SQS: Haydn’s Divertimenti a Quattro, op. 2
again, performed by the Buchberger Quartet, or below by the Kodàly Quartet no. 8 no. 9 no. 10 Contained in this opus number are four quartets, per Wikipedia: Quartet No. 7 in A major, Op. 2, No. 1, FHE No. … Continue reading SQS: Haydn’s Divertimenti a Quattro, op. 2
SQS: Haydn’s Divertimenti a Quattro, op. 1, no.s 1-6
performed by the Buchberger Quartet, or below by the Kodàly Quartet no. 2 no. 3 no. 4 no. 5 no. 6 The below from Wikipedia: Quartet No. 1 in B♭ major (“La Chasse”), Op. 1, No. 1, FHE No. 52, Hoboken … Continue reading SQS: Haydn’s Divertimenti a Quattro, op. 1, no.s 1-6
Haydn Symphony no. 10 in D, H. I/10
performed by the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra under Adam Fischer, or below by L’Estro Armonico under Derek Solomons This was originally intended to be the last post in the second installment of Haydn symphonies by fives. We did 1-5 sometime last … Continue reading Haydn Symphony no. 10 in D, H. I/10
Haydn Symphony no. 27 G major, H. I/27
performed by the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra under Adam Fischer, or below by the Academy of Ancient music under Christopher Hogwood (I enjoy Fischer’s much more) So here we are again with another Haydn symphony. As I mentioned yesterday, Haydn’s catalogue is not … Continue reading Haydn Symphony no. 27 G major, H. I/27
Haydn Symphony no. 18 in G, H. I/18
performed (as always) by the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra under Adam Fischer (from whence comes the cover image for this article), or below by the Academy of Ancient Music under Christopher Hogwood So we’re going to get back around to Haydn … Continue reading Haydn Symphony no. 18 in G, H. I/18
Bach Violin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041
performed by Isaac Stern and the New York Philharmonic under Bernstein (at least listed in iTunes as such) or below with Stern and others part 2 part 3 I’d never thought to look at all the credits on this album and see who was involved in … Continue reading Bach Violin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041
Bach Cello Suite No.2 in D minor, BWV 1008
performed by Steven Isserlis, or below (in full) by Maurice Gendron So here we are for the second of our installments of the Bach cello suites. If you haven’t yet listened to the awesome third episode of the podcast with cellist Richard Narroway, … Continue reading Bach Cello Suite No.2 in D minor, BWV 1008
Johann Sebastian Bach: Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007
performed by Stephen Isserlis (the above video begins with the prelude of no. 1, but is excerpts of Isserlis’ performances of all the suites. Find plenty of full versions of the work on YouTube or practically anywhere music exists. I … Continue reading Johann Sebastian Bach: Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007
Podcast: Bringing Bach to Life
featuring cellist Richard Narroway (other links below) One of the people I’d been hoping to catch up with when I first planned to start the podcast was a gentleman I’d kind of stumbled upon online almost a year ago. More specifically, I stumbled … Continue reading Podcast: Bringing Bach to Life
String Quartet Series
There are so many string quartets… The obvious contributors: Haydn has 68 numbered quartets Mozart has 23 Beethoven has 16 numbered quartets (and the Große Fuge) But that’s not all. There are composers the average classical music listener (including myself) has … Continue reading String Quartet Series
Hector Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique
performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Sir Colin Davis Berlioz tells it like it is. You take a trip, you wind up screaming at your own funeral. Honorable mention in the “Symphonic but not a symphony” category is this … Continue reading Hector Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique
The Symphonic Poem: A Wrap Up
Well, here we are at the end of another series. Find the whole thing here. This one I feel was more varied, more vibrant than the Russian or German series, because the symphonic/tone poem is less a thing and more an idea. We … Continue reading The Symphonic Poem: A Wrap Up
Arthur Honegger: Pacific 231
performed by the Toulouse Capitole Orchestra under Michel Plasson It’s about trains. Or is it? So Pacific 231 is a kind of train, and Arthur Honegger was, as Wikipedia says: …widely known as a train enthusiast, and once notably said: “I … Continue reading Arthur Honegger: Pacific 231
Concert Review: NSO’s Mahler 6
Schoenberg’s piece terrified me. And every Mahler symphony ever written is one of the greatest symphonies ever written. I died a little bit last night, in the most moving, inspiring way. This is a concert I’d been waiting to attend … Continue reading Concert Review: NSO’s Mahler 6
Ottorino Respighi: Feste Romane
performed by the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal under Charles Dutoit Four years after yesterday’s Pines, and more than a decade after Fountains, we have Festivals. As Wikipedia says: Each of the four movements depict a scene of celebration from ancient or modern Rome. It is … Continue reading Ottorino Respighi: Feste Romane
Ottorino Respighi: Pini di Roma
performed by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal under Charles Dutoit The Pines of Rome Like I said in yesterday’s post, I have a strange nostalgic connection to these pieces. It’s not that they’re necessarily favorites, but I have a certain fond memory … Continue reading Ottorino Respighi: Pini di Roma
Ottorino Respighi: Fontane di Roma
performed by the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal under Charles Dutoit …or Fountains of Rome While it’s a four-movement work, this entire piece takes up only about fifteen minutes. But we should back up a bit and start by saying that this … Continue reading Ottorino Respighi: Fontane di Roma
Leap Day: Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder
performed by the Vienna Philharmonic and Violeta Urmana under Pierre Boulez, or in full here with Anna Larsson. Below is a recording of Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen with Magdalena Kožena and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra under Claudio Abbado So it’s a leap … Continue reading Leap Day: Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder
Scriabin’s Prometheus: The Poem of Fire, op. 60
performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Pierre Boulez, Anatol Ugorski, piano N0. 200 It’s been about two and a half years that I’ve been doing this, regularly but not always very professionally. I have some articles I’m not terribly … Continue reading Scriabin’s Prometheus: The Poem of Fire, op. 60
Scriabin: Le Poème de l’extase, Op. 54
performed by the Chicago Symphony orchestra under Pierre Boulez The Poem of Ecstasy is the Joy of Liberated Action. The Cosmos, i.e., Spirit, is Eternal Creation without External Motivation, a Divine Play of Worlds. The Creative Spirit, i.e., the Universe … Continue reading Scriabin: Le Poème de l’extase, Op. 54
Announcement: There’s a Podcast!
So this is something I’ve been wanting to do for a while, and have finally begun and learned how to do, sort of… at least enough for now. Fugue for Thought has a podcast! That’s right! You can now find … Continue reading Announcement: There’s a Podcast!
Fugue for Thought 