Tchaikovsky piano concerto no. 1 in Bb minor, op. 23
performed by the Orchestra de la Suisse Romande under Charles Dutoit, Martha Argerich, piano (I have her recording of the piece with Leningrad under Kondrashin that I also quite like) Also, watch this too…. If you read nothing else, watch … Continue reading Tchaikovsky piano concerto no. 1 in Bb minor, op. 23
Music and Math: The Genius of Beethoven
The title of this video really struck my interest. I was envisioning it as something exciting and revelatory, a heretofore undiscovered secret of the music of this great artist. It’s also a TED talk, which means it will be fun … Continue reading Music and Math: The Genius of Beethoven
On this day: week of October 20, 2014
October 20 1973 – The Sydney Opera House opens. Births: 1874 – Charles Ives, American composer (d. 1954) 1958 – Ivo Pogorelić, Croatian pianist Deaths: 1870 – Michael William Balfe, Irish violinist, singer, and composer (b. 1808) October 21 Births: 1775 – Giuseppe Baini, Italian priest, composer, and critic (d. 1844) 1921 – Malcolm Arnold, English composer (d. 2006) Deaths: 1662 – Henry Lawes, English pianist and composer (b. 1595) 1991 – Lorenc Antoni, Albanian composer, conductor, and musicologist (b. 1909) October 22 Births: 1811 – Franz Liszt, Hungarian pianist and composer (d. 1886) 1905 – Joseph Kosma, Hungarian-French composer (d. 1969) Relative of Georg Solti, studied with Bartok 1906 – Kees van Baaren, Dutch composer and educator (d. 1970) 1967 – Salvatore … Continue reading On this day: week of October 20, 2014
Chopin piano concerto no. 1 in Em, op. 11
performed by Krystian Zimerman and the Polish Festival Orchestra, (Zimerman also conducting) This is one of the earliest piano concertos we have talked about, certainly the earliest in our little string of four or five here. Actually the second of … Continue reading Chopin piano concerto no. 1 in Em, op. 11
184 Years is a Long Time
This is something that baffles and fascinates me. I may have mentioned it here in passing before, but let’s talk about it some more. We’re on a little string of piano concertos here (first Arensky, then Rachmaninoff, then Prokofiev, and the next two weeks [well, this week and next week] [at least]), and Mahler is getting VERY in the way of me preparing for these. I’ve been on a kick with listening to LOTS of different interpretations of his pieces (at the time of this writing, I’m currently finishing up a listen to Boulez’s performance of the eighth with Staatskapelle … Continue reading 184 Years is a Long Time
On this day: week of October 13, 2014
Another quiet week, but in volume, not content. October 13 Births: —— Deaths: 1981 – Rebecca Clarke, English viola player and composer (b. 1886) One of the quietest days of the year… October 14 1853 – Ciprian Porumbescu, Ukrainian-Romanian composer (d. 1883) 1935 – La Monte Young, American composer; a stretch? Deaths: 1568 – Jacques Arcadelt, Dutch composer (b. 1507) 1669 – Antonio Cesti, Italian organist and composer (b. 1623) 1990 – Leonard Bernstein, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1918) October 15 Births: 1762 – Samuel Adams Holyoke, American composer and educator (d. 1820) 1818 – Alexander Dreyschock, Czech pianist and composer (d. 1869) Known for his left hand… (?) 1926 – Karl Richter, German … Continue reading On this day: week of October 13, 2014
Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 in C, op. 26
performed by the Israel Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta, Yefim Bronfman, piano (while I mention Wang below, and Argerich many times, I do quite enjoy Bronfman’s performance here. It’s a new album for me and I was pleased enough to listen to it instead of the other Argerich recordings and Wang’s with Abbado and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra; they’re all great) https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/KDfGBmbNbMw&source=uds The above is of the wonderful Yuja Wang and the Concertgebouw, under their (soon-to-be) new maestro, Daniele Gatti. https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/NOybfjTRCdo&source=uds The above is of Ms. Martha Argerich herself. The first recording I had of this piece was of her and … Continue reading Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 in C, op. 26
No, you don’t like classical music
For a blog like this with the purpose of sharing and explaining (at least the basics of) classical music, that may seem like a strange title. And I’m going to step up on my soapbox for a bit here, but really…. For most of you, you don’t like classical music. When I tell people I enjoy classical music or that it’s all I listen to or that I write about it, some respond with (in Chinese) “I love classical music! The moonlight sonata is my favorite,” or they hum Beethoven’s fifth or talk about how much they love Clair de … Continue reading No, you don’t like classical music
