Friedrich Gulda: Beethoven's Emperor Concerto

Austrian Piano virtuoso Friedrich Gulda, plays Beethoven's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 5 in E flat Op. 73 (Emperor) with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, which he also conducts.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Friedrich Gulda
• Beethoven
• Emperor
• Concerto
• Munich Philharmonic Orchestra

[philhayhoe1]

His joy, his mastery, his obvious deeo love of and for the music, are more important than any damned penguin suit. He used to do that but I guess grew to consider it secondary to pure musical expression and pure personal expression. The man was a genius.

[tokugawa14]

@oitotheworld23 dumbest idea ever for a nobody like you to comment.

[Superjakopine]

Er kann einfach alles und vereint die oft so harten Fronten in der Musik! Er fehlt!!

[UlfenDaddy]

@PlatoJaspers His Jazz/blues playing is directly the expression of that rebellious streak you mention. And as a great artist bringing disparate styles, elements and People together for the pure love of MUSIC Gulda's contributions are remarkable. I was meaning to offer some comments in that regard awhile ago but was unable to link to your email box here in Y-T.

[PlatoJaspers]

PS: I see your point now concerning the clothes. Personally I still like them, to me they speak of personality and of a rebellious streak.

[PlatoJaspers]

Hi Ulfen, I agree that there's some loss of control, (esp. in the beginning of the concerto, also due to the lack of a conductor...) but to me it is lively and exciting, beautiful phrasing too. For that reason I prefer Gulda's later recordings and yes, I love the K.466 recording. The ones he recorded with the Wiener and Abbado are to me the most polished and still vibrantly played. I'm not familiar with his jazz playing (I'm not that much of a Jazz fan, I'm ashamed to say). Merry Christmas!!

[UlfenDaddy]

@PlatoJaspers I felt that his attempt to discard a degree of "stuffiness" actually backfired; the avoidance of formal details in appearance translates to a loss of refinement in his Playing. The K. 466 I think is interesting too as it has moments where we can clearly see Gulda's elan and pure joy in and with what he is playing; exactly what I don't see in the Emperor. Are you familiar with his Jazz playing and some of the "modern" concerts and parties he'd done? (Merry Christmass!)

[UlfenDaddy]

@PlatoJaspers Yes, that was my point from the beginning. He is making the clear and deliberate statement that music is not about fashions and clothing by using fashions and clothing. Notice what Gulda himself says after playing the Rondo, K. 466, the black outfit is suitable to D-minor, but not the pending D-major concerto. Nor is the yarmulke (and it is such) a matter of Meier's opinion but Gulda himself many times made that point; he did Not remove it.

[PlatoJaspers]

I apologize for my personal attack. To me an opinion of even a distinguished professor doesn't tell me what Guldat thought. From interviews I know he disliked the stuffy world of classical music and wanted to make a statement; in that sense you and prof Meier are actually right! Still, the fact that Gulda is such a great and interesting musician, does have little to do with wearing a hat, since music is not about fashion.

[PlatoJaspers]

Funnily enough Gulda shared your opinion... He hated the stuffy and snobistic atmosphere in the world of classical music too. And yes, he saw, like you, what music is really about...

[BoschPianoMusic]

His trills in the main theme, really impressive stuff.

[UlfenDaddy]

@PlatoJaspers It's unfortunate you think differing opinions merit such personal attacks. I understand your point, and I'd stated mine quite clearly. Maestro Gulda's own perspective on the matter bears a bit of examination. I asked Prof Meier (when Gulda appeared in Ann Arbor,) what he thought of the cute little Hat. "Oh, he has to keep that," I was told, "He is Observant." In other words, his clothing and what it implied meant a great deal indeed.