Salome in Opera National de Paris ...

During my last stay in Paris I went to Opera National de Paris at Bastille to watch the performance of Richard Strauss „Salome”. It was very interesting experience for many reasons.

Richard's Strauss music is that specific kind of music to which one could attach a label „German” — however, unlike for some other composers of the late romantic period and the tragic first half of XX century, Strauss's Germanic style is not frightening... Maybe it is reflection of his attitude do Nazism....

The another reason was in, let me express it so, „lingual” aspect of the performance. It was played in the heart of France by mostly French singers ... in German !!!

As I humbly admit to know not both these beautiful languages :-) I decided to focus completely on the music, dance and specific body language of the Opera. The result was astonishing!
First and foremost, is was very easy for me to follow the action and the turns of the plot (I did not read the libretto before). Second, the interpretation of the Opera without clear perception of its libretto is surprising!

Contrary to almost all typical interpretations — I did not find Salome (beautifully played by beautiful German Angela Denoke) as an epitome of a kind of „femme fatale”! Of course, she was depicted as strange and almost perverse women, but what Denoke tried, and to me, succeeded in, was to show that her perverseness was somehow provoked by her step-father, Herod, who driven by his lust and desire to her body, somehow accepts her demands, when is satisfied by her sensual dance (and, needless to say, the Dance of Seven Veils was danced fantastic by Denoke). Herod was depicted as a cowardly, perverse old man, who, on the surface tries to dissuade her daughter from the crime, but in fact does what she wants — just because he first got what he wanted ...

So in some sense, not understanding the words, I found this performance of Salome quite different in its meaning. Less focused on the proverbial fatality of a woman, more on false meekness and cowardliness and lust of a man... When I read libretto of the Opera the day after - I was surprised by the text painting a bit different picture of the story ...

Written in Zurich, Sunday, September 25, 2011

Benjamin Britten Music ...

Out of my admiration to Benjamin Britten's music I travelled to Aldeburgh - a little costal English town on the North Sea shore...

Here is the sculpture sitting on the stony beach there:

And all the day I had Britten's music in my ears...

Mirek@Aldeburgh

Black Swan — one of the best movies I've seen

As you know, I rarely review films here. But for the „Black Swan” I wanted to make an exception. Probably one of the best movies of Darren Aranofsky, it tells an imaginative story of a ballerina (featured by Natlie Portman) by of the New York City ballet company. She is so deeply engaged in her role in „Swan Lake” that her entire life is turned around it, and ultimately consumes her entirely... It is however hard to relate the „plot” of  the movie, largely because of the role of confusing, ambiguous turns of the action that flows on a brink between reality and dreams or hallucinations...

The beautiful filming, fantastic music and the great actor's craft make the movie one of my best ....

Maestro Górecki died ...

Mikołaj Henryk Górecki was one of the greatest composers of our time. He certainly was famous on the worldwide scene for his „Symphony of Sorrowful Songs” that was a global hit comparable only to popular music hits. But all his works, including those commissioned by Kronos Quartet place him among the giants of music like Olivier Messiaen, Charles Ives, Arvo Part, John Taverner or Giya Kancheli. He practiced something I call, by the term I coined: „rich minimalism” — where the musical language is simple but the meanings and depths are rich.

If you haven't heard about Górecki, it is also for the fact that he was very modest and private person who always shunned publicity.





Here is the Górecki's obituary published by Guardian.

Carl Orff & Brahms ...

Whenever I can, I listen to music on Saturdays. Today, my musical experiences were under the spell of German composers. I started with Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. This cantata was written in 1937. On the textual level it is based on secular German poems, embracing the nature of life, joy of nature, common pleasures and perils. „Wine, Women and Song” was the title of 1884 publication of the most of the poems contained in the cantata.



This is beautiful music, no question about that. However, always after I listen to the great German music, particularly of the early XX century music, I cannot avoid deep question how this highest emanation of culture could live with the silent acceptance of all Nazis atrocities committed at that time. What is the value of culture, music and literature, if it cannot help people to resist the blatant crime?

