3. Concerto no. 7 in F major for three pianos, K. 242 (“Lodron”) by Mozart
No honourable mention this week, we dive directly in a concert for three pianos by Mozart, which he composed especially for a countess and her two daughters. The first movement starts in a pompous manner and then slides into a merry stroll of fingers over the piano keys with a lively tempo and ending symmetrically in the same energetic fashion. On to the second movement, this one is more soft, with lullaby like snippets here and there. Finally, the third movement is a bit of a mess for me, I don’t care for it that much. Overall a nice listening, but not exactly something I would greatly feel the need to regularly visit again.
IDAGIO and Amazon for: Sir Georg Solti (Piano), Daniel Barenboim (Piano), Sir András Schiff (Piano), English Chamber Orchestra
2. Overture from “Tannhauser” by Richard Wagner
Surprise again, we have an opera in second place: the Tannhauser opera by Richard Wagner, more precisely the overture, which stands on its own as a performance piece at over ten minutes long. This was my first encounter with this work and I have to say it made me want to go pick up and dive into the full opera.
IDAGIO and Amazon for: dir. Herbert von Karajan, Berliner Philharmoniker
1. Fruhlingsglaube (Faith in Spring) by Franz Schubert
Going back to Austria, we end the week with a lied from the master of this genre, Franz Schubert, which “in his more than six hundred Lieder he explored and expanded the potentialities of the genre, as no composer before him”. Here, he set to music Fruhlingsglaube, a poem by the German poet Ludwig Uhland, which celebrates the inescapable change that spring brings along with the revival of nature. However, the only two versions of this song that I really enjoyed are the ones sung by the tenors Jussi Bjorling and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.
Frühlingsglaube
Die linden Lüfte sind erwacht,
Sie säuseln und wehen
Tag und Nacht,
Sie schaffen an allen Enden.
O frischer Duft, o neuer Klang!
Nun, armes Herze, sei nicht bang!
Nun muss sich alles, alles wenden.
Die Welt wird schöner
mit jedem Tag,
Man weiß nicht,
was noch werden mag,
Das Blühen will nicht enden.
Es blüht das fernste, tiefste Tal:
Nun, armes Herz, vergiss der Qual!
Nun muss sich alles, alles wenden.
Faith in Spring
The gentle winds are awakened,
They murmur and waft
day and night,
They create in every corner.
Oh fresh scent, oh new sound!
Now, poor dear [heart], fear not!
Now everything, everything must change.
The world becomes more beautiful
with each day,
One does not know
what may yet happen,
The blooming doesn't want to end.
The farthest, deepest valley blooms:
Now, poor dear, forget the pain!
Now everything, everything must change
IDAGIO for: Jussi Bjorling (Tenor) and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Tenor)
Disclaimer: this is not an exhaustive list of all the works curated by Clemency Burton-Hill in the book “Year of wonder: classical music for every day”. To enjoy the full catalogue of pieces proposed by the author along with her comments on the composers and the music itself, feel free to pick up her awesome book here (not affiliated, nor sponsored).