Prokofiev and Maderna, 2025
This Week in Classical Music: April 21, 2025. Prokofiev and Maderna. Two influential composers have been born this week, Sergei Prokofiev and Bruno Maderna. Solely 29 years separate them (Prokofiev was born on April 23rd of 1891, Maderna – on April 21st of 1920), about the identical age distinction that separated Haydn from Mozart, nevertheless it’s troublesome to think about extra completely different composers. Prokofiev, even when massively gifted, was conservative in his writings; Maderna, alternatively, was some of the adventuresome modernist composers of his time. We’ve written about Prokofiev many instances, for instance right here, right here, right here, and right here: you wouldn’t be fallacious to surmise that we like Prokofiev so much. We haven’t missed Maderna (right here), however we’d like so as to add a bit to our earlier publish. Someday round 1946, Maderna composed a Requiem. The rating was misplaced after which rediscovered in 2009. Requiem is Maderna’s early piece, principally tonal in model. Right here are two first elements of it titled Requiem (introduction) and Kyrie eleison (Lord have mercy). This recording is from the world premier efficiency made in 2013 by the Robert-Schumann-Philharmonie and the MDR-Rundfunkchor Leipzig refrain below the path of Frank Beermann. Maderna wrote many concertos for various devices, nevertheless it appears the oboe was his favourite: he wrote three oboe concertos. Right here’s Maderna’s First Oboe Concerto, from 1962-63. The good Heinz Holliger is the soloist; Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra is led by Gary Bertini.
Yehudi Menuhin, one of many best violinists of the 20th century, was additionally born this week, on April 22nd of 1916 in New York. And naturally, we’ve written about him earlier than (right here, for instance). Menuhin’s musicianship was impeccable from the earliest days of his profession until the tip of it. The identical couldn’t be stated about his approach. We heard him reside within the late Eighties, and it was too late: by then, his approach was shaky, and it overshadowed the general impression. However while you take heed to a few of his older recordings, they’re great. Right here’s one among them, the 1966 reside recording of Bach’s Violin and Keyboard Sonata No. 4 in C minor BWV 1017, which Menuhin made with Glenn Gould. Idiosyncratic (little question that Gould had one thing to do with this) however completely price listening to.
