MusicThe next time you get into the car, turn the radio on to a classical music station. Odds are that a work will already be playing. Try to identify the composer and the piece. This may be easy or difficult depending on the obscurity of the composer (the list seems endless, even for composers grouped by a particular suffix: Zerlini, Rutini, Sacchini, Martini, Tartini …), the work (Bruckner’s Double Zero Symphony or anything by pupils of Weber or Mendelssohn is just scratching the surface), or both. For experienced practitioners, the ultimate test is the correct identification of the performer. While this may seem recherché, certain artists are relatively easy to spot due to their highly individual tonal characteristics and repertoires. New York audiences recently had the opportunity to hear two such individuals at Carnegie Hall. The pianists Earl Wild and Leon Fleisher each possess an unmistakable style ... This article is available to subscribers and for individual purchaseSubscribe to TNC (Print and Online editions) Subscribe to TNC (Online only) This article originally appeared in The New Criterion, Volume 14 February 1996, on page 56 Copyright © 2012 The New Criterion | www.newcriterion.com http://www.newcriterion.com/articles.cfm/twopianists-penrose-3666
rate this article for your user profile
E-mail to friend
|
On the lasting power of the composer & his tumultuous life. A review of The Triumph of Music: The Rise of Composers, Musicians and Their Art by Tim Blanning.
Webcasts
Anthony Daniels on the Euro Crisis
Andrew C. McCarthy: The Muslim Threat
Roger Kimball: The Grim Future of Statism Weblog 
|
add a comment
you must have an account to post a comment. {register now}