For more performances like this one, please visit the Benjamin Zander Center - www.benjaminzander.org/ Benjamin Zander (conductor) Boston Philharmonic Orchestra Recorded live at Jordan Hall in October, 2019
jeez. this is just the textbook definition of music. It's got everything "music" should have -- almost feels like every moment and transition is obvious and inevitable. If an alien were to come to earth and ask what is music --- I mean this is it. It's the most music of any music out there.
A very competent performance. I love Zander but did you notice that despite his quoting the saying “The conductor should have the score in his head, not his head in the score” he virtually never raised his eyes from the page.
@@FranzFischerSDG I don't have good visual memory, so I rely on my score when I conduct opera. But I do look up as much as I can, especially to give cues. Every young musician knows this overture by heart, it is so often played--in fact the opening 1st violin passage in the Allegro is such a standard audition excerpt that even mediocre violinists play it perfectly. Z. knows nothing about opera.
@@philipkuttner7945 I wonder why second violin part is chosen in auditions as opposed to the first. I'm playing this with my orchestra now and thought I didn't need to practice. Boy, was I wrong.
Thank you Benjamin and the Elves: Things worthy of note the Trumpets being German style. ( Trombones?) The Concert Mistress trying her hardest to take the violins along with her and they were still being reticent ( probably they had not put in their Ling Ling quota) More thoughts below what has been forgotten?
It says the magic flute but I didn’t see the flute as a main instrument in the orchestra, I kept waiting till end waiting for the flute to mesmerized my ears 😢
Don't know why but I just couldn't like this version, nevermind how much I adore Zander's Beethoven renditions. Cannot exactly put the finger on it, but I felt it being a bit flat and lacking dynamisms, energy and passion. When Zander conducts Beethoven you can see he is enjoying, that he's in heaven, contrary to this. Sorry Maestro 😔
I'l tell you why you couldn't like this version. 1. Adagio mm.5 and 7, he doesn't bring the wind sfp 's down to piano, so the 1st violin melody is drowned out. Mm.9 and 11, he ignores the 2nd violin crescendos to subito piano, which are the only interesting things happening in these measures. 3. The Allegro tempo is deathly slow. At this rate, the opera would last 5 hours.
@@philipkuttner7945 my conductor got mad at me because I studied this version and played it too slow. Ugh I didn't bother listening to any other recordings because I was lazy
@@philipkuttner7945 But Klemperer's allegro is roughly the same, yet it does not feel slow because there is more attention to detail and balance and, believe it or not, because there is more energy.. Maestro Zander is usually never wanting in energy and high spirits but that seems to be the case here.
As so often the professionalism of the orchestra makes up for deficiencies in conducting decisions. Esp. true with the awkward pickups at the start and with the big chords in the middle - I would have had to guess my entry in that situation. Allegro lacks urgency: faster tempo needed. Muti with the Vienna Phil is much clearer as a conductor and the music has more drive. I would say the orchestra is a little too large. I prefer a leaner and cleaner sound. However the magisterial approach can be justified given the 'Masonic' ideas in the opera itself.
