In my opinion, the future of music will have more in common with the music of Stravinsky and Debussy than with Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern. Esa-Pekka Salonen, in a DVD, made a similar assertion and after much thought, I agree. While the influence of the Second Viennese School cannot be denied, I do see a trend in current music that relates less to that school of compositional thought than it does to Stravinsky. During one of my college years I became strangely attached to the violin concerto by Igor Stravinsky. Stravinsky wrote the concerto during his neo-classical period. Constructed similar to a Bach concerto, Stravinsky’s concerto has four very short movements which open with the exact same chord. The entire concerto is simultaneously charming and diverting. The notes fell from Stravinsky’s pen with such economy of gesture and logical architecture that one wonder’s if Bach had lived during that period, he might have composed the concerto itself. I’ll never forget the day the music arrived on my doorstep. What followed was an amazing journey as I dove into the piece and began to internalize this jewel of music–a work of sheer brilliance. Below is a link of Gil Shaham playing the 1st movement at the BBC Proms.
Recommended recordings:
- Isaac Stern, violin/Igor Stravinsky, conductor/Columbia Symphony Orchestra: Coupled with the Rochberg concerto. A classic old recording of which Stravinsky was certainly proud.
- Itzhak Perlman, violin/Daniel Barenboim, conductor/Chicago Symphony Orchestra: Live recording coupled with Prokofiev 2. The clarity of the CSO is quite astounding and Perlman’s usual charisma really makes the work sparkle.
- Hilary Hahn, Violin/Sir Neville Marriner, conductor/Academy of St. Martin in the Fields: Hilary Hahn’s version is the equivalent of a recorded urtext edition. Each tempo reflects the composers intentions. Each note is executed with clarity and perfection. Coupled with the Brahms Concerto which receives similar attention to composer’s intent and precise execution.
Filed under: Disc Reviews, Links, Music, Performances, Thoughts | Tagged: Debussy, Hilary Hahn, Igor Stravinsky, Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, Neo-Classical, Schoenberg, Webern
