Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
Celebrated concert pianist, winner of major international piano competitions.
On the island
Eight records
Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27
London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by André Previn
I think that Rachmaninov is uh to my mind is perhaps the most Russian of Russian composers. Uh uh I can't really impress my opinion. It it can be i quite irrational. I just simply feel that his expression is the most Russian. Yes. Most complete also.
Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat major, K. 595Favourite
Daniel Barenboim and the English Chamber Orchestra
The piece is so sublime that uh one really fails to find the right words. I like almost all Mozart concertos enormously, but this one has something special and I I don't want to try to describe it.
String Quintet in C major, Op. 163, D. 956
The next one is the one of the most sublime works. It's a Schubert string quintet in C major. I like the slow movement particularly there. Again, I failed to describe, but I think music will speak for itself.
Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Herbert von Karajan
When I listened to it again today I thought, Yes, that's really wonderful and uh if if I were to conduct this symphony, this is the way I would hope to bring it off.
Frauenliebe und -leben, Op. 42: No. 4, "Du Ring an meinem Finger"
Elly Ameling and Dalton Baldwin
It is the fourth song, During and Meinenfinger. It is sung by Ellie Ameling with Dalton Baldwin at the piano.
String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132
I particularly enjoy that part of the finale where the key changes from A minor to A major. It's very close to the end of the quartet and the effect produced by that change is uh quite indescribable. The enlightenment uh that uh surrounds the A major there is so wonderful that it always sends me in a different state of mind.
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43
London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Anthony Collins
It has a special meaning for me because when we were married in nineteen sixty one my wife actually introduced me to Sibelius. I didn't know much of Sibelius, very little in fact, just the violin concerto and Finlandia or something, uh those popular pieces. Uh but the second symphony I hadn't heard before and my wife had a tape of Anthony Collins' performance with the L S O and I fell in love with that music just just about as much as I was in love with my wife.
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Herbert von Karajan
This is um Saint Matthew's Passion, the last number of Saint Matthew's Passion, performed by Berlin Philharmonic with Cara Jan.
In conversation
Presenter asks
3:39Was taking part in competitions a standard part of the Russian musical education?
It's not a standard part of the education. It's um let's say it is the most desirable path for a young musician to be a winner of an international competition. And um the system is somehow geared to that. That unless you win a competition you have no chance uh of being on a concert platform. And um I was uh simply a cog in the wheels, you know. And I went to those competitions because I was sent there.
Presenter asks
7:38Did you want to participate in the second international Tchaikovsky competition?
I never wanted to participate. Uh the the authorities simply said to me a couple of times, on a very high level, that unless you participate, uh you might as well forget about your career.
Presenter asks
9:26Why did your wife, Thorun, not enjoy living in Russia?
It's hard for Russians to live in Russia and it's infinitely harder for foreigners to try to live there. But the problems aren't just the lack of um the usual freedoms which we take for granted in the West. It's not only that, but um the problem with her was also that um many Russians became suspicious that she wanted to actually live in Russia. They don't expect that foreigners would like to live in Russia and would like to openly try to adapt themselves. Uh it's very strange and um i i it's it's n there isn't enough time really to explain it. But when she in fact took up Soviet citizenship, which was also actually imposed on us, the the people in the conservatory even suddenly became unfriendly.'Cause when she was a visitor, a foreigner, uh, it was one thing, but when a foreigner tries to be one of those, that's a different thing. They wouldn't like to mix with her. And that upset her very much. She didn't expect that.
The keepsakes
The book
I could not think of any other book that I would like to have if I already have the Bible and Shakespeare. … Well, maybe I should have just a blank book and I could perhaps write something in it. Just for myself, my own consumption, you know. Not so arrogant as to think it could be of any value.
The luxury
How about a well-programmed robot? … Not exactly a servant, but a helping kind of entity.
Presenter asks
10:58Was your decision to live in the West a political decision?
Yes, initially it was very, very much emotional. But I was aware that any decision of this kind will have great political repercussions,'cause anything concerning um the West with Russia has political undertones and overtones and everything. It everything is politically colored. And Kosai was right. It was taken very much politically in Russia.
Presenter asks
20:33How much does contemporary music interest you?
As information uh about what's happening in music, it interests me a lot. As material for performing, not so much, because I don't find many inspired works written for the piano. The piano is very often an old-fashioned producer of sound, so to speak, for the for the modern composers. They need very often new sources of sound. Electronics. Oh yes, all sorts of things. And if it's the piano, then it has to be sort of broken to pieces and and uh interfered with, you know, in a v most unnatural way. So there isn't so much, I don't think, for the piano anymore.
“I think tails should uh sort of go away soon. I I think it's almost like a masquerade. It it doesn't relate to music at all, I think. Oh, no, no. Why those things hanging behind you and the bow tie? Sometimes they look like waiters, I think. There's no point in that. I think we should really drop it one day.”
“It's very difficult for me to enjoy any of that. It's a little easier with orchestral recordings because although you conduct, you're not really producing the sound yourself. And so when you enjoy certain passages in an orchestral recording, somebody else is doing that.”
“I must confess honestly I could not think of any other book that I would like to have if I already have the Bible and Shakespeare. Well, maybe I should have just a blank book and I could perhaps write something in it. Write your own book. Just for myself, my own consumption, you know. Not so arrogant as to think it could be of any value.”