How can we listen to beautiful tunes and chords of great musical works when we know that their authors, openly supported the regime that coldbloodedly killed millions of people?

How can we enjoy it when:

„...German music, which had sought sublimity, transcendence, disengagement from the ordinary world, must bear responsibility for what happened down below as it roamed through higher realms. Mann hinted further that this very “musicality of soul” was the key to Germany's fall; the aesthetic had triumphed over the merely human. In Nazi Germany, music became either a weapon of hate or an opiate of indifference.” (Alex Ross: World War II Music)

So, while I enjoyed it, I had the feelings that spoiled my experience....
It is hard to forget that Orff, accepted Nazis' commission to write a replacement score for Mendelssohn's “Midsummer Night's Dream” — what certainly was one of the darkest deeds in all musical history.

Later today, I switched to older German music. Johannes Brahms and his symphonies. Dramatically different world — warm and great. Melodious and architectural. And listening it under the baton of Leonard Bernstein — is always a great experience....



Why? Is it because Brahms lived long BEFORE the dark times? Is he better than Orff and Strauss who openly collaborated with the Nazis? If so — what to think about Wagner?

I think, that the deep reflection on the German culture, its music, its literature, in all its highs and lows has been, and still is, the very important part of our intellectual life...

In this context, it is worth to read the entire Alex Ross article: "In Music, Though, There Were No Victories". You can find it here....

Sebastian Horsley dies ...

I'm depressed and devastated.

It's no more than a month since I was in a concert in London's HMV with Current93 and his guests.

The concert announcer was famous English celebrity and artist, Sebastian Horsley.

See his intro:




He died two days ago...

What more could I say...

---

Few day passed and our sorrow is no less.
What we know now is that he hasn't take drugs for long time recently, but the funeral of his long friend Michal Wojas turned him into it: „The 47-year-old reportedly hadn't used heroin for several months but the death of his close friend Michael Wojas triggered a fatal drugs binge.”

Let me add Sebastian Horsley's own quote:

„I have been punished by a God I don't believe in and he has thrown me off the cross for impersonating his son, for being an atheist, and for being a disaster. I have made a complete fool of myself.”

[9news: Horsley generated a storm of controversy after he had himself nailed to a cross in 2002. His hands were torn during the process after the foot support he had been standing on collapsed.]

"Music releases us from the bonds of gravity ..."

I used to make posts about my favorite classical or modern music (see this set of posts). But this weekend I took (or was taken by) my son (22) and his friends to London to HMV Forum for two nights of amazing music.

The concerts' star was British band Current 93, and the concert was organized for its leader, David Tibet birthday.



For the readers of my blog — this was a kind of music I was not used to listen to, though I knew from my son, that it is as deep and ambitious as the kind of music I used to enjoy.

But these two concerts changed it all. I guess I will not say to much. Instead let me quote the intro to the concert uttered by Sebastian Horsley:

David is poet - and a poet is someone who looks at the world in the same way that a man looks at a woman. A poet is someone who stands outside and rises his fist and hopes that lightning strikes it.

Music releases us from the bonds of gravity, takes the most innermost part of us and puts it outside. We connect heaven with earth by its thread. No other art form or activity provides such a reliable antidote to life, just so long as we bring to it the necessary surrender. And surrender this evening you must. Music has saved more lives that God and Samaritans put together.

Rock music used to be sung by young people to offend old people, now it's sung by old people to embarrass young people.

But there are exceptions to the rule, and Current 93 are one of them....

There was also the legendary Comus, Nurse with Wound, Rameses III and others.

It was just gorgeous....


We have recorded many (beware: low-quality) videos using my plain camera. Here is my son's recording:




and here is my:



As we were told — there will be DVD edition of of this concert.

