Nulla per un direttore d’orchestra è più difficile di una delle ultime sinfonie di Mozart, delle quali la “Jupiter” è sicuramente la più raffinata e complessa (basti pensare all’incredibile Fugato a cinque voci dell’ultimo movimento). Nel momento dello studio l’annosa questione di cosa portare sull’isola deserta – Bach o Mozart – pende fortemente a favore di Mozart, anche considerando il fatto che lui, a differenza di Bach, ha composto opere liriche straordinarie, nelle quali, come in tutti i grandi capolavori dell’arte, il mondo, in tutti i suoi aspetti, si rispecchia. Ma su questo torneremo sicuramente più tardi. Ma mi è difficile esprimere a parole la gioia, l’entusiasmo, il piacere che provo nel ristudiare – per l’ennesima volta – questo formidabile capolavoro, scoprendone ogni volta nuovi e sorprendenti aspetti.

Con la Dallas Symphony Orchestra il prossimo Dicembre

Nothing is more difficult for a conductor than one of Mozart’s last symphonies, of which “Jupiter” is certainly the most refined and complex (think of the incredible five-voice Fugato of the last movement). When it comes to studying, the age-old question of what to bring to the desert island – Bach or Mozart – weighs heavily in favor of Mozart, also because he, unlike Bach, composed extraordinary operas, in which, as in all great masterpieces of art, the world, in all its aspects, is reflected. We will undoubtedly return to this later. But it is difficult for me to express in words the joy, the enthusiasm, the pleasure I feel in studying again – for the umpteenth time – this formidable masterpiece, discovering new and surprising aspects each time.

With the Dallas Symphony Orchestra next December.

Passeggiando nella bellissima libreria “Tsutaya Books” nella nuova Ginza Six a Tokyo, e naturalmente non resistendo alla tentazione di comprare alcuni libri legati al Giappone (vedi la prossima fotografia)

mi cade l’occhio su questo libro.

Sono alcune ricette dalla cucina dell’Hotel Splendido di Portofino (che non si può definire un Hotel alla portata di tutti). Da Genovese sento un poco di orgoglio per un libro sulla Liguria nel centro della Ginza di Tokyo, anche se parla quasi solo di cucina. Le ricette non sono male, ma a chi volesse un buon libro sulla cucina genovese, consiglierei senz’altro questo:

Walking through the beautiful bookstore “Tsutaya Books” in the new Ginza Six in Tokyo, and, of course, not resisting the temptation to buy some books related to Japan (see the second photo), my eye fell on this book (third photo). They are some recipes from the kitchen of the Hotel Splendido in Portofino (which cannot be defined as a Hotel within everyone’s reach). As a Genoese, I feel a little proud of a book about Liguria in the center of Tokyo’s Ginza, even if it mainly talks about cooking. The recipes are not bad, but for those who want a good book on Genoese cuisine, I would recommend this one (last photo).

After a rather long hiatus, I am again going to perform this symphony (with the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo next week), which I conducted for the first time for my “Kapellmeister-Diplomprüfung” with the Slovenian Philharmonic in Ljubljana in 1983.

There is no point in talking about this symphony, one of the most popular symphonies ever, and rightly so. I was so surprised to hear the “slow” movement (actually an Allegretto in dactylic rhythm, in my personal opinion, a sort of “Trauermarsch,” very much in contrast to the other movements) as a soundtrack in one of the weirdest, and most interesting, movies I know—”Zardoz” by John Boorman, a 1974 movie with Sean Connery and Charlotte Rampling. Once described as “one of the worst movies ever made,” it is now a “cult movie.” And Beethoven is part of it!

Un breve studio, storia ed analisi delle radici del Liberalismo classico, considerato come reale progresso civile. Un libro interessante, soprattutto oggi, che spiega non solo il significato intrinseco della parola, aldilà di pregiudizi di parte, ma ne spiega anche gli eccessi, o meglio gli errori di interpretazione. Dotto, ma facile da leggere, questo libro può aiutare a capire i contrasti, spesso feroci, che nascono oggi sia da una falsa interpretazione che da un rifiuto a priori.

This book is a brief study, history, and analysis of the roots of classical Liberalism, considered real civil progress. It is an exciting book, especially today, that explains not only the intrinsic meaning of the word, beyond bias but also its excesses or errors of interpretation. Learned but easy to read, this book can help understand the often fierce contrasts that arise today, both from a false interpretation and from an a priori refusal.

