Cultured Views

The Centenary of Herbert von Karajan

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

No Conductor of our age has inspired more extremes of opinion than the late Herbert von Karajan. This year marks his centenary and across Germany and Austria his face will be everywhere; on commemorative coins, in newly re-issued recordings, on radio and television and in a documentary dedicated to his life and his work.

The man inspired devotion and deference as intense as the criticism and cynicism; he was both loved and reviled - hailed a genius by some and an overated self-publicising autocrat by just as many.

But there is no doubt in my mind that music today would not be the same if Karajan had not lived or been the force in twentieth century music that he inarguably was. 

When the question is asked ” Who was the greatest Conductor of all time ? ” Karajan undoubtedly stands as the yardstick used as the tool for comparison. His calm, cool and controlled demeanor both on and off the stage contrasted sharply with other conductors of his time such as the frenetic and hyperactive Leonard Bernstein.

No doubt his personal life was as controversial as his professional life and this threatens to overshadow what should be a celebration of his massive contribution to 20th century music making. The comparisons will run thick and fast once more; his willing acceptance of membership of the Nazi Party as opposed to Wilhelm Furtwangler’s grudging cooperation. His silent non-committal attitude when several of his Jewish musicians were hauled away from the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and taken to concentration camps - Furtwangler’s courage in ensuring the safety of his Jewish housekeeper and her family…

Karajan was a visionary, and there can be no argument about this. He saw that the future of music lay in the rapidly developing technology of the video recording. He pioneered the filming of performances for home viewing and in doing so made orchestral music and opera that much more accessible to those who would never be able to see a Don Giovanni in Salzburg or a Verdi Requiem in Berlin.

His ego was legendary, his authoritarianism equally so but the professional life of any conductor would not be successful without some aspects of these; the musicians of an orchestra share the stage with 70 other musicians all of similar experience and talent - the conductor shares his podium with no-one. He stands alone.

In this centenary year I hope we see and hear only of the Karajan that gave so much to music as we know it today. His tormented and anguished Mahler Ninth, his powerful and unequalled Bruckner Cycle; the devastating Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde as sung by Jessye Norman - she stated that Karajan used 50 different indications of pianissimo in the piece and is truly a performance to raise the hair on the back of your neck.

This is a wonderful opportunity for young musicians to learn about this man and for those who remember him to re-discover him.

There is a website for this Centenary - www.karajan.org 

Popularity: 3% [?]

A great musician has passion - not just talent

‘What makes a great musician’ is a question which has been debated so many times by so many ‘experts’ and scholars that anything I could say on the topic would be purely rhetoric.

But I’ll have a go all the same…

There is no doubt that just about any child from the age of three/four can be taught to play the piano and by the age of ten can be really quite proficient; usually motivated by enthusiastic parents.

But along the way the serious aspiring musician has to look at certain factors such as setting personal goals. To push one’s personal boundaries is the one sure way of getting the most out of your abilities - move beyond that comfort zone and focus on what you can achieve rather than what you have achieved. It has to be said that this can be a never ending quest.

It takes more than just a lot of talent to make a great musician; talent is god-given. The musician who stands apart will have that essence of passion - in my opinion it is an absolute necessity. I remember my teacher telling me seven years ago that her decision to become a violist was, for her, a life or death choice. There was nothing grey about it; black or white - play or not to play. And I know just what she mean’t when she said this.

If I could say one thing to a young musician it would be this: develop your passion. Listen to as much great music as possible - close your eyes, imagine, don’t be judgemental - just listen. In this day and age the young musician has a wealth of good music to feed on and a wonderful choice of performers to be inspired by.

The pianist can choose from Beethoven to Mozart to Chopin; but I would recommend highly modern day composers such as Phillip Wilcher whose recording of works, ‘ Into His Countenance ‘ was recently featured here.

Taken from that CD recording are, for instance, piano studies such as E Minor and Eb Minor; Phillip’s music is strong in texture, colour and melody - just perfect ingredients for these scrumptious minor keys. Pianist Jeanell Carrigan is a passionate exponent of Phillip’s music - of any music really - and I would urge not just pianists, but any young musician, to listen to these two pieces and feel what can happen when talent and passion come together.