Arvo Pärt and Peteris Vasks - the border music between Northren and Slavic climate

Today's concert at Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic brought to us the climate of Baltic countries - countries suspended between Scandinavian and Slavic nature, culture and in particular - their music.
Famous Arvo Pärt - Estonian composer, who for many years has been my favorite composer of our time, composed Lamentate in 2002.

This 10 part suite was composed as a homage to Anish Kapoor and his famous sculpture "Marsyas" - the largest sculpture ever displayed at Tate Gallery. The music is special and in some sense it dwells on another boundary - between typical Pärt's minimalism and much richer orchestration of his later compositions. The beautiful piano part, has much of a space between sounds, so much of silence - and is just breathtaking.

In perception it is indeed as from "lamentate" but lamentate for living - not for dead.

For this concert, the conductor, Daniel Raiskin asked Ralph van Raat to replace ill Alexei Lubimov (famous pianist known from original ECM recording). Ralph's performance was just great and deep - so unexpectedly but luckily we had chance to meet this great pianist.

The music of Latvian Peteris Vasks was new to me. I must admit - I never heard before about him. So today's discovery is of some mysterious significance. His music, though secular on the surface, is deeply religious in a very broad sense - not being tied to any particular creed.

Lodz's Rubinstein orchestra played his Symphony No. 2 . I can't express in words the beauty of this symphony. As in the title of this post - the music is a kind of bridge between cultures. I heard notes of warm Slavic folk music overlapped with cold minimalism of the North.

Peters Vasks was in the concert hall. He was called by Daniel Raiskin to the stage - and we all were deeply moved and affected by his modesty and unpretentiousness....

This was great concert...

Soulful music at Lodz Philharmonic

Spring time has its spirituality. Ester for Christians, Passover for Jews and Noahides, revival of life for agnostics, hope for all...

This year series of spiritually motivated concerts at Lodz's Philharmonic had an amazing emanation tonight.

Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of its artistic director Daniel Raiskin played three compositions. There was Wojciech Kilar "Veni Creator" composed as his tribute to his wife Barbara. It was good piece of music, but, I must say, it was not as great as his incredible Exodus and multiple of his other pieces.

However, the next piece was surprising and fantastic and deeply emotional. Joep Franssens composition Sanctus (it was its 10th live performance) was great. Kept in the tradition of ArvoPart or Gorecki minimalism, the piece was calm but powerful.

The last composition was absolute hit. It was Styx composed by famous Georgian composer Giya Kancheli. Styx is a piece for viola, symphonic orchestra and choir. The piece was dedicated to Avet Terterian and Alfred Schnittke - Giya Kancheli friends. It is incredible piece - full of marvellous almost silent moments placed between powerful fortissimos of orchestra and choir.

The viola part was beautifly played by outstanding violist Lars Anders Tomter.

The concert was great also because, thanks to organizers, both Joep Franssens and Giya Kancheli were present in the hall. It was great pleasure to be there with them and see them happy to have their music in Lodz's Rubinstein Philharmonic ....

Mahler XVII Symphony - second time live in Lodz

Seven years ago I had a chance to listen to Mahler's VII Symphony live in my town. It was a performance of Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of famous Zubin Mehta. That was the event that triggered my almost narcotic clinging to Mahler's music. See these posts.

Today I had a chance to relive this incredible music again. We had the chance to listen to Deutsches Symphonie Orchester (DSO) from Berlin under the baton of Ingo Metzmacher, here in Lodz.

This was great performance. Ingo Metzmacher was passionate and energetic. He conducted in most like Bernstein's style - and the result was astonishing.

Mahler's VII Symphony is a special piece of symphonic art. I once called it "No programme - sheer beauty" Symphony - and this seems to be true - for all of this piece performances.

Mahler tells us some story - "shaken" and disturbing story - yet the story of immense beauty...

If you have a chance to listen it - I strongly recommend it....

Tomasz Stańko honors Polański in his concert in Lodz

Tomasz Stańko - famous avant-garde and free jazz trumpter played "Rosemary Baby" - from Roman Polański film, in his incredible concert in Lodz - the town of Polański's youth and university years.

