Mendelssohn’s ‘The Hebrides’ Overture
performed by the London Symphony Orchestra under Claudio Abbado In order to make you understand how extraordinarily the Hebrides affected me, I send you the following, which came into my head there. Coming off the NSO’s New Year Concert of Mendelssohn’s Midsummer … Continue reading Mendelssohn’s ‘The Hebrides’ Overture
Series: The Symphonic Poem
I don’t know how much ‘into this’ I can get in one article, but maybe we’ll talk about it more throughout this series. Coming off the three-month Russian Symphony Series I’d been planning (and writing) for so long, I got … Continue reading Series: The Symphonic Poem
黃新易 2016 Piano Recital
It’s been a very long time since I’ve been to the recital hall, and my friend and now semi-seasoned concertgoing friend had never been, so we took the opportunity to hear a pianist neither of us had ever heard of play music … Continue reading 黃新易 2016 Piano Recital
Concert Review: NSO’s New Year Concert- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
As with last year, I didn’t go on the actual New Year’s Eve night, but decided to go the day after, on 1/1. The New Year’s Eve showing starts at 10 pm, and as with last year, it’s a long piece, so … Continue reading Concert Review: NSO’s New Year Concert- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
The Russian Symphony Series: A Wrap-up
Well, we’ve come a long way. Almost 100 years, to be exact, with some leaps and skips here and there, and there’s obviously plenty we didn’t get to. If you haven’t been following along, you can reach the entire series … Continue reading The Russian Symphony Series: A Wrap-up
Prokofiev Symphony no. 5 in B-flat, Op. 100
performed by The London Symphony Orchestra under Valery Gergiev, or as below I cannot say that I deliberately chose this theme. It was born in me and clamoured for expression. The music matured within me. It filled my soul. What … Continue reading Prokofiev Symphony no. 5 in B-flat, Op. 100
Revisit: Prokofiev Symphony no. 4, op. 112
performed by the London Symphony Orchestra under Valery Gergiev movement 2 movement 3 movement 4 So we’re back… for the same symphony, just eighteen years later, as in, after his fifth and sixth symphonies, but we’re going to address the real revisit (I originally … Continue reading Revisit: Prokofiev Symphony no. 4, op. 112
Revisit: Prokofiev Symphony no. 4, op. 47
performed by the London Symphony Orchestra under Valery Gergiev, or in a version below with the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra Here we are again at another revisit, from the days when I (still) didn’t know how to talk about music, but more importantly … Continue reading Revisit: Prokofiev Symphony no. 4, op. 47
Concert Review: NSO’s Two Fourths
No, that’s not a fraction. Well, it is. And so is 12/24, all halves. Intentional? Maybe! The program for the evening, poorly lit. Gunther Herbig was a student of the undeniably great Herbert von Karajan. German conductors. Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms. … Continue reading Concert Review: NSO’s Two Fourths
Shostakovich Symphony no. 7 in C major, op. 60 ‘Leningrad’
performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Marriss Jansons One of the largest symphonies in the standard repertoire, along with most of Mahler, bits of Bruckner, and some Shostakovich (but this is his longest). This recording comes in at around … Continue reading Shostakovich Symphony no. 7 in C major, op. 60 ‘Leningrad’
Revisit: Shostakovich Symphony no. 1 in Fm, op. 10
performed (this time) by the Scottish National Orchestra under Neeme Järvi or below with the younger Paavo Järvi and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Another revisit! I will admit I didn’t quite get this piece or Shostakovich at the time of writing the previous article on … Continue reading Revisit: Shostakovich Symphony no. 1 in Fm, op. 10
Concert Review: TSO’s Lieder of Mahler
Already more than a year ago, I brought some friends to attend this concert, at which the adagio of Mahler’s fifth symphony was played, followed by the entirety of his fourth symphony. In short, the strings in the adagio were … Continue reading Concert Review: TSO’s Lieder of Mahler
Myaskovsky Symphony no. 6 in E flat minor, op. 23
performed by the USSR State Symphony Orchestra under Evgeny Svetlanov (as with the others) (for a version with the choral part, see below) (this piece is featured on a list of pieces I heartily recommend to music directors for inclusion … Continue reading Myaskovsky Symphony no. 6 in E flat minor, op. 23
Revisit: Myaskovsky Symphony no. 3 in Am, op. 15
performed by the USSR State Symphony Orchestra under Evgeny Svetlanov playlist of the entire work here Yesterday we talked a bit about Myaskovsky’s early life and his second symphony. Today we’ll talk a bit more about his life and his … Continue reading Revisit: Myaskovsky Symphony no. 3 in Am, op. 15
Revisit: Myaskovsky Symphony no. 2 in C#m, op. 11
performed by the USSR State Symphony Orchestra under Evgeny Svetlanov Second and third movement in three parts below: Second movement Third movement pt. 1 and the last part So this symphony, first of all, appears variously as a two- or -three … Continue reading Revisit: Myaskovsky Symphony no. 2 in C#m, op. 11
TSO: Christian Lindberg’s Symphonic Postcard
Who doesn’t love a good premiere? It’s historical. I must say Maestro Lindberg is an outstandingly enthusiastic person, and I bought my ticket for this concert many months ago when they were on sale. The Taipei Symphony has been consistently … Continue reading TSO: Christian Lindberg’s Symphonic Postcard
Sergei Lyapunov: Symphony no. 2
performed by the USSR State Academic Symphony Orchestra under Evgeny Svetlanov or the same conductor with the Orchestre National de France in a studio recording here So this must be by far the most obscure work in everything that we’ve talked … Continue reading Sergei Lyapunov: Symphony no. 2
Music in the Soviet Era
In case you didn’t realize, this topic is nothing I can speak about from personal experience, nor is it anything I really know much about. It is also an incredibly large, complicated, and even sensitive topic, about a very dark … Continue reading Music in the Soviet Era
Concert Review: NSO’s Elias
Just a week after having finally heard Mahler 2 in concert, we pack into the same hall for a different ensemble and conductor but the same incredible chorus and an equally packed audience. This piece was also part of my season … Continue reading Concert Review: NSO’s Elias
Igor Stravinsky: Symphony in Eb major, op. 1
performed by the Columbia Symphony under the composer’s baton To think that this is the first Stravinsky piece we’ve touched in our more-than-two-years here… better late than never. For those of you who think of Stravinsky as a wild, imaginative … Continue reading Igor Stravinsky: Symphony in Eb major, op. 1
Influential People: Igor Stravinsky
So… kind of finally, we get around to this guy. The cover image for this article is a far less common (to me…?) image of the composer, not the one below that everyone’s used to seeing: Anyway, he’s outstandingly famous now … Continue reading Influential People: Igor Stravinsky
Fugue for Thought 