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Recital. Maurizio Pollini. Festival Hall
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The formidable programme was characteristic – two Himalayan peaks of the piano literature, Boulez’s Second Sonata and Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, with the alp of Webern’s Variations as a warm-up – but Pollini was unusually gentle in the first half of this programme, which gave his Boulez performance, in particular, a fascinating new light and clarity. The violent interjections of the first and last movements had been drained of the rampaging human voice they gain in most performances, and had instead an unnervingly precise mechanical identity, while in the slower music Pollini showed what an artist of colour and resonance, and indeed harmony, Boulez was in the late 1940s.
Another lesson of this performance was the central importance of tempo, which in Boulez defines shape and direction, and which needs therefore to be fluid yet always under control. Pollini made the work a symphony of tempos, sometimes so that one felt the speed and movement to be primary, the actual notes almost an arbitrary in-fill to support a musical energy that had its own existence. Equally remarkable was the stone-dead coldness of episodes where the tempo is slow and unchanging, notably the beginning of the second movement and the very end of the work, both echoing the closing bars of the Webern.
In the Beethoven, Pollini was in more typical form, especially in the acute force of his high trills (often with the effort towards them expressed in a lunging groan), the solid bass lines, the absolutely clear counterpoint, and the astonishing high speeds, right to the point of danger in the first presto variation. One effect was to emphasise how so many of the variations on a small motif as well as on the Diabelli waltz: a bridge was thus thrown across to Webern, especially in the mirror patterns of the 18th variation. But Pollini’s penetrating, unillusioned view also suggested a strong element of parody and despair in almost everything – even the slow movement before the fugue seemed a coldly imagined imitation and disparagement of the new bel canto.
Paul Griffiths
I. Pick up topical words and expressions from the article; get ready to explain their meanings.
II. Ask questions of different types to the text.
III. Give a talk on a concert (recital) you have recently attended (you can use the article given above). Use the topical vocabulary. Outline for giving impressions:
1. Type of event.
2. Performer.
3. Programme. Were the musical pieces well-known, popular, new, avant-guard, etc?
4. Was the event interesting and enjoyable in your opinion?
5. What did critics say about the event? Do you share their points of view?
6. What impression did the event make on you? Did you take a solemn oath never attend one again?
IV. Give a short summary of the article.
V. Discuss any musical event (style; performer; etc.) using the topical vocabulary. Make up dialogues.
VI. Read some arguments for and against classical music. Do you agree with them?
| For 1. Classical music gives the listener a keen sensual delight. 2. Music has a deep intellectual appeal. 3. Music has a strong ethical effect: it ennobles the listener, makes him better and more humane. 4. Music condemns evil and supports the ideals of good. 5. Music creates a special spiritual world for the listener which immensely enriches his inner life and makes him happy. | Against 1. Classical music is a complicated art: it is difficult to find one’s way in it. 2. It is also an exclusive art: most people don’t like or understand it. It is not a popular art. 3. The very length of most classical pieces can send any listener to sleep. 4. People want the kind of music to which they can dance or just talk to friends. It should be simple, cheerful and up-to-date. |
Read the following arguments for and against pop-music.
| For 1. Young people search for new rhythms and new styles. 2.The new rhythms are full of vigour and force: just what appeals to young people. The tunes are snappy and easily caught. 3. The lyrics of the songs deal with the young people’s world: their hopes, dreams, disappointments and joys. 4. Young people “get tremendous kicks” (as they put it) listening to this kind of music. 5. It is an experimental kind of music: different groups are looking for new forms and sometimes achieve really interesting results. 6. The very popularity of the genre speaks in its favour. It attracts great masses of young people. Why should we deprive them of the joy they obviously get from this music? | Against 1. Before rejecting the old rhythms and styles, one should know something about them. Most pop-music fans don’t. 2. The rhythms may be new and vigorous, but they lack variety: it’s the same monotonous beat again and again. The tunes are mostly primitive and as easily forgotten as caught. 3. The words of some songs are absolutely senseless, sometimes verging on the idiotic. 4. Why should one “get kicks” at all? One might get thrilled, excited, stimulated, moved to tears. Does pop music give one all these reactions? 5. Medical research has proved beyond doubt that the volume of sound produced by powerful amplifiers at some pop concerts does great damage both to the sense of hearing and to the nervous system.Indeed, cases of mass hysteria are not at all unusual at pop concerts. Are we bringing up a generation of half-deaf neurotics? 6. In Australia taped pop music is used to frighten the sharks off the public beaches. Obviously, the sharks nerves cannot endure this kind of noise. |
VII. Analyse the arguments given above. Give a talk on your own attitude to classical / pop / rock / folk / jazz music. Explain why you’re not interested in one style and what pleases you in the other. Give your own arguments.
VIII. Pole playing (in pairs).
Suggested characters and situations:
1) Jane, a young girl, an enthusiastic lover of classical music, tries to persuade Nick, her friend, to go to a symphony concert with her. Nick knows nothing about classical music and is sure he will be bored. Jane does her best to tempt him by describing the attractions of the programme: she names the pieces that are going to be performed and speaks of their beauty and powerful appeal.
2) Ben Smith comes home from his office and finds his teenage son Jack listening to extremely loud pop music. Ben is a concert-goer and a connoisseur of good music, he resents both the noise and the choice of genre. He tries to admonish Jack for what he considers bad taste, pointing out to him the advantages of classical music. Jack, who is quite fond of his father, doesn’t bridle at the criticism, but tries to explain his point of view.
IX. Group work. Work out the arguments for and against rock / folk / jazz music. Discuss them. Try to persuade your opponents that you are right. (Be polite).
X. Discuss the problems of musical education. At what age should it begin? Should every child be taught to play some musical instrument? How should children be taught to listen to music and to appreciate it? Do you think that at school music should be given the same emphasis as subjects such as maths, literature, etc.?
Write a short essay on this topic.
XI. Memorize these sayings and set expressions and tell in what situations you might use them (make up dialogues or situations).
1) to play first fiddle – играть первую скрипку, занимать руководящее положение
2) if you dance you must pay the fiddler. – Любишь кататься, люби и саночки возить
3) to hung up one’s fiddle – оставить работу, уйти на покой
4) to blow one’s own trumpet – хвастаться
5) to sing the same song – завести волынку
6) swan song – лебединая песня
7) song and dance – свистопляска, шумиха
8) to touch somebody on a string – затронуть чью-либо слабую струну
9) to dance to somebody’s tune (pipe) – плясать под чью-то дудку
10) Dutch concert – кошачий концерт
11) And all that jazz – разг.: и все такое прочее, и т.д.