How to listen to classical music
(Or how I think about it) part 1: An introduction to Sonata Form and its place in the Symphony This is all highly opinionated, and probably highly unprofessional, but it’s the way I try to get someone who’s never cared … Continue reading How to listen to classical music
On this day: Week of March 24, 2014
History is interesting as long as it isn’t boring. March 24 1721 – Johann Sebastian Bach dedicated six concertos to Christian Ludwig, margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, now commonly called the Brandenburg concertos, BWV 1046-1051. (How’s that for a significant event?) Births: 1962 – Angèle Dubeau, Canadian violinist Seriously? That’s it? Granted, there were a few I decided not to include.Deaths: 1653 – Samuel Scheidt, German organist and composer 1916 – Enrique Granados, Spanish pianist and composer And that’s it for day one. Granados is a pretty important dude. Well, I’ve heard of him. March 25 Nothing. Births: 1867 – Arturo Toscanini, Italian conductor 1881 – Béla Bartók, Hungarian pianist and composer 1930 – David Burge, American pianist, composer, and conductor Deaths: 1620 – Johannes Nucius, German … Continue reading On this day: Week of March 24, 2014
Everyone loves classical music…
they just don’t know it yet! I’m finally getting around to populating this little section here on resources, and I have a big post I’m working on for next week, but I thought it might be good to share something … Continue reading Everyone loves classical music…
Mahler Symphony no. 1 in D, ‘Titan’
This piece has been revisited, and an updated article has been written. Please read it here. I’ll keep the original article (below) for posterity, but I would suggest reading the new article instead. performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Leonard Bernstein I believe the recording above is the same as the one I listened to from this box set by Deutsche Grammophon. If not, go check out that recording, because it’s the one I want. Hello again, Mahler. Hello, not-so-old friend. It’s been not-so-long. To this day, if I need to get in the kitchen and cook or clean … Continue reading Mahler Symphony no. 1 in D, ‘Titan’
On this day: Week of March 17, 2014
Another week of history lessons and lists of people who I do not know that I probably should. March 17 Nothing happened. Births: 1665 – Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, French harpsichordist and composer 1876 – Frederick Ayres, American composer 1936 – Ladislav Kupkovič, Slovakian composer and conductor Deaths: 1875 – Ferdinand Laub, Czech violinist and composer 1999 – Ernest Gold, Austrian composer March 18 No events again. When did everything happen?! Births: 1657 – Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni, Italian organist and composer 1844 – Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Russian composer (this guy is important, and recently featured here) 1882 – Gian Francesco Malipiero, Italian composer and educator 1939 – Yannis Markopoulos, Greek composer 1950 – James Conlon, American conductor Deaths: 1823 – Jean-Baptiste Bréval, … Continue reading On this day: Week of March 17, 2014
Felix Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in Em, op. 64
performed by the Royal Philharmonic under Thomas Beecham, Jascha Heifetz, violin It’s been piano, piano, piano… Concertos, sonatas, other stuff. Was definitely on a piano kick for a while, and still have lots of other pieces on the back burner that didn’t … Continue reading Felix Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in Em, op. 64
On this day: Week of March 10, 2014
Here we are once again for another week of facts, history, dates, and trivia. March 10: No events of musical merit. Births: 1839 – Dudley Buck, American organist and composer 1844 – Pablo de Sarasate, Spanish violinist and composer 1875 – Alexander Goldenweiser, Russian pianist, composer, and educator (this guy has been in my rotation some recently) 1892 – Arthur Honegger, French-Swiss composer (listened through a few of this guy’s symphonies) 1915 – Charles Groves, English conductor Deaths: 1832 – Muzio Clementi, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor 1910 – Carl Reinecke, German pianist, conductor, and composer Some familiar names to begin the week. No one I’m too familiar with, but if nothing … Continue reading On this day: Week of March 10, 2014
Franz Liszt: Piano Concerto no. 1 in Eb
performed by The London Symphony Orchestra under Claudio Abbado Martha Argerich, piano (from the Great Pianists of the 20th Century collection by Philips) I couldn’t find the above recording on YouTube, but this is Ms. Argerich with the Berlin Radio Symphony (this version is almost as good as the one I have become accustomed to listening to) “Das versteht ihr alle nicht, haha!” (None of you understand this, haha!) Or at least how some say begins the opening of the first movement of this concerto. (It fits rhythmically). Regardless, this twenty-minute piece in four movements is one hell of a ride. … Continue reading Franz Liszt: Piano Concerto no. 1 in Eb
Post #50: Chopin: Ballade no. 1 in Gm, op. 23
performed by Idil Biret (from her box set on Naxos of Chopin’s complete works) there are also these, more for comparison than anything else: –A 1968 performance by Vladimir Horowitz in Carnegie Hall that everyone seems to love –This performance by … Continue reading Post #50: Chopin: Ballade no. 1 in Gm, op. 23
On this day: Week of March 3
And here we are once again for another week of historical events. I’m quite glad I decided to do this by the week, since it gives me the opportunity to prepare ahead of time to write something based on or associated with any momentous events or otherwise exciting types of things. I certainly won’t always be able to keep pace with what’s happened in history every week, but it could come in handy when I’m not quite sure how to proceed or what to post next. It could be good for some suggestions. Let’s see if there’s anything good this … Continue reading On this day: Week of March 3
