Limelight — May 2017

From the editor

REVIEWS...

74 ORCHESTRAL

76 CHAMBER

78 INSTRUMENTAL

80 VOCAL & CHOR AL

82 OPERA

84 REISSUES ROUND-UP

86 LIVE PERFORMANCES

76 FS Kelly

Chamber Works & Songs

Various artists

74 Verdi, Puccini et al

Preludes, Overtures & Intermezzi

Filarmonica Della Scala/Chailly

78 Beethoven

Diabelli Variations

Ronald Brautigamp

PAG E

71

Poulenc
Sacred Choral Music
The Sixteen/Harry Christophers
The Sixteen first recorded this repertoire 30
years ago, but their latest thoughts on some of
Francis Poulenc’s distinctively individual sacred
works make a fascinating comparison. Founder
and conductor Harry Christophers is at the helm.

72 RECORDING

OF THE MONTH

EDITOR’S CHOICE

RECORDINGS

80 Mahler

DasLiedvonderErde

Jonas Kaufmannt,Vienna Phil/Nott

82 Pepusch

Venus & Adonis

The Harmonious Society...

PRIDE AND PREJUDICES

D

o you ever listen to music? I mean, really, really listen to music? I’ll admit

I hear an awful lot, but that’s not quite the same, is it? Well, a funny thing

happened to me the other evening. Sitting glumly through a production

of Carmen I’d seen before, and with which I’d not been particularly enamoured, I

suddenly found myself hearing Bizet’s dazzling score all over again, as if for the

very first time. Choosing not to be distracted by the so-so staging, I sat open-

mouthed, transfixed by the textures of one of history’s greatest operas in all its

Technicolor glory. I’m calling it “listening with new ears”.

I’ve been known to take this a step further. Listening to a familiar, or

especially an over-familiar piece of music in concert or on record, I work hard

to jettison any preconceptions. If the conductor sets off at twice the normal

speed, I try not to dig in my mental heels. “Come on, convince me,” I think,

letting myself be taken along for the ride. I’m not saying it always works –

you’ll soon spot if the interpretation hasn’t much to say, or if the orchestra

starts to trip over its feet – but it’s an interesting experiment that can yield

dividends. Let’s face it, Hans Knappertsbusch takes 20 minutes longer over

Parsifal in 1951 than he does in 1962, yet both are very fine interpretations.

Which brings me to Jonas Kaufmann’s new recording of Mahler’sDas Lied von

der Erde. You can read what I made of him singing both the tenor and ‘alto’ songs

on page 80, but my point is this. Several pompous, self-styled Mahler experts

rushed online to slate the recording, one of them even breaking the release date

embargo to maximise the ‘hits’ for his sensationalist one-star review.

Reading between the lines, in their minds the concept was doomed from

the get-go. Preconceptions, see? But what’s worse, these reviewers took real

pride in flaunting their prejudices. I suspect these critics could, and maybe

did, write half their reviews in their heads without listening to a jot of what

the singer had to say. And that’s bad, don’t you think? Shouldn’t a critic of

all people be prepared to listen with new ears?

Clive Paget,Editor

http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au MAY

CONTENTS O

2017 LIMELIGHT 5