Gábor’s Desert Island Discs
Posted on April 23, 2013
Imagine being a conductor, and someone asks for your top five favourite pieces of music!
That was the task faced recently by Manchester Camerata’s Music Director Gábor Takács-Nagy. You can read his considered opinion below…
Schubert – Quintet for Two Cellos
“This is one of the most divine pieces which I have ever played! I could understand Arthur Rubinstein who wished that on his death bed he could listen to the slow movement. It is also a great memory of my former quartet-life when we played it with the greatest cellists – Sviatoslav Rostropovitch, Paul Tortelier, Steven Isserlis, Miklos Perenyi.”
Bartok – Bluebeard’s Castle
“This is one of the greatest pieces of my beloved compatriot Béla Bartok whom I consider as the greatest composer of the 20th century. I conducted it two years ago and on stage I became completely dizzy by the emotional richness, complexity and profoundness of this masterpiece. One of the greatest operas of all time.”
Four Slow Movements of Beethoven Quartets op. 18/1, 59/1, 74, 135
“Not one piece, but …. these four slow movements always touched me very deeply when I played them – and even now when I am teaching them. No wonder Beethoven himself wrote in a letter ” I was in tears when I composed it” (the slow movement of op. 18 no. 1)
One Haydn Piece
“I would definitely like to choose one Haydn piece (any of his symphonies or string quartets) because, as time goes by, I am more and more in admiration of Haydn’s music. It’s deeply honest but also unbelievably original, surprising and exciting. I love his phenomenal sense of humour.”
Tchaikovsky 4th Symphony
“I love Tchiakovsky’s music – he is a great composer. His 4th symphony always moves me deeply. He composed this piece about the power of Fate in our lives and as a conductor this is a score which can blow you away profoundly. “