Criteris històrics (1/5): com sonava la música de Bach?

·55 min·5 clips

The Los Angeles Philharmonic's grand version of Beethoven's 5th uses more instruments than Beethoven ever imagined.

Pedro Pardo and Albert Galceran host this episode of Els homes clàssics, focusing on historical performance criteria for classical music. They begin by contrasting modern recordings of Beethoven's 5th Symphony with its original conception, noting that today's orchestras use more instruments and better-tuned versions than Beethoven had. The hosts discuss how orchestral scores often omit specifics like the number of violins, requiring conductors to infer from wind sections. They highlight that dynamics like crescendos were added later by editors, especially in Baroque music where instruments like harpsichords couldn't produce such effects. The episode examines the mid-20th century movement to recover the original sound of composers like Bach, spurred by musicological research. It describes how romantic interpretations, such as Herbert von Karajan's with the Berlin Philharmonic, applied large-orchestra aesthetics to Baroque works. The hosts visit the Wiener Theater, where Beethoven's symphonies premiered in a small hall, suggesting original performances were less grandiose. Arnold Dolmetsch is introduced as a key figure who revived period instruments like the viola da gamba starting in 1889. The discussion covers how historical performance involves using instruments from the composer's era to approximate the original sound. The episode concludes with a performance of Bach's Air on the G String by Jordi Savall, a Catalan director specializing in historical criteria. Throughout, the hosts emphasize that historical interpretation is not a recent trend but has roots in the late 19th century. They explain terms like historically informed interpretation and its impact on modern performances. The episode is part of a week-long series on historical criteria, with future segments to delve deeper into specific directors and techniques.

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