A concise rehearsal

Hans Knappertsbusch (1888-1965) was a German conductor. However, he had a dislike of rehearsals. Karajan recalled:

One time he was going over Tchaikovsky’s Fifth with the Vienna Philharmonic. He came to the second movement, with the horn solo, and said, “Let’s start.” He did a few bars, stopped, and said, “See you this evening. You know the piece, I know the hall.” The solo horn protested, “I am new, I have never played this piece in concert.” Knappertsbusch said, “It is beautiful music–you will love it.”

Vaughan, Roger (1986) Herbert von Karajan. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, p.222. Cited in: Holmes, John (1993) Conductors on Composers. Westport: Greenwood, p.191.

Posted

in

by

Greg

Tags:

, , ,

Featured Content

A practice regime
After a year’s sabbatical in 1953, the pianist Horowitz found a routine and rebuilt his technique: I realized I had to work out new daily schedules for myself – so much time for study, for rest, for reflection, for exercise … Soon my days had a new rhythm, a new serenity.  Every day I start […]
Teach Me Your Ways, O Lord – Psalm 24 (25)
Title: Teach me your ways, O Lord Text: Psalm 24 (25):4-9 Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: SATB and piano Product medium: PDF score and part Sample:
Practising an art
Practising an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You […]
The Lord will Bless his People with Peace (Setting II) – Psalm 28 (29)
Title: The Lord will bless his people with peace (Setting II) Text: Psalm 28 (29): 1-4. 9-10 Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: SATB and piano Product medium: PDF score and part Sample:
Abstraction X
Title: Abstraction X Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: Piano Product medium: PDF scoreRelated products: – Abstraction X (MP3) SAMPLE:
Richter on Bach
“It does no harm to listen to Bach from time to time, even if only from a hygienic standpoint.” – Sviatoslav Richter, pianist Monsaingeon, Bruno (2001). Sviatoslav Richter: Notebooks and Conversations. Princeton University Press, p.196. Cited at: Wikipedia
Nick Cave on the creative process
Worry less about what you make — that will mostly look after itself, and is to some extent beyond your control, and perhaps even none of your business — and devote yourself to nourishing this animating spirit. Bring all your enthusiasm to bear on the development of that good and essential force. This is done […]
The logic of opera in English
“Opera in English, is about as sensible as baseball in Italian.” – H. L. Mencken, twentieth century American journalist, critic, and satirist. Peter, Lawrence J. (ed) (1977) Quotations for Our Time
The creative learning process
“Creativity is a type of learning process where the teacher and pupil are located in the same individual.” — Arthur Koestler
When precision isn’t enough
Debussy was well known for wanting precision in performance. However, it was not always quite enough: Some time in 1917 Debussy went to hear the Suite played by a famous pianist. ‘How was it?’ I asked him on his return. ‘Dreadful. He didn’t miss a note.’ ‘But you ought to be satisfied. You who insist […]