The Northern Classical Review

It's Bach's birthday... There is no shortage of people on the internet saying Bach is great, but as any other admirer of his work will know, the urge to share his message is irresistible. For me, the most endearing thing about Bach is the fact he was not an intellectual. Unlike his contemporaries he was not interested in new political movements, ancient Greece or literature. He was an ordinary man who played the organ. This adds to the intrinsic truth of his art. No pretension only honest humanity. This fact, an anomaly in the history of art and artists, removes the sense of the individual from his output. Mozart and Beethoven are enshrined in myth and exaggerated tales about abusive fathers and extreme ADHD temperaments to a point where their music is obscured. How many times have you heard the ridiculous story of Beethoven writing his 'Moonlight Sonata' (a name ascribed to it by a teary eyed romantic after Beethoven's death) for a student he helplessly fell in l

The 12th of January saw the arrival of Mark Elder and the Hallè to Leeds Town Hall. The program included Mozart's much loved 23rd piano concerto and Shostakovich's 8th symphony. Leeds Piano competition winner Eric Lu was to tackle the Mozart concerto. Despite the obvious decline in the standard of Leeds International Piano Competition winners, I had high expectations for Eric having heard his fantastic Schubert Impromptus on disc. And to sum it up quickly, I wasn't disappointed nor particularly 'moved'. There is no questioning Lu's virtuosity, his hands jumping and twisting, no mistakes visible.  Also, his soft playing was excellent. However, his communication through the piano was hindered by Elder's approach. The piano, to an almost ridiculous extent, took an accompanying role. For large parts it was inaudible, and the emphasis in the calls and responses was, it seems, strongly on the orchestra. I recall Elder once saying in a masterclass that Mozart Pia

For good reason, Sviatoslav Richter is a giant of the art music world. Born in Russia in 1915 (now Ukraine), Richter was a complicated artist with a notorious stage persona. There are few more iconic scenes in piano culture than Sviatoslav's shining bare head and miserable, aggressive face digging into a Beethoven sonata under the weak light of a lamp on a dark stage. His aura was cripplingly romantic and heroic. Rubinstein bounced in a courtly fashion, Gould bobbed up and down drastically (and did bizarre things with spear hands when they weren't required on the piano), Richter attacked the piano, like an annoyed Victorian headmaster he commanded his body with vicious force and intent, threw about his head in despair. This translated into his sound which was huge and piercing, however as I will go on to explain, Richter was capable of a remarkably melodic and delicate sound.  Contrary to Richter's common stage persona, his recordings of gentler repertoire such as

I'm a relative newcomer to Tristan und Isolde. By that I mean I have been listening to it for two years but still have not got to the bottom of it's genius, still (honestly) don't fully understand the plot, and am still finding subtle metaphorical meanings all over the place. Despite this, Tristan und Isolde has become one of the greatest loves of my life. The strings that rotate and impose on you, the brass that emerges from beneath the surface and pierces your soul, the motifs that haunt you for hours. Philosophical meaning aside, Tristan und Isolde is remarkable music and after listening to it, its' sounds will never escape you. You don't need to be interested in 19th century European antisemitism or philosophy to enjoy Tristan, just embrace the amazing sounds. The genius of Tristan und Isolde is its ability to be incredibly high-brow but incredibly universal. There's little art in the world simultaneously loved by peasants and aristocrats alike (in this ca

Introduction Beethoven's 4th symphony. Schumann called this piece "a slender Greek maiden between two Norse giants", of course referring the world changing Erocia and almost equally revolutionary 5th that sit either side. The 4th sits in the same group as the 1st, 2nd and 8th. Largely overlooked, and wrongly so. I can't for the life of me understand why, particularly in the case of the 4th. The 1st movement takes an awfully long time to actually start, and eventually drops in with a joyous melody.  It's 3rd movement is the best of any Beethoven symphony (excluding the 9th). The symphony is far from a mere bench-warmer for the 5th. Despite it being largely overlooked by the public (in the context of Beethoven's other hugely popular symphonies anyway), conductors seem to love it! I have no hard evidence, but in the past few years I have seen it on programs more than any other Beethoven symphony. I think this is due to the other more 'pop' Beethoven sym

Are the Rachmaninoff concertos the most recorded pieces of the piano repertoire? I certainly get that impression when I open Gramophone every month and see a new release of either the 2nd or 3rd. I'd suspect if you have been a recording savvy person your whole life this could get rather tiresome. Not for me, I still look forward to every new recording of these works. I will probably get bored one day. I like to think I have listened to a respectable range of recordings of the Rach 2's and 3's. For a while now, my favorite recordings have been Alexandre Tharaud for the Rach 2 (of course, excluding the absolute sublime glory of Richter's), and Denis Matsuev (with Gergiev) for the 3. I favor a Slavic, 'hammer' approach that is for sure. In my opinion, the piano has to be the dominant force by a mile, and the loud sections should be deafening. This month saw the release of a new recording. Could it bring my bias as to how a Rachmaninoff concerto sound to its knees