performed by David Pyatt and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields under Neville Marriner, or below with Radek Baborák and the RTVE Symphony Orchestra under Jean Jacques Kantorow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqwnlaoJRw8 Here we are with another horn concerto from Mozart for his decades-older … Continue reading Mozart Horn Concerto no. 3 in E flat, K. 447
performed by David Pyatt and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields under Neville Marriner, or below with the fantastic Radek Baborák and the Mito Chamber Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X3ikkOUhI0 W. A. Mozart took pity on Leitgeb, ass, ox and … Continue reading Mozart Horn Concerto no. 2 in E flat, K. 417
performed by David Pyatt, horn; Kenneth Sillito, Robert Smissen, Stephen Orton & Stephen Tees, or below by members of the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields Chamber Ensemble, with Timothy Brown as soloist (I’d also like to mention Andrew Clark’s recording with Ensemble Galant, … Continue reading Mozart Horn Quintet in E flat, K. 407
performed by Truls Mørk and the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Mariss Jansons, or below with Mstislav Rostropovich and the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy (or in a preferred recording with Rostropovich and the London Symphony under Charles Groves) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jIaKjriPLg This work is … Continue reading Shostakovich Cello Concerto no. 1 in E-flat, op. 107
performed by Steven Isserlis and the Philharmonia Orchestra under Paavo Järvi, or below with Jacqueline du Pré and the London Symphony under Sir John Barbirolli https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwMON0FsAaA In today’s piece, we’re moving back toward the end of the composer’s career, a … Continue reading Elgar Cello Concerto in Em, Op. 85
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
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
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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12WWRt0YBXc So our … Continue reading Beethoven Triple Concerto in C major, op. 56
(This piece was recently featured on a concert program I planned over at my Substack. That’s where I’m writing these days, so please go check it out.) performed by Roland Pöntinen and the New Stockholm Chamber Orchestra under Lev Markiz, … Continue reading Alfred Schnittke: Concerto for piano and strings
performed by Wayne Marshall and the Aalborg Symphony, or below by Earl Wild and the Boston Pops under Arthur Fielder Jazz. I don’t like it. But I’m also willing to admit when I’m wrong. Earlier this year I was present … Continue reading George Gershwin: Piano Concerto in F
performed by Salvatore Accardo and the London Philharmonic under Charles Dutoit It’s Paganini! How haven’t we done Paganini here yet? His name has only (to my recollection) been uttered on these pages in the context of an incredible concert earlier this year where … Continue reading Niccolò Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 5 in A minor
performed by Anne-Sophie Mutter and the Vienna Philharmonic under Herbert von Karajan Yes, the four seasons. All of them. And yeah, it’s that melody. The one that’s recognizable to a fault. It’s the one people call to mind when they think of a fancy, … Continue reading Antonio Vivaldi: Le Quattro Stagioni
performed by Yamei Yu and the Leipziger Streichquartett, available here or in iTunes Gustav Allan Pettersson was born on 19 September 1911, “the youngest of four children of a violent, alcoholic blacksmith… at the manor of Granhammar in Västra Ryd parish in … Continue reading Gustav Allan Pettersson: Violin Concerto no. 1 for violin and string quartet
performed by Gidon Kremer and the Vienna Philharmonic under Christoph von Dohnanyi, or below by Karen Gomyo and the Hague Residentie Orchestra under Brad Lubman “I wrote the piece in 1987 thinking, let me write a piece that my father … Continue reading Glass Violin Concerto no. 1
performed by Nicola Benedetti and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Kirill Karabits (a new and wonderful recording) or below by the dedicatee and premiere performer of the work, David Oistrakh, and the Staatskapelle Berlin under Heinz Fricke There are many kinds of … Continue reading Shostakovich Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Opus 77 (99)
performed by Gil Shaham and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Pierre Boulez, or below by Viktoria Mullova and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra under Daniel Harding (maybe not a historical recording, but Mullova’s name is one I’ve recently learned and it’s … Continue reading Bartok Violin Concerto no. 2, BB 117
performed by Mitsuko Uchida and the Cleveland orchestra under Pierre Boulez Finally! It’s here. I’ve been eager to write this article now for years. It was a strange experience I had with this work, as I was describing to someone the … Continue reading Schoenberg Piano Concerto, op. 42
performed by Maurizio Pollini and the Vienna Philharmonic under Claudio Abbado I find Brahms so intimidating to talk about (if you haven’t already noticed). Like I mentioned in Tuesday’s post about the piano sonata, there’s always so much going on, … Continue reading Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat, Op. 83
performed by Maurizio Pollini and the Berlin Philharmonic under Claudio Abbado, or the same pianist with the Vienna Philharmonic under Karl Böhm I saw almost nothing but empty pages; at the most, on one page or another a few Egyptian … Continue reading Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 in Cm, Op. 37
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
as performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Jascha Horenstein; Earl Wild, piano Wait, what? A piano concerto? Yes. So it just now occurred to me that this is the composer’s opus no. 1. And that is only another supporting reason for … Continue reading Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto no. 1 in F#m, op. 1
Fugue for Thought 