Classical Music - looking for contrasting performances of the same piece

March 3, 2018 6:14 PM

I'm looking for some recommendations from some classical music heads of two or more performances of the same piece, both which differ from each other and are good (or great) versions of the composition they're representing. I realized I don't know what kind of variances occur, and I'm looking to understand that.

I'm less interested (but would definitely give a listen if you think it's worth it) in performances where you think one of them is clearly poor, or in differences caused by circumstance of recording (e.g. location).

Thanks!

posted by neuromodulator to Media & Arts (29 answers total)

Take a listen to Glenn Gould's two landmark Goldberg Variations recordings. The 1955 recording was from a young hotshot pianist aiming to dazzle, and the 1981 recording is from a more introspective middle aged Gould.
posted by schrodycat at 6:26 PM on March 3, 2018 [15 favorites]

Bernstein is known for unusual interpretations--try the last movement of Shostakovich 5 compared to Rostropovich

And here's an article about a time when Gould and Bernstein disagreed on interpretation.
posted by that girl at 6:30 PM on March 3, 2018

Bartok piano concerto no. 3: Martha Argerich, András Schiff, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet.
posted by dilaudid at 6:39 PM on March 3, 2018 [2 favorites]

(You’re not necessarily looking for performances by the same artist, right?)

I would recommend two performances of Schubert's Winterreise: the one by Ian Bostridge, and then the one by Mark Padmore. Bostridge's is restless and angry; Padmore's is more sad and introspective.
posted by holborne at 6:58 PM on March 3, 2018 [2 favorites]

(I would also recommend checking Florian Boesch's performance of Winterreise, if you want to hear very good baritone performance.)
posted by holborne at 7:02 PM on March 3, 2018

Henry Purcell scored 'What Power Art Thou' ('The Cold Song') from the opera 'King Arthur' for a bass singer, but Klaus Nomi performed it as a countertenor. Thus:
Petteri Salomaa
Klaus Nomi
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 8:01 PM on March 3, 2018 [1 favorite]

Fabio Biondi playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons with Europe Galante

vs

Gil Shaham with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

Stephen Isserlis performing Haydn's Cello Concerto in C Major

vs

A recording of Jacqueline due Pre sawing a cello in half performing the same piece

Leonard Bernstein conducting virtually anything vs anyone else conducting the same thing.

There's a lot of variety across recordings of Beethoven, especially the 9th symphony. You could take a look at periods orchestras for even more variety.

These are just a few off the top of my head. If you listen to three recordings of the same piece you'll likely notice differences, some subtly and some quite substantial.

Generally, if you listen to older classical recorded at different times you'll hear quite stark differences as orchestras and conductors give more or less weight to the conventions of the time the music was composed and other conventions they might prefer. You can hear Bach performed with lush romantic grandeur as well as more authentic period performance practices.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 8:06 PM on March 3, 2018 [3 favorites]

The Philip Glass Piano Etude #12, performed by Maki Namekawa and as performed by Anton Batagov.
posted by BillMcMurdo at 9:34 PM on March 3, 2018 [2 favorites]

Following on the mention by UPR of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, consider the classic rendition (such as Karajan conducting the Berliner Philharmoniker) with the Moog variation by Wendy Carlos included in the soundtrack to A Clockwork Orange. The soundtrack includes versions of both the 2nd and the 4th movements, pretty much a rarity these days.
posted by yclipse at 9:37 PM on March 3, 2018 [1 favorite]

You could also contrast the 1955 Goldberg Variations with the older harpsichord recording by Wanda Landowska.

Amazing performance of cantata "Ich habe genug" by true bass Hans Hotter and decidedly non-period instruments and bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff and period performers doing same.
posted by praemunire at 9:58 PM on March 3, 2018 [1 favorite]

Different artists performing Bach's cello suites will have quite different interpretations.

In general anything for a solo instrument (solo piece, concerto etc.) will be interpreted by the soloist to put their stamp on it.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 10:05 PM on March 3, 2018 [1 favorite]

Very striking differences between these two performances of the Graceful Ghost by William Bolcom. Richard Dowling plays it as written. Paul Jacobs swings it.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 2:36 AM on March 4, 2018 [1 favorite]

Have a listen to this competent rendition of Albinoni's Adagio in G Minor. I'm sure you've heard many other ensembles play it too, and this is pretty much what you'd expect to hear. It's a lovely piece; very moving.

Now listen to Herbert von Karajan giving it time it to unfold properly.
posted by flabdablet at 5:18 AM on March 4, 2018 [1 favorite]

Toscanini's recordings of Beethoven, particularly the 5th, are notoriously fast and tight. He'd be a good contrast to Bernstein, or someone like Walter.
posted by Dashy at 6:08 AM on March 4, 2018

There has been a big shift over the past couple of decades toward period instruments and styles, so you'll find lots of variation resulting from that. During the mid-1900s, every orchestra was trying to sound Wagnerian for almost every piece - big, smooth, majestic, ponderous, romantic. Then some musicians, especially those playing Baroque music, decided that they wanted to resurrect the original lightness and deftness of their music instead of making it all sound like Wagner.