Alexander Scriabin: Piano Concerto, op 20
performed by the Chicago Symphony orchestra under Pierre Boulez Anatol Ugorsky, piano (for Deutsche Grammophon) Allegro Andante Allegro moderato or the Czech Philharmonic under Libor Pesek, Garrick Ohlsson, piano There’s nothing like really good straightforward music. It’s interesting how sometimes … Continue reading Alexander Scriabin: Piano Concerto, op 20
On this day: Week of Feb 24, 2014
Ready for our next installment of “on this day”? I wanted to call it “this week in history” for a while, but am too lazy. It’s still divided by day, and you can still go right to the “on this day” link to view the week’s post if you’re dying to know what happened musically when you get up in the morning. Let’s get started. Also, I’ll be in Shanghai for most of this week, so we will see if I can get a post up here or not. Feb 24: 1607 – L’Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, one of the first works recognized as … Continue reading On this day: Week of Feb 24, 2014
Leo Ornstein: Piano sonata no. 4, SO 360
performed by Marthanne Verbit from her album Past Futurists, or below by Janice Weber The score (PDF) as well as recordings can be downloaded here for your enjoyment. I don’t recall how I first heard about this guy. Not long … Continue reading Leo Ornstein: Piano sonata no. 4, SO 360
Maurice Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit: Trois poèmes pour piano d’après Aloysius Bertrand
performed by Pascal Rogé (from the two-disc Ravel: Piano Works from Decca) (link to a YouTube version, also a superb interpretation played by the fantastic Martha Argerich, whom I talk about below: 1. Ondine 2. Le Gibet 3. Scarbo AND … Continue reading Maurice Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit: Trois poèmes pour piano d’après Aloysius Bertrand
On this day: Week of February 17, 2014
I’m going to start compiling these weekly so they don’t gunk up the recent posts feed. Feb 17: Nothing happened. Births: 1653 – Arcangelo Corelli, Italian violinist and composer 1820 – Henri Vieuxtemps, Belgian violinist and composer 1887 – Leevi Madetoja, Finnish composer (I like the Finns. Should check this guy out) 1925 – Ron Goodwin, English composer and conductor Deaths: 1652 – Gregorio Allegri, Italian composer 1732 – Louis Marchand, French organist and composer 1841 – Ferdinando Carulli, Italian guitarist and composer 1943 – Armand J. Piron, American violinist and composer 1962 – Bruno Walter, German-American conductor (Mahler’s right hand man for a time) 1970 – Alfred Newman, American composer and conductor 1982 – Thelonious Monk, American … Continue reading On this day: Week of February 17, 2014
February 16 (and a soapbox)
On this day: Again not so much musically. On to births: 1774 – Pierre Rode, French violinist and composer 1847 – Philipp Scharwenka, Polish-German composer (I’ve played one of this dude’s polkas) 1856 – Willem Kes, Dutch conductor and violinist 1938 – John Corigliano, American composer Deaths: 1957 – Josef Hofmann, Polish-American pianist and composer 2013 – Eric Ericson, Swedish conductor And that’s about it for today. I’m running into some issues, though. I am obviously just scanning Wikipedia’s entry for each day, but some people are listed as composers or pianists or instrumentalists, but for commercial jingles, jazz ensembles, South Korean pop music, or new age piano-y stuff, and I’m making … Continue reading February 16 (and a soapbox)
February 15
On this day: Apparently nothing musically happened. On to… Births: 1571 – Michael Praetorius, German organist and composer 1760 – Jean-François Le Sueur, French composer 1761 – Jacob Kimball, Jr., American composer 1847 – Robert Fuchs, Austrian composer and educator 1899 – Georges Auric, French composer 1905 – Harold Arlen, American composer 1907 – Jean Langlais, French composer and organist 1947 – John Coolidge Adams, American composer 1949 – Hans Graf, Austrian conductor Deaths: 1621 – Michael Praetorius, German organist and composer (this guy died on his birthday) 1857 – Mikhail Glinka, Russian composer (b. 1804) 1924 – Lionel Monckton, English composer 1974 – Kurt Atterberg, Swedish composer 1981 – Karl Richter, German conductor and organist 1992 – William Schuman, American composer I was getting nervous there … Continue reading February 15
February 14
On this day: (Not a lot) Births: Francesco Cavalli (1602), composer Georg Friedrich Kauffman (1679), composer and organist Michel Corboz (1934), Swiss conductor Deaths: Edmund Rubbra (1986), composer Dmitry Kabalevsky (1987), composer Frederick Loewe (1988), composer Continue reading February 14
February 13
On this day: 1914- ASCAP is established to protect the copyrighted musical compositions of its members Births: Leopold Godowsky (1870), Polish-American pianist and composer Jeanne Demessieux (1968), pianist and composer Yfrah Neaman (1923), violinist Colin Matthews (1946), composer Deaths: Johann Kaspar Kerll (1693), composer and organist Johann Joseph Fux (1741), composer Richard Wagner (1883), composer and director Roger Voisin (2008), trumpeter Continue reading February 13
Brahms Symphony no. 1 in Cm, op. 68
This article has been marked as in need of a revisit. That’s where I feel like I didn’t do the piece justice or have more to say (usually because I didn’t know it nearly well enough or didn’t have the … Continue reading Brahms Symphony no. 1 in Cm, op. 68
February 12
On this day: 1816- The Teatro di San Carlo, the oldest working opera house in Europe, is destroyed by fire. Births: Thomas Campion (1567), composer Josef Reicha (1752), Czech cellist, composer, and conductor Jan Ladislav Dussek (1761), Czech composer and pianist Lionel Grigson (1942) English pianist and composer Deaths: Laurent Belissen (1762), composer Hans von Bülow (1894), conductor, pianist, composer Ambroise Thomas (1896), composer Émile Waldteufel (1915), composer Henri Duparc (1933), composer Eubie Blake (1983) pianist, composer Continue reading February 12
Fugue for Thought 