Since it’s a transcribed interview the voice of the elderly Casals comes through pretty clearly.

It’s a lively discussion with many stories and enlightening comments from the Maestro.

I knew the story of Toscanini’s famous ability to record orchestra pieces without varying from recording to recording in the amount of time the movement took.

I admired Casals comment on it:

“I don’t understand what conclusion should be drawn from this [fact]… Toscanini, like all great artists, does not lack in creative fantasy. And since a musical work does not always appear to the artist in exactly the same way, without the slightest differences, it follows that a great interpreter can be carried away by some inspiration of the moment, where the idea of the stop-watch has no place at all.”

Throughout the text Casals mentions composers he has known and whose work he admired. Several of them were unknown to me. In fact one chapter of the interviews is entitled “Three Unknown Masters.”

The three are

This morning I poked around on imslp.org and Naxos and found scores and recordings by all three. Röntgen seems to me at first hearing to be in the Romantic tradition. Wikipedia says he was influenced by Schumann, Liszt and Brahms. Certainly in the piano trio movement (from No. 10 in A Major)  I listened to today one could hear wifts of Schumann and Brahms.

Unfortunately the piano trio (no. 1 in B minor, Opus 1) by Tovey  I listened to did not keep my attention very long and I moved on to Moor. I now feel that I should give Tovey more tries since I didn’t realizing I was listening to his first opus. A first opus often shows glimmers of where the composer ends up,but usually also has some apprentice aspects that the composer will abandon in his or her mature voice.

Moor seemed to have more immediately attractive musical ideas than Röntgen. Although I did get sucked in to Röntgen’s beautiful slow second movement of his piano trio. I listened to a cello sonata movement by Moor (Sonata 2, Op. 55) and it was quite nice. It was a theme and variations. Unmarked as so. I thought it curious that the cellist took several passages down out of the very high range Moor had written them or at least as was notated in the score available online. Maybe that’s a usual cello thing. Or the performer had a reason to do so.

I believe all three composers wrote pieces for Casals.

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Lonnie Thompson, Climate Scientist, Battles Time and Mortality – NYTimes.com

Dramatic important story of a scientist who was important to the scientific awareness of global warming. This is a very readable and well written historical essay.

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Probation Fees Multiply as Companies Profit – NYTimes.com

For profit companies putting people in jail. One step closer to corrupt Dickens England of the 19th century.

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Dozens of Syrian Soldiers Defect En Masse to Turkey – NYTimes.com

Complex stuff.

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After Ruling, Roberts Makes Getaway From the Scorn – NYTimes.com

Outlining much of the anger generated on right and left by Roberts recent ruling.

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Mexico Elects a New President – NYTimes.com

Enrique Peña Nieto has been elected. He penned an article in yesterday’s NYT:

Mexico’s Next Chapter – NYTimes.com

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BACK IN THE DAY: Communists in the river bottom | Breaking News | PE.com – Press-Enterprise

This is a link to a local Corona/Riverside newspaper. I’m staying in Coruna. I thought this article was interesting and amusing.

REGION: First black Marines had it rough | Breaking News | PE.com – Press-Enterprise

Also from the local paper.

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