Composers conducting their own works

You may have known from the movie Amadeus that in the old time, composers usually took up the responsibility to conduct their own works in concerts. This is certainly not a bad idea. After all, who knows the works better than the composers themselves? Also, as the ensemble was usually under-rehearsed in the premiere (even for performances nowadays...?) struggling with possibly unfinished hand-written score, it was better to let composers handling their own business...

                 'Mozart conducting Mozart' (Source: Amadeus, 1984)

The tradition of composer being a conductor can be traced back to Mendelssohn, Berlioz, Wagner. Thanks to modern technology, we are fortunate to hear some of the foremost composers showing the most authentic rendition of their pieces. Here is an example:

Richard Strauss conducting Don Juan 

(who knows what the musicians were thinking when they first played this notoriously difficult tone poem...)

Mahler was the subscription conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic during the years 1898-1901. Although there is no available recording of his conducting, we can have a glimpse of his own interpretation and musical insight from his piano playing:

       Mahler playing excerpts from Symphonies No.4 and No. 5

Finally, legendary conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker, Wilhelm Furtwängler, reversely had a lesser-known identity as a composer. Here is the recording of his complicated and lengthy Symphony No. 2:

Furtwängler conducting Symphony No. 2

Czerny Symphony no. 2

Czerny is a nightmare for many pianists. He is very famous for his tedious piano etudes. But not many people realize that he is also a prolific composer. He composed a very large number of pieces (up to Op. 861), including not only piano music (études, nocturnes, 11 sonatas, opera theme arrangements and variations) but also masses and choral music, 6 symphonies, concertos, songs, string quartets and other chamber music.

Here is his symphony no. 2 in D published in 1847. You may notice how similar it is to Beethoven's symphonic works and how conservative he was. It actually sounds much better than his piano etudes.

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Beethoven 5th salsa arrangement

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What does the clarinet sound like in the nineteenth century?

Photo credit: Andrew Simon

When you are seating in an orchestra or wind band, most clarinetists are using the Boehm system (or the French system). However, back in the 19th century, the clarinet that Brahms heard from the clarinet virtuoso, Richard Mühlfeld (1856-1903), was very different from what we hear and see nowadays.

Here's a photo of a modern clarinet:

(Photo credit from: http://www.buffet-crampon.com/en/instruments/clarinets/vintage/ )

And here's a photo of A and Bb clarinets, which were owned by Mühlfeld.

Photo credit: http://www.schwenk-und-seggelke.de/englisch/klarinetten_historisch.php 

From the above photos, it is not difficult to find out the material and the key systems were very different from each other. Therefore, the sound of 19th century's clarinets differed a lot from what we heard now.

This is a short video featuring Brahms'Sonata for Clarinet and Piano in Eb Major, op.120 No.2. You can see and hear how the modern clarinet and a copy of Mühlfeld's clarinet perform this Sonata. 

Lastly, I found a version of Brahms' Clarinet Quintet featuring Charles Neidich, one of the most renowned clarinet masters in the world. Neidich played this piece with clarinet in A which is similar to Mulfield's. I hope that these videos could give you a more in-depth idea on how the sound of clarinet inspired Brahms to compose his influential clarinet masterpieces.

How much does it take to produce the "Berliner" sound?

Everyone who has played in an orchestra would have a love-hate relationship with the conductor. On the one hand, it is the conductor who puts the orchestra together. On the other hand, the conductor, as the only speaker in a rehearsal, can also give the orchestra such a hard time...

Let's take a look at the rehearsal Romanian maestro Celibidache conducted. As he returned to the Berliner Philharmoniker after nearly 30 years, he gave them quite a 'lesson' on playing Bruckner Symphony No. 7:

(things get serious from 2:30...)

And of course, viola section is also the victim...

So, next time when a rehearsal gets tough, relax! Even the best orchestra has been there after all.

A Little Ground Bass Goes A Loooooooooooong Way ....

Well Brahms wasn't the only one who knew the secret. Everyone from Johann Pachelbel to the Beatles knew it ...

And if you haven't heard the splendid finale of the Fourth Symphony yet, here's Mr. Bernstein to walk you through it.