Review: CHOPIN AND HIS EUROPE, Mendelssohn Symphony No.3 "Scottish", The Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century. Reviewed by Tony Magee.

Having just spent another few days in Edinburgh, which I must say is the most delightful city I have visited so far, I am inspired to submit this review of another of the concerts I attended in August in Poland, the relevance of which you will see...

Mendelssohn, Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op.56, "Scottish"

The Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century

conducted by Gustavo Gimeno

Tuesday 29th August, 5pm

Warsaw Filharmonia Narodowa concert hall

This, the second last day of the Chopin Music Festival saw huge crowds gathering, most already with tickets (like me), but a sizeable proportion standing around in the hope that something would come up at the last minute. Scalping must be banned in Poland because I saw no evidence of it, but there were certainly several people whom I saw claim a last minute ticket at the box office through someone else cancelling.

I criticised the tuning of this orchestra in a previous review, however for the work featured today I have only praise for the wonderful, rich and spacious sound they produced in delivering this charming symphony by Mendelssohn. Conductor Gustavo Gimeno was in total control as he swept and gestured his musicians, who all watched him attentively but still retained flexibility and individuality either as periodic soloists or complete sections in a performance that exuded balance, control, dynamics and phrasing of such delight.

Mendelssohn conceived the idea of composing a symphony that would convey the charm and climate of Scotland, during a visit there in 1829, making some initial musical sketches that were then put aside for some time. Twelve years were to elapse before he returned to it and so the symphony is in effect a display of the composer in maturity, at least as far as a short life of only 38 years goes.

The fourth movement is probably the most familiar to audiences, partly due to its use famously (or infamously?) in the recurring 1970s television sketch Hampton Wick, starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbert.

The Orchestra of the 18th Century is a period instruments orchestra, which means the musicians play either original historic instruments or modern day copies. String players often use historic violins, violas, cellos and basses but in a full period instruments orchestra like this one, that extends through all the sections - winds, brass and even percussion. In keeping with the historic approach to music, pitch is usually A430 instead of today's A440. Even that is changing though. Many modern European orchestras now tune to A442, sometimes referred to as "Paris Pitch" and in Russia I have heard of A445 being used.

At Chamber Recording Studios in Edinburgh, where I have been a guest twice in the last month, they are tuning both pianos (a Yamaha U3 upright and a Broadwood grand) to A441.

Australia, the United States, England, Wales and Ireland are still uniformly on A440, unless a touring concert artist requests something different.

This concert concluded my musical activities in Warsaw and two days later I departed for Berlin. Poland is a beautiful country and in particular, Warsaw was special to me. Such lovely, warm and friendly people with an ambience, pride and devotion to their beloved Chopin and Paderewski, who head up the countries fascination, dedication and respect for all things musical.

Ewa Pobłocka, Polish pianist, in Canberra for recital and jury duties

by Tony Magee

The great Polish pianist Ewa Pobłocka is in Canberra during September 2017, as a jury member for the 3rd Australian International Chopin Piano Competition. I am in Warsaw at the same time, attending the Chopin and His Europe festival, which is run by her husband, Stanislaw Leszczynski. Whilst in Australia, Miss Pobłocka avails herself of my Bechstein concert grand at my house, in order to get some practice in before her recital at Llewellyn Hall on September 10.

This short biography courtesy of The Chopin Society of Atlanta:

One of the greatest pianists of her generation, Ewa Pobłocka has performed throughout Europe and in both Americas, as well as in Singapore, Korea, Japan and Australia, giving concerts with the most famous orchestras in major concert halls. 

She has repeatedly toured European countries as a Warsaw Philharmonic soloist under the baton of Kazimierz Kord and Antoni Wit. She is a versatile pianist boasting a vast repertoire, giving recitals, orchestral and chamber music concerts, willingly accompanying singers. 

