An eloquent statement:

https://www.ceskafilharmonie.cz/en/semyon-bychkovs-statement-on-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine/

Bob Harper

Op dinsdag 1 maart 2022 om 22:45:32 UTC+1 schreef Bob Harper:
> An eloquent statement:
>
> https://www.ceskafilharmonie.cz/en/semyon-bychkovs-statement-on-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine/

A wise man. He knows what happens to those who remain quiet. Besides, living in French Basque Country, makes it even wiser.

Henk

On Tuesday, March 1, 2022 at 4:56:58 PM UTC-5, hvt...@xs4all.nl wrote:
> Op dinsdag 1 maart 2022 om 22:45:32 UTC+1 schreef Bob Harper:
> > An eloquent statement:
> >
> > https://www.ceskafilharmonie.cz/en/semyon-bychkovs-statement-on-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine/
>
> A wise man. He knows what happens to
> those who remain quiet. Besides, living in
> French Basque Country, makes it even wiser.

Gergiev, Matsuev, Netrebko at al. could all
live in France if they wanted to, or in fact
pretty much anywhere else on the planet.
They can certainly afford a pied-à-terre
anywhere.

Remember that after WWII Furtwanglersky,
Mengelbergsky, Karanjansky and a few
others were suspended for several years
even though none of them had supported
the regime as loudly and as blatantly as
those mentioned above supported Putin.

dk

> Remember that after WWII Furtwanglersky,
> Mengelbergsky, Karanjansky and a few
> others were suspended for several years
> even though none of them had supported
> the regime as loudly and as blatantly as
> those mentioned above supported Putin.

<g> Godwin is still alive and kicking!

It all depends on how criminal you believe Putin to be - compared, for example, with our conduct in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Henk

On Tuesday, March 1, 2022 at 6:00:41 PM UTC-5, hvt...@xs4all.nl wrote:
> >
> > Remember that after WWII Furtwanglersky,
> > Mengelbergsky, Karanjansky and a few
> > others were suspended for several years
> > even though none of them had supported
> > the regime as loudly and as blatantly as
> > those mentioned above supported Putin.
> <g> Godwin is still alive and kicking!
>
> It all depends on how criminal you believe
> Putin to be - compared, for example, with
> our conduct in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"you"? Why "you"?

dk

Op woensdag 2 maart 2022 om 00:25:01 UTC+1 schreef dan....@gmail.com:
> On Tuesday, March 1, 2022 at 6:00:41 PM UTC-5, hvt...@xs4all.nl wrote:
> > >
> > > Remember that after WWII Furtwanglersky,
> > > Mengelbergsky, Karanjansky and a few
> > > others were suspended for several years
> > > even though none of them had supported
> > > the regime as loudly and as blatantly as
> > > those mentioned above supported Putin.
> > <g> Godwin is still alive and kicking!
> >
> > It all depends on how criminal you believe
> > Putin to be - compared, for example, with
> > our conduct in Afghanistan and Iraq.
> "you"? Why "you"?

LOL! Make it "one"!

Henk

On 3/1/2022 4:45 PM, Bob Harper wrote:
> An eloquent statement:
>
> https://www.ceskafilharmonie.cz/en/semyon-bychkovs-statement-on-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine/
>
> Bob Harper

Eloquent. Hopefully, he will not be canceled because of his Russian heritage. He may have to change his name to something more Jewish-sounding, like his brother.

On 3/1/2022 6:00 PM, HT wrote:
>
>> Remember that after WWII Furtwanglersky,
>> Mengelbergsky, Karanjansky and a few
>> others were suspended for several years
>> even though none of them had supported
>> the regime as loudly and as blatantly as
>> those mentioned above supported Putin.
>
> <g> Godwin is still alive and kicking!
>
> It all depends on how criminal you believe Putin to be - compared, for example, with our conduct in Afghanistan and Iraq.
>
> Henk
>
>
>
>

And here I thought you were going to compare him to Hitler!

Op woensdag 2 maart 2022 om 01:06:24 UTC+1 schreef Frank Berger:
> On 3/1/2022 6:00 PM, HT wrote:
> >
> >> Remember that after WWII Furtwanglersky,
> >> Mengelbergsky, Karanjansky and a few
> >> others were suspended for several years
> >> even though none of them had supported
> >> the regime as loudly and as blatantly as
> >> those mentioned above supported Putin.
> >
> > <g> Godwin is still alive and kicking!
> >
> > It all depends on how criminal you believe Putin to be - compared, for example, with our conduct in Afghanistan and Iraq.
> >
> > Henk
> >
> >
> >
> >
> And here I thought you were going to compare him to Hitler!

If I continue participating in this thread, I eventually will. Godwin won't make an exception for me.

Henk

On 3/1/2022 4:45 PM, Bob Harper wrote:
> An eloquent statement:
>
> https://www.ceskafilharmonie.cz/en/semyon-bychkovs-statement-on-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine/
>
> Bob Harper

Of course I was impressed by his statement and immediately checked what I have by Bychkov in my collection. Not much. A disc with the Labeque sisters, one of Mendelsshon, Strauss' Alpine Symphony. So I looked to see what reviews or comments I could find on his recordings. Adjectives such as restrained, understated, cool, workman-like, generic and such abounded. Yet he appears to be a much in demand conductor. Maybe this isn't strange at all, but I was a little surprised. I guess there aren't that many inspired, or inspiring, conductors around? Is there something he's recorded that is truly outstanding?

"Frank Berger" wrote in message
news:yLOdnanCDuEQkbz_nZ2dnUU7-UPNnZ2d@supernews.com...

