Music to my ears
What the classical world has been listening to this month
We pianists should imitate maestros like Yevgeny Mravinsky more in Tchaikovsky
The Jubilee Quartet
Tereza Privratska (violin): I have recently been listening to Schubert Lieder on my drive to work. The variety of colours that baritone Christian Gerhaher and pianist Gerold ★ubert achieve is wonderful, and Schubert’s natural phrasing always leaves me inspired for the string quartets we may be currently working on. At the moment, my favourite one is ‘Der Zwerg’. As the title suggests there is a dwarf, plus there is also a queen – not all stories have a happy ending and this one is particularly shocking.
Julia Loucks (violin): I saw the drummer Yussef Dayes in action for the first time a few weeks ago and have been enthralled by his playing ever since. There is a fantastic Youtube video of ‘Love Is The Message’, a live recording at Abbey Road featuring Alfa Mist, Mansur Brown and Rocco Palladino. The single-shot video creates this incredible atmosphere that captures the sizzling energy between the performers, and really allows the listener to feel completely immersed in the music as they create it.
Toby White (cello): Lately I have been listening to the album In My Room by Jacob Collier. This album is just so much fun to listen to; it is a mix of original songs and covers that take you through a world of styles and moods, with never a dull moment. The way Jacob freely creates his music is so refreshing. It is a treat to listen to and it brings an honesty and freedom to the music despite being extremely sophisticated in its conception. And also…
Lorena Cantó Woltèche (viola): I’ve enjoyed the book Peak: How all of us can achieve extraordinary things by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool. In it, they examine spectacular people such as Mozart and explore how they came to be labelled ‘geniuses’ for being so good at what they do. It challenges the belief that some things are innate and probes deeply into the science of learning and improving. The Jubilee Quartet’s debut release of Haydn Quartets (Rubicon Classics) is out now
Barry Douglas Pianist
I’m listening to a lot of Tchaikovsky at the moment because I’m recording a set of his music. The Tchaikovsky String Quartets played by the Borodin Quartet is straight, passionate and technically brilliant. It’s a no nonsense approach. They play in such a direct way but when there is a marker for a climax or turn in the road, they give it such depth and weight that it doubles the value of the moment.
Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony is one of my favourite works, particularly the recording by Yevgeny Mravinsky. It’s like the Borodin Quartet’s performance but on a wider scale. It’s chiselled, it’s clear, it’s detailed – and it’s all done in one take! We pianists should imitate big maestros like that more. So many conductors pull this piece apart and make it all romantic and schmaltzy – you don’t need to do that with Tchaikovsky. ★e’s noble and sincere. I want to get that same purity when I play Tchaikovsky.
After quite a while of not getting
Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde off the shelves, I was home alone and and played the whole of it on full blast. It’s conducted by herbert von Karajan with tenor Jon Vickers and soprano helga Dernesch in the title roles. Apart from Karajan’s obvious mastery, Jon Vickers has an epic quality. he doesn’t sing it ‘nicely’ – he’s got grit, he’s got rawness, he’s got power. The struggle in his voice is extraordinary.
And also…
I visited Newgrange near Drogheda, a burial chamber built even before the Egyptian pyramids. The time to go and see it is actually 21 December, because that’s when the sun rises and light comes through the small aperture at the front of the monument and it lights up the whole burial chamber. Barry Douglas performs at the Leeds Piano Festival, 5 & 6 April Brindley Sherratt Bass I’m a bit of a Beethoven fan, and I’m listening to his piano concertos at the moment. I like the recording of Piano Concerto No. 1 by pianist Alfred Brendel, with Simon Rattle conducting. If you watch Brendel play, he doesn’t look as if he’s doing anything at all – but he makes the piano sing. I don’t often like to listen to singers, as that’s my job, but I find the sound of the piano incredibly relaxing and soothing.
I just love Beethoven’s Fifth and Seventh Symphonies, particularly in the recording by the Vienna Philharmonic and conductor Carlos Kleiber. No. 7 is my go-to piece for a pick-me-up. It’s the unbridled joy of the music that I find life enhancing. And for me eit’s also about the rhythm, which is why I like Berlioz as well. With Beethoven there’s always a driving rhythm and slightly bonkers edge to what he does. It’s unpredictable. Perfect ipod stuff.
I’m listening to Wagner’s Götterdämmerung, as I’m singing the role of agen in two years.
I’m just doing a slow burn, playing it all the time so it goes in intravenously. It’s incredible music. I like the recording conducted by Georg Solti, with Gottlob Frick as agen. e sings the part, he doesn’t just bay or yell. It’s quite easy with agen to concentrate on being loud and shouty, but he sings it firmly, powerfully and beautifully. It’s a proper German sound.
And also…
I love non-fiction, historical books. I’ve just read a couple about Scott of the Antarctic, and I’m now on my second Ernest Shackleton book. Before that
I was reading about Winston Churchill. Maybe it’s about inspiration. They faced things that none of us will ever face. I love that derring-do attitude. Brindley Sherratt appears in
Billy Budd at the Royal Opera House from 23 April