Warhorses: videos and bibliography

If anybody would like to explore more about the four "warhorses I talked about at my Oct. 16 class, here are the primary sources I used. I've also added the videos we watched.

Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1

1. I found this essay in the National Registry helpful in describing Van Cliburn's 1958 win at the Tchaikovsky Competition.

www.loc.gov/programs/static/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/cliburn.pdf

2. A good description of the Romantic concerto as a hero's journey:

www.clt.astate.edu/jbonner/THE%20ROMANTIC%20CONCERTO.htm

Nicolas Slonimsky's justly renowned "Lexicon of Musical Invective" is an entertaining collection of misguided quotes from music critics. Their reactions to music of their time is hilarious and instructive.

3. Reviews of Cliburn with the Oregon Symphony, including my interview with the pianist in 1997.

www.oregonlive.com/performance/index.ssf/2013/02/van_cliburn_in_portland_review.html

Here's his performance immediately after winning the competition in Moscow.

Van Cliburn, 62, and the Oregon Symphony's James DePreist at a 1997 performance of Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto. The Oregonian

---

Beethoven's Fifth Symphony

1. Michael Steinberg's "The Symphony" has detailed information about the composition and historcial context of the Fifth.

2. Matthew Guerrieri's new book, "The First Four Notes: Beethoven's Fifth and the Human Imagination" looks promising. It will be published Nov. 13, 2016.

3. My story in The Oregonian about the wide ripple effect Beethoven's Fifth had on the Oregon Symphony, its audiences and the country after music director Carlos Kalmar programmed it during his first season, in 2004. Since then, the orchestra has received three Grammy nominations, performed a successful concert at Carnegie Hall and increased audiences at home.

www.oregonlive.com/performance/index.ssf/2011/02/carlos_kalmar_brings_fierce_fo.html

Two versions of Beethoven's Fifth: the great German conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler, who takes a magnificently deliberate approach -- listen to how he holds the fermatas; and John Eliot Gardiner, who takes a brisk, aggressive, approach. His first movement is 1'35" faster than Furtwangler's.

The "Hallelujah" Chorus from Handel's "Messiah"

An enlightening look at the tradition of standing for the "Hallelujah" Chorus: Michael Steinberg's "Choral Masterworks."

Two versions of the "Hallelujah" Chorus, the might Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the slimmed-down Choir of King's College, Cambridge.

Claire de Lune" by Claude Debussy

Paul Roberts, an English pianist and frequent lecturer at Portland Piano International events, is a good source about Debussy's music: "Images: The Piano Music of Claude Debussy."