She has given numerous first performances and world premiere recordings of works by Polish contemporary composers, including Andrzej Panufnik’s Piano Concerto (the first Polish performance and the premiere recording with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the composer), Witold Lutosławski’s Piano Concerto (the first Polish recording, with the Great Symphony Orchestra of the Polish Radio under the composer’s baton), Paweł Szymański’s Piano Concerto (dedicated to Ewa Pobłocka, commissioned by Radio France, whose first performance was at the Présences Festival in Paris), and Paweł Mykietyn’s Piano Concerto (also dedicated to the pianist).

Ms. Pobłocka performs for many European radio broadcasters. She has also made more than 40 records under such labels as Deutsche Grammophon, Conifer Records, Victor JVC, and CD Accord, many of which earned awards and were enthusiastically acclaimed by critics. Her most recent CD albums include Edward Grieg’s complete piano works and Johannes Brahms’ solo compositions. Forthcoming releases will feature pieces by Robert Schumann, Fryderyk Chopin’s complete songs, and a Chopin recital on a historic Pleyelpiano of 1848.

Ms. Pobłocka is also a distinguished music educator. She teaches a piano class at the Music Academy in Bydgoszcz and the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. She is also a guest professor at the music universities in Nagoya (Japan) and Calgary (Canada). She serves on the jury of many international piano competitions.

The artist has received the annual Minister of Culture Award, the Cavalier’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta from the Polish President (2004), and the presidential title of professor (2007).

Copyright © 2002-2014 Chopin Society of Atlanta

Read Clinton White's review for City News Digital Edition here.

REVIEW: CHOPIN AND HIS EUROPE, Chopin Piano Concerto in E minor, Garrick Ohlsson. At Filharmonia Naradowa, Warsaw. Reviewed by Tony Magee.

Chopin, Piano Concerto in E minor, Op. 11

Pianist Garrick Ohlsson played lyrically, expressively and with a singing tone on an historic Erard piano dating from around 1860, with the Orchestra of the 18th Century, conducted by Grzegorz Nowak.

Historic piano performances are a major, but not exclusive, part of the Chopin and His Europe festival and a favourite inclusion of festival artistic director, Stanislaw Leszczynski.

Mr Ohlsson's vast experience on the concert platform was evident tonight as he extracted all available nuance and tone colour from the aged and frail old Erard, a process of nursing it along, treating it with respect and judging how much force and power can be applied before it struggles and complains. This was the difference between an intelligent master at work and a young Lion, who treats the old instruments as if they were a modern instrument, thrashing and bashing about only to produce a distorted, blurred auditory mess.

In addition, one major premise of the Orchestra of the 18th Century is that they too choose to perform on historic instruments. Now, this is not unusual when it comes to string players. Many fine old instruments are in use amongst the violins, violas, cellos and double basses in many of the world's great orchestras, however authentic period instrument orchestras like this one, extent that to the woodwind, brass and even percussion sections as well. As a consequence, they usually tune to an historic pitch, in this case A430. The Erard piano was tuned likewise which suits the period from whence it was made and therefore the lower string tensions match the structural capabilities of the cast iron frame and sound board.

There were in this performance some odd tuning irregularities at times from the orchestra, mostly due to the valveless horns seemingly having difficulty matching the pitch of the piano. Also the historic oboes were at odds with the tempered scale in use for the piano, something that should be easy to sort out, as the music is written almost 100 years after Sebastian Bach released his Well Tempered Klavier - a series of 48 preludes and fugues designed to prove that music can sound pleasing in any key, in Bach’s case using one of the Well Temperaments, which is not equal temperament but relatively close. Anyway, it's not a complaint - just an observation.

The Polish audiences love Garrick Ohlsson. Deafening applause once again and a refusal to let him go without an encore, this time Chopin's Nocturne in E flat.

Antoni Magee

Review: CHOPIN AND HIS EUROPE Bach Harpsichord Concertos, Philharmonia Hall, Warsaw. Reviewed by Tony Magee.

Chopin and His Europe Festival 2017

Sunday 27th August, 8pm

Filharmonia Naradowa, Warszawa

Sebastian Bach: Harpsichord Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052

Sebastian Bach: Harpsichord Concerto in D major, BWV 1054

Kristian Bezuidenhout (Harpsichord)

Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century directed by Grzegorz Nowak

I'll jump straight in by saying that one word sums up tonight's concert: delicacy!

