Richard Wagner and Lighter Fare

Richard Wagner and Lighter Fare

This Week in Classical Music: Might 20, 2024.  Wagner and Lighter Issues.  Richard Wagner’s 211^th anniversary is on Might 22^nd: he was born in Leipzig in 1813.  Wagner’s music is nonetheless so contemporary (and infrequently so controversial) that it feels unusual that he was solely two years youthful than his stepfather, Franz Liszt, and three years youthful than Frédéric Chopin and Robert Schumann, whose locations within the pantheon of European music have been established a very long time in the past.  Hitler’s love for his music didn’t assist Wagner’s repute, and neither did the composer’s abhorrent antisemitism.  But when we put the non-musical issues apart (and we acknowledge that it’s simpler stated than accomplished), what we’ve got is a musical genius, effectively forward of his contemporaries, a composer whose music influenced generations of musicians all around the world, typically in very sudden methods (suppose, for instance, of the orchestral works of Claude Debussy, who had a love-hate relationship with Wagner).

Liebestod, or Love Loss of life in German, is the ultimate music of Wagner’s opera Tristan und Isolde, and certainly one of his best-known items.  In it, Isolde sings over Tristan’s useless physique.  It’s a troublesome piece, particularly contemplating it comes on the finish of an nearly five-hour opera.  In our library we’ve got three recordings of this scene, with Kirsten Flagstad, Birgit Nilsson and Waltraud Meier; all three had been main Wagnerian sopranos of their technology.  We like all three, however Flagstad’s in all probability probably the most, despite the fact that the recording high quality will not be nice.  Right here it’s, from 1936, with Fritz Reiner conducting the orchestra of the Royal Opera Home (Covent Backyard).

On a a lot lighter word is the anniversary of Jean Françaix, whose music was sunny, witty and complex.  Françaix was born on Might 23^rd of 1912 in Le Mans.  His musical presents had been apparent from an early age.  He studied in Le Mans after which on the Paris Conservatory.  He additionally took classes with Nadia Boulanger, who thought-about him certainly one of her most proficient pupils, a reward of the best order contemplating the numerous proficient musicians who studied along with her.  Right here’s Jean Françaix’s Concertino for Piano and Orchestra.  The soloist is Claude Françaix, the composer’s daughter.  The London Symphony Orchestra is carried out by Antal Dorati.