Stanko, who played music from his latest ECM production "Dark Eyes", when asked for an encore by public - made an incredible interpretation of the famous film theme. I was in the public - we all knew it was for Polanski. It was very emotional and beautiful...

You may listen to another, older Stanko's interpretation of this theme in an amateurish recording at Rotunda Club in 2008.

Five giants of modern music

While in Paris in July, I had a chance to buy a collection of five films on the greatest XX century composers: Boulez, Carter, Glass, Messiaen and Part. The series seems to be available on Amazon in individual pieces (see, for example: Carter, Messiaen, Boulez). Seems it's hard to find the collection itself on the web. It is a part of "Juxtapositions" series, but I do not see where it could be ordered in the 5 pieces collection I bought in Virgin Megastore in Paris.




Despite of the potential difficulty to buy it, I strongly recommend it for all serious/contemporary music lovers. All the movies are great, but I must say that those about Carter, Glass and Part are of utmost beauty. They not only tell us about the musicians — they are pieces of art on their own!
The great value of the films lies in the attempt to show the music as being tightly bound to the personality and experience of the composer. I can't forget pictures from Elliot Carter's Manhattan window, scenes from Glass New York's apartment or Arvo Part's scenes from Estonia. The images of nature and songs of birds connected to Olivier Messiaen are also very moving.

However, the music is the main hero of the collection - and you will not be disappointed to listen to the composers' most famous pieces, usually played with the composer during the rehearsals and on informal concerts. The great value of the authors of the films lies in their great sensitivity to the music they tell about.

If you love classical or contemporary music - this 5 DVD collection should be on the top of your list.

35 thousands years of music

Music accompanies our life since its beginnings. This truth is well known. Yet, when a new discovery in the history of civilization relates to music, I'm always shocked, moved and bewildered - to say the least. It happened again with the discovery of almost 35 thousands years old instrument:

What is more, there was a possibility for scientists to play the music using it.
You may listen to it here:


The discovery, made in famous Hohle Fels cave in Germany. In the same cave, a year ago, the famous Venus of Hohle Fels was found.
The flute was found, among others, by Nicholas J. Conard of the University of Tübingen.
The original Nature article can not be read if you are not registered, so you may
read the following New York Times article or Flute section of prehistoric music article.

What all that means? For me, it is one more proof that the role of music transcends the role we used to assign to it. Many of us treat is as entertainment, leisure time activity. However, the recent discoveries, coming from neuroscience and here - from archeology - prove the opposite - it has fundamental role in our human existence. Role, that, I think is still not completely recognized and understood....

The Soloist - A true story of the true power of music

Nathaniel Ayers was at the footsteps of his potential great musical carrier, when, while at Juilliard School of music he was struck by the sudden outburst of schizophrenia. Then for thirty years he was leaving on Los Angeles streets as a homeless bum, playing for money on his violin with two strings broken....

He was discovered by journalist and columnist, Steve Lopez, and they both went through the painful process of getting Ayers out of the darkness of his illness. Though never totally recovered, Ayers, with the help of selfless attitude of Lopez finally found his home, his studio and started to live more or less normal life.

The book "The Soloist" is very well written, fascinating account on these events. It is captivating, once started it is quite hard to stop reading it - what I witnessed, reading it all over my trip to Paris, in metro, on the plane - just everywhere....

"'Do you know what Sibelius is saying here?' Mr. Ayers asks. 'He's saying. I love this music' Do you hear it? 'I love this music. I love this music'"

You can watch the real Lopez and real Ayers here:



Nathaniel Anthony Ayers Foundation is here: http://www.naayers.org/

And the movie website is here: http://www.soloistmovie.com/

Last but not least - there is no better real life illustration of the ideas of Musicophilipa than in "The Soloist". Both books gave me incredible experience during this visit to Paris, one was read in paper, the other listened to in audio...

