Collin: Do you compose music? If so can you describe your style?
Ralph: In fact I never had a big urge to compose music, as there are so many great composers out there, who have more to tell than I do in that respect. I have often thought what I would write if I would be a composer, but I had to conclude that it would be mostly a kind of mixture of all my favorite composers and pieces - some Messiaen, some Ives, some Debussy…However, as an instrumentalist, it is quite likely that one has some more pronounced ideas for a composition than for any other instrument; there are in fact quite a few pianists who do have composed for their own instrument, now and in the past, such as Glenn Gould, Arthur Rubinstein and Horowitz. However, also in these cases, in my opinion, the music sounds, in the first place, remarkably similar to the works by the composers they play as part of their concert repertoire.
That said - I have composed myself a few things, and during my conservatory studies, one work was actually performed at a concert of the composition department, after which I was encouraged to study composition. It strikes me that of the works I did compose (all were for piano solo), that without exception, they were in minor keys, and heavily influenced by the early and middle Scriabin especially, with some hints of Debussy and Chopin. Also I wrote a piece in memory of the great Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu, but thinking back of it, and although the pieces themselves are not bad I think, they are too much of an imitation.
I do realize that all great composers have started by imitating their great examples, and I think that as an instrumentalist, it is very useful to try composing - just to understand the process and the problems of composing to a greater extent (and ultimately, to perform other composer’s works better). However, I think that in order to seriously compose, one needs hard and serious work, and especially a lot of creativity and urge to add something really original of oneself to the enormous existing canon of great compositions.
Collin: What parts of the US would you like to visit? Do you have any venues that you dream about playing in?
Ralph: As a part of my studies in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, I studied with Ursula Oppens at Northwestern (Chicago) for almost a year. It was a wonderful period to which I think back very often. I was invited to be a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center during two consecutive years at that time as well, and I would love to visit those places again, sniff the atmosphere (perhaps this is a Dutch expression) and see all my friends. During several holidays, I have been to California, Nevada, Arizona and New York, and also thsoe places grabbed me especially because of their natural beauty - the vastness of everything is unknown to us Dutchmen, and it would be something I would like to see and especially feel again. It seems to me that the works by someone as John Adams could only have been created in such environments; in a small, measured, rainy place such as The Netherlands, the mind simply seems not to have enough space to think of such a music style. But I have never been to Florida or Texas, for example, so there are still many places to discover.
Concerning my dream of a concert venue: of course there are many big halls in the US that any musician dreams of. I have attended a lot of concerts at Chicago’s Symphony Center during my studies, so this has a special place in my heart. But often, my mind has wandered to other thoughts. For example, wouldn’t it be great to perform Charles Ives’ legendary Concord Sonata at Walden Pond, in Henry David Thoreau’s cottage? The atmosphere, perhaps even the ‘vibes’ in such a place would certainly beat even the best concert hall in the world, even though the acoustics would probably not be the best ever. And when I let my thoughts go further, I could dream of playing Messiaen’s Des Canyons aux Étoiles (From the Canyons to the Stars), for piano and chamber orchestra, in the place where the composer found his inspiration: right inbetween the canyons of Bryce Canyon, at sunrise for example….A concert inbetween the half-constructed airplanes at Boeing Hall in Everett, Washington, is an even weirder phantasy, to which I would not say ‘no’…
Collin: What music do you buy? Do you have any current favorite recording right now?
Ralph: Sometimes I doubt whether I have a normal musical mind, as there are just so many types of music that I like. I have never understood why there is such a big ‘gap’ between what they call classical, contemporary, pop, world and jazz music. At the moment there is a CD of Coldplay in my car stereo - I must admit that I do not know pop music so well, but many contemporary composers mentioned it to me, and indeed it is good music. At the same time, I am again in a ‘minimal’ period. With me, my music interests go in recurring waves - few months ago I had one of those Scriabin periods, in which I listened to his music any time I was not practising myself. Now, there is Steve Reich in my CD-player in the living room. For some reason I always feel drawn to his music whenever I go travelling. My holidays are nearing quickly, and perhaps the pulse of his music sets my mind to the pulse of the many hours on the highway to come. Other music which is always close by is from Debussy and Keith Jarrett, to name a few. I have not so long ago discovered music by the German composer Hans Otte (1926-2007), who was a piano student of Walter Gieseking and a composition student of Paul Hindemith. He was absorbed by new music, but in his own music you always hear the sensuality of Gieseking’s hallmark: Debussy. In an original and haunting combination, you hear an almost perfect world of impressionism, minimalism, Eastern influences and even some hints of Romantic music.
An interview with Tony Gomes, Music Director of the Toronto Wind Orchestra as he talks about their new CD Northern Winds. Besides the ensemble, this recording features Wallace Halladay, solo saxophone, and Simon Docking.
The featured music includes works by Louis Applebaum, Michael Colgrass, Harry Freedman, Henry Kucharzyk, Gary Kulesha and Olivier Messiaen.
