August 2018 is the centennial of Leonard Bernstein's birth. Many classical radio stations, performance groups, and writers marked the occasion. And so did #ClassicsaDay.
Bernstein was known as a composer, conductor, performer and an educator. Since #ClassicsaDay is primarily a music feed, I concentrated on the first two of those roles (and occasionally the third).
My contributions alternated between Bernstein the composer and Bernstein the conductor. And I tried to steer away from the more obvious choices for Bernstein compositions. His catalog is quite extensive, and I found it interesting to explore some of the lesser-known (and in some cases, less-successful) works.
Here are my posts for the second week:
Franz Schubert - Symphony No. 8 in B minor, D.759 "Unfinished"
Bernstein recorded Schubert's Unfinished Symphony twice. The first was in 1963 with the New York Philharmonic, the second in 1987 with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Leonard Bernstein - I Hate Music: A cycle of Five Kid Songs for Soprano and Piano
Bernstein wrote this cycle in 1943, inspired by -- and dedicated to -- his then apartment mate Edys Merrill. When his music-making in their close quarters became excessive, she would shout "I hate music!"
George Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue
Bernstein was an accomplished pianist. In a 1976 performance at the Royal Albert Hall, he conducted Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" from the keyboard.
Bernstein - Olympic Hymn, for Mixed Chorus and Orchestra
Bernstein was commissioned to write an Olympic Hymn for the 1981 Olympics in Baden-Baden. These were the first games after the disasterous Moscow games.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64
Bernstein conducted all six of Tchaikovsky's symphonies with the New York Philharmonic. He recorded Symphony No. 5 twice with them - for Columbia in 1960 and for Deutsche Grammophon in 1988.
I found a Line Mar Match Box Construction Set from the 1930s, complete and with instructions. The box claimed the set made 100 different toys. I decided to test that claim -- one toy at a time. You can read all the posts for the Line Mar construction project at 100 Toys.
099. Pump
This toy didn't take a long time to build. But it did take a long time to puzzle out. As always, the illustrator took some liberties. The 3-hole girder that serves as an eccentric crank doesn't fit as drawn.
I'm still not entirely sure I have the string positioned properly, but it's as close as I could come.
If you're not familiar with the music of Sergei Bortkiewicz this release is a great place to start. Russian pianist and composer Bortkiewicz was a contemporary of Sergei Rachmaninoff and Nicolai Medtner.
Like them, he fully embraced the Romantic aesthetic throughout his life. Bortkiewicz seems to have just ignored Stravinsky, Bartok, and Schoenberg.
His Second Piano Concerto was commissioned by Paul Wittgenstein, the left-handed pianist. It's an astonishing difficult work for a one-handed player. And it's one of breathtaking beauty.
Bortkiewicz had an innate gift of melody. The entire composition just seems to sing.
The Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor is titled "Per Aspera ad Astra" (through hardship to the stars). Bortkiewicz and his wife fled Russia in 1919 and after a series of struggles were finally granted Austrian citizenship in 1925.
The concerto was completed the following year, and it's easy to hear that struggle in the work. It begins very darkly in C minor, and gradually transitions to a radiant C major by the fifth and final movement.
Pianist Stefan Doniga plays with power and authority. These are powerfully emotional works, especially as performed here. The Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra under David Porcelijn also does an exceptional job.
Bortkiewicz's full-bodied concertos have roaring climaxes, but they also have quiet moments of delicate lyricism. Both are present in these exceptional performances.
Bortkiewicz never quite got his due during his lifetime. Recordings like this may help to correct that.
Sergei Bortkiewicz: Piano Concertos 2 & 3 Stefan Doniga, piano Janacek Philharmonic Orhcestra; David Porcelijn, conductor Piano Classics PCL10146
This release features the second of three volumes of Schütz's Symphoniae Sacrae. Schütz published his first volume in Venice in 1629. Volume II was completed 18 years later in Dresden, where Schütz was a major musical figure.
Like the first volume, these works show some influence of Monteverdi and Gabrieli. But that influence seems much less than it did in the previous volume.
At this point in his career, Schütz had completely integrated the polyphony he so admired in Italy with the need for simplicity and directness in Protestant Northern Germany.
The majority of the texts are from Psalms, although other Old and New Testament passages are used. Theologians such as Martin Luther (Verleih uns Frieden) and Johann Walter (Gib unsern Fürsten) are also present.
As with the first volume, there's plenty of variety in these sacred symphonies. Schütz is a master of word-painting as well as counterpoint. The text flow in an almost conversational manner, the rise and fall of the melodies mimicking natural speech patterns.
Hans-Christoph Rademann varies the forces from track to track, maintaining listener interest throughout the program. The small cadre of singers blends well in all their configurations, performing with clarity and warmth.
The makeup of the instrumental ensemble also varies from work to work. And there are a few surprises. For example, Lobet den Herrn in seinem Heiligtum SWV 350 says "praise Hime with the timbrel and dance." And by golly, we hear a drum playing a dance rhythm in the background. Surprising, but entirely appropriate.
Another fine addition to Carus' on-going series.
Heinrich Schütz: Symphoniae Sacrae II Complete Recordings, Vol. 18 Dorothee Mields; Isabel Jantschek; David Erler Georg Poplutzl; Tobias Mäthger; Felix Schwandtke Hans-Christoph Rademann, director Carus 83.274
The Diabelli Project is about offering my weekly flash-composition sketches freely to all. Like Antonio Diabelli's theme, these sketches aren't great music. But perhaps (as in Diabelli's case) there's a Beethoven out there who can do great things with them. To mark my 200th flash composition, I'm expanding the concept a little bit. I've still limited myself to a 10-minute session. But this time each sketch will pick up where the last one left off.
This is the third installment in this series. I finished the transition to the next section. I also got a start on said section. No question -- with only 10 minutes on the clock, writing a piano part with chords really slows me down!
As always, you can use any or all of the posted Diabelli Project sketches as you wish for free. Just be sure to share the results. I'm always curious to see what direction someone else can take this material.
