Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
A composer and conductor whose early career was cut short by the Nazis; he was forced to flee to Britain, where he was neglected for decades before being redisc
On the island
Eight records
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Karel Ančerl
When I heard it the first time conducted by Klemperer in Berlin, I was completely overwhelmed by its originality.
Presentation of the Silver Rose (from Der Rosenkavalier)
Hilde Gueden and Sena Jurinac, Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Erich Kleiber
That scene is the prototype of youthful love, which at that age I had experienced... it was again a performance which I had seen conducted by the grand old man, namely Richard Strauss.
Jan Pospíchal, Wolfgang Klos, Wilfried Rehm
The vividness and the impulse and the conviction with which it must have been written down impressed me enormously.
Symphony No. 10 (flute solo from the finale)
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Simon Rattle
When we performed the whole work, brought the invited audience to tears.
Nocturne (from Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, Op. 31)
Peter Pears, London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Benjamin Britten
Generally my selection of records is very optimistic, but at my age, at one point of this programme, one has got to think of death, and that was would be the moment now.
Goldberg Variations, Variation No. 26
The greatest master in music, the Bach... The Goldberg variations, which is deeply philosophical and humorous to an in very, very high degree.
Scherzo from Roméo et Juliette (Queen Mab)
Montreal Symphony Orchestra conducted by Charles Dutoit
I think I owe him a lot for that break through into the French musical scene.
Scherzo from A Midsummer Night's Dream
Berlin Symphony Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy
Which encapsulates the whole of human life, birth, development, drama, catastrophe, smoothing out, fading out and death.
In conversation
Presenter asks
1:18What [enemies] do you have in mind, Mr Goldschmidt?
Well, there are so many that I wouldn't wouldn't start enumerating them.
Presenter asks
2:34How does it feel these days to be feted once more? Do you derive a deep satisfaction from it, or are you rather amused?
I'm rather amused because these ups and downs are something natural throughout one's cultural life and throughout [the] history of art.
Presenter asks
2:55In any pleasure you feel at this Indian summer you're enjoying now, there must be some regret that it didn't happen before.
There is, of course, a certain regret, because life is passing by and one wants to enjoy a little bit of fruit, even if it's only a small ration.
Presenter asks
12:06How did you survive [during the Nazi period]? How did you make a living?
The keepsakes
The book
Thomas Mann
which depicts the fate and the story and the success of Joseph, who was first lost in the depths of a well without any hope. Rescued, landed in a foreign country. and eventually made the grade. And turned out. It will be a great success.
The luxury
Because I hate beards, I want to be able to shave myself. And there must be a pair of scissors in it, and also a metal mirror.
That was very difficult. Private lessons, which according to the law we are not allowed to give to non-Jewish people... giving piano lessons, coaching singers, piano lessons, teaching harmony and composition.
Presenter asks
12:32What made you decide to go [leave Germany] in the end?
Well, I was summoned to the headquarters of the Gestapo... I appeared on the dot... [after a long interrogation and a discussion about music] he turned over to me and said, 'Get out of this country as soon as you can.'
Presenter asks
22:42Can you describe why your music was deemed old-fashioned? What was wrong about it?
Beatriz [Beatrice] Cenci, I wrote in forty-nine, fifty, when there was an enormous interest in opera... I decided it would be a good idea to write a Bel Canto opera... But for the musical establishment it was too melodic, it was too bel canto or something.
“I miss my enemies. It would have been nice to show them.”
“Schoenberg... stretched out his hand and said 'I congratulate you. Your work has had quite a success.'”
“[Shostakovich] got a little pale and [Sollertinsky] turned to him and mumbled something and then he turned to me: 'But Dmitri has just finished writing this off [Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk].'”
“Out of this larger family, twenty-two members perished in Auschwitz and Belsen, in Sachsenhausen, in Dachau and so forth.”
“[After the breakthrough in Berlin] that was a terrific feeling: the justification for the fact that I've stayed my course.”