The star(t).
Prokofiev: tiptoeing across a minefield (passim, but e.g.
the 5th piano concerto).
Clara Haskil and Klemperer in Mozart’s 20th
concerto – what slips she makes, what a great recording.
Robert Casadesus and Mitropoulos in the ‘Emperor’. Probably
Beethoven’s least interesting concerto? There is something foursquare, stolid,
stodgy about it: something imperial
in a ‘Premier Empire’ sense? But the odd rubatos in the conducting hint at
something more complex, hidden currents of anxiety and tenderness. (These are
all that count, no?)
Hollywood – and celebrity culture in general – confuses the
levels. I might love the characters played by Kristin Scott Thomas (to choose
an example that leaves me relatively lukewarm), but do I want to know about her
pets, her lovers, her dresses, her perfume? Or… am I missing the point, which might be precisely this confusion of
levels?
Schubert symphony 2 – so fresh! Played by Moscow. (What did
I mean, ‘Moscow’? And yet: Schubert in
Moscow).
Haydn symphony 98, cond. Bernstein – oddly slow, ponderous
trillings, but with feeling. The fate of a symphony is here, now – it is alive
here, now. This is such a great symphony. – The slow mvt is too heartonsleevish.
But also moving. Listen, listen.
Why shouldn’t I become a Catholic because of Venice?
Academics: reproduction of the academic labour force. ‘Be
like us!’
The Explore section in the science museum: full of wonder.
