‘There’s so much information from Beethoven and so little information about how to interpret it,’ Benjamin Zander says in the midst of rehearsals
Benjamin Zander is convinced Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony should sound far different than most people are accustomed to hearing it, and the soon-to-be 84-year-old conductor will race through it in about an hour during performances in Boston and New York this week.
A two-time Grammy Award nominee, Zander will lead the Boston Philharmonic in performances on Friday night at Boston’s Symphony Hall and on Sunday afternoon at New York’s Carnegie Hall. Both were planned for 2020, the 250th anniversary year of Beethoven’s birth, but were postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Zander said the second performance required $650,000 in fundraising to mount.
“I have long been thinking of abandoning these nonsensical terms allegro, andante, adagio, presto,” Beethoven wrote in an 1817 letter to Hofrat von Mosel, “and Mälzel’s metronome gives us the best opportunity to do so.” “Ben is hypervigilant to the wishes of the composer,” timpanist Ed Melzter said. “Many other conductors decide that they like the way it’s going to sound, and so they choose to play it that way.”
“This polemic resists any dogmatic answer,” said conductor James Conlon, music director of the LA Opera and principal conductor of Italy’s Orchestra RAI. “There are powerful arguments on both sides. I am not against performing Beethoven at the speeds suggested by the metronome. But I would say categorically: If the resulting performance is bereft of expression, emotional weight, and nuances of phrasing and dynamics, the hoped for virtue of the presumed `correct’ speed, is nullified.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
P.E.I. Symphony Orchestra playing third show at Confederation Centre of the Arts March 5 | SaltWireCHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — The P.E.I. Symphony Orchestra is performing its third concert at the Confederation Centre of the Arts on March 5. The show, ...
Read more »
Kane nets hat trick, Blackhawks beat Leafs 5-3Patrick Kane had his ninth career regular-season hat trick, rookie Cole Guttman scored the game winner and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 Sunday night.
Read more »
Patrick Kane lights up Maple Leafs, talks Toronto trade rumourAs the March 3 NHL trade deadline approaches, few players will be discussed more than Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane. In the meantime, the three-time Stanley Cup champion put on a show and netted his ninth-career hat trick in a 5-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Read more »
P.E.I. Symphony Orchestra playing third show at Confederation Centre of the Arts March 5 | SaltWireCHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — The P.E.I. Symphony Orchestra is performing its third concert at the Confederation Centre of the Arts on March 5. The show, ...
Read more »
Kane nets hat trick, Blackhawks beat Leafs 5-3Patrick Kane had his ninth career regular-season hat trick, rookie Cole Guttman scored the game winner and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 Sunday night.
Read more »
Mosquitoes to be performed at Al Whittle Theatre in Wolfville, N.S. | SaltWireThe Wolfville Theatre Collective has a new production coming up in early March. Mosquitoes by Lucy Kirkwood is a recent British play first staged in 2017. | SaltWire
Read more »