2012 has been unusual in that almost all the most memorable items I’ve reviewed have been CDs. One DVD, however, stands out. Klaus Tennstedt’s 1988 recording of Mahler’s 5th Symphony with the London Philharmonic is one of the most extraordinary displays of impassioned dedication I’ve ever encountered (ica classics legacy ICAD5041; reviewed July 10). It’s powerful and somber, yet somehow at the same time gripping and magnetic. You get the impression the audience only slowly becomes aware of what it’s witnessing, but then at the end erupts in ecstasy and astonishment. Very few of Tennstedt’s concerts have made it onto DVD, but this one finally has, and it’s hard indeed to imagine its equal anywhere.
The most memorable discoveries of the year were the violin concertos of the female Polish composer Grazyna Bacewicz (1909-1969). There are seven of them, but Number: 6 has apparently been lost. Chandos have scored a major coup in issuing the remaining six on two CDs in startlingly impressive renderings by Joanna Kurkowicz (CDA-10533 and CDA-15441; reviewed Feb. 14). Sensuous, dynamic, inventive and thrilling, these marvelous concertos are inexplicably belated additions to the core violin repertory. If you’re willing to try only one, try the CD containing Concerto Number: 4.
Leslie Howard’s massive undertaking of recording all Liszt’s music for solo piano was briefly touched on this year. The CD we heard was the second in the set of 99, entitled Ballades, Legends and Polonaises, and much pleasure it gave (Hyperion, CDA-3301; reviewed Jan. 10). Tumultuous showpieces alternate with quieter forays, but Liszt was arguably always trying to achieve effects that no one had ever attempted before — he was simply that kind of artist. It’s impossible not to believe the other discs in this record-breaking project are up to the same standard.
Taipei Times file photo
From budget label Naxos came more additions to Vasily Petrenko’s nearly complete cycle of Shostakovich’s symphonies with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. The outstanding one is probably the Symphony Number: 10 — ferocious, stirring and melancholy by turns, and everywhere recorded with extraordinary clarity — but the Symphony Number: 8 is also very fine (Naxos 8.572461 and 8.572392; reviewed Nov. 20). There’s considerable competition in this field, but Petrenko is looking increasingly like the one to beat.
Finally, two historic recordings came to my notice this year. The version of Verdi’s Falstaff conducted by Leonard Bernstein, and starring Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in the title role, now seems to me the finest available of this incomparable masterpiece (Sony/CBS Masterworks 42535; reviewed May 15). And Leopold Stokowski’s version of Beethoven’s Symphony Number: 3 gave me an intense pleasure that has survived many relistenings (BMG Classic 2862876; reviewed April 10).
Taipei Times file photo
A few weeks ago I found myself at a Family Mart talking with the morning shift worker there, who has become my coffee guy. Both of us were in a funk over the “unseasonable” warm weather, a state of mind known as “solastalgia” — distress produced by environmental change. In fact, the weather was not that out of the ordinary in boiling Central Taiwan, and likely cooler than the temperatures we will experience in the near-future. According to the Taiwan Adaptation Platform, between 1957 and 2006, summer lengthened by 27.8 days, while winter shrunk by 29.7 days. Winter is not
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March 25 to March 31 A 56-year-old Wu Li Yu-ke (吳李玉哥) was straightening out her artist son’s piles of drawings when she inadvertently flipped one over, revealing the blank backside of the paper. Absent-mindedly, she picked up a pencil and recalled how she used to sketch embroidery designs for her clothing business. Without clients and budget or labor constraints to worry about, Wu Li drew freely whatever image came to her mind. With much more free time now that her son had found a job, she found herself missing her home village in China, where she
In recent years, Slovakia has been seen as a highly democratic and Western-oriented Central European country. This image was reinforced by the election of the country’s first female president in 2019, efforts to provide extensive assistance to Ukraine and the strengthening of relations with Taiwan, all of which strengthened Slovakia’s position within the European Union. However, the latest developments in the country suggest that the situation is changing rapidly. As such, the presidential elections to be held on March 23 will be an indicator of whether Slovakia remains in the Western sphere of influence or moves eastward, notably towards Russia and