On 3/1/2022 4:45 PM, Bob Harper wrote:
> An eloquent statement:
>
> https://www.ceskafilharmonie.cz/en/semyon-bychkovs-statement-on-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine/
>
> Bob Harper

>Of course I was impressed by his statement and immediately checked what I
>have by Bychkov in my collection. Not much. A disc with the Labeque
>sisters, one of Mendelsshon, Strauss' Alpine Symphony. So I >looked to see
>what reviews or comments I could find on his recordings. Adjectives such
>as restrained, understated, cool, workman-like, generic and such abounded.
>Yet he appears to be a much in demand >conductor. Maybe this isn't strange
>at all, but I was a little surprised. I guess there aren't that many
>inspired, or inspiring, conductors around? Is there something he's
>recorded that is truly outstanding?

If I recall, his first recording of the Shostakovich 8th (?) was considered
top notch when it was first released. Cannot think of any other truly
exceptional CDs since. No duds either.

Ed Presson

On Friday, March 4, 2022 at 5:44:40 AM UTC+11, Frank Berger wrote:
> On 3/1/2022 4:45 PM, Bob Harper wrote:
> > An eloquent statement:
> >
> > https://www.ceskafilharmonie.cz/en/semyon-bychkovs-statement-on-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine/
> >
> > Bob Harper
> Of course I was impressed by his statement and immediately checked what I have by Bychkov in my collection. Not much. A disc with the Labeque sisters, one of Mendelsshon, Strauss' Alpine Symphony. So I looked to see what reviews or comments I could find on his recordings. Adjectives such as restrained, understated, cool, workman-like, generic and such abounded. Yet he appears to be a much in demand conductor. Maybe this isn't strange at all, but I was a little surprised. I guess there aren't that many inspired, or inspiring, conductors around? Is there something he's recorded that is truly outstanding?

I like his Tchaikovsky symphonies 1-3 with the CPO (Decca). Tempos are broad but put to felicitous use in shaping melody and bringing out dance and colour. Incidentally, I notice that he has embarked upon a Mahler cycle with the CPO on Pentatone. Which also makes me think that he is one of those few conductors who conducts Mahler but not Bruckner ( conducting Bruckner but not Mahler is a little more common).

On Thu, 3 Mar 2022, Frank Berger wrote:

> On 3/1/2022 4:45 PM, Bob Harper wrote:
>> An eloquent statement:
>>
>> https://www.ceskafilharmonie.cz/en/semyon-bychkovs-statement-on-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine/
>>
>> Bob Harper
>
>
> Of course I was impressed by his statement and immediately checked what I
> have by Bychkov in my collection. Not much. A disc with the Labeque
> sisters, one of Mendelsshon, Strauss' Alpine Symphony. So I looked to see
> what reviews or comments I could find on his recordings. Adjectives such as
> restrained, understated, cool, workman-like, generic and such abounded. Yet
> he appears to be a much in demand conductor. Maybe this isn't strange at
> all, but I was a little surprised. I guess there aren't that many inspired,
> or inspiring, conductors around? Is there something he's recorded that is
> truly outstanding?

The only highly-positive review of his orchestral music at classicstoday:
https://www.classicstoday.com/review/review-9179/?search=1
(Strauss).
--
Al Eisner

On Thursday, March 3, 2022 at 10:44:40 AM UTC-8, Frank Berger wrote:
> On 3/1/2022 4:45 PM, Bob Harper wrote:
> > An eloquent statement:
> >
> > https://www.ceskafilharmonie.cz/en/semyon-bychkovs-statement-on-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine/
> >
> > Bob Harper
> Of course I was impressed by his statement and immediately checked what I have by Bychkov in my collection. Not much. A disc with the Labeque sisters, one of Mendelsshon, Strauss' Alpine Symphony. So I looked to see what reviews or comments I could find on his recordings. Adjectives such as restrained, understated, cool, workman-like, generic and such abounded. Yet he appears to be a much in demand conductor. Maybe this isn't strange at all, but I was a little surprised. I guess there aren't that many inspired, or inspiring, conductors around? Is there something he's recorded that is truly outstanding?

Bychkov is one of those conductors whose stature has grown in relation to the seemingly ever-dwindling talents of each generation of younger conductors who have come after him. On his own he may not be much, but next to YNS he's a giant. For a time he was big, though. Even was a dark horse candidate to succeed Karajan at the BPO.

I liked Bychkov better when he recorded for Philips. Like Ed Presson mentioned, he conducted a fantastic Shostakovich 8 that remains among the best in digital sound. After the culling of conductors from the "big" labels that resulted from the 1990s CD crash, Bychkov vanished off the radar. His reemergence started with those series of discs he made in Cologne about 20 years ago. His Shostakovich 11 and Strauss Ein Heldenleben were both excellent, but the other recordings (especially Mahler 3) evinced that he had come down with a bad case of the "slows" (an unfortunate disease a lot of performers who confuse tempi with interpretive depth seem prone to).

Incidentally, the Mahler 4 on Pentatone is fine. Well balanced and gorgeous sound, natch. But having just heard the tangy, wiry, intensely alive sound of the old CPO on the live Ančerl box, I can't help regret the staider, more homogenous sound they now produce for Bychkov.

On Friday, March 4, 2022 at 2:23:26 PM, Néstor Castiglione wrote:
>
> Bychkov is one of those conductors whose stature has grown in relation to the
> seemingly ever-dwindling talents of each generation of younger conductors who
> have come after him. On his own he may not be much, but next to YNS he's a giant.

Saw his conduct the VPO twice in 2011, in Santa Barbara and in Orange County. Both programs were excellent but the Mahler 6 in Orange County was frickin' awesome. Really hope I have the opportunity to hear him again.