My meaning in this case is mostly that the musical offerings were delicate and delicately played, although it was also an auditory delicacy.

The term "Harpsichord Concerto" is used fairly loosely for these compositions by Bach, in that at the time of composition, the harpsichord was at its height in terms of advanced mechanism and fullness of sound, the piano was in its infancy, having been introduced in 1725 by the Italian maker Christofori, although examples of hammer action keyboard instruments do exist prior to that date. And finally, the clavichord was always present - a small and compact keyboard instrument with a very delicate sound, and sometimes regarded more as a convenient practice instrument in a home, rather than for actual performance, but it was certainly used and still is today in performance in a tiny, intimate setting.

So, what does all this mean? Very simply, the term is usually "Keyboard Concerto" and then the performers can attribute whatever specific term they like depending on the instrument at hand for performance. Bach himself annotates that these concertos can be played on any of the three types of instruments, harpsichord, clavichord or pianoforte. Bach favoured the pianos made by Silberman.

The harpsichord used in tonight's performance was a replica of an 18th century French Double and an example of the most advanced design, using two keyboard manuals, which means that the player can engage or disengage the upper keyboard which operates a separate set of strings and quills, thus giving a change in volume and richness. In every other respect though, the harpsichord is a single volume instrument. This presents a problem, in that the ability to attribute dynamics to the performance are very limited. Luckily, the presence of the chamber orchestra delivers that essential part of the sound.

The D minor concerto is a great example of the beginnings of the transition from the old style Baroque formula of Concerto Grosso into the classical style of the solo concerto. The first movement is much more closely aligned with Concerto Grosso form, in that the harpsichord part is very much a continuo with only occasional melodic solo parts. Even those are usually played in unison with the orchestra. Not until the slow movement and the third movement do we hear examples of the harpsichord as a melodic entity in its own right, with the orchestra in a much more accompanying role. Bach's sons Johan Christian, Carl Phillip Emanual and William Freidman were all to take this new form much further, paving the way for Haydn and Mozart.

The interpretation of Sebastian Bach's keyboard concertos is perhaps one of the most hotly contested and debated in the history of Western classical music. On the one hand, you have a performance like tonight's, where the orchestra has to balance with the delicate and monotone volume of the harpsichord, without drowning it out, but at the same time delivering the listener a range of dynamics that enhance and compliment the harpsichord, adding variety of tonal colour. Everything was light, crisp, unified, but also quite breezy and flowing. 

The most contrasting style of performance I can think of is Leonard Bernstein's offering from the late 1960s, with a cut-down version of the New York Philharmonic and a young Glenn Gould at a modern Steinway concert grand. Grandiose in style and arguably stodgy in places, this non-the-less is still a valid interpretation and played with great skill and passion. The Bach purists hate this kind of performance however. Certainly the concert tonight here in Poland was much more stylistically accurate and akin to what 18th century audiences would have enjoyed.

There have also been numerous examples over the years of people who claim to be able to "channel" Bach, or who claim to have some kind of God-given innate insight into what he really wanted and intended. Two notable examples are the Polish harpsichord specialist Wanda Landowska and the English medium Rosemary Brown.

Landowska created controversy when in an interview in the 1950s, she claimed that her ten fingers had been possessed by the spirit of Bach and that her rendition of the concertos and indeed all of his keyboard music was being directed by Bach himself. Previously, when asked about how stylistically different she was to other performers, she announced "...they can play Bach their way. I play Bach his way". And with that, the interview came to an abrupt end. In the interests of balance however, Landowska was and still is regarded as a supreme interpreter of the keyboard music of Bach and highly regarded as a major musical force of the 20th century, having also been on the keyboard faculty of the Curtis Institute, amongst other distinguished appointments.