Trovo per caso su YouTube una meravigliosa registrazione del mio solo ed unico Maestro, Milan Horvat, che dirige nel 2006 con l’Orchestra Filarmonica di Zagreb l’ottava sinfonia di Anton Bruckner (che io dirigerò la settimana prossima a Tokyo con l’Orchestra della NHK). Mi commuovo molto, e mi rendo conto di quanto fosse grande il Maestro soprattutto in questo repertorio: equilibrio, forma, precisione,  e soprattutto modestia: mai mettere se stessi in primo piano e sempre al servizio del compositore e della sua opera. La registrazione è del 2006, quando il Maestro aveva 87 anni; lui dirige da seduto, ma a memoria. Incredibile. Ricordo ancora tutto quello che lui ci diceva nelle sue lezioni.

I accidentally found on YouTube a superb recording of my one and only Maestro, Milan Horvat, conducting Anton Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony in 2006 with the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra (I will perform the same symphony next week in Tokyo with the NHK Orchestra). I was very moved, and I realized how great the Maestro was, especially in this repertoire: balance, form, precision, and above all, modesty: never putting oneself in the foreground and always at the service of the composer and his work. The recording is from 2006, when the Maestro was 87 years old; he conducts sitting down but from memory. Incredible. I still remember everything he told us in his lessons.

I have conducted and still perform both versions of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8. The 1887 version (Urfassung) has a longer Adagio, which Bruckner unfortunately cut in the 1890 version. The coda of the first movement in the 1890 version is a beautiful, lyrical, and soft farewell (a different character than the triumphant closing in the first version). Scherzo and Trio are different. Hard choice. However, since I conducted the 1887 version for the first time some 15 years ago, the Adagio in the 1890 version seems to have been “cut” and lacks the proper proportions. Yes, it’s a tough choice. But I don’t want to miss this Adagio of the 1887 version.

Soon, the 1887 version with the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo.

I also recorded the 1887 version with Philharmonia Zurich.

Es klingt merkwürdig, dass eine sehr liberale und politisch engagierte Autorin wie Eva Menasse über einen eben aus politischen Gründen umstrittenen Schriftsteller wie Heimito von Doderer ein Porträt voller Bewunderung und sogar Liebe schreibt. Das ist offensichtlich eben der Liebe für einen der persönlichsten, originellsten und grossartigsten Literatur-Künstlern des Nachkriegs geschuldet, und dem Unverständnis über die Tatsache, dass dieser grossartige Schriftsteller heute so gut wie vergessen ist. Hinterlässt die kalt-objektive Doderer-Biographie von Wolfgang Fleischer einen bitteren Geschmack, die offensichtliche Bewunderung von Eva Menasse balanciert das aus, aus der Sicht, und dem Respekt, einer Schriftsteller-Kollegin.

My youngest son often complains about not having enough friends. He belongs to Generation Z (born in 1997), for which it seems to be a common problem. I understand the seriousness of this, and I try to help him by telling him that the quantity of friends is not paramount, but the quality is. Secondly, I share my personal experience: I only have maybe 4 or 5 friends, all of them for at least 30 years: friends undergo a hard selection in life. And finally, I sent him an interesting article from the Washington Post: Making new friends can be hard

It’s a difficult issue, I see, and it’s very difficult for me to help, but this problem has been around for ages, and it needs life experience, patience, and also a lot of energy and strength, especially when we know, from a longer experience, that real friends cannot be many.

Together with his 9th Symphony, Gustav Mahler’s masterwork Das Lied von der Erde is somewhat enigmatic; not a symphony, not a song cycle, not a cantata, with the unbelievable, incredible, essential “Der Abschied” as probably the highest point in Mahler’s work. Soon, to be performed in Copenhagen with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. On the program is another Farewell Symphony, Schubert’s immortal and no less enigmatic “Unfinished” symphony.

I thought I was familiar with basic tea knowledge: the difference between Chinese and Japanese tea, black and green, sencha and matcha, and the different ways to prepare it. I was wrong. Reading this book, a real science opened to me — mysterious and fascinating. It is excellent reading and a fantastic journey into the art of knowing, preparing, and drinking Japanese tea.