tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post6131784526225787611..comments2024-03-05T10:14:38.181+00:00Comments on CLASSICAL ICONOCLAST: Berlioz, Beethoven and Ben Foskett Prom 24 2009Doundou Tchilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07469682216179706743noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-73974322629903042412009-08-03T23:28:55.351+01:002009-08-03T23:28:55.351+01:00Hi Mark ! The BBCSO sounded fresher under Malkki t...Hi Mark ! The BBCSO sounded fresher under Malkki than I've heard them in ages, even under favourite conductors. She's exceptional, listen to her any chance you get. In a completely different league to Colin Davis, much as I like him. As you know religiosity is often a mask for crass political power games. Berlioz was an opportunist, so it's quite possible he was exploiting the same vein of cynicism for his own reasons. Malkki's good because she doesn't play games and sticks to the musical structure. All good wishes !Doundou Tchilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07469682216179706743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-82619616582640384482009-08-03T21:17:21.654+01:002009-08-03T21:17:21.654+01:00The Berlioz is a strange work: for me, exultant bu...The Berlioz is a strange work: for me, exultant but disquieting. I think you are spot on to ask what is at the core of it. There is a Christian shell but that appears to be all. I certainly find it hard to imagine Berlioz even thinking that he was writing a Christian work, let alone that he succeeded in doing so. Instead, he seems to be attempting a ceremonial piece for the civil religion of the Rousseuvian Enlightenment – or the French Revolution: Robespierre's Cult of the Supreme Being almost... The Te Deum canticle becomes a vehicle for something distanced and secular. Piety could hardly be more distant; it seems almost to be rejoicing about rejoicing.<br /><br />How did the BBC SO sound in Berlioz? Of course the orchestra used to play quite a lot under Colin Davis, and to a certain extent Boulez too, but that is quite some time ago.Mark Berryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17693194967620507933noreply@blogger.com