Note: the An interview with Per Norgard episode scheduled for this date will now be posted on February 17th. Album details…
Catalogue No.: Naxos 8.572248
For the first time ever, the legendary centenary production of Wagner’s The Mastersingers, conducted by Reginald Goodall, is released as a four-CD set on Chandos’ acclaimed Opera in English series. Over the years, music lovers have contacted Chandos to request its release on Opera in English, and Sir Peter Moores was determined to make it happen.
Broadcast live on BBC from Sadler’s Wells Theatre on February 10, 1968, Goodall conducted a cast of luminaries including Alberto Remedios, Norman Bailey, Derek Hammond-Stroud, Gregory Dempsey, Margaret Curphey (the first of many Wagner roles she would perform under Goodall), and Ann Robson. Following the live broadcast, the recording sadly disappeared into the archives and has since become one of the most talked-about ‘lost’ performances. This four-CD set has been re-mastered from a BBC Radio live broadcast, and the sound quality reflects the fact it is a 1968 live recording. But while some deterioration is evident, it does not detract from the recording’s undeniable performance value.
A popular comic opera, The Mastersingers is also an ensemble opera in a way Wagner’s other operas are not. Yet, despite its comic opera standing, it is in fact a deeply spiritual work. Wagner wrote “It is impossible that you should not have sensed, under the opera’s quaint superficies of popular humor, the profound melancholy, the lament, the cry of distress of poetry in chains, and its reincarnation, its new birth, its irresistible magic power achieving mastery over the common and the base.” Nicholas Payne writes of Goodall’s Mastersingers: “The rise and fall of Goodall’s orchestra is drenched in tears which encompass both supreme joy and unrequited sorrow. Goodall sensed that the generosity of spirit which inhabited Sadler’s Wells and its company in the final years at that theatre would never be recaptured.”
Sir Peter Moores comments on this release: “The resounding success of Reginald Goodall’s Mastersingers led to his conducting an ‘English’ Ring at the London Coliseum in the 1970s. That Ring started me recording opera in English so I am thrilled that we have been able to add The Mastersingers to our Opera in English catalogue - alongside Goodall’s Ring.”
The idea of recording opera in English developed from Peter Moores’s determination that Reginald Goodall’s ‘English’ Ring cycle at the London Coliseum in the early 1970s should not be a secret for audiences in London or become a thing of the past-but should be recorded live for posterity. The Goodall Ring and many of the other famous English language recordings, funded by the Foundation in the 1970s and 1980s, are now part of the Opera in English label, launched in 1995 with Chandos Records. Since then, new studio recordings of mainstream operas, together with re-issued titles, form the largest collection of opera recorded in English translation.
Described by The Independent as “master musicians,” The Gould Piano Trio, one of the most exciting ensembles to emerge in recent years, is joined by clarinetist Robert Plane for this recording to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of one of France’s greatest composers, Olivier Messiaen.
Messiaen’s wartime masterpiece, the outstanding Quartet for the End of Time, was composed during the darkest days when he was a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp. The particular instrumentation-piano, violin, cello and clarinet-was determined by these circumstances. The result is Messiaen’s most significant contribution to chamber music. Its premiere was one of the legendary premieres of the 20th century, taking place in the camp theatre before 5000 other prisoners. “Never have I been listened to with such attention and such understanding,” Messiaen later recalled. The works also received a review in the camp newsletter: “The last note was followed by a moment of silence which established the sovereign mastery of the work.”
Quartet for the End of Time is coupled with the shorter Theme and Variations for Violin and Piano and the premiere recording of the piano transcription of Les Offrandes oubliées. Theme and Variations was composed as a wedding gift from Messiaen to his wife, whom he married in 1932. Like her husband, Claire was a devout Catholic and a composer, as well as an accomplished violinist. The violin writing testifies to Claire’s passionate musicality and her technical skill, and as so often with Messiaen’s shorter works, it has a power and presence that belie its modest proportions. Les Offrandes oubliées, subtitled ‘méditation symphonique,’ was composed in the summer of 1930, shortly after Messiaen completed his studies at the Paris Conservatoire. The work forms a stepping stone between the miniature world of the piano Préludes and the tumultuous virtuosity of his later piano music.
Joseph Marx can be described as a ‘Romantic Impressionist’, and the compositions performed here clearly demonstrate this late Romantic style, reminiscent of Richard Strauss, Korngold, and Reger. Mostly known for his beautifully crafted songs (he already had written 120 by the time he was 30), Marx enjoyed great success throughout his life but has since been unjustly neglected-in part due to the radical compositional style of his peers, Webern and Berg. In addition to his work as a composer, Marx was a teacher and a music critic.
Of the works performed here, four of the pieces (Herbst-Legende, Carneval, Canzone, and Die Flur der Engel) have never before been published or commercially recorded. To date, only one recording has been made of the other six pieces, which is no longer commercially available.
Australian pianist Tonya Lemoh has won numerous international prizes and awards, including first prize in the International Competition of Young Performers, Denmark 2003, and a Diplom d’Honneur at the 2002 International Grieg Piano Competition, Norway. She makes her debut on Chandos with this disc.
To listen to the episodes from the respective Podcast you will need to have Adobe's FLASH player installed. Please use Adobe's web page to choose the appropriate version to install for your platform.
.jpg)
Collin: Do you compose music? If so can you describe your style?
Entries (RSS)