Post by Crusoe on May 17, 2006 5:46:47 GMT -5
This was an interesting one – not nearly as “dry” as I thought it might be (although some may quibble about the licence fee being used to fly out to Israel to conduct the programme). I suppose It was a spin off from the Reith Lectures and there was clearly a good rapport between Sue and Daniel (I thought there was even a slightly flirty air about it, at times).
His life story is obviously highly eventful and his passion for music was clear. I was particularly interested by his views on practice, in that he does not believe that too many repetitive exercises are a good thing for expression. I have to admit that I had thought (as a non-musician) that relentless practice would be a good thing, making the physical movements automatic, so that the player could concentrate on the appropriate feeling. Shows you how much I know
He came across as a bit of an innocent in his younger years, his love for music being greater than any concern regarding other issues but perhaps that is part of youth. His later concern with the situation in the West Bank seems to make up for this and his work with Edward Said in establishing West-Eastern Divan orchestra was both laudable and a demonstration of someone doing something positive for something they believe in.
I was slightly uncomfortable with the bits about his marriage to Jacqueline Du Pre, during the later stages of her illness. It seemed a bit like he wanted the best of both worlds, living with his mistress but being glad that the newspapers did not report it. It seemed a little cowardly, somehow: if he was really that concerned about his wife’s feelings, would he have been living with his mistress? Perhaps I am being a bit harsh though and there seemed to be an implication that the affair was known about and accepted.
It is hard to fault the musical choices of someone who so clearly lives for music, although none of them would co-incide with my choices. The performances chosen were all enjoyable and, like the interview as a whole, not as “dry” as I had anticipated. But I wasn’t sure about his idea of taking scores rather than records, it struck me as having a touch of the Elisabeth Schwarzkopfs about it but, again, I may be being a little harsh on him.
All in all, I thought it was a reasonable start to the new series.
His life story is obviously highly eventful and his passion for music was clear. I was particularly interested by his views on practice, in that he does not believe that too many repetitive exercises are a good thing for expression. I have to admit that I had thought (as a non-musician) that relentless practice would be a good thing, making the physical movements automatic, so that the player could concentrate on the appropriate feeling. Shows you how much I know
He came across as a bit of an innocent in his younger years, his love for music being greater than any concern regarding other issues but perhaps that is part of youth. His later concern with the situation in the West Bank seems to make up for this and his work with Edward Said in establishing West-Eastern Divan orchestra was both laudable and a demonstration of someone doing something positive for something they believe in.
I was slightly uncomfortable with the bits about his marriage to Jacqueline Du Pre, during the later stages of her illness. It seemed a bit like he wanted the best of both worlds, living with his mistress but being glad that the newspapers did not report it. It seemed a little cowardly, somehow: if he was really that concerned about his wife’s feelings, would he have been living with his mistress? Perhaps I am being a bit harsh though and there seemed to be an implication that the affair was known about and accepted.
It is hard to fault the musical choices of someone who so clearly lives for music, although none of them would co-incide with my choices. The performances chosen were all enjoyable and, like the interview as a whole, not as “dry” as I had anticipated. But I wasn’t sure about his idea of taking scores rather than records, it struck me as having a touch of the Elisabeth Schwarzkopfs about it but, again, I may be being a little harsh on him.
All in all, I thought it was a reasonable start to the new series.
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