'Liebesleid' -- Love's Sorrow
I've always liked this piece, ever since I first heard it and played it as a kid. But since then, 'Love's Sorrow' has become a lot more to me than a title and a catchy tune. I know the pain of this sorrow firsthand -- in several dimensions.
Unrequited love is what I think of first when I hear this music. I suspect you think of it, too. I've been there -- the initial infatuation, the sense of caring, the rising hopes, and -- you guessed it -- the cold, bitter realization: "Forget it, Jim -- the young lady doesn't care at all about you."
Was there ever a more empty feeling than this?
Homesickness, for me, is another dimension. I had the typical episodes of it in growing up -- the time away from home at summer camp and, in my later teens, the first three weeks away at school. When I was finished with school and on my own, I felt it again before, during, and after a couple of interstate moves. Even now, whenever I start out on a road trip, homesickness will still get to me on the first day.
Bereavement? I've been there, too, with the passing of family members -- notably Mom in 1991, Dad in 1993, my sister-in-law (brother's wife) in early 2007. I bounced back fairly soon. Brother did, too. I thank God; I know we could never have pulled through as well as we did without His help.
I've long had a penchant for pieces like 'Liebesleid' that start in minor mode and end in major. To me, the change from minor to major is a reminder that the pain of sorrow fades. The dark shadow passes. The sunlight comes back.
Your turn now.
Replies (12)
Yes, it does for me, but only when I listen to Fritz himself play it. I have never heard another violinist perform Kreisler and have it sound right. I've performed Kreisler too but despite my best efforts it fails to convey the feeling and expression that only the master himself could communicate. Interestingly, Kreisler's recording of the Beethoven violin sonatas (see my recent discussion post) has a similar feeling even though they are very different works.
Yes it did influence all my life and love... I too prefer the version of Kreisler. I love the piece so much that I wrote for Orchestra and Glass harmonica obligé a piece called "Liebesleid Tango", as an homage to Fritz Kreisler and Harriett Lies, for the upcoming 50th commemorative anniversary of Fritz Kreisler in 2012...
If some of you are interested to hear the piece,you can go to my personal website and click the audio section. You will find the "Liebesleid Tango" in the miscalleneous symphonic section...
Can't say I played it .... I AM playing it. Its one of my current asignments from my teacher. There's all those shifts from first to fith or so - and all so easy because the music dicatates it so naturally. And its hard to overdo the vibrato on this too - love the key shifts and (in my version) the way each repeat phrase is fingered differently to give it a new sound.
But I still can't say its one of my favorites. Perhaps its just too 'on your sleeve' I'd rather do Faure....
Thank you all for your input. I enjoyed reading your stories.
Marc, the 'Liebesleid Tango' is a cool piece -- I played it tonight and had fun with the 'Concert Baroque' also. The audio quality is delightful. I will go back and try out others -- thank you for the link.
BTW, Marc, I'm having fun with the latest Canadian air mass that you and Elise and Anne-Marie rolled on top of us here below the 34th parallel.
Or was that you, Emily G., who sent us a gift of Alaska air?
Well, whoever sent the gift, I'm enjoying it. My neighbors across the street built a snowman in their yard -- haven't seen one in a long time. It brought back memories of my growing-up years in the Chicago metro area and the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.
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The brother I mentioned above is my nearest living relative; but his home is in Nebraska -- about 800 miles from me in a straight line. And he's not home now but is out in Washington State with his two boys (my nephews). His twin sister is in Maine, and our younger sister is in New York State. Thank goodness for e-mail and phone.
This was a very quiet day here and one that I will long remember fondly. For me -- and I'm far from alone on this point -- Jesus is the one this day is all about. What he did and said -- this has proved to be my lifeline -- in sorrow and happiness alike. I realize that this is a diverse audience and that other Net boards are better suited to full-fledged faith discussions; so I will close here.
Thank so much Jim for your interest... here too it was very quiet and still is where I live in the north of Quebec... Was supposed to spent Christmas in Boston with friends but had to cancel because of a terrible cold... Here,it looks like Christmas: sunny and lots of snow...