On this day: week of October 6, 2014
October 6 1882 – Karol Szymanowski, Polish pianist and composer (d. 1937) 1886 – Edwin Fischer, Swiss pianist and conductor (d. 1960) Deaths: 1762 – Francesco Manfredini, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1684) 1947 – Leevi Madetoja, Finnish composer (b. 1887) Studied with Sibelius, D’Indy and Fuchs October 7 Births: 1746 – William Billings, American composer (d. 1800) 1835 – Felix Draeseke, German composer (d. 1913) A nice piano sonata I am vaguely familiar with (F#m?) 1936 – Charles Dutoit, Swiss conductor (whom I met and got an autograph from after sitting front row in a performance with the Royal Philharmonic here in Taipei 1948 – Stephen Rucker, American composer 1955 – Yo-Yo Ma, … Continue reading On this day: week of October 6, 2014
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 in Cm, op. 18
performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Jascha Horenstein, Earl Wild, piano This may not be the most popular version of the work, but it’s the one I ‘learned’ this piece from; it’s the one I came to love this piece as a result of, and no other performance compares. It may be a bit brisker than a few other interpretations, but it’s perfect. These people knew what they were doing. and this is a must-watch Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 (Nikolai Lugansky) from Philharmonia Orchestra on Vimeo. So…. This is an important piece. I’d been thinking what to … Continue reading Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 in Cm, op. 18
It’s been a year!
I started this a year ago, first on Tumblr (old site), and migrated to our current location, and had the deluded belief that I could listen through about a piece a day and “get” it. I’d listen multiple times and think I could write something intelligent on it. Looking back, that was definitely not the case, and there are at least 15 or more posts that I will be revisiting. I’ll keep the original write-ups for nostalgia, but want to do those pieces justice like I couldn’t before. Myaskovsky 2 and Bruckner 6 and Nielsen 2 come to mind (won’t … Continue reading It’s been a year!
Concert Review: A Ninth to Remember
National Concert Hall, Taipei, Taiwan A while back on this post, I discussed somewhat of an issue with being so excited to hear Mahler’s ninth live. I’ve mentioned it in way too many places to link to the posts, but I’ve become rather enamored with Mahler’s music in the past year or so, and it is now bordering on an obsession. It started with the fifth, the first of his works to appear here, and then the second, then the first, then the sixth. And I am realizing either because of context (understanding of a greater portion of the man’s … Continue reading Concert Review: A Ninth to Remember
About Me
Contact:fugueforthought@mail.comhttp://www.facebook.com/fugueforthoughttwitter.com/fugueforthoughtFollow us on the social medias, and if you’d like to invite me to a fancy dinner or talk about interesting things, get in touch.What is one supposed to write here? (The time of this posting marks an entire year since the first [terribly amateur post] went up. Happy one-year anniversary, readers! In honor of the milestone, I’ll be writing a special post about a special piece for Thursday, the second in a big whomping series of like five or six piano concertos, since it happens to be time to switch over to piano music for a while.) I tend … Continue reading About Me
On this day: week of September 29, 2014
Kind of a quiet week…. But this is going up a bit early because there’ll be a special post out later today (tomorrow? [depending on your time zone]) September 29 1674 – Jacques-Martin Hotteterre, French flute player and composer (d. 1763) 1920 – Václav Neumann, Czech violinist and conductor (Smetana Quartet) (d. 1995) 1945 – Kyriakos Sfetsas, Greek composer Deaths: — September 30 1791 – The first performance of The Magic Flute, the last opera by Mozart to make its debut, took place at Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna, Austria. Births: 1689 – Jacques Aubert, French violinist and composer (d. 1753) 1743 – Christian Ehregott Weinlig, German cantor and composer (d. 1813) 1852 – Charles Villiers Stanford, … Continue reading On this day: week of September 29, 2014
Anton Arensky: Piano Concerto in Fm, op. 2
