Sir Simon Rattle, chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, said in Beijing earlier this week that much of the future of classical music lies here in Asia. He's so right in this, as the characteristically young age of the continent's orchestral players abundantly testifies.
The Berlin Philharmonic is among the handful of orchestras consistently rated as the world's best and Rattle one of the cutting-edge maestros of our day. Both have important histories that will add luster to their performances. The orchestra, which is currently on a tour of Asia, performs at Taipei's National Concert Hall on Thursday and Friday of next week, beginning at 7.30pm.
Thursday's concert features a Berlioz overture (Le Corsair), Ravel's ballet music La Mere l'Oye, and then Beethoven's Third Symphony (Eroica). Friday night offers Haydn's Symphony No: 86 (one of his Paris symphonies), Asyla by the young British composer Thomas Ades, and Richard Strauss's celebrated tone-poem Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life).
The Berlin Philharmonic has often been called a tough line-up -- "macho" as conductor Bernard Haitink once put it. Rattle himself has spoken of it as playing music with some kind of particularly physical commitment. Certainly its sound is perceived by many as being harder, clearer and more brilliant than the softer tones of, say, the equally celebrated Vienna Philharmonic.
The orchestra's history is both star-studded and representative of the triumphs and disasters of the 20th century. It came into being in 1882, at that time having no permanent home and giving concerts in a former roller-skating rink. Its first conductor was Hans von Bulow, and his reign was characterized by a new serious approach and long rehearsals. He was followed during the period of World War I by Arthur Nikisch, with the ensemble continuing to play even while starving crowds rioted outside its doors.
Jazz arrived with particular force in the Berlin of the 1920s, but this was also the era in which now legendary conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler took to the rostrum, beginning in 1923. He continued through the period of hyper-inflation and eventual economic collapse in Germany which directly led to the rise to power of the Nazis in 1933.
Furtwangler's tenure inevitably became controversial. Initially he resigned when the Nazis banned modern music, taking his cue from the specific banning of Paul Hindemith's Mathis der Maler, a work he had commissioned. But he later returned and though his supporters point to the extent he protected his Jewish musicians from persecution, his decision naturally made him enemies, especially after the fall of the Nazis in 1945. Such dilemmas are faced by many artists in authoritarian societies, and Furtwangler's was arguably simply one of several choices available, all with their different pros and cons.
Von Karajan
In 1944 the Philharmonic Hall on Bernburgerstrasse, the orchestra's home, was bombed. But concerts soon began again, this time under Sergiu Celibidache, Furtwangler meanwhile undergoing "denazification" at the hands of the victorious Allies. He returned in 1947, however, and five years later was reinstated as chief conductor.
Furtwangler died in 1954 from the effects of tuberculosis. The musicians, then all men, reportedly broke down in tears at the news. Who could possibly replace him? But the following year a successor was found, and Herbert von Karajan was appointed to the job for life. He remained for 34 years.
RSS