Rosemary Brown created an intense media frenzy in the 1970s when she claimed that Bach had transmitted new compositions to her in a trance, which she wrote down and could then perform, miraculously, as she also claimed at first that she had never actually learned to play the piano, something she later retracted. The BBC invited her on several programs to demonstrate the pieces  before a live studio audience and experts were called in to evaluate. Most argued that Brown was a moderately competent pianist who had a certain knack for imitation and that was all. Later on she claimed to channel Claude Debussy, Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms and a host of other great composers. By then the public had lost interest and her star faded.

I haven't mentioned the D major concerto yet, but suffice to say that it too was a masterpiece of delicacy, lightness, precision and joyfullness. Music that is so perfectly balanced both as composition and is this case, performance, that it is hard to separate the two, which is the essence of a great piece of music played by the most intelligent and insightful musicians.

On a final note, I should mention that at all the concerts here in Warsaw I have attended, I estimate that about 40 percent of the audience are aged under 30. The rest of the audience are spread roughly evenly over all other age groups. The Polish people are devoted to music, particularly their beloved Chopin and Paderweski, who besides being a great pianist and composer, was also Prime Minister of Poland. Nearly every facet of life here, whether it be shopping, eating, travelling, relaxing in the park or socialising with friends is in some way connected to music, particularly Chopin. Young children, teenagers, the average shop-keeper, even the homeless and derelict wandering the streets, several of whom I have spoken with, are fully aware and knowledgeable about his music and his importance to Polish cultural life.

More to follow over the next few days.

Antoni Magee

Poland 2017 at the Palace Zdunowa

by Tony Magee

My trip to Europe and the UK in 2017 included a week in Warsaw where I attend many wonderful concerts at the Filharmonia Naradowa Concert Hall and also The Church of the Holy Cross.

Warsaw Filharmonia Naradowa Concert Hall, inside

Filharmonia Naradowa Concert Hall, Warsaw

I caught up with the acclaimed Polish pianist Łukasz Krupiński, his mother Agnieszka, his grandfather Stefan (Szczepan in Polish) and his uncle.

Internationally acclaimed Polish pianist Lucas Krupinski

Łukasz’ uncle’s home is the beautiful Palace Zdunowa about sixty kilometres out of Warsaw in the countryside. 

The Palace Zdunowa outside Warsaw

Stefan, Agnieszka Krupinski, Tony Magee, Lucas' uncle

Stefan, Lucas Krupinski, Agnieszka Krupinski, Lucas' uncle

We savoured lunch there and walked the grounds.

Masha the German Shepherd accompanied us! He took an instant liking to me, much to everyone’s surprise. He is normally a shy dog.

Tony Magee and Masha the German Shepherd at The Palace Zdunowa 2017

Review: CHOPIN AND HIS EUROPE, Filharmonia Naradowa, Warsaw, Church of the Holy Cross, Warsaw. Reviewed by Tony Magee.

So today was busy. Pianist Garrick Ohlsson at 5pm at the Filharmonia Naradowa, who played brilliantly. Bach, Szymanowski and Chopin. A huge titanic technique but also a glorious tone. Reminded me of Julius Katchen actually and also Lazar Bermann. My first outing with Szymanowski and I loved it. An odd inclusion in his piano style is his desire to extract a vibrato from the piano by swaying the finger over the key after depression - a technique well known and used all the time by string players, particularly cellists. Only thing is, the laws of physics say that moving a piano key on its mounts can do nothing to the sound made by the strings, as by then the escapement has kicked in and the hammer has moved away from the strings. However, I have seen this done before very occasionally. Jazz pianist Keith Jarrett does it sometimes for example. I experimented with it as a teenager with a pianist friend at school and we imagined we had results but...    Mr Ohlsson appeared exhausted at the end of the long and taxing program, but the audience were very appreciate - deafening applause and full standing ovation - and we were treated to three encores, one of which was the Rachmaninov Prelude in C sharp minor. Such an interesting perfomance, notable for its radical tempo changes and incredible light and shading combined with massive fortes, without bashing. There were no Lang Lang hysterics and acrobatics here - this was playing in the best old-school 19th century tradition - a huge weight technique resulting in both power and subtlety and always a golden tone.