Forgot to mention that my brother Michael lives in Madison, Alabama... I must visit him soon... and they had snow yesterday...
Yes, Liebesleid is a uniquely poignant expression of lost love, and its composer's own performance something wonderful. But decades ago my appreciation for it - and for all of Kreisler's music - was changed by hearing the Josef Gingold recorded performances. To me, these express a depth in the music which the everlasting charm of the original Kreisler performances don't seem to have.
Sandy
PS. Liebesleid has inspired me to write two additional pieces in the same style: Liebusalone and Liebusgetouttahere. Happy New Year!!!
- MARC: Ugh -- a cold is misery, indeed -- it puts the brakes on just about everything. Too bad you had to miss visiting Boston. That's one of the places I get homesick for -- even though I didn't grow up there. I lived there during most of the 1990s and into 2001.
My guess is that the snow at your brother's place will be gone by Wednesday. It's been on the ground since Christmas morning -- the longest I've seen it stay on the ground in my nearly 10 years here.
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- SANDY: Those are great song titles -- maybe worth posting on the outside of the practice room door to keep idle visitors at bay?
I tried searching on You Tube for "liebesleid gingold" -- in case I might find Josef Gingold's recording there -- but didn't find it. Still, I did come across world-famous Gingold pupil Josh Bell playing a rendition of it that takes a little more time -- about 4 minutes -- than I usually hear the piece take. I prefer a more leisurely pace with it myself now than when first starting with it -- undoubtedly because of the experiences it reminds me of.
Hi, Jim:
The recording (which, I believe, has never been transferred to CD) is called "Josef Gingold - plays Fritz Kreisler." Here's the information on the record jacket:
Fidelio Records, 1976, F-001. The address of Fidelio Records (at least, as of 1976) is 120 Kingston Place, #68, Bloomington, IN 47401. On the back of the recording there is a brief bio of Josef Gingold, plus his tribute (transcript of a talk) he gave at a Kreisler Centennial Concert at Indiana University in 1975. The front cover is a wonderful photo of Gingold playing.
The pieces he plays include Liebesleid, Liebefreud, Slavonic Fantasy (Dvorak-Kreisler), Miniature Viennese March, Berceuse Romantique, Aucassin and Nicolette, Song without words (Mendelssohn-Kreisler), La Gitana, Menuet in the Style of Pugnani, Mazurka in A Minor (Chopin-Kreisler), Serenade Espagnole (Chaminade-Kreisler), and Rondino on a theme of Beethoven.
The way Gingold plays these pieces, you'd think he's playing Brahms or Beethoven or Bach Sonatas. There is an unexpected depth, an underlying Mahlerian sense of profound and sobering melancholy behind that lilting Vienniese facade. It's really quite different from the way everyone else (including Kreisler) plays Kreisler. And, I daresay, if you can get to hear these performances, it will change the way you listen to and play Kreisler.
If you can't find the album, give me a call.
Happy New Year,
Sandy
marcus@iit.edu
office: 312-567-3358
Hi, I never had the chance to play that specific peice but it is definitively one of my favorite ones!
I love the youtube video of Oistrakh playing that peice. Possibly the only video where he is as young. (or one of the very few ones) It's fun to see people play at all stages of their life, how they evolve etc.
Sandy, thanks for the info. The CD sounds like a real winner -- great selections. I'll see what I can find.
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One other dimension of love's sorrow that I had originally thought through but cut at the last minute from the original post:
To be the one turned down -- that hurts. Who hasn't been there? But I found the memory of this easier to live with than the memory of having to be the one who does the turning down. I've been there, too.
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EDIT: Anne-Marie, I recently played the Oistrakh You Tube version and liked it a lot. Oistrakh definitely had an influence on me -- mainly through his vintage recordings. What an artist.
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December 22, 2010 at 08:56 PM ·
Yes, I was playing it with a pianist that was a wonderful person, but that was very inlove with me. So he hoped he would gain my heart by accompanying me on this piece. I was just inlove with another pianist (with whom I played a Brahms sonata), so the first one got quite heart-broken.