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Fri, 11 Jan 2008
The (in)Complete and Utter History of Classical Music
By Steven Fry
I asked for this book for Christmas as I wanted to start getting my head round classical music, what with the violin practice and all, and this looked like a non-threatening introduction to the subject.
In addition, if I'm honest, the BBC Reith lectures from 2007 by the musician and conductor Daniel Barenboim was also a motivator - while he may be a controversial figure (he re-introduced Wagner into Israel, and ran performances of orchestras made up of mixed Israeli and Palestinian performers), he was a powerful and thought provoking speaker.
One of the things that has always put me off classical music is the whole range of it - I mean, what people call 'classical' is about four hundred years of composers! I didn't understand the time periods that the composers were in, why one's music was different from another, and how they relate. Also, what is with with 'Symphony in G Major', followed with 'Symphony in A minor'? What's difference (yes, apart from the key, smart arse)? When you add to the fact that I hadn't consciously listened to much classical music (but its amazing how much you know, without being able to identify it to a composer), and the fact that the term 'classical' also extends to Opera, there so much to choose from.
I started to try and get my head round it last year, by tuning into as many performances of the Proms as I could. I've found that classical music is much more appealing when you've seen it performed live - especially if you're actually in the audience, and was hoping that the TV would help provide a little of that immersive experience. While it did, somewhat, I didn't get any further understanding of the composers, and the music's place within that, hence this book. Its all very well if you're education (as 'better' schools and indeed, it turns out from conversations with colleagues, Eastern European education systems, do) or upbringing exposed you to the music, so you get a sense of the shape of it, as it were, but mine didn't.
The book is very entertaining and whimsical, as you might expect from Steven Fry, but its also packed with detail and anecdotes, along with mentions of pieces that stand out by that composer. Its a short book, but it still took me several days of holiday reading to finish it, as I was constantly making notes of recordings I intended to get and listen to. Does it introduce classical music? Absolutely? Does it provide references where you can go further and explore it? Unfortunately not. Does it have an index? Unfortunately not (I mean, for heavens sake - why not!) Also, my god, but that man's smart. The book is based on a series of conversations that Steven Fry had with Tim Lihoreau on Classical Fm, and I got the impression that not only was this booked 'knocked out' after that, but it was to sell to the kind of people who might already have an idea of what they might like and might not, which is strange, given the subject matter..
So, armed with a miniscule knowledge of the composers and a list of one or two pieces by each that I thought sounded interesting, I've set myself to buying a couple of the best recordings a month and listening to them. The idea is that by the time I've finished, I'd have an idea of what I like and can start listening around that composer or era. The idea of buying the best recordings is a mixed one, though. I'm taking the advice of Heffers Music (or madhatter, when I remember to ask - or even Ed (for those of you who know him)!), as apparently the recordings differ, even of the same composer. I can't hear it myself yet, but I'm hoping my ear will attune more (as it has in orders of magnitude after a couple of years of Violin), and I'll start to see what people see in this. I'm hoping it doesn't turn out to be like the audiophiles desire for £10,000 cables to connect their stereos, and mere mortals like me won't notice the difference or, indeed, that the emperor does indeed not have new clothes, as the better recording are slightly more expensive.. As the very helpful person in the shop said, some recent studios (if thats the right word) are releasing recordings much cheaper these days, which is driving others to compete and lower their prices as well, so you can get very good performances now for about a tenner, whereas before they might be three times that. I've heard this from other sources, so he wasn't just stringing me along. I have to say, that despite the reputation, the staff at Heffers Music have been unfailingly helpful and useful, and not at all elitist and 'stuck up' as is so often the reputation. So I try and patronise their shop, despite the fact that I could get the recordings cheaper online. Not much cheaper, though, and I'd have to buy and understand a copy of the 'bible' of classical recordings - "The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music 2008". Which, actually, as I read the Amazon write up that I checked in order to get the title right, I might just do anyway - its a lot cheaper than I had presumed..So, to start, Handel's Water Music performed by 'The English Concert' and conducted by Trevor Pinnock, and "Six Concertos for the Margrave of Brandenburg" (often shortened to "The Brandenburgh Concertos"), composed by Bach, performed by the 'European Brandenburg Ensemble" and conducted, again, by Trevor Pinnock. Wish me luck! If there is demand, I might blog my thoughts on these, and other recordings as I buy them..
Interestingly, in researching Pinnock on Wikipedia, I found out that;
"Trevor Pinnock and Maxim Vengerov toured together in 2000, with Vengerov taking up the baroque violin for the first time and Pinnock taking up the modern grand piano. These concerts consisted of a first half of harpsichord and baroque violin, followed by a 2nd half of piano and modern violin."
Why is that intersting, you may ask? Well, Vengorov is the artist I have a recording of performing Ysaye's Sonata No 2, which I bought after witnessing Charlie Siem's virtuoso performance of it - its a staggeringly demanding piece of solo Violin work, and it turns out there are only a couple of performances recorded of it that Heffers could find, and the one I have is the reccommended version ("Vengerov Plays Bach, Schedrin and Ysaye", EMI Classics), hence my interest in his work. No recordings of this, I can find though.Posted at: [/books] permanent link