Carlo Maria Giulini - Giulini / Bpo: Schubert: Sym, 4, Franck: Psyche Et Eros, Debussy: La Mer - Import CD

Credits:

Carlo Maria Giulini

Description:

An evening featuring an intellectually stimulating program that offers a panoramic view of the development of Impressionist music! The third installment of “Giulini & the Berlin Philharmonic Live” is a concert that traces the evolution of Impressionist music. Giulini’s approach to Impressionist works has always been understated, yet he overwhelms listeners with exceptional precision and tension. The program selected for this evening, beginning with Rossini and culminating in Debussy’s *La Mer*, was a meticulously curated selection that made the evolution of Impressionist music—where each work is said to have influenced the next—clearly discernible. ■Excerpt from the program notes In the same interview, Giulini also spoke about the role of the conductor. He viewed himself not as the protagonist, but as a musician without an instrument, creating music together with the other performers. When asked if there was a risk of becoming arrogant or overconfident when facing as many as 100 musicians as a conductor—a sort of command center—Giulini answered without hesitation: “Such notions become meaningless if one is fully aware that one is facing geniuses like Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach—who have enriched this world and humanity—and that one is merely a human being serving these geniuses with love and devotion. Furthermore, I have never considered myself a figure who stands out as a conductor. I am a performer. In my youth, I performed extensively as a member of an orchestra and also played the viola in a quartet. I have always considered myself a member of the ensemble, not someone standing alone outside the circle.” ...[omitted]... According to a review written by Joachim Matsner in the February 15, 1969, edition of Die Welt under the title “Drama and Ultimate Sensibility,” “I know of no conductor other than Giulini who can make such dramatic tension and sensitivity coexist within a single melody. No matter how aristocratic and skillful his conducting may be, every melodic phrase is three-dimensional, and the counterpoint is not merely an additional part but is properly emphasized, as befits its name. Even when the music reaches its climax, Giulini’s touch remains fundamentally restrained, yet the sound never becomes indistinct or overly prominent. Giulini’s interpretation of *The Sea*, brimming with ultimate flexibility, transparency, and color, was a magnificent event that will likely never be heard again in any concert hall in Berlin. [Comment provided by Universal Music / IMS] ---

Tracklisting:

1. Semiramide: Overture
2. Symphony No. 4 in C minor, D. 417 "Tragic": 1. Adagio molto - Allegro vivace
3. Symphony No. 4 in C minor, D. 417 "Tragic": 2. Andante
4. Symphony No. 4 in C minor, D. 417 "Tragic": 3. Menuetto (Allegretto) & Trio
5. Symphony No. 4 in C minor, D. 417 "Tragic": 4. Allegro
6. Psyche: Psyche et Eros
7. La Mer: 1. De l'aube a midi sur la mer
8. La Mer: 2. Jeux de vagues
9. La Mer: 3. Dialogue du vent et de la mer