Then at 8.30pm the Chopin piano concerto in F minor played by Yulianna Avdeeva, with Kremerata Baltica directed by Gidon Kremer. Oh, she was superb. She is obviously Eastern European trained - very high lifting of the fingers and incredible precision - where every single note counts equally and tone is generated for every note even in fast passages. The result is clarity like you've never heard before. Also the ability to extract the faintest nuances and the greatest fortissimo with equal ease. A totally relaxed player who captivated the audience. Never bashing, never percussive. Support by the string orchestra directed by Gidon Kremer was magnificent. Stunning ensemble playing. And a lush sound that achieved incredible unity - they were as one. They also all had smiles and constant gestures of joy as they played. That's something I don't see much, if at all, in Australian orchestras, except maybe in Tognetti's ACO.

Finally, at 10pm, a concert at the Church of the Holy Cross, eight blocks away, but I had 30 mins so no probs. A polish piano student, named Krzysztof Ksiazek studying at the Hanover Hochshule in an all Chopin recital, played on Erard grand piano No. 30315 (I dated it as manufactured approx 1858). A fine old instrument with new strings and tuning pins. The sound was old but still had an appealing tone, although I'm not sure how much time he had to practice on it before the concert. He played well, but the instrument was being taxed way beyond its capabilities, as he was trying to extract modern concert-grand sounds and volumes from its small frame, sound board and primitive action. It needed the lightness of touch of Chopin playing it I think to do the music justice. But, in the quiet passages, there were some beautiful moments of tone colour. Actually, I would really like to hear him on a modern piano, his technique was very fluid and he craved volume, which the piano could not deliver.

I have had the most fantastic day and evening.

On the walk home, I was approached by a guy who asked me if I was interested in a strip show with lots of beautiful live girls. I said that I had just been to a Chopin piano recital at the Church of the Holy Cross and that I felt his particular offering would not be an appropriate end to my evening. He burst out laughing and actually agreed, and bade me goodnight.

More to come soon,

Antoni Magee

Apartament 502, Rezydencja 1898

72 Marszalkowska Str.

Warszawa 00-676

Polski

Is this the Real-Life Tintin?

Do you know many fifteen year olds who would circumnavigate the globe in 44 days, dressed as dapperly as the Prince of Wales? Probably not, because, well … kids these days. 

In 1928, to mark the centennial of the author Jules Verne, the Danish newspaper Politiken held a competition challenging teenage boys to travel the globe unaccompanied in under 46 days. The competition’s winner would receive financial assistance but have to make use of all forms of transport except aviation.

A young fresh-faced red-head Dane by the name of Palle Huld, who was working as a clerk in a car dealership, answered the challenge and won. Palle embarked on his adventure, documented by the newspaper, and returned to Copenhagen a hero that Spring of 1928, unmistakeable in his signature breeches, flat cap and overcoat, a style that would become synonymous with another certain adventurer…

Tintin is the star of the comic books that sold more than 200 million volumes worldwide. Dressed almost identically to Palle Huld, the adventurous young character created by Belgian cartoonist Hergé, first appeared in Le Petit Vingtième, a weekly children’s supplement of a Belgian newspaper in 1929, just months after Huld’s triumphant return to Copenhagen.

Like Huld, the first Tintin was portrayed with bright red hair and freckles and received a similar heroes welcome at the end of the first book Tintin In The Land Of The Soviets. 

Palle’s journey had taken him through the Soviet Union, including foreigner-unfriendly Moscow, as far as Japan, China and Canada, all the way back to Europe via England, Scotland, Poland and Germany, all by train and passenger line. When he returned, he had to be body surfed out of the crowd by policemen.

Before his death at the age of 98, Huld claimed he had never read Tintin comics. After shooting to fame as a teenager, he later became a successful Danish film actor and writer, appearing in 40 films. 