Paris, St. Placide, June, 25, 4 AM.

Musicophilia - a tractate on musical brain

Olivier Sacks, professor of neurology and psychiatry, the author of famous book "The Man who mistook His Wife for a Hat" wrote another incredible tractate. Musicophilia is the book that should shake our views about musical perception and the role of music for the understanding of human mind.



The book is written in the form of reports and accounts and conclusions about cases of severe mental illnesses and their relation to music or musical perception.

He analyses many forms of strange mental behaviour, from certain types of seizures that can be called "musical seizures", musical hallucinations through haunting musical "brainworms" to deep analysis of relation between music and blindness, musical savantisms or Williams syndrome.



Olivier Sacks does not attempt to paint the big picture of relation between music and brain. He is modest and shows a lot of moderation and scientific discipline when it comes to interpretation of these facts. However, we, his readers could indulge in comments, conclusions and judgments. One conclusions is almost certain - the musicality - the perception of music can not be reduced to the quality of hearing or simple audition. There are indirect proofs that music is much more deeply rooted in our brains - in the biological and physical foundations of our minds. As he writes: "There are undoubtedly particular areas of the cortex subserving musical intelligence and sensibility (...) The emotional response to the music it would seem is widespread and probably not only cortical but subcortical..."

After reading this book there is no doubt the music is much more important and more fundamental to our life than we ever expected.


Some of us had already knew that, other had some vague gut feeling of this truth - but Sacks shows how deeply true are all these hunches...


This review has been written in Paris. I finished listening to the book in this city full of music at 6 AM in the morning of sleepless night. It is incredible, how listening to this book interwoven for me with reading of "The Soloist". Both say the same, but from different perspective...

Nigel Kennedy plays in Manufaktura

The unquestionable genius of violin, Nigel Kennedy gave an outstanding concert on the marketplace of trade center Manufaktura in Lodz. He was accompanied by the band "Kroke" and they played mostly Klezmer music, with many tours of classical, jazz and even rock music.
The music was absolutely thrilling and we just could not stand still - dancing was unavoidable !!!
Here is one piece, but the quality is very low:



I will bring here some pictures soon made by my daughter.
Kennedy's performance was one of the events of the Festival Of Jewish Culture on Lodz.

I'm proud to be a lecturer on the other day of this festival. My lecture: "Four Holy Cities of Judaism and Talmudic Sages" gathered more than 50 people in another concert/theater hall in Lodz. I did not expect to be so famous :-)

Written in Paris ....

A harbinger of two reviews of two great books

Both books are about music. Both are non-fiction stories. Both are great. To such extent that I decided to write this short note just to anticipate the reviews, I will write in due course.

The first is "The Soloist" is the true story of Nathaniel Ayers, American musician who developed a mental illness while he was a promising student of famous Juilliard School of Music. The story is written by Steve Lopez, a journalist and columnist for Los Angeles Times.

The book tells the story of how powerful is music and how it can heal. See more here soon.

The second is completely different - yet there is some mysterious link to "The Soloist". It is "Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain" by Olivier Sacks. It's almost a scientific treatise on the link between what we know about musical perception and neuroscience. I'm still in the beginning of it, but it shows that musical perception is a unique phenomenon, different from just perception of sounds. Seems like there is really sixth sense - and it is that of pure music !!!

Both reviews will appear here shortly. The first book is read, the second listened to :-)

 

Unheard yet unheard-of

Mahler did not live up even to listen his IX. For him, it existed in his imagination only. Yet, it is one of the most incredible of his composition. Very intense, deep and thick - moves on a brink of tonality and so-called "classical" sonority, getting close to atonality of new-music-to-come. Mahler must have been in a difficult part of his life when writing it. We must remember, that formally his "Das Lied Von Der Erde" is his 9th Symphony. However, in addition of his attempt to avoid "The curse of the 9th" with "Das Liede..." it was also such different from all his other symphonies, that the real "Symphony No 9" deserves to be his true IXth.

