William Malloch talks to conductors Richard Lert and Alfred Sendrey and cellist Nathan Liebenbaum about their memories of the 19th century's most "glamourous" conductor, Arthur Nikisch. Born in 1855, the Hungarian violinist and conductor, was considered by many, during his life, as the greatest interpreter of the music of Beethoven, Liszt, and Brahms. An attractive and fashionable man, Nikisch developed a style of conducting that was later adopted by many modern maestros. With his in depth analysis of the score, simple beat, conservative movements that employed the eyes as much as the arms, and his charismatic personality, Nikisch elicited supremely evocative performances from his orchestras. Although only recorded a few times, and then only using acoustic horn recording techniques that were unable to capture the full sound and subtle nuances of an orchestra’s performance, the skill with which Nikisch conducted can still be recognized, as is demonstrated in the 1913 rendition of Franz Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 1 in F-Sharp” that concludes this informative program. |
