home > browse > view article

Bluffer's Guide to Classical Music 6

  Tobias

Into the 20th Century

Things started to get really wild in the first half of the 20th Century. Composers such as Berg, Schoenberg and Webern decided melody and harmony were unnecessary luxuries, and pretty much chucked them out the window.

Despite the avant-terrorism of the aforementioned, the 20th Century really starts with Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971). In many ways he was to classical music what Picasso was to art: irascible, eclectic and convinced of his own genius. But, like Picasso, he produced work of undeniable excellence, even if he did manage to annoy most of the establishment along the way.

Nothing he was to do subsequently managed to annoy people quite as much as his early ballet, The Rite of Spring (1913). While it is now widely regarded as the greatest composition of the 20th Century, it was so shocking to contemporary audiences it caused a riot at its Paris premiere. Granted, that may have been the result of the apparently awful dancers, rather than the barbaric, violent music, which depicts pagan rituals. But it’s a good story, either way.

Rather less fuss was made of Pulcinella. Based around music attributed to Pergolesi, an 18th Century Italian, it’s a much tamer beast than The Rite.

It also shows just what an inventive orchestrator Stravinsky was. It’s an aspect of his music that’s often overlooked, possibly because so much emphasis has been placed on Stravinsky’s power and rhythmic drive. There are excellent recordings of both works with Stravinsky actually conducting. The sound on the CBS discs can be a bit ropey, and sometimes the orchestra struggles to keep up, but the composer’s own performances have never been surpassed for their intensity.

Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975) was, like Stravinsky, a Russian. Unlike Stravinsky, who got out of Russia when things started getting dodgy, Shostakovich stayed there for much of his life. Bad move.He was in turn feted and then condemned by the Soviet regime, which came to see his music as degenerate and counter-revolutionary. It was not until the death of Stalin in 1953 that things picked up for him.

Much of his music reflects the emotional torment caused by his tribulations, especially the string quartets – the best music written in that form since Beethoven – and his later symphonies.For some of the heavy stuff, listen to the 12th Symphony. Intense, booming, flawed and great to listen to. Get Bernard Haitink’s recording on Decca.

If you’re in the mood for something a bit lighter, go for the Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and Strings. There are many recordings of this, but I’d recommend Shostakovich’s own, released on EMI. He takes the opening at a daringly slow tempo, but in doing so manages to draw out the bitter irony of the music in a way no other pianist has.

Bluffer’s Guide Extra: Where to go Next…

Richard Strauss (1864-1949) should, under no circumstances, be confused with the awful Johann Strauss II, who was responsible for all those wretched waltzes. Richard Strauss was a more conventional composer than either Stravinsky or Shostakovich, and wasn’t beyond writing the odd clunker either. Although he’s best known for Also Sprach Zarathustra – aka “That Boom Boom Boom Music from 2001: A Space Odyssey” – his finest music was written towards the end of his life. His Oboe Concerto is as beautiful a work as has ever been written for that instrument. Get the two-disc set of Strauss concertos on Decca. And for pity’s sake, don’t be without a recording of Strauss’ Four Last Songs, preferably Elisabeth Schwarzkopf’s legendary performance on EMI.

By Richard Betts

Thanks to Megan Johnson of Thread for the Support

Source: Thread, New Zealand's Fashion Culture Magazine