Page 33 - Damianos Sotheby's International Realty Magazine Vol. 3

MUSIC
RICHARD TOGNETTI
By Josh Sims
Raphael Kubelik conducts the Bavarian
State Radio Orchestra, playing Leos Janacek’s “Sinfionetta”
“This is one of the great recordings of orchestral music in the 20th century, by one of the top conductors. It’s one of those pieces that is extraordinarily hard to bring off—just programming it requires such a massive or- chestra. It’s incredibly hard to play, too. Small wonder it’s rarely performed, which is perhaps why the record- ing is so important to me, but the end result is thrilling. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever heard this piece live.”
Willem Mengelberg conducts the Royal Concert- gebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam, playing Mahler’s “4th Symphony”
“The recording quality on this is pretty awful because it’s so old, but the strong playing is fascinating because
Richard Tognetti, the classical violinist, conductor, surfer and artistic director of the Australian Cham- ber Orchestra, selects the most important classical
recordings from his personal collection. Tognetti will be the Milton Court Artist in Residence at London’s Barbi- can for this year’s classical music season.
Maria Yudina plays J.S. Bach’s “Goldberg Variations”
“This isn’t necessarily a favorite recording, but taken in context it’s fascinating. Yudina was openly religious in a Soviet society in which religion was effectively banned. She brought that religion to her playing, which was
very risky. The playing is actually pretty stripped back and not technically perfect, but the backstory gives it this resonance. She was Stalin’s favourite pianist even though he knew she hated what he stood for.”
it’s so different to how we play today—there’s lots
of portamento, ribatto, a more singing way of play- ing. Mengelberg worked directly with Mahler, and it shows—the performance is so communicative. I don’t suffer from Mahleria as many classical players do. But this recording totally draws you in.”
Anner Bylsma playing J.S. Bach’s “Cello Suites”
“I remember listening to this album as a student, and it totally changed my attitude to playing. People said that Bylsma’s playing was more ‘authentic,’ whatever that means. Really, it was just a lightness of touch that he had—the music was more clearly revealed as a result.”
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