Allegro Con Brio - Bernard Haitnik gives his anaklysis and feedback to Thomas Blunt
Lesson time: (5min 54sec)
Thomas Blunt conducts the first movement of Brahms's Third Symphony while Bernard Haitink gives feedback on woodwind balance, dynamics and control.
Course preview
This lesson is part of the course Brahms - Symphony No 3
Watch a preview of the full course below.
Lesson transcript:
Music Lesson
First Movement Analysis
The first movement was interesting.
- Beginning: Fair. Good.
Letter A
Here, the woodwinds went. And you were,
You didn't have control over them.
You were here, but not there.
And I think, Tom, it would not harm to ask the woodwinds, when there was a piano, to play a bit more piano.
There's a danger that you want to play out all the time.
Don't do that.
Yes. Once more.
- Tutti, tutti, tutti.
Yeah. Let us see.
And piano Leggio.
And that one, it was a bit too relaxed, you see.
So do it once for the beginning. Fine.
Interaction
You mind?
Yeah.
Does it disturb you when I stand here?
Not at all.
No. Really?
Are you honest?
I'm not sure.
Okay. Yes, it would be nice.
Refinement
These two pillars.
Yes. One, two, and then.
Yeah.
Try it once more.
Now, what I would like you to do:
- Once at the beginning, try to get the violas and the celli with these syncopations.
- You all concentrate on this fantastic tea.
But here, the appassionate is important.
When you give a little bit more impulse.
So once from the beginning till where you stopped.
Sorry, I'm interfering, but what can I do?
Sorry, I'm pestering you, but that must be like a rock.
Yeah. Give it once.
Yeah. You can wait a split of a second for that.
Final Thoughts
I see the first movement as a huge symphonic form,
Starting amazing, with major-minor chords.
The two pillars, as I call them, in the orchestra in the winds.
And prowess, like as if you are grabbed by two hands.
About the instructor
With an international conducting career that has spanned more than five decades, Amsterdam-born Bernard Haitink is one of today's most celebrated conductors. Appointed Principal Conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from the beginning of the 2006-7 season, he has led many of the world's major orchestras, including more than 25 years at the helm of the Royal Concertgebouw as its music director. In addition, Mr Haitink has previously held posts as music director of the Dresden Staatskapelle, the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, and the London Philharmonic. He is Conductor Laureate of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Conductor Emeritus of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and an honorary member of the Berlin Philharmonic. He has made frequent guest appearances with the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio, London Symphony and other leading orchestras. Mr Haitink has recorded widely for the Phillips, Decca and EMI labels, including complete cycles of Mahler, Bruckner, and Schumann symphonies with the Concertgebouw and extensive repertoire with the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic orchestras and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. His most recent recordings are the complete Brahms and Beethoven symphonies with the London Symphony Orchestra on the LSO Live label. His discography also includes many opera recordings with the Royal Opera and Glyndebourne, as well as with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra and Dresden Staatskapelle. Mr Haitink's recording of Janacek's Jenufa with the orchestra, soloists, and chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden received a Grammy Award for best opera recording in 2004. Mr Haitink has received many international awards in recognition of his services to music, including both an honorary Knighthood and the Companion of Honour in the United Kingdom, and the House Order of Orange-Nassau in the Netherlands. He was named Musical America's "Musician of the Year" for 2007. In his MusicGurus course on Brahms' Symphony No. 3, Haitink draws on that lifetime at the podium to take you deep inside the score - how he shapes its phrasing, balance, tempo and structure - offering rare insight into how one of the great conductors reads and brings a Brahms symphony to life, whether you are a conductor, an orchestral player or a passionate listener. read more