Emperor in New York: Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli in 1966
- Jan 2
- 1 min read
In 1966, after more than fifteen years, Michelangeli embarks on his third North American tour. On 21 January, 1966, he returned to play in Carnegie Hall for the first time in 15 years. A few days earlier [6 January] his performance of Beethoven’s Emperor with William Steinberg and the New York Philharmonic drew rave reviews, and was captured on tape by a musical bootlegger. (John Bell Young)
I've added this further report to the relevant web-page.
In the Saturday Review (22 January 1966), Irving Kolodin wrote: 'Physically, Michelangeli has changed little since 1950: but his pianism has, and for the better. There are still the glitter and flash that make an almost visual experience of his sound, but they are more regularized, better disciplined now than before. He combines in exceptional measure (perhaps more completely than any performer since Gieseking) the weight to produce massive chords deep-cushioned in sonority, and the key-skimming facility to summon iridescent shimmer of arpgeggios in contrast.
'What has all of this to do with Beethoven’s Emperor? Not as much, perhaps, as the pianist appeared to think. In the adagio, which has the colour possibilities to profit from such tonal tinting, Michelangeli was a persuasive performer. But the long lines of the first movement were short breathed and discontinuous in his treatment, with more than a hint of sentimentality in the retarded pace he chose for the moments of lyric flight.'
