Giacomo Puccini: Crisantemi
performed by the Venice Quartet, or below by the Enso String Quartet Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini had a long name. He was born on December 22, 1858 in Lucca, Italy, one of nine children in the Puccini … Continue reading Giacomo Puccini: Crisantemi
Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande
Performed by the Orchestre National de France under Bernard Haitink, with Anne Sofie von Otter, Wolfgang Holzmair, Laurent Naouri, et al., or below by the Vienna Philharmonic and many more under Claudio Abbado So here we are with our first opera of … Continue reading Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande
NTSO: Gil Shaham and Lan Shui
Lan Shui has featured in here and there in my experiences with concerts. He’s a respected conductor, and conducted what is currently the only live performance I’ve heard of Mahler’s magnificent second symphony (but that will change next year, as … Continue reading NTSO: Gil Shaham and Lan Shui
Verdi String Quartet in E minor
performed by the Venice Quartet, or below by the Shanghai Quartet I’ve written a Quartet in my leisure moments in Naples. I had it performed one evening in my house, without attaching the least importance to it and without inviting … Continue reading Verdi String Quartet in E minor
20th Century Opera: a series
I’ve spoken before about how difficult it is for me to explore and begin to enjoy opera the way I listen to most other music. For me, as for most people, it’s an auditory experience, and I’ll listen to music while I’m … Continue reading 20th Century Opera: a series
Glass: Tirol Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
performed by Dennis Russell Davies and the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ou6Xnit5XQ&t=14s Philip Glass’s first piano concerto isn’t (usually) referred to as piano concerto no. 1. Instead, it’s given the above name, the Tirol Concerto for Piano and Orchestra. It was … Continue reading Glass: Tirol Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
Boulez: Éclat
performed by the Ensemble InterContemporain, or below by members of the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle, from The Proms 2016 Boulez completed his Éclat for 15 instruments in 1965. Properly (I think?) called Éclat-Multiples, it is (or was to be) … Continue reading Boulez: Éclat
Boulez Piano Sonata no. 2
performed by Paavali Jumppanen (from his outstanding release of the three Boulez sonatas), or in an (at least) equally superb reading from the wonderful Maurizio Pollini Boulez and tradition. L’enfant terrible. A polemic. A rebel. A radical. The guy who said … Continue reading Boulez Piano Sonata no. 2
TSO & Fazıl Say
I feel like we’ve been waiting for ages for this concert. And what a concert it was. Fazıl Say seems to be everywhere lately, literally and figuratively. He’s performing all over Europe, having recently played Beethoven’s Emperor concerto somewhere in Turkey, I … Continue reading TSO & Fazıl Say
Bartók: Contrasts, Sz. 111
performed by Karl Schlechta, clarinet; Susanne Kaldor, violin; Akos Hernadi, piano; or below, in what might be this release https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c38rcj9retw We jump ahead now to a much later work in Bartóks’ output, having given him our attention for an entire week, even … Continue reading Bartók: Contrasts, Sz. 111
Bartók Piano Concerto no. 2, Sz. 95, BB 101
performed by Leif Ove Andsnes and the Berlin Philharmonic under Pierre Boulez, or below by the Géza Anda and the Concertgebouw Orchestra under Bernard Haitink https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfOJCKN148M Since we discussed the first piano concerto earlier this week, I’d like to suggest … Continue reading Bartók Piano Concerto no. 2, Sz. 95, BB 101
Bartók Piano Concerto no. 1, Sz. 83, BB 91
performed by Jean Efflam-Bavouzet and the London Philharmonic under Vladimir Jurowski “My first concerto […] I consider it a successful work, although its style is up to a point difficult, perhaps even very difficult for the orchestra and the public.” … Continue reading Bartók Piano Concerto no. 1, Sz. 83, BB 91
NSO’s Trio Cantabile
featuring Wen-Sinn Yang (楊文信 ), cello; May-Lin Ju (朱玫玲), clarinet; Chaio-Han Liao (廖皎含), piano Oh, how rarely we have local, affordable chamber music. The vast majority of the string quartet concerts we see are all from foreign ensembles, some … Continue reading NSO’s Trio Cantabile
Bartók String Quartet no. 2, Sz. 76
performed by the Emerson String Quartet, or below by the Takács Quartet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-Qs_W6zIX8 Bartók’s second quartet was written between 1915 and 1917, in Rákoskeresztúr, Hungary (or Gerersdorf in German, for those of you who don’t like consonants as much). What you may … Continue reading Bartók String Quartet no. 2, Sz. 76
NSO’s Bruckner 7
featuring Wen-Sinn Yang, cello The NSO finished their concert season two years ago, in the spring of 2015, with Bruckner’s eighth symphony, a monumental work with which I was unfortunately not familiar enough to appreciate in full at the time. … Continue reading NSO’s Bruckner 7
Gabriel Pierné: Piano Concerto in C minor, Op. 12
performed by Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and the BBC Philharmonic under Juan José Mena, or below by Marylene Dosse and the Stuttgart Philharmonic under Matthias Kuntzsch Henri Constant Gabriel Pierné was born 16 August, 1863 in Metz, in northeast France. His family … Continue reading Gabriel Pierné: Piano Concerto in C minor, Op. 12
Dvorak Piano Concerto in G minor, Op. 33
performed by Sviatoslav Richter and the Bavarian State Orchestra under Carlos Kleiber I see I am unable to write a Concerto for a virtuoso; I must think of other things. Dvorak, about his piano concerto … there is nothing in … Continue reading Dvorak Piano Concerto in G minor, Op. 33
Dvorak Piano Quintet No. 1 in A, op. 5, B. 28
performed by the Borodin Quartet with Sviatoslav Richter My dear friend! Do you remember that quintet (A major) with piano which, thanks to your efforts, was performed in Prague for the first time, about 14 years ago? I cannot find … Continue reading Dvorak Piano Quintet No. 1 in A, op. 5, B. 28
Buchbinder plays Beethoven
featuring Rudolf Buchbinder and the Taipei Symphony Orchestra The short version of the story is that I had high expectations for this event, and I was still blown away. Magnificently wonderful. About three months ago, I was able to hear all … Continue reading Buchbinder plays Beethoven
NSO’s Extreme Classical
featuring Sabine Meyer and Michael Sanderling I skipped the NSO concert last week. We were supposed to have the Labèque sisters come to perform Glass’s double concerto for two pianos, but something happened and the program got changed. While the … Continue reading NSO’s Extreme Classical
Liszt Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in A major, S. 125
performed by Krystian Zimerman and the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa, or below by Jean-Yves Thibaudet and the Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse under Tugan Sokhiev Well, we certainly haven’t seen Liszt in a very long time, about a year and … Continue reading Liszt Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in A major, S. 125
Fugue for Thought 