Mahler drives us from slow Andante Comodo, where joy & sorrow of the music is tightly linked, through grotesque Scherzo and very intense, very "mahlerian" Rondo to incredible Adagio (Finale). In this last part we witness a thick, intense, almost "stony", music that , at the end, recedes into sorrowful slow tones that finalize the Symphony. It is in this last part, we hear the low tones of basses and - separated by several octaves - violins. The effect is incredible - one can feel goose bumps...

If you want to hear this passage go to minute 4 of the following recording:




The very fact that Mahler did not listen to his IX is remarkable. This great music, truly unheard-of, was also really unheard by the composer.

After listening to IX, it is natural to listen to the parts of unfinished Xth. However, Bernastein only performed Adagio from that, last of Mahler's compositions.
It is also very "Mahlerian" in its sonorities - in some parts it's so intense that it gets quite close to dissonances of atonality. However, the ultimate meaning of Xth is for me - the mature joyfulness, the appreciation of life and readiness for death - death with which Mahler seems to be finally reconciled. Needless to say, I, with many "Mahler lovers" await with great hope the finalization of years-long project of Yoel Gamzou, aimed in complete restoration and recreation of missing parts of Mahler's Xth... Read this.

The power of music. II

Two musical "amateurish" events I witnessed recently are worth this post.

In both, I saw them only on the web, but are so powerful, that I could not resisit posting about them...

Until I have time to put them directly here, please visit them via links:

Susan Boyle - 2009 discovery
Klaudia Kulawik - 2008 discovery

There is something unutterable, yet common in both these "girls",
even though at the first sight - everything is very different.
46 and 11 old - but their voices are so powerful...

The second girl song English lyrics are:

Strange is this world
where still there is so much evil
and it is strange that for so many years
man has had so much contempt for one another
Strange is this world of human affairs
sometimes one is ashamed to admit it
but it happens often that somebody
with a bad word kills like with a knife
But there are more people with good intentions
and I strongly believe in it that this world
won't perish thanks to them
it is the highest time
we destroyed hatred in ourselves

The first girl lyrics are:

There was a time when men were kind,
And their voices were soft,
And their words inviting.
There was a time when love was blind,
And the world was a song,
And the song was exciting.
There was a time when it all went wrong...
(...) "I Dreamed A Dream" - Les Miserables

do you feel the likeness of emotions?

There are no longer human voices, but planets and suns revolving

Mahler's VIII Symphony was written for thousands musicians. "The Symphony of a Thousand" is its second name.

Huge orchestra, with off-stage brass section and three choirs of more than 800 singers, form the setting of one of the most unusual pieces of music that I ever listened to.

See the size of the orchestra on this video:



When performed first in 1910 in Munich, evoked such emotions that it was later called "one of the greatest triumphs in the history of music". But - what makes it even greater - it is far from any kind of pathos or musical hubris so typical to similar acts of Wagner or other composers of late romantic era in the Viennese-German culture of the XIX century.

Mahler selects two, at first glance, totally distant texts. First, Latin, Catholic "Veni Creator Spiritus", and second - the final scene of Goethe's "Faust". Both - deeply spiritual texts form a program for the symphony, that - because of their distance is hard to fully grasp.

Mahler, when talked about the composition process of VIII used to say about "signs from 'out there', a kind of mystical annunciations". And there is something like that.
One of the most moving moment comes at Adagio in II part, exactly when the men chorus starts to sing dark Goethe text ending in "Tame about us - The holy shrine of Love".

And my last word is that Mahler's VIII is not the symphony you listen to once and grasp its gist. It is impossible. Before I watched it, conducted by Leonard Bernstein:



I listened to Antoni Wit performance many times. And still have desire to come back to it - just to discover new emotions, new affections, new spiritual reflections....

For those who live in US. You have great chance in 2009 with Mahler's and his VIII. Open THIS link.