JSngry Posted June 2, 2017 Report Share Posted June 2, 2017 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/01/arts/music/jiri-belohlavek-dead-czech-classical-conductor.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fobituaries&action=click&contentCollection=obituaries®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=6&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0 Not a conductor whose names I immediately recognize, which is no surprise....any thoughts from those who know? Opinions, recommendations, etc. And thanks in advance for those! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulpope Posted June 3, 2017 Report Share Posted June 3, 2017 (edited) Belohlavek probably was the last of the great Czech Philharmocis conductors in the line of Vaclav Talich (1933-43) Rafael Kubelík (1942–1948), Karel Ančerl (1950–1968), Václav Neumann (1968–1989), and held this post from 1990-92 and from 2012 until his death. Although he held his own against these world class precedessors (IMO) there is no recording by Belohlavek (of Czech music) which would have bettered the recorded euvre/legacy of these giants. He had a close collaboration with the BBC Symphony Orchestra resulting inter alias in interesting recordings of Suk (released on Chandos). Having said that, it was always a pleasure to witness him in live performances as he returned to perform in Vienna/Austri recurringly ..... Edited June 3, 2017 by soulpope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ayers Posted June 3, 2017 Report Share Posted June 3, 2017 (edited) Gutted. First saw Belohlavek with LSO in 2001 conducting Dvorak's Stabat Mater. I hoped to get to his April performance of Dvorak's Requiem with the BBCSO, but didn't make it a priority. Stabat Mater was not very much to my taste and I figured maybe the Requiem would not be either. And I figured, as I have so many times with Belohlavek, skip it this time and go to his next one. Well, there is no next one, and I am taking stock how much I missed... Fitting that his last released recording is the Stabat Mater with the Czech PO. Edited June 3, 2017 by David Ayers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psu_13 Posted June 3, 2017 Report Share Posted June 3, 2017 Belohlavek played with the PSO a couple of years back. It was a great show. He was scheduled this year too, to play a Suk piece that is just the sort of thing that's hardly ever programmed here. Very sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Stryker Posted June 3, 2017 Report Share Posted June 3, 2017 (edited) I heard him conduct the Detroit Symphony maybe a decade ago and recall a warm and rustic-sounding New World Symphony -- less driven and bold than you often hear and more what I'd consider Old World/Czech in character. I don't know his recordings, however. Edited June 3, 2017 by Mark Stryker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomsMobley Posted June 6, 2017 Report Share Posted June 6, 2017 Jiri was an immense Martinu-vian; grab or otherwise listen to all Martinu he recorded for Supraphon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ayers Posted June 6, 2017 Report Share Posted June 6, 2017 (edited) Forgetting for a moment the pharonic approach to doing everything by pyramidal hoards of recordings, I suggest the lesson here is go and hear these interesting folks while they are around. Last week I went to hear Blomstedt, 90 next month and looking genuinely sprightly. Oh and on fine form. FWIW, some of the main stuff Belohlavek did in London with the BBCSO is easily findable on the streaming services - Martinu symphonies, Smetana operas, Suk, and Janacek's Broucek. Edited June 6, 2017 by David Ayers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulpope Posted June 6, 2017 Report Share Posted June 6, 2017 1 hour ago, David Ayers said: FWIW, some of the main stuff Belohlavek did in London with the BBCSO is easily findable on the streaming services - Martinu symphonies, Smetana operas, Suk, and Janacek's Broucek. Excellent .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted June 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2017 13 hours ago, David Ayers said: I suggest the lesson here is go and hear these interesting folks while they are around. That's a good principle for any music, imo. See the shit live whenever possible. Records are fun, but... I've known older jazz buffs, cats who were regulars at the clubs in the 50s & 60s, and they're sometimes like, records? what do I need records for? I heard it live? I met and older couple at a recent chamber concert, they were from Germany, in their 70s or 80s even, and they laughed at me (kindly but rightfully) when I referred to Rite Of Spring as "modern"...I guess they were both conservatory students or something, so records, 78s, all that, that was at most an accessory. When they heard music, it was usually live, and there they were that night, still going to hear it live. I'm a sucker for a good record (and many a not so good one), but...shit is just different live. I'll go so far as to say, advisedly, that without a good experience in hearing live performance environment (even a club mix) your perception of recordings is not really complete, at least not as complete as it otherwise would be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenLowe Posted June 6, 2017 Report Share Posted June 6, 2017 that's exactly why my collection is very light on post-'70s jazz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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