Handel's Messiah provides lots of examples of the change. Take a listen to Klemperer or Beecham's recordings, then listen to Hogwood or Gardiner's recordings. Klemperer vs Hogwood, both great recordings, provides the greatest contrast: Klemperer has you floating down a slow river on a big boat, like a grand monarch, stately and refined, while Hogwood dances a jig. The Hogwood recording was, in fact, the seminal one for the period instrument movement; it changed the course of [musical] history, and you can find many paeans to its importance.

From the reviews I'm seeing, the Dunedin Consort did a fantastic period recording of Messiah that it would be worth getting your hands on if you prefer the lighter touch. I haven't had a chance to listen to it myself.
posted by clawsoon at 6:09 AM on March 4, 2018 [2 favorites]

Unfortunately, Eric Grunin's "Eroica Project" website (discussed here) has been broken for a few years now, but his list of recommended and non-recommended recordings is still up and might be of interest to you.
posted by Johnny Assay at 6:27 AM on March 4, 2018

Modest Mussorgsky composed a number of pieces which were too unpolished and unconventional for their time. Some of them remained incomplete, left as smeared scraps of paper, loose sketches, fragments and drafts when he died. His friend Rimsky-Korsakov, who survived him, reorchestrated and rearranged many of Mussorgsky's pieces into what became the standard versions. Other composers also tried their hands at polishing up Mussorgsky's weird genius. There has been a revived interested recently, though, in Mussorgsky's original versions. Compare:

Night on a Bald Mountain: Original vs. Rimsky-Korsakov

Pictures at an Exhibition: Original (the legendary 1958 Sviatolslav Ritcher recording) vs. Ravel

Boris Godunov: Original (1872 version) vs. Rimsky-Korsakov (with Boris Christoff singing as many parts as possible)

If you're looking for the most contrast, everything about the two recordings of Pictures at an Exhibition will jump out at you.
posted by clawsoon at 7:15 AM on March 4, 2018 [1 favorite]

Glenn Gould talking about Sviatoslav Richter; two great, and very individual, interpreters.
posted by clawsoon at 8:08 AM on March 4, 2018

My favorite example of this is Mischa Maisky vs Mstislav Rostropovich on Bach's Cello Suit No. 1.

Maisky
Rostropovich

To me, Maisky's is "I am a ball of emotion massaging this music to life" to Rostropovich's "I am a robot: I divide measures quite equally in time, don't I?" Very stark difference. I personally don't like Rostropovich's rendition, but he is considered one of the best cellists of the 20th century.
posted by 3FLryan at 8:23 AM on March 4, 2018 [1 favorite]

Here is one more take on Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 by Edgar Meyer, performed on double bass.
posted by juliplease at 8:48 AM on March 4, 2018 [1 favorite]

Take a listen to BBC Radio 3's "Building A Library" (part of the Record Review programme) - it's all about comparing different recordings of a single piece, with discussion of the contrasts.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06w2121
(apologies if you can't access this outside the UK, the BBC's got stricter about this recently)
posted by vincebowdren at 10:13 AM on March 4, 2018

The Dunedin Consort Messiah that clawsoon mentions is very, very fine, and does provide a really interesting contrast to, well, almost all other Messiahs I can think of right offhand, Actually.
posted by holborne at 10:42 AM on March 4, 2018

For the Goldberg variations, you definitely want to also listen to a recording that aims for historical accuracy (which Wanda Landowska's definitely doesn't). For that, try Trevor Pinnock or Andreas Staier. The contrast between that and, say, Gould's 1955 recording (which is brilliant, though one could argue that it's equal parts Bach and Gould) should be stark.
posted by klausness at 1:00 PM on March 4, 2018

Oh, in case it wasn't clear, a recording that aims for historical accuracy would be on the harpsichord, which is why I compared that to Wanda Landowska's recording (which is on a modern harpsichord played with a modern sensibility).
posted by klausness at 2:48 PM on March 5, 2018

I would recommend two performances of Schubert's Winterreise: the one by Ian Bostridge , and then the one by Mark Padmore. Bostridge's is restless and angry; Padmore's is more sad and introspective.
posted by holborne at 2:58 AM on March 4 [+] [!]

Seconded (though I like the Hans Hotter/Gerald Moore version for baritone). Ian Bostridge is a former academic who wrote a great book about each song in the cycle, which will provide even more insight into what the musician is thinking
posted by rollick at 1:26 PM on March 7, 2018

I'm not sure what the words are to describe what he's doing, but I love what Bryn Terfel does with his part in this recording of the Pearl Fishers' Duet with Andrea Bocelli. There's a fantastic contrast between the smoothness and innocence of Bocelli's voice and the drama and sizzle in Terfel's voice.

For many, the definitive recording of the duet is the Jussi Björling and Robert Merrill version. Compare it with Terfel/Bocelli; to my ear, Björling and Merrill blend more smoothly than Terfel and Bocelli, while Terfel and Bocelli bring more drama than Björling and Merrill.
posted by clawsoon at 6:55 PM on March 7, 2018

Response by poster: Thanks for the great replies, everyone! I wanted to work my way through here and provide a nice reply before the thread closed, but I don't remember how long it stays open and am going through pretty slowly.
posted by neuromodulator at 9:00 PM on March 13, 2018

I think you have 30 days before the thread closes.
posted by holborne at 7:54 AM on March 14, 2018

You have one year before Ask MeFi threads close, and you can provide a final update after that time by contacting the mods.
posted by Johnny Assay at 11:37 AM on March 14, 2018