Even now music like Beethoven's seems elitist. Unlike a punk rock show, a classical music concert is attended by well-heeled individuals: people who dress up in gowns and suits and who leave their car at valet parking. The culture that surrounds classical music today is not much different than it was in Beethoven's time. In the nineteenth century, music like Beethoven's was appreciated largely by the burgeoning bourgeoisie: the upper-middle class that emerged after the fall of feudalism. Attending the Dresden Philharmonic's performance of Beethoven's 5th symphony on the anniversary of that symphony's composition especially invokes the historical context of music. Even when taken out of context, a piece like Beethoven's 5th is timeless. I appreciated hearing the richly layered melodic patterns, complex structure and timing, and especially the way...
Moreover, watching the conductor coach the musicians remains a mystery to me. The musicians know their piece by heart and yet the conductor is essential to keep the whole orchestra together, working on the same page and in the same timing as every other person. The crescendos, the timing, and every aspect of the performance paid perfect tribute to one of the best composers of all time.
Bocklin painted numerous versions of Isle, but it is Rachmaninoff's dirgelike vision of the rowing motif, the Dies Irae of the Latin mass, that remains as constant. and, in typical Rachmaninoff fashion, the BSO is perfect for the piece with its sweeping tonality, clashes of chromaticism, and simple theme, yet complex underpinnings. Stravinsky studied under the great Russian pedagogue and master of the tone poem, Rimsky-Korsakoff. This is nowhere near
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