Series: Concert Programs
I’m on Substack now. Please go follow me there. Thank you. Photo by Rhamely on Unsplash In contrast to how I wrote here for years, with themed series and a weekend series focused on chamber music, etc. etc., I’m doing … Continue reading Series: Concert Programs
What Might Be New Around Here
Cover photo by Dan Dimmock on Unsplash TL;DR- I’m going to start doing some exciting new things on Substack and I hope they justify a paid content model. Some ideas that come to mind worth addressing in this piece: A … Continue reading What Might Be New Around Here
Play This, Not That
Cover photo by Eric Prouzet on Unsplash And by ‘play,’ I mean listen to as an individual, or more significantly, program as a music director or some sort of managerial staff of an ensemble. If you’ve ever followed a recipe … Continue reading Play This, Not That
The Monopsonistic Music Market?
Photo by Samuel Regan-Asante on Unsplash Everyone knows what a monopoly is. Everyone also knows that an alliteration can be very nice, and I love to use them. The opposite of a monopoly (where one seller controls the market) is … Continue reading The Monopsonistic Music Market?
The Potential for Scholarship
Cover photo by Philippe Bout on Unsplash I’ve been hard at work on music lectures lately, with only a couple of weeks until I present Beethoven’s magnificent ninth symphony to an audience who just a few years ago had only … Continue reading The Potential for Scholarship
Memories: Mahler 1
cover photo by Sebastian Unrau on Unsplash I said this was a thing I was going to do, and I’m finally sort of getting around to it. I came to know Mahler’s symphonies very much out of order. To my … Continue reading Memories: Mahler 1
Comparing Recordings: a Chart
photo by Lauren Sauder on Unsplash If I’ve said it once here, I’ve said it a thousand times: I love a good list. And what’s better than a list? A list in two dimensions. As in, like, a list just … Continue reading Comparing Recordings: a Chart
Listening Lists
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash A lot has changed since I last wrote regularly. A lot has changed in just the past 6 months. But I want to get writing here again. One of the biggest changes is that … Continue reading Listening Lists
A Return to Writing?
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash Hey, remember this? (2023 Editor’s note: I wrote this nearly two years ago, and changed none of it, so here’s this as an attempt to tell myself I’ll start writing here again. Please leave … Continue reading A Return to Writing?
Beethoven Piano Sonata no. 9 in E, op. 14 no. 1
performed by Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, or below by Alfred Brendel (cover image by Lex Sirikiat) We have now moved on to the two piano sonatas of Beethoven’s op. 14. This first of the two sonatas that make up this opus number … Continue reading Beethoven Piano Sonata no. 9 in E, op. 14 no. 1
Beethoven Piano Sonata no. 8 in Cm, op. 13, ‘Pathetique’
performed by Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, or below by Krystian Zimerman (cover image by Eleni Afiontzi) And back to Beethoven! The Pathetique sonata is one of Beethoven’s most famous compositions, and with good reason. While it’s still an early piece in the composer’s output, … Continue reading Beethoven Piano Sonata no. 8 in Cm, op. 13, ‘Pathetique’
Mozart Flute Quartet no. 2 in G, K. 285a
performed by the Nash Ensemble, or below (cover image by Gaetano Cessati) Mozart’s second flute quartet, in G major, was written, or at least completed, in 1778. Three of Mozart’s four flute quartets, I guess, were written for “amateur flautist … Continue reading Mozart Flute Quartet no. 2 in G, K. 285a
NSO’s Tosca
Deception. Rebellion. Jealousy. Betrayal. Lust. Torture. Murder. Suicide. Catholicism. It’s all here. I finally saw Tosca! It was an opera concert, but honestly was as fully staged as you could expect it to be and still be in a concert hall … Continue reading NSO’s Tosca
Mozart Violin Concerto no. 5 in A, K. 219, ‘Turkish’
performed by Hilary Hahn and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen under Paavo Järvi (cover image by Daniel Olah) We’re still in 1775, but just barely, and we’re already at the fifth and final of Mozart’s entire violin concerto output. He churned … Continue reading Mozart Violin Concerto no. 5 in A, K. 219, ‘Turkish’
Mozart Violin Concerto no. 4 in D, K. 218
performed by Arabella Steinbacher and the Festival Strings Lucerne, or below by Pinchas Zukerman and the English Chamber Orchestra (cover image by Karsten Würth) We’re hopping back in time a little bit, to the year 1775, in Mozart’s Salzburg era. … Continue reading Mozart Violin Concerto no. 4 in D, K. 218
Mozart String Quartet no. 14 in G, K. 387
performed by the Hagen Quartet (cover image by Ehud Neuhaus) Before God, and as an honest man, I tell you that your son is the greatest composer known to me either in person or by name. He has taste, and, … Continue reading Mozart String Quartet no. 14 in G, K. 387
Mozart Piano Sonata no. 13 in B flat, K. 333
performed by Mitsuko Uchida second and third movements (cover image by Lex Sirikiat) You like forensics, don’t you, dear reader? After shows like CSI and others, as well as what seems (at least to me) to be the growing fad of … Continue reading Mozart Piano Sonata no. 13 in B flat, K. 333
Mozart Piano Sonata no. 12 in F, K. 332
performed by Mitsuko Uchida (cover image by Vincent Giersch) This is a piece that has captivated me, and although it may not be, like the finale of the previous sonata, one of those immediately recognizable, iconic passages, it exudes such … Continue reading Mozart Piano Sonata no. 12 in F, K. 332
Mozart Oboe Quartet in F, K. 370
performed by Joszef Kiss and the Kodály Quartet, or below by Alexei Ogrintchouk, oboe; Baiba Skride, violin; Veronika Hagen, viola; Sol Gabetta, cello (cover image by Anita Austvika) Mozart’s Oboe quartet dates from 1781, a few years later than the … Continue reading Mozart Oboe Quartet in F, K. 370
Mozart Piano Sonata no. 11 in A, K. 331
performed by Mitsuko Uchida second and third movements (cover image by Joanna Kosinska) Mozart’s eleventh piano sonata was composed somewhere, at some point. It’s not often that we don’t have all the juicy details about the composition of Mozart’s efforts … Continue reading Mozart Piano Sonata no. 11 in A, K. 331
Mozart Piano Sonata no. 10 in C, K. 330
performed by Mitsuko Uchida, or below by Krystian Zimerman (cover image by Tim Mossholder) As if we didn’t have enough Mozart last year, with week after week of his music, we’re going to see his name yet a few more … Continue reading Mozart Piano Sonata no. 10 in C, K. 330
Fugue for Thought 