Nielsen Vomit

There is something magical about the Nielsen Clarinet Concerto. It's everything I want in a piece of music, marvelously executed and beautifully intoxicating.

I remember working on the Nielsen 5 years ago, my junior year in undergrad. I remember struggling with it, as I'm sure everyone has, but never really appreciated the quality of writing and complexity with which Nielsen diligently constructed this marvelous work.

It's the 20th century counterpart to Mozart's Concerto.

You can play it until you're blue in the face - but until you study it, phrase by phrase - you never see the complexity of Nielsen's counterpoint. Or even his jovial treatment of certain phrases to the development of motives throughout the work. Nielsen definitely has a large palette of colors to choose from, particularly in his treatment and permutation of the the main motive throughout the work - ranging from intense, psychotic treatment, to weaving it through a melancholy and lyrical maze of sweetness. Even to a pseudo fugue treatment at the beginning only to move to this GIGANTIC variation on one motive.

Looking at the score, you see these amazing little interludes between the soloist and the orchestra. A beautifully choreographed ballet between two insane lovers.

A paranoid schizophrenic's love affair.

I suggest the following recordings:

Jon Manasse - although the orchestra doesn't quite do the work justice with sloppy passages, and the soloists liberties, more often then not, make very little connection between the tutti passages. However, what makes this a rather wonderful recording is Manasse's fluid and rich timbre, which makes for one fine opening and a sublime execution of the adagio sections.

Robert Frost - Always a favorite. But, as Frost is known to do, takes the technical bounds of this work to new heights. For me, I find only a few musical interpretations rather odd, but evidently well thought out - seeing that Frost is an avante-gaurde contemporary musician, his study no doubt aided in his musical decisions. A plus. His fluidity and grace are sweet contrasts to the more dark and psychotic nature of the piece. I must give him an A for this performance, capturing both the characteristic of mental insecurities of the piece to the technical demands.

Sabine Meyer - This is the one recording I find myself disappointed every time it comes across my iPod. However, it is the most solid performance of the many I have - but very straight forward. Meyer's technique, flawless - but this doesn't make up for the lack of musicality.

Palette Cleansing

Beethoven 6.

It's like water to a sommeliers palette.

Cleanse the palette - and enjoy the supple and delicate taste all around you.

The aroma washes over you, engulfing you in a warm blanket and serinity.

Happiness is never too far away from the pastorale.

Palette Cleanser. But most definitely not after you've tasted something awful. No, a palette cleanser for after you've immersed you're self in the free countrapuntal and clashing tastes of Nielsen's melodic foie gras and the intensity of his chardonnay.

Mm, yes. Beethoven 6, a palette cleanser.

Thank you, dear maestro.

Iconic Artist Saves Classical Music from the Doldrums of our minds

I find myself thinking a lot about the state of classical music, how it is affected by today's culture and society.

I recently read an article in the new york times about Gustavo Dudamel, LA Philharmonic current maestro, and his more than iconic appearance. The article continued on(inadvertently, after multiple searches on NYtimes, I can no longer find the article, sad) to discuss the attributes of Dudamel: hair, youthful good looks, latino background, etc. Particularly Dudamel's publicity in coming to the his new home with the LA Philharmonic and how much media publicity followed him on his journey. Much mindless fotter later, the article goes on to ask a series of questions such as, "Is dudamel's character really what we need to save classical music?" A string of questions and comments surfaced like this - and, you know, it sort of irritated me.

Times change, concepts of fashion, quality, stance, merit, has changed since the early 1940's. Look around, men are slowly beginning to learn how to wear jeans that fit them (or even accentuate ones body, rather then the later) and girls (though not always on the side of caution or taste) are finding themselves more and more liberated with their options.

Classical music has a sort of taboo air to the uninformed younger generation. It's stuffy, old, not hip or cool.

Well duh!

We don't do much to help curve that idea. With our own stuffy and conceded concepts of music - being up tight about, oh, well everything. But, maybe what Dudamel is doing is fantastic and a perfect step in the right direction - interesting the youth. He's hot, let's face it - he's on fire.

We all have grasp this same concept as well, especially the younger, up and coming classical musicians. How can we interest our younger musicians? Get them interested...influence them, show them why we love what we love - the beauty and purity of music.

We need these type of artists, the performers that go outside of the preconceived ideas of classical music artists.

Clothes and pop-culture both change, an the icons right along with it. What about classical music? A tradition set many centuries ago, wafting its air of arrogance to the younger crowd.

Shouldn't it's icons change to sustain its popularity as well? To influence and inspire creativity?

I could source many article on why the instrumental genre shouldn't be conceived as popular - Stravinsky, Schoenberg, to name a few. But, lets be real - an unpopular genre of music gains no fiscal security. Musicians - us - we won't and can't sustain a life in such a career for much longer with out a change. Our survival, classical music's survival, needs it.

Classical music demands a new "melange" of icons, ones that are trendy, "hip", and can communicate on the same levels with the youth of today and tomorrow.

Is Dudamel what we need to save classical music? I think it's a damn good start. We've got to change our outlook and foster a new hybrid concept of the performer.

That - my friends - was very much vomitous of the mouth.