Così enough for you?
Wellsung is back. That's nice.
The new post concerns Karl Böhm's recording of Così fan tutte; in the interest of full disclosure, I don't really like this one. For whatever reason, I fixated on Le nozze di Figaro and Die Zauberflöte. It's a choice. Whatever.
However, among recordings of Così fan tutte, I (oddly enough) prefer Herbert von Karajan's version. It is early enough in his career (EMI/Philharmonia) that he was still good, and it has a swell cast. Karl Böhm was perhaps the greatest Mozart interpreter of the 20th century, so his recording has a good pedigree, but Von Karajan just has something extra.
I don't know where this is going, other than expressing my preference for Von Karajan's Così fan tutte. Also, check out the Wellsung post. They gave me a link. I do love publicity; I was going to say "exposure," but decided to take the high road.
posted by Patrick J. Smith @ 12:20:00 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I have also linked to you...perhaps, after the drudge fest of my blog, people can come and recieve prime Mozart to Wagner culture.
I have Bohm's Cosi, now, but I'm finding it hard to get into...then again, I find Mozart difficult in general, which is very crazy sounding, but true nonetheless...has Wagner and the later composers ruined me?
I have a hard time with Cosi, but I can get into the other stuff.
If you are deeply ingrained in the Romantic idiom, the Classical composers will necessarily be difficult. You entered into opera with Wagner's chromatic language, and are backtracking to an older idiom. It's like learning classical on Mahler and then approaching Bach.
Thanks for the link.
That's what I figured. Wagner's music takes a jackhammer to breakdown, while Mozart's seems entirely too delicate for me. Perhaps that is the key.
What is it about Cosi that you find difficult?
Incidentally, Die Fledermaus was written in 1884 (approx.). I couldn't believe it.
When you're used to driving through thick chromatic language, counterpoint and less-complicated harmonies are banal.
Cosi is hard for me because it is a smaller opera, and thus has a different form and style than the other, grander stuff. Verdi - much as I detest him - provides a more familiar musical landscape.
Post a Comment
<< Home