Music - Bronfman and Beethoven

In my very humble opinion, one of the absolute greatest pianists performing today is the American-Israeli pianist Yefim Bronfman.   Bronfman was born in the former Soviet Union in 1958;  he and his family were able to emigrate to Israel when the Soviets loosened Jewish emigration in the 1970s.  He became an American citizen in 1989.  Bronfman is a big man and a big player with a commanding technique and a profound musicality that makes his performances compelling and moving.  Although I’ve yet to have the privilege of hearing him in person, I have listened to recordings of his live performances and through the internet (God Bless You, YouTube!) have watched him play.  I have to say that I have yet to hear a Bronfman performance that didn’t make me want to cheer.

Today, I came across a real gem that I have to share with you.  This is a YouTube capture of a 2007 performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major with Bronfman and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam under the baton of Herbert Blomstedt (I saw Blomstedt conduct Beethoven with the Pittsburgh Symphony in the mid-1970s – a particularly stirring account of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony comes to mind – and he was overwhelming then.  This performance reinforces his reputation as a great Beethoven conductor.)  Set aside some time and listen to this performance – not only is Beethoven’s musical conception wondrously revealed – Bronfman’s playing is absolutely brilliant.  Of truly special note is Bronfman’s rendering of the cadenza at the end of the first movement.  The brilliant clarity and color of his sound, combined with his grasp of musical structure and force, create in this cadenza precisely what a cadenza of Beethoven’s time was supposed to do – to allow the performer to encapsulate, without orchestral assistance, the material of the movement in a way that combines the highest degree of technical virtuosity with a perfectly nuanced musical sensibility.   The tone and color of his touch of are displayed in the second movement (Largo); which, along with the Andante of the Fifth Piano Concerto, is one of Beethoven’s most beautiful meditations for piano and orchestra.  Finally, Bronfman’s phenomenal technique and musical dash come to the fore in the third movement Rondo (including a rollicking Allegro scherzando that signals Beethoven’s early readiness to step outside the strictures of the Classical style.)

So without any further ado, here’s a truly great performance.  From 2007, Yefin Bronfman with Herbert Blomstedt  and the RCO performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1.  Enjoy!

Music – Discovered Treasures - The romantic cello of Karl Davydov

For me, one of the great things about writing this blog is sharing the things you learn along the way.   Our highly regimented and layered system of education does not encourage the old-fashioned pursuit of knowledge for knowledge’s sake – which is a pity, because there is so much out there to be experienced and learned.  And I’m not talking about the latest IPhone or base-jumping off a cliff (which gives new meaning to the old parental admonition, “If all your friends jumped off a cliff….”) – no, I’m speaking about what used to be termed “the life of the mind,” the constant, insatiable drive and curiosity to learn new things as way of improving and enriching not only our material life, but our intellectual and spiritual one as well.

This intellectual curiosity is not exclusively the province of college profs and big city intelligentsia – it belongs to everyone.  One doesn’t need to be enrolled in a class to learn, and with the advent of the internet everything you need is at your fingertips.  A little curiosity and some ingenuity can yield highly rewarding results.  This is especially true in classical music.  The history of Western Music is not just the big names; it is an impressive and integral part of the cultural development of the West – and as such, encompasses thousands of musicians, whose contributions helped shape the cultural milieu in which the big names flourished.  As classical music ceased to be a great popular art form, truly great musicians and their music often fell by the wayside.  Occasionally, in my studies, I come across a composer who has slipped from the popular consciousness, but whose music is beautiful and profound – and more importantly, speaks to the heart and soul.  Sharing those discovered treasures, my dear readers, is the joy of writing to you.

 

 Karl Davydov

Today’s discovered treasure is the nineteenth century Russian cellist and composer, Karl Davydov.  Davydov was born on March 15, 1838 in Latvia, into a musical family (his father was a doctor and amateur violnist.)  All the Davydov children were instructed in music (his brother, Alexei, also became a cellist), but Karl was clearly gifted.  He began his studies at five with the piano, but took up the cello at age twelve and had a natural affinity for the instrument.  His talent was plain and he studied cello under Heinrich Schmidt, principal cellist of the Moscow Theater.  Although he was clearly destined for a career in music, his parents insisted that he finish his education; and so Karl studied mathematics at St. Petersburg University.  After completing that course of study, Davydov went back to music, studying composition with Moritz Hauptmann at the Leipzig Conservatory.

Although Davydov originally wanted to be a full-time composer, while studying at Leipzig, he was called on at the last minute to fill in for the famed cellist Grutzmacher at a concert and was a sensation.  He took up performance as a cellist full-time and toured Europe (although he continued to compose.)  Davydov would succeed Grutzmacher as the professor of cello at Leipzig, before returning to Russia.  He was hailed as the greatest cellist of his age – no less an authority than Tchaikovsky called him the “Tsar of Cellists.”  Davydov’s reputation was so great that in 1870, the arts patron Count Wilhorsky presented him with 1712 Stradvarius cello  (that cello, now known as the Davydov Stradvarius is currently on loan to Yo-Yo Ma.)

 Davydov, left

In 1876, Davydov was named Director of the St. Petersburg Conservatory (the other candidate was Tchaikovsky.)  His idyllic life as Director and international musical celebrity was disrupted in 1887, when it was discovered he was involved in a scandalous affair with a beautiful young student.  He was forced to leave Russia for year, but returned to resume concertizing.  In 1889 (at age fifty) he was suddenly taken ill during a performance of a Beethoven cello sonata, and died shortly thereafter.  All of musical Russia and Europe mourned.

Davydov continued to compose throughout his career (he transcribed many Chopin pieces for cello and piano.)  His original works were mostly for the cello, including four Cello Concertos.  As with most composers who were accomplished soloists, and who were active before the advent of recording, we can learn a great deal about Davydov the cellist from listening to his music, most especially his cello concertos.  He was firmly planted in the Russian romantic school of his time, and his music is technically challenging for the soloist.  So for today’s Discovered Treasure, we have Karl Davydov’s Cello Concerto No. 2 in A Minor.  Enjoy!

Movement 1 – Allegro

Movement 2 – Andante

Movement 3 – Allegro con brio

To return to the thought that began this reflection, I first heard about Davydov when I read Tchaikovsky’s “Tsar of Cellists” quote.   Anybody so highly praised by such a genius is worth looking up – and he was.