Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
A classical pianist and conductor, regarded as one of the finest exponents of classical music, a music director of the first rank, and a BBC Reith lecturer.
On the island
Eight records
Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21: I. Maestoso
Arthur Rubinstein, Philharmonia Orchestra and Carlo Maria Giulini
He knew my parents when my mother was pregnant with me, so he re literally knew me before I was I was born and was always a source of great encouragement throughout my life.
Symphony No. 4 in D minor, Op. 120: IV. Langsam - Lebhaft
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Wilhelm Furtwängler
Furtwengler to me symbolizes somebody who really articulated very profoundly the n very nature of music making.
Piano Sonata No. 17 in D major, D. 850: IV. Rondo. Moderato con delicatezza
There was something so lively and do you say felicious? Can you say that? Felicitous. Felicitous in his sound. And this has always been one of my favorite records.
Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85: I. Adagio - Moderato
Jacqueline du Pré, BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sir John Barbirolli
I was so struck by the quality of the performance. And it was a tour that took place in January 1967, very shortly after we met.
Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64: I. Allegro molto appassionato
Nathan Milstein, New York Philharmonic and Bruno Walter
Milstein for me somehow managed to put two qualities together in a way that made the violin the most sensuous and the most expressive instrument.
a work of great uh sonic imagination and it is not only deeply thought and or deeply felt, but a real kaleidoscopic pleasure for the ear.
The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II: Prelude No. 3 in C-sharp major, BWV 872
he became an example for me because he was the main propagator, if you want, if it can be expressed in this way, of the art of playing and conducting simultaneously.
The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I: Fugue No. 5 in D major, BWV 850
that shows you that it can be stylistically very free and very grand and has the ability to have so much more color than most harpsichord players manage to get today
In conversation
Presenter asks
0:40Would you go as far as to say [music] was the first language you ever knew?
I don't know, because in a way I don't think of it only as a language, because language creates very precise associations, whereas music uh creates associations that very often are not precise. And having said all of that, I think I must have been conscious of music uh very, very early on
Presenter asks
5:41Why [did so many big names in music come to Buenos Aires when you were a boy]?
Because Buenos Aires was a very, very important opera theater in the world. And as the Second World War developed and parts of Europe were closed to the Jews and other parts of Europe were closed to the Nazis, Argentina seems to have been open to everybody.
Presenter asks
7:17Are you advising any child learning the piano to say to their teacher, Do not run up and down the scales?
I wish it were as simple as that. It's not enough to say you don't have to play scales. You have to say what which he did. You don't have to play scales because you can find scales in any good piece of music. ... I'm fundamentally against that because I believe that if you do that, it will creep into your playing at the moment of a chorus concert and you won't be able to control it.
The keepsakes
The book
Baruch Spinoza
the book that I have looked at most in the last fifty years of my life ... is the Ethics of Spinoza.
The luxury
The piano is not a luxury. But give me a piano and a mattress that I can put on it to sleep.
Presenter asks
17:43Had you heard [Jacqueline du Pré] play before you met her, or vice versa?
I had never heard her play live, no, I had heard recorded, but never heard her play right.
Presenter asks
28:07Are you seeking there by [the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra] to set an example? Are you saying to the politicians, look at this, this is what can be done?
Well, first of all, this is not a political project. ... it is a project which recognizes what to us, to Edward Said and to me, are inevitable conclusions. The first one being that the destinies of the Israelis and the Palestinians are inextricably linked, whether we like it or not. And secondly, that there is no military solution to the conflict. It gives us the weapons to fight what we consider one of the worst elements in this conflict, and that is ignorance.
Presenter asks
31:58Do you worry that [your fingers] will get stiff? Is there any arthritis in there?
Absolutely not. ... But obviously the muscles at sixty three I can't speak about sixty four because I'm not there yet. ... I find that I need more time to get myself in shape ... to play the piano, especially after I haven't played for a while.
“I was a child prodigy, and there you see here I am today, the prodigy is gone and the child has remained.”
“I believe that if you do [mechanical practice], it will creep into your playing at the moment of a chorus concert and you won't be able to control it. And this is why I'm against against this type of practicing and of practicing longer than you are able to concentrate on.”
“I wouldn't take any records of the desert island. I would take scores that I can read there, but I wouldn't take any of these records. I only did this out of politeness to you, because this is what the program is about. But basically, I enjoy more reading the scores than listening to records.”