Comments on: Harrison Birtwistle, ‘The Minotaur’ http://jonathanburton.wordpress.com/2008/04/16/harrison-birtwsitle-the-minotaur/ Jonathan Burton's website Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:16:08 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: jonathanburton http://jonathanburton.wordpress.com/2008/04/16/harrison-birtwsitle-the-minotaur/#comment-290 jonathanburton Sat, 19 Apr 2008 12:36:03 +0000 http://jonathanburton.wordpress.com/?p=163#comment-290 copy of a comment I have just added to The Rambler's blog which kindly quoted me: Apparently not a telecast but being recorded for DVD -- a last-minute decision. More sniffy reviews in Telegraph and Financial Times. And an appalling Newsnight Review on BBC2 last night, with literary luminaries who happen to be musical ignoramuses, saying they 'really liked the show' but 'hated the music' -- 'couldn't wait for it to end' -- 'Why can't the singers learn to sing words so they don't need those awful surtitles? You can hear the words in Sondheim'... Tony Parsons even called it a 'con trick'. Come ON! How would THEY like it if we were as ignorantly rude about Joyce or Bunuel or Picasso? You'd think modernism has been around long enough for people to have got over these stupid prejudices. How long ago was Schoenberg, for heaven's sake?? But Newsnight Review is notoriously literature-biased anyway. I've never seen a 'proper' musician on there. (Max?? Where are you???) End of rant. Hooray for you guys who are coming tonight and to the remaining performances -- it really is a treat. I'll try to get the surtitles in the right places for you!! ;-) copy of a comment I have just added to The Rambler’s blog which kindly quoted me:

Apparently not a telecast but being recorded for DVD — a last-minute decision.

More sniffy reviews in Telegraph and Financial Times. And an appalling Newsnight Review on BBC2 last night, with literary luminaries who happen to be musical ignoramuses, saying they ‘really liked the show’ but ‘hated the music’ — ‘couldn’t wait for it to end’ — ‘Why can’t the singers learn to sing words so they don’t need those awful surtitles? You can hear the words in Sondheim’… Tony Parsons even called it a ‘con trick’.
Come ON! How would THEY like it if we were as ignorantly rude about Joyce or Bunuel or Picasso? You’d think modernism has been around long enough for people to have got over these stupid prejudices. How long ago was Schoenberg, for heaven’s sake??
But Newsnight Review is notoriously literature-biased anyway. I’ve never seen a ‘proper’ musician on there. (Max?? Where are you???)

End of rant.

Hooray for you guys who are coming tonight and to the remaining performances — it really is a treat. I’ll try to get the surtitles in the right places for you!! ;-)

]]> By: Birtwistle’s Minotaur - the reviews « The Rambler http://jonathanburton.wordpress.com/2008/04/16/harrison-birtwsitle-the-minotaur/#comment-289 Birtwistle’s Minotaur - the reviews « The Rambler Wed, 16 Apr 2008 12:17:05 +0000 http://jonathanburton.wordpress.com/?p=163#comment-289 [...] Jonathan Burton: Words and Music: Birtwistle’s music polarizes opinion – remember the rumpus about ‘Panic’ at the Last Night of the Proms a few years ago? I was at ENO when we put on The Mask of Orpheus, and operas don’t get much more monumentally complicated or unapproachable than that was. But The Minotaur seems to me one of his finest scores, with many of his hallmarks – lots of noise, two growling tubas, screams and shouts, angular lines, stomping rhythms, strange sounds such as cimbalom and contrabass clarinet – but focused, singer-friendly, often very still and beautiful. [...] [...] Jonathan Burton: Words and Music: Birtwistle’s music polarizes opinion – remember the rumpus about ‘Panic’ at the Last Night of the Proms a few years ago? I was at ENO when we put on The Mask of Orpheus, and operas don’t get much more monumentally complicated or unapproachable than that was. But The Minotaur seems to me one of his finest scores, with many of his hallmarks – lots of noise, two growling tubas, screams and shouts, angular lines, stomping rhythms, strange sounds such as cimbalom and contrabass clarinet – but focused, singer-friendly, often very still and beautiful. [...]

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