Beethoven weekend (Edinburgh Festival)
I had a great time last weekend in Edinburgh not only for the string quartet cycle (Stockbridge Parish Church) but the last 3 sonatas performed by Andreas Schiff and a lecture given by none other than Alfred Brendel!
A total of 4 different ensembles performed the quartets and how different they sounded!
The younger players positively seethed with passion and energy (bodies swaying to the music) while the more experienced groups exuded an impressive stillness and gravitas.
A definite highlight was Op 132. At my friend's suggestion we moved right up to the front and what a revelation it was! I was overwhelmed by the sheer intellectual exhilaration of the interplay between instruments and the expression on the cellist's face as if he was playing for his very life!! The final movt was superfast, desperate, knife-edge stuff - as it must be.
Op 131 the next day (Sun) was a full house and luckily my friend got in through a re-sold ticket! This time it was an older group but how effortlessly they played the opening fugue and following variations. The galloping nightmare of a climax was simply thrilling!
Op 127 and Op 135 suffered the indignity of a broken string and an out-of-tune violin but the players recovered admirably, re-starting the affected movts.
I only missed 3 quartets (Op 18 no 5,6 and Op 130, 133) but this was due to the alternative Beethoven events below!
Back on the Friday night, over in a packed Usher Hall, there was a palpable sense of expectation as Andreas Schiff walked on to perform Op 109,110,111. It just felt so wonderful to see all those people responding to this music with such obvious love and devotion - I spotted a young boy sitting in the organ gallery completely entranced!! The highlight was 111, the fiery opening, that astonishing jazz-like variation and the masterly exploration of the piano's range.
As for Mr Brendel, well, I confess I couldn't make out all that he said (Usher Hall Upper Circle...) but the illustrative extracts from a good many of the 32 were more than enough compensation. His charming accent and dry sense of humour were a delight too.
His main point seemed to be that each Beethoven sonata had an individual "character" that pianists ought to be aware of and stay faithful to as far as possible.
A total of 4 different ensembles performed the quartets and how different they sounded!
The younger players positively seethed with passion and energy (bodies swaying to the music) while the more experienced groups exuded an impressive stillness and gravitas.
A definite highlight was Op 132. At my friend's suggestion we moved right up to the front and what a revelation it was! I was overwhelmed by the sheer intellectual exhilaration of the interplay between instruments and the expression on the cellist's face as if he was playing for his very life!! The final movt was superfast, desperate, knife-edge stuff - as it must be.
Op 131 the next day (Sun) was a full house and luckily my friend got in through a re-sold ticket! This time it was an older group but how effortlessly they played the opening fugue and following variations. The galloping nightmare of a climax was simply thrilling!
Op 127 and Op 135 suffered the indignity of a broken string and an out-of-tune violin but the players recovered admirably, re-starting the affected movts.
I only missed 3 quartets (Op 18 no 5,6 and Op 130, 133) but this was due to the alternative Beethoven events below!
Back on the Friday night, over in a packed Usher Hall, there was a palpable sense of expectation as Andreas Schiff walked on to perform Op 109,110,111. It just felt so wonderful to see all those people responding to this music with such obvious love and devotion - I spotted a young boy sitting in the organ gallery completely entranced!! The highlight was 111, the fiery opening, that astonishing jazz-like variation and the masterly exploration of the piano's range.
As for Mr Brendel, well, I confess I couldn't make out all that he said (Usher Hall Upper Circle...) but the illustrative extracts from a good many of the 32 were more than enough compensation. His charming accent and dry sense of humour were a delight too.
His main point seemed to be that each Beethoven sonata had an individual "character" that pianists ought to be aware of and stay faithful to as far as possible.
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