Time for another "unopened" treasure. This time it's chamber music by Ben-Haim (after posting the simply wonderful Violin Concerto I am hoping to stay with Ben-Haim for a bit, if I can locate my other discs soon!), his String Quartet No.1 from 1937 and the String Quintet from 1919. I cannot comment on the music at hand as I am playing it for the first time now (halfway in the first movement of the String Quartet; not surprisingly as it's Ben-Haim, it is extremely engaging and I feel from the first 4 minutes alone that it's clear the Quartet deserves a solid place in the string quartet repertoire). I know I have heard the Quartet No. 1 before, a very very long time ago and I cannot recall the source whatsoever-so this is technically a first and exciting outing. The booklet notes are extremely informative both on the music and the man behind it..
Let's enjoy everyone!
Ben-Haim_String Quartet_No.1_String_Quintet-Tzadik.zip
http://www46.zippyshare.com/v/Bhlt16qT/file.html
20 comments:
Hi! Many thanks for this record! I've been waiting for it for a long time!!! Cheers!
Many thanks and regards from The Netherlands.
Veel dank en groeten uit Nederland.
THANK YOU A LOT!!
Maybe you have the two symphonies?
My best wishes from Argentina.
Gabriel
Sometimes I click on your magnificent button before I've listened to the album. That is because the repertoire is so enticing. I love the music with a Jewish perspective since that is the way I compose.
Hi anon person, I'm happy I could get this music to you, enjoy it. TZ
You are welcome as always Toon :) TZ
Hi there Gabriel, you are very welcome! I do have the symphonies (on CPO, it's great that they chose to release these masterful neglected symphonies) and will post them when I can locate them; I have a lot of music and been busy these days.. Best, TZ
Hello Eric, I certainly do not mind a pre-listening 'magnificent' vote' after all...I do have the best taste out there ;-) I assume you too are Jewish..what genres have you written in? Have you managed to have your music performed?
Regards, TZ
Thank you for a terrific post.I have it somewhere,but I gladly download it again.Election was a disaster,so the is nothing else to do but listening to great music.All the best to you,TZ.
String Quartets and chamber music is another recent passion, this looks great!
Oh yeah. This is delicious from the first few notes. Paul Ben-Haim's love of the music of Debussy and Ravel shows in the liquid feel of the music, the textures and the melodic and harmonic qualities. Superb!
Thanks a lot for this and also for taking the time to search for the Chandos cd. I find this music quite nice, specially the quartet, in a much more modern language that the quintet. The booklet is indeed nice and provides far more information we non-musicians can surely digest.
I find Ben-Haim's story quite remarkable, a fine example of those assimilated jews so movingly described by Haas: lieder, traditional romanticism, love of german literature... perhaps as german as germans themselves, but to no avail.
Hey Tba
Yes I agree about the election. Needless to say it affects me in a superficial way compared to you (although psychologically it is hard for me to accept the results) but I feel very badly for the whole State.
So...yes good music to the rescue (at least). It's nice to d/l an album even if you have it-that is, when the physical copy is elusive! TZ
Paul, hope you enjoy the disc; if you are into chamber/quartet music as of late this isn't such a bad place to start listening/trying something new :-)
Ah, just saw your second comment-happy you like it!
TZ
Hi Johannes
You are more than welcome, friend. Indeed sometimes I really need the visual to recall a recording-there's just so much great stuff out there (well, here ;) I plan to post it, still don't see it in the 2013 piles but somewhere it waits to be heard and loved..
The tragic irony, among other things-is that most German Jews considered themselves German first and Jewish second; they were among the proudest of Germans. Needless to say this certainly
helped to sustain the disbelief by entire Jewish communities-for a period anyhow- that anything truly "serious" could happen. How many people could have otherwise escaped, as difficult as that was becoming-is impossible to count. Have you ever seen the film Europa Europa? It's a true story and it's shattering. It's also a superbly made film by a great director.
TZ
Hi Tz,
yes, I know this film. I can't say I find it that great. I think this drama is still to be given an appropiate treatment. I personally would like an adaptation of Victor Klemperer's memoirs.
Well what makes Europa Europa especially poignant I think is the inclusion at the very end of the film of the actual Salomon Perel, here in his late 70s and living in (relative) peace in Israel. The film is rather true to his actual remarkable experiences. The same director, Agneizska Holland, also made an earlier film (less effective imo but still good) called "Angry Harvest" which deals with similar subject matter, and then in 2011 a film "In Darkness" that tells the true story of a Polish man who helps to hide Jewish refugees for 14 months in the sewers of the Nazi-occupied town of Lvov.
I think Klemperer's memoirs told on screen would be an important document, not merely supplemental as it surely it would reach a much larger audience that way.
TZ
OTRA MARAVILLA, NO DEJES DE COMPARTIR, UN ABRAZO DESDE CERCA DE BARCELONA!
Please, can you reupload the link? Thanks so much!
New link:
Ben-Haim_String Quartet_No.1_String_Quintet-Tzadik.zip
http://www63.zippyshare.com/v/XOb2RnYa/file.html
Tz
Post a Comment