Hergé never revealed his true inspirations behind his iconic comic character, always telling the press, “Tintin, c’est moi!”.*

Some Tintinologists (yes, that’s a real thing you can be) also argue Hergé had another inspiration; a French war and travel photojournalist by the name of Robert Sexe, who circumnavigated the globe by motorbike with his pal René Milhoux. Tintin’s sidekick, Snowy the dog, was originally called Milou in French. They also toured the Soviet Union, the Congo and the US in the same sequence as Tintin’s first three books.

Palle Huld also continued travel to faraway lands, by motorbike as well. I found this photograph of Huld on his return from the Persian Gulf in 1937.

First published at MESSY NESSY, July 11, 2017

*[Ed: It is believed that TinTin is also based in part on the author's younger brother Paul Remi]

Record Store Day's Stanley Kubrick connection in Canberra

Monday April 17, 2017

by Stephen Jeffrey

When A Clockwork Orange hit cinema screens in 1971, it sent shockwaves through the community.

While the cult following heaped praise and acclaim on director Stanley Kubrick and lead actor Malcolm McDowell, it also elevated a futuristic-looking record player into a rare collectors item.

Tony Magee at Duratone Hifi celebrating Record Store Day with a rare record player that featured in
A Clockwork Orange. Photo: Rohan Thomson

In celebration of Record Store Day, Phillip's Duratone Hi-Fi shop dusted off one of the few working J A Michell Transcriptor Hydraulic Reference turntables in Australia for display on Saturday.

The store's music specialist, Tony Magee said the record player was almost as popular as the rare albums on offer among enthusiasts who swarmed the shop for the celebration of all things vinyl.

The record player became a cult hit due to its appearance in A Clockwork Orange and its modern style, with some fetching up to $10,000 at sales.

"When people see the movie, they often think it was made specially for it, but it is actually a real product," he said.

"We've had some customers have their photo taken with it simply because of that connection, so for fans of that film, it was quite special and they were actually unable to believe we had it here.”

The store, which specialises in classical and jazz acoustic records, also received a shipment of classic rock and pop in time for Record Store Day.

Mr Magee said the store had been busiest in the morning and had improved on crowds at Duratone's first participation in Record Store Day last year.

Further north, Landspeed Records in the city was packed with music fans, who lined both the inside and outside of the store in their search for rare vinyls.

Enthusiasts were lined up for hours waiting for the store to open in the hope they could get their hands on limited Record Store Day releases from scores of artists.

At Weston Creek, Songland Records donated the proceeds from the sale of used records, CDs or DVDs to the RSPCA.

The 2017 celebration of indie record stores marked 10 years since the idea was conceived in the United States.

Shadow Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism spokesman Anthony Albanese is this year's official Record Store Day sponsor in Australia.

First published in The Canberra Times, April 22, 2017

An Evening with A.J. van den Hul

by Tony Magee

Thought I'd share my experience meeting A.J. van den Hul in 2017. The event was called "An Evening With A.J. van den Hul" and was presented by Audio Active Australia who were the VDH importers at the time (it's now The Sound and Vision Group).

Held at Hyatt Hotel Canberra, the guts of the event were AJ making one of his Crimson MC carts from scratch. His hands worked methodically and expertly as he crafted the unit by hand. A camera was set up close to his hands and the work-bench and we could see everything on a large screen as he progressed. It took about 1.5 hours.

He was full of humour and very welcoming of questions. 

Staff from both of Canberra's main audio retailers were there - Duratone Hi-Fi and Miranda Hi-Fi (I was with Duratone, I retired in June 2019) plus a few members of the general public.

AJ supports an orphanage in Victoria and he donated all the funds raised at the resulting auction of the Crimson at the conclusion of the event.

It was a superb evening. I’ll always remember AJ with fondness and admiration.

Myself at left with AJ, March 14 2017, Hyatt Hotel Canberra

My name badge (I made all the name badges for the Duratone staff)

The finished product. Van den Hul Crimson Moving Coil cartridge. AJ supported an orphanage in Victoria and funds raised from the resulting auction of the cartridge at the conclusion of the evening were donated to them.