performed by the Quatuor Diotima, or below by the Juilliard Quartet playlist for the entire work here Qualifying Statements This is another revisit article, and one I’ve been meaning to rewrite for a long time. My previous articles on works … Continue reading Revisit: Webern’s 5 Sätze für Streichquartett, op. 5
performed by Jessye Norman, László Polgár and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Pierre Boulez, or below by Anne Sofie von Otter, John Tomlinson and the Berlin Philharmonic under Bernard Haitink (There’s also an English version with Gwynne Howell, Sally Burgess and … Continue reading Bartók: Bluebeard’s Castle
performed by Janis Martin and the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Pierre Boulez, or by the astoundingly talented Jessye Norman at the Metropolitan Opera under James Levine (the only one I can find with subtitles), or in a higher-quality video below featuring … Continue reading Schoenberg: Erwartung, op. 17
performed by the Venice Quartet, or below by the Enso String Quartet Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini had a long name. He was born on December 22, 1858 in Lucca, Italy, one of nine children in the Puccini … Continue reading Giacomo Puccini: Crisantemi
Performed by the Orchestre National de France under Bernard Haitink, with Anne Sofie von Otter, Wolfgang Holzmair, Laurent Naouri, et al., or below by the Vienna Philharmonic and many more under Claudio Abbado So here we are with our first opera of … Continue reading Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande
performed by the Venice Quartet, or below by the Shanghai Quartet I’ve written a Quartet in my leisure moments in Naples. I had it performed one evening in my house, without attaching the least importance to it and without inviting … Continue reading Verdi String Quartet in E minor
I’ve spoken before about how difficult it is for me to explore and begin to enjoy opera the way I listen to most other music. For me, as for most people, it’s an auditory experience, and I’ll listen to music while I’m … Continue reading 20th Century Opera: a series
performed by Dennis Russell Davies and the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra Philip Glass’s first piano concerto isn’t (usually) referred to as piano concerto no. 1. Instead, it’s given the above name, the Tirol Concerto for Piano and Orchestra. It was completed … Continue reading Glass: Tirol Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
performed by the Ensemble InterContemporain, or below by members of the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle, from The Proms 2016 Boulez completed his Éclat for 15 instruments in 1965. Properly (I think?) called Éclat-Multiples, it is (or was to be) … Continue reading Boulez: Éclat
performed by Paavali Jumppanen (from his outstanding release of the three Boulez sonatas), or in an (at least) equally superb reading from the wonderful Maurizio Pollini Boulez and tradition. L’enfant terrible. A polemic. A rebel. A radical. The guy who said … Continue reading Boulez Piano Sonata no. 2
performed by Karl Schlechta, clarinet; Susanne Kaldor, violin; Akos Hernadi, piano; or below, in what might be this release We jump ahead now to a much later work in Bartóks’ output, having given him our attention for an entire week, even if … Continue reading Bartók: Contrasts, Sz. 111
performed by Leif Ove Andsnes and the Berlin Philharmonic under Pierre Boulez, or below by the Géza Anda and the Concertgebouw Orchestra under Bernard Haitink Since we discussed the first piano concerto earlier this week, I’d like to suggest you … Continue reading Bartók Piano Concerto no. 2, Sz. 95, BB 101
performed by Jean Efflam-Bavouzet and the London Philharmonic under Vladimir Jurowski “My first concerto […] I consider it a successful work, although its style is up to a point difficult, perhaps even very difficult for the orchestra and the public.” … Continue reading Bartók Piano Concerto no. 1, Sz. 83, BB 91
performed by the Emerson String Quartet, or below by the Takács Quartet Bartók’s second quartet was written between 1915 and 1917, in Rákoskeresztúr, Hungary (or Gerersdorf in German, for those of you who don’t like consonants as much). What you may or … Continue reading Bartók String Quartet no. 2, Sz. 76
performed by Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and the BBC Philharmonic under Juan José Mena, or below by Marylene Dosse and the Stuttgart Philharmonic under Matthias Kuntzsch Henri Constant Gabriel Pierné was born 16 August, 1863 in Metz, in northeast France. His family … Continue reading Gabriel Pierné: Piano Concerto in C minor, Op. 12
performed by Sviatoslav Richter and the Bavarian State Orchestra under Carlos Kleiber I see I am unable to write a Concerto for a virtuoso; I must think of other things. Dvorak, about his piano concerto … there is nothing in … Continue reading Dvorak Piano Concerto in G minor, Op. 33
performed by the Borodin Quartet with Sviatoslav Richter My dear friend! Do you remember that quintet (A major) with piano which, thanks to your efforts, was performed in Prague for the first time, about 14 years ago? I cannot find … Continue reading Dvorak Piano Quintet No. 1 in A, op. 5, B. 28
performed by Krystian Zimerman and the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa, or below by Jean-Yves Thibaudet and the Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse under Tugan Sokhiev Well, we certainly haven’t seen Liszt in a very long time, about a year and … Continue reading Liszt Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in A major, S. 125
performed by Francesco Nicolosi and the Razumovsky Symphony Orchestra under Andrew Mogrelia Sigismond Thalberg was born 8 January, 1812 in Pâquis, near Geneva, in Switzerland. His Wikipedia page states that “according to legend,” he was the illegitimate son of a … Continue reading Sigismond Thalberg: Piano Concerto in Fm, op. 5
Performed by Maurizio Pollini and the Berlin Philharmonic under Claudio Abbado, or below by Mitsuko Uchida and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Mariss Jansons Beethoven’s fourth piano concerto, with an opus number of 58, dates from the time of … Continue reading Beethoven Piano Concerto no. 4 in G, op. 58
performed by the Zurich String Trio, or below by Perlman, Zukerman, and Harrell This trio is the second in a series of three works that make up the opus no. 9, the first of which we discussed yesterday. This set … Continue reading Beethoven String Trio no. 4 in D, op. 9 no. 2
Fugue for Thought 