Sir Edward Elgar: String Quartet in E minor, Op. 83
performed by the Coull Quartet, or below by the Maggini String Quartet (do note that the video below is both the quartet and the quintet; the quartet itself is only about a half hour in performance) It is full of golden sounds … Continue reading Sir Edward Elgar: String Quartet in E minor, Op. 83
Dvorak Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104
performed by Carmine Miranda and the Moravian Philharmonic under Petr Vronský, or below in another stunning performance with Rostropovich and the London Philharmonic under Guilini, the same pairing from Saint-Saëns last week! If I had known that it was possible to … Continue reading Dvorak Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104
Dvorak Symphony no. 7 in D minor, Op. 70
performed by the Berlin Philharmonic under Rafael Kubelik Yeah, a symphony that isn’t his ninth. And it’s superb, Dvorak at his finest. Dvorak could be one of those composers who’s been cursed by his own success from a few very … Continue reading Dvorak Symphony no. 7 in D minor, Op. 70
TSO’s Beethoven 9
It could hardly have been a more music-filled weekend, and it ended on a note of hope, of triumph, of absolute triumph and sublime beauty. In case you missed it, I also attended concerts on Friday and Saturday, the former … Continue reading TSO’s Beethoven 9
Dvorak String Quartet no. 12 in F major Op. 96 ‘American’
performed by the Prager Streichquartett, or below by the Cleveland Quartet This is one of those pieces that impedes the discovery of all the composer’s other works in the form. We’ll eventually get around to Saint-Saëns’ organ symphony, but it’s the one that makes … Continue reading Dvorak String Quartet no. 12 in F major Op. 96 ‘American’
NTSO’s Mahler First Symphony
in a land far, far away… Because Mahler. In a burst of relative spontaneity, I went to this concert, and was sure to bring someone along for the ride, and we enjoyed a last-minute (ish) concert (as much as an … Continue reading NTSO’s Mahler First Symphony
Dvorak String Quartet no. 1 in A, op. 2
performed by the Prager Streichquartett Wow… this is a long quartet. But maybe it shouldn’t be. The Prague String Quartet’s recording comes in at 48 minutes, which feels pretty hefty for a chamber work, but other recordings, like that from the … Continue reading Dvorak String Quartet no. 1 in A, op. 2
NSO’s Hero Reborn
Wow. A very interesting, very powerful evening this was, and one of the greatest moments the NSO has brought us in the years that I’ve been a patron, with wonderful programming. Brett Dean, Bartok, and Shostakovich. Please read. This was … Continue reading NSO’s Hero Reborn
Saint-Saens Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 33
performed by Sir Steven Isserlis and the London Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas, or below from Mstislav Rostropovich and the London Philharmonic under Carlo Maria Giulini “Here, for once, is a violoncello concerto in which the solo instrument displays every register … Continue reading Saint-Saens Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 33
Saint-Saëns Symphony in A major
performed by the Orchestre National De L’O.R.T.F. under Jean Martinon Not the typical symphony choice is it? In fact, searches for other symphonies (on library bookshelves, the iTunes store, Amazon, etc.) are so riddled with recordings of the composer’s third symphony … Continue reading Saint-Saëns Symphony in A major
Camille Saint-Saëns: Piano Trio No.1 in F major, op.18
performed by Hayoung Bang, Violin; Sebastian Ortega, Cello; Serina Chang, Piano Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was born on 9 October 1835 in Paris, child of an official in the French Ministry of the Interior, who died only a few months after his … Continue reading Camille Saint-Saëns: Piano Trio No.1 in F major, op.18
Beethoven Symphony no. 5 in Cm, op.67
performed by the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich under David Zinman Radiant beams shoot through this region’s deep night, and we become aware of gigantic shadows which, rocking back and forth, close in on us and destroy everything within us except the … Continue reading Beethoven Symphony no. 5 in Cm, op.67
Beethoven Triple Concerto in C major, op. 56
performed by Yefim Bronfman, Truls Mørk and Gil Shaham with the Tonhalle Orchestra under David Zinman, or below by the Chamber Orchestra of Europe under Bernard Haitink with: Renaud Capuçon, violin Gautier Capuçon, cello Frank Braley, piano So our first … Continue reading Beethoven Triple Concerto in C major, op. 56
January: Cello and Symphony
I recently attended a concert with this exact theme, and had to ask myself if perhaps it was part of the reason I had the idea for what we’ll be doing for the next five weeks or so. I’m not going … Continue reading January: Cello and Symphony
NSO’s New Year Concert
… in which the audience voted for at least part of the program. The voting process for this evening’s program was announced last summer and began some months ago. Among the options included Bernstein’s overture to Candide, a Respighi piece, … Continue reading NSO’s New Year Concert
Beethoven Serenade in D major, op. 8
for violin, viola and cello, performed by the Zurich String Trio, or below by the Grumiaux Trio So it’s 2017 and all… We’ve yet to complete even our traversal of the op. 18 string quartets, and that will slowly but surely … Continue reading Beethoven Serenade in D major, op. 8
Danish December: wrap-up
And here we are again at the end of another month of marvelous music. I feel like if I could get around to doing more of these series for more individual nations/cultures, there would be so many gems to discover. … Continue reading Danish December: wrap-up
Hans Abrahamsen: let me tell you
performed by Barbara Hannigan and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Andris Nelsons, or below with Hannigan and the Gothenburg Symphony under Kent Nagano Abrahamsen – let me tell you from Göteborgs Symfoniker on Vimeo. (I recently featured this piece … Continue reading Hans Abrahamsen: let me tell you
Ib Nørholm: Symphony no. 3, op. 57 ‘Day’s Nightmare’
performed by the Odense Symphony Orchestra under Edward Serov (please note that the ‘third symphony’ on YouTube is actually his first. That’s an error. It’s a nice piece, but not the one we’ll talk about today. There’s no video available … Continue reading Ib Nørholm: Symphony no. 3, op. 57 ‘Day’s Nightmare’
Per Nørgård: Symphony no. 1, op. 13 ‘Sinfonia austera’
performed by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra under Leif Segerstam I remember that every section of the symphony came to me, at strange moments, in a ‘complete vision’, like a sounding vision in time. Quoted from the composer, here (this … Continue reading Per Nørgård: Symphony no. 1, op. 13 ‘Sinfonia austera’
Holmboe String Quartet no. 1, op. 46
performed by the Kontra Quartet In his book Surprised by Beauty, Robert R. Reilly suggests taking the Holmboe quartets in their published order, saying they might be the most challenging listens of everything the composer wrote. He hails Holmboe’s output as … Continue reading Holmboe String Quartet no. 1, op. 46
Fugue for Thought 