Classical Corner Classical Music Corner (thread #29)

Hurwitz. I guess he is following the new MO in Hollywood. If you don't have talent just be outrageous. I have no idea whether or not the recording he is reviewing is good, bad or indifferent but his review is maliceous.

 

Now, what you said could be called malicious. And I didn't have any trouble figuring out that he thought the recording was bad.

I have no idea whether you are spouting before or after you have read the book-length articles on vibrato in music at the Classics Today site. David Hurwitz has made his points on the history of vibrato and has some impressive research in the articles.

As someone in a previous thread has mentioned, published music critics, including some of the most well-known, have always been outspoken. I am glad they are still allowed to have their say, whether or not that meets with your approval.

 

Let's face it: Norrington attempting to play Mahler's Second or, especially, Ninth with no vibrato is a really dodgy idea. I'm sure it's bad.

 

Listening to the Fourth on Spotify now -- man, Norrington is going for some land speed records here in the first movement, spiky as all get-out, aggressive even, moreso than Solti in his 1961 Fourth with the Concertgebouw (bought a mint 7W/10W London LP on Friday).

Btw, the main tempo of the movement is Bedächtig, nicht eilen (Moderately, not rushed). Not even close. And no vibrato. Fail.

Other movements:
II. In gemächlicher Bewegung, ohne Hast (Leisurely moving, without haste)
III. Ruhevoll, poco adagio (Peacefully, somewhat slowly)
IV. Sehr behaglich (Very comfortably)

 

Really? How so?

Nor did I. Not sure I get your point here.

"spouting?" Now that could be concidered malicious.... I read the review and commented on the content of that review. I don't need to read anything else to comment on the content of the review.

Not sure how that gives him a licence to be such a dick about it.

Nothing wrong with being outspoken. But there is nothing interesting or creative or insightful about being venomous. He does have a real knack for saying stuff that is just plain dumb to boot. And I am glad they have their say as well. And when they say stuff that is out of line I still get to have my say about it.

 

It may very well be bad but to question the man's hearing? But this is the guy who has proclaimed that Listz is trash and Mozart all sounds the same.
Bottom line for me on Hurwitz is that his negative reviews are not particularly insightful or creatively written. He just goes straight to malice and manages to get basic facts wrong or say things that are nothing more than base grade school insults.

 

Okay, halfway through Norrington's Mahler 4 I am turning it off. This is very capably played, with excellent balances, but the lack of vibrato and an 'archness' with respect to tempos (forced 'leisurely', forced 'comfortably', forced 'peacefully') makes me uncomfortable and, in the end, tired of Norrington's unnecessary revisionism. WWBD? <what would Bruno do>

 

The Fourth is awful. I have no desire to hear Norrington's Second. It could be worse than Rattle '86. Do you think Mahler without vibrato is a sound idea?

 

You could teach Hurtwitz a thing or two about reviewing.

 

Sounds like a very bad idea actually. I say this without having heard it. Not sure it's grounds for cheap shots though. At the very least if a reviewer is going to give a scathing review he or she should at least be creative and witty about it. The guy has no talent and can't hear is pretty pathetic content for any review.

 

Hurwitz is definitely very opinionated, but here is a real 'salty' review, courtesy of Gramophone's Lionel Salter in his twilight years (April 1996).

 

Well written, clear in his criticism, witty.....I see no base insults there. Clearly the reviewer has an opinion on the composer's intent that is to a degree objectively varifiable. If his facts are right then I see nothing wrong with this review. The review is very informative. OTOH if the performance is in line with the notations on the original score.....

 

I've read many of Hurwitz's reviews and I trust his opinion, I think he's excellent.

I do find him funny as well.

One thing that really annoys me about modern mainstream media reviews is how sycophantic they are and in the pockets of the labels. It seems most reviewers are scared to give something a bad review. This is especially true in modern rock music. The NME for example used to have some distance from what they were reviewing and if something was bad said so. Now it's like a trade paper put together to promote the very average bands they feature. And musicians themselves are so timid, they all 'respect' each other (the worst example of this is the awful Jools Holland show where it appears they are all one happy family). Bring back the punk and post-punk days I say where musicians used to say how awful other music was. There are no gatekeepers any more.

Anyway, the point being I find it really refreshing when someone has the guts to say what they feel and bury something if they feel it's merited. I may not always agree with them but it's infinitely better than a load of grinning sycophants.

 

I, too, have zero problem with it. Having read Hurtwitz enough over the years, I already have him handicapped according to my tastes, his tastes, perceived shortcomings, etc. before I read the first word of any of his reviews.

 

Well we live in the good ole USA and thank God for freedom of speech!

Everyone has a different opinion and review things in their own sight or in this case hearing.
Personally I trust the opinion of The Penguin Guide team of Ivan March and Robert Layton and have since I started collecting Classical back in 1987.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Penguin_Guide_to_Recorded_Classical_Music
I also trust reviews of the BBC and Gramophone.
I also trust the opinions of certain fellow Classical persons I have followed online for a few years now.
George P our personal Piano Man being one!

You can read 100 reviews and get 90 different opinions out of those.
Some reviews will agree and some won't.
It's like politics......some agree and some don't....just YOUR musical matter of preference or liking...then who you agree with based on that.

 

Now playing:

• C.P.E. Bach: Symphonies For Strings, WQ 182 - Trevor Pinnock / The English Concert (on period instruments) [Arkiv 1980 LP, recorded to analog tape at Henry Wood Hall, 27-31 October 1979, Producer: Dr. Andreas Holschneider, Recording Supervisor: Dr. Gerd Ploebsch, Recording Engineer: Klaus Scheibe -- big fan of Carl Philipp Emanuel, always unique, full of surprises, these 1773 compositions are a mixture of two aesthetics, Strum und Drang and Empfindsamkeit]

From album liners by Nicholas Anderson:

From C.P.E. Bach's autobiography:

 

Love the recordings done with period instruments adds some originality!!

 

There seems to be some confusion as to what I don't like about Hurwitz. It isn't about his taste in music. It is about his choice to make base personal attacks on the artists he is reviewing and his apparent inability to distinguish his opinions from objective fact in certain cases which seems to lead him to make some pretty dumb statements. If he is going to go after an srtist on a personal level he better have some substance.

 

I'm guessing this is the article? It is definitely an interesting subject. I'm going to print this out and give it a good look.

 

But has Hurwitz reviewed any recordings by Yuja Wang? I am curious ...

 

Just placed the following order with Amazon ...

 

Speaking of the Melos Quartet, I've been meaning to give kudos to this recording for a while now.

 

Yes, however that is just PART 1 of the 3-part series listed on their homepage.

PART 2 - Orchestral Vibrato: A critique of current scholarship is another 110 pages.

PART 3 - Vibrato in the Classical Orchestra is a total of an additional 343 pages broken down into nine parts for easier downloading. "The structure of the essay consists of a general discussion of the vibrato question as it concerns 18th century music, followed by four detailed case studies centering around Zelenka, Gluck, Boccherini, and Haydn, with additional works by many of their colleagues also considered as necessary."

 

I have read some good reviews of the ensemble and since my Schubert collection has room for some string quartets ...

 

I just thought of this, but...recently I cataloged all my records. As I was doing this I opened all my box sets. and removed all those foam cushioning inserts. You know, the ones that fill out the space in the box. If you have really old sets like I do (20-30 years), the foam is disintegrating and causing a big mess. Most of mine were intact but as soon as I grabbed them they just crumbled between my fingers. A few had actually stuck to the box and records sleeves. It can't be good for any of this stuff to get on record surfaces.

Clean out your boxes!