the above performed by Alexei Cherkasov, piano, USSR Central Television and All-Union Radio Symphony Orchestra under Alexander Nekrasov (the recording I listened to) performed by the BBC Scottish Symphony under Jerzy Maksymiuk, Stephen Coombs, piano And thus we begin something like a … Continue reading Anton Arensky: Piano Concerto in Fm, op. 2
Concert Review: Evergreen Symphony- An evening of concertos
Welcome back to another Tuesday of concert reviews. After the abomination of horns that severely marred Mahler’s fourth, I was pleased to be sitting in front of the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra again. Heard their Mahler before. It was some Lexus-sponsored program or something. I really only bought the ticket because I saw Liszt’s E major concerto and Sibelius’ second symphony on the program. I was concerned the program had changed or I’d bought the wrong ticket when I saw a cellist featured on the program that Saturday night. I was sick, but wasn’t going to miss the concert. I was … Continue reading Concert Review: Evergreen Symphony- An evening of concertos
On this day: week of September 22, 2014
Some big names this week…. September 22 1869 – Richard Wagner‘s opera Das Rheingold premieres in Munich. Births: 1788 – Theodore Hook, English composer (d. 1841) 1875 – Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, Lithuanian painter and composer (d. 1911) 1915 – Grigory Frid, Russian composer (d. 2012) 1918 – Henryk Szeryng, Polish-Mexican violinist (d. 1988) 1922 – Romeo Cascarino, American composer (d. 2002) 1929 – Serge Garant, Canadian composer and conductor (d. 1986) 1969 – Tuomas Kantelinen, Finnish composer Deaths: 1993 – Maurice Abravanel, Greek-American pianist and conductor (b. 1903) 2001 – Isaac Stern, Polish-Ukrainian violinist and conductor (b. 1920) September 23 Births: 1642 – Giovanni Maria Bononcini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1678) 1915 – Julius Baker, American flute player and educator (d. 2003) Deaths: 1835 – Vincenzo … Continue reading On this day: week of September 22, 2014
Samuil Feinberg Piano Sonata no. 2, op 2
performed by Christophe Sirodeau https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/zheDyAzSVM0&source=uds So Samuil Feinberg was an extremely talented pianist, known for his transcriptions of Bach, as well as a complete recording of the Well-tempered Clavier. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory under Alexander Goldenweiser, a composer I’ve been meaning to get around to exploring. He won the Stalin Prize in 1946, and composed in his career twelve sonatas, as well as fantasies and other works for piano, some including voice, and three piano concertos, which Wikipedia also notes are not standard in the repertoire… I haven’t even heard them yet. I seem to recall not being … Continue reading Samuil Feinberg Piano Sonata no. 2, op 2
Concert Review: 臺北世紀青年管弦樂團- An Evening of Mahler
I went a few weeks ago to hear this ensemble (see my remarks below about the name) play in our National Concert Hall here in Taipei. This past year or so, I’ve been working through an obsession with the works of Mahler. I still haven’t cracked into Das Lied or some of the song cycles much, but have gotten my head around most of the symphonies. It’s mostly three and nine that are left to really be explored, as well as whatever exists of the tenth in its various forms. I spent most of the summer not going to … Continue reading Concert Review: 臺北世紀青年管弦樂團- An Evening of Mahler
On this day: week of September 15, 2014
September 15 Births: 1690 – Ignazio Prota, Italian composer and educator (d. 1748) 1815 – Halfdan Kjerulf, Norwegian composer (d. 1868) That’s quite a name… 1858 – Jenő Hubay, Hungarian violinist (d. 1937) 1863 – Horatio Parker, American organist, composer, and educator (d. 1919) 1870 – Rose Sutro, American pianist (d. 1957) 1876 – Bruno Walter, German-American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1962) You know, Mahler’s friend and all… 1890 – Ernest Bullock, English organist and composer (d. 1979) 1890 – Frank Martin, Swiss-Dutch composer (d. 1974) 1933 – Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Spanish conductor and composer (d. 2014) Deaths: 1841 – Alessandro Rolla, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1757) 1842 – Pierre Baillot, French violinist and composer … Continue reading On this day: week of September 15, 2014
Ravel: Sonatine
performed by Martha Argerich Not every piece of music has to be big and daring and overwhelming and complicated to be enjoyable. This piece is of quite small stature, coming in (with Ms. Argerich’s recording) at just around 11 minutes. … Continue reading Ravel: Sonatine
Fugue for Thought 