Think about it next time you prepare to play and start standing out from the rest.

Popularity: 8% [?]

‘Into His Countenance’

 If music be the food of life then call me a glutton.

Music has formed a continuous thread throughout my life and will always continue to do so. It lifts, it transports; it makes one forget and it makes one dream. It inspires tears, laughter, joy…expresses sorrow and all those intangible things in between - music is perhaps the most evocative medium we have.

To me composers seem to live their lives in phases. And what better way to celebrate a composers phase or two, or three…than to capture them on CD. One of my fave composers, Australian Phillip Wilcher, has recently seen a selection of his works to date released on CD to celebrate his big Five-O and I have had the pleasure of listening to this recording featuring some of the works which have formed a path for this man to the present day.

‘Into his Countenance’ is now released and is a fitting birthday present for a composer who writes music that is just made to be remembered.  I often think that Phillip’s music is a combination of past and present…melodic (an absolute necessity in music in my opinion); romantic, edgy, impressionistic - Dali painted for the ‘eye’, Phillip ‘paints’ for the ear…

And when this is all combined with interpretation by the most astute of musicians - people who not only champion Phillip’s works but are also dear friends - you have quite simply, a gem. It is all here; the composer’s joy and irrepressible humour - deep insight and personal sadness.

Tolmie Tune written for, and performed by, the wonderfully gifted oboist Rachel Tolmie; a musical joke - proof that composers are not all seriousness - but very often playful and fun. What I love about this piece is that it shows us, that in Rachel’s hands, the oboe is not just the ‘plaintive’ voice of the orchestra we all know and love…it can be childlike, witty and even naughty. Here the oboist is the comedian and is joined in the fun by the versatile pianist John Martin - who get’s the last laugh…?

‘A Rose in Water’: Phillip’s own gift to his beloved mentor Miriam Hyde on her 90th birthday and beautifully played by Jeanell Carrigan.  Few pianist’s have the gift of that ‘sympathetic touch’ with their instrument as Jeanell does. Few musicians can truly convey exactly what the composer felt when they wrote a particular piece - this is never more evident than in ‘One Tuesday in September’ . Written following the events of 9/11,  the piece describes the composer’s reaction to that devastating event.

‘Into His Countenance’ is the title piece and surely the most personal work for the composer to date; written in the weeks following his mother’s death, and played by the inspired choice of flute and string orchestra, Phillip tells us of the journey of one woman’s soul towards ‘the countenance of God’. Not a final journey by any means - the soul is finite, we will never know just where a soul begins but we do know that it never ends.

The melody, played so beautifully by flautist Amanda Muir, has a floating quality which conveys sensitively the transition the soul makes as it becomes part of another time and place; it is a journey we are all part of eventually and with the strings of the Bourbaki Ensemble the music revisits a time when the pain of letting go, combined with the discovery of something so deeply spiritual, inspired a determination to honour his mother’s life. What better way to do this than through music…

There is so much to enjoy on this CD; music that is fresh, vibrant and very Wilcher. Of course behind every composer is a publisher and Publications by Wirripang provide that vital encouragement and support to it’s artists. This particular CD release (along with the composer) has been lovingly nurtured by Phillip’s publishers Anne and Brennan Keats. In an industry where composers can be regarded as little more than manufacturers, Anne and Brennan, through their care for the composer as a person, have earned the same respect and affection from their composers that they, in turn, afford them. 

And last, but never least, the excellent recording itself; recorded and edited by Peter Bell, his work gives us the wonderful finished product and and is a fine example of his skills.

So what kind of birthday cake do you give a person whose life revolves around notes and key signatures?…I happen to know that Phillip has a leaning towards lemon meringue pie

I spoke about phases earlier on. One wonders, if present recording technology was available centuries ago, how ‘Mozart at Ten’  or ‘Beethoven - My Romantic Period’  would have been like to capture on CD…we will never know, but one thing is sure - ‘Phillip at 50′  provides plenty for him to be well proud of.

Popularity: 53% [?]