love the 2nd PC of course, but the 4th has also earned my respect.
|
|
|
Post by gx on Mar 2, 2019 20:00:05 GMT
Mike, "Oh another tale. Rach was doing a concert with a violinist (Heifetz I think). They where playing some Bach and Heifetz got a bit lost. Improvising as he went, he sidled over and asked Rach where they where to which he replied.."Carnegie Hall"…." HILARIOUS! When I mentioned "Rach hated the fact that a piece he wrote at 17, was constantly requested for the rest of his life", that was the cryptic allusion to the C#m Prelude HS, yes, the 4th.. I should listen again..It has the reputation of being the most technically involved of the concertos, and it is also the least performed, even less than the 1st. All those quick double 3rds passages - a nod to Liszt perhaps? A lot of times the 3rds used as a thickening agent to smudge that fact that the passage is either a simple, to chromatic scale:) Eric Carmen, anyone?
|
|
|
Post by Mike Hewer on Mar 3, 2019 10:34:49 GMT
Understood Greg. I did for a moment wonder if you meant the Vocalise was written at age 17. The 4th PC is an oddity in a way, I don't particularly like the slow mvt because I keep hearing 'Three blind mice'. There is one glorious moment in the first when the main theme is played on the high strings accompanied by piano arpeggios which I always look forward too though. Unlike Teoh, I love the 1st and 3rd as well and look forward to many moments in them when listening.
Was there any legal trouble over 'All By Myself'? I like Dion's version of that, such powerful high notes.
Back on Previn, his book, No Minor Chords is just brilliant. It charts his years in Hollywood when he won 4 Oscars and is a great read for film music fans, especially composers. The title is based on a true dictat from above to all film composers in MGM (iirc, or maybe Warners)...hilarious.
EDIT...correction on the Carnegie Hall anecdote, it was Kreisler.
And another one...
After a few drinks with Stravinsky, Rach mocked IS's financial problems because he never earned much in the way of royalties from the major ballets. IS responded in kind mentioning that Rach's concertos and the dreaded Csharp minor where published in Russia and Rach had to play the piano to make a living as a result. Apparently, just as a violent confrontation seemed inevitable, the two of them sat down amicably and began calculating the fortunes they might have earned if things had been different. The two met because their wives had become friendly, despite the fact that the composers used to talk disparagingly of each other.
|
|
|
Post by driscollmusick on Mar 3, 2019 16:05:03 GMT
Yeah you're spot on about the vln concerto John. Mutter brought out the romantic in him at what age? Glad you had a listen to the Rach2 and enjoyed it, there is something about that interpretation. His Vaughn Williams is lovely too. I'm jealous you got to Tanglewood, so much conducting history has passed through there. Was it just for concerts or did you actually go to study? Greg, I'm still a sucker for Rach's concertos and wouldn't like to choose a favourite. I have Ashkenazy playing them. Rach also came to hate the csharp minor prelude too. Did you hear about a piano recital he attended and said to the pianist (can't remember who) that if he played that prelude, he would stand up and walk out? The pianist went on to play a piece that starts similarly to the prelude with those a-gsharp to csharp notes (Chopin I think...not sure though) and Rach was almost out of his seat when he realised it wasn't his piece. Oh another tale. Rach was doing a concert with a violinist (Heifetz I think). They where playing some Bach and Heifetz got a bit lost. Improvising as he went, he sidled over and asked Rach where they where to which he replied.."Carnegie Hall".... I guess he won her over with the concerto, but they divorced four years later, so a concerto is not always enough! Previn certainly got around--five marriages, one of which was to Mia Farrow, with whom they adopted Soon Yi, the now infamous wife of Woody Allen... Yeah, I was at Tanglewood for one summer as a student studying voice and used to go a lot in and after college when I still lived in Boston. It is most definitely worth the trip if you are ever nearby in season. As soon I hit the town of Lenox, I always put Appalachian Spring on the car radio... I was always jealous of my high school librarian, who despite knowing little about classical music, had a summer home near Tanglewood and apparently attended Bernstein's final concert...
|
|
|
Post by gx on Mar 3, 2019 21:57:59 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Mike Hewer on Mar 4, 2019 8:57:21 GMT
Greg, you had me...for about 5 seconds . Very funny. Stravinsky called him a 6 foot scowl.
|
|
|
Post by driscollmusick on Mar 4, 2019 14:03:09 GMT
Greg, about one month too early!
|
|
|
Post by driscollmusick on Mar 5, 2019 4:34:20 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Mike Hewer on Mar 5, 2019 18:45:12 GMT
Excellent. Oh to have had that sort of confidence early on...I certainly have the lingo. He looked very old in that video, but what a life.
|
|