Works that I do my best to write about (at least once a week, usually on Thursdays). For collections of pieces, check out the Series link above.
performed by Maurizio Pollini, or below by Richard Goode Also, required (or at least very enjoyable, informative) watching (actually listening) is Andras Schiff’s lecture about the piece from Wigmore Hall below: Dating from 1796, Beethoven’s second-longest piano sonata, the Grand Sonata, … Continue reading Beethoven Piano Sonata no. 4 in Eb, op. 7
performed by Jörg Demus and Norman Shetler, or below by Lucia Tiovis and Andrei Roth Piano four-hands. That’s different than two pianos, obviously, which is why it’s nice to watch the above video of two people sitting at the piano and working … Continue reading Beethoven Sonata for piano, 4 hands, in D, op. 6
performed by the Buchberger Quartet The opus 9 quartets, with links to performances of the works (not by Buchberger), are as follows: Quartet No. 11 in D minor, Op. 9, No. 4, FHE No. 16, Hoboken No. III:22 Quartet No. … Continue reading SQS: Haydn String Quartets #12-16, op. 9
performed by the Buchberger Quartet, or below by the Festetics Quartet The first string quartet (of all, but especially) of Haydn’s that we shall sink our teeth into for this series is his number 11, the fourth of his opus nine … Continue reading SQS: Haydn String Quartet no. 11, op. 9, no. 4 in Dm
performed (in the only existing recording I am aware of) by the Fine Arts quartet, the dedicatee of the work As with any relatively intricate composition, further rehearings or — more realistically— further recalling should lead the listener from those local coherences … Continue reading Babbitt String Quartet no. 3
performed by the Quatuor Parisii from the DG box set the Livre pour Quatuor, from its history as well as its overall economy, does not appear as a bloc but, in reference to Mallarmé’s Livre, like a series of detachable pages that … Continue reading Pierre Boulez: Livre pour Quatuor (1962)
again, performed by the Buchberger Quartet, or below by the Kodàly Quartet no. 8 no. 9 no. 10 Contained in this opus number are four quartets, per Wikipedia: Quartet No. 7 in A major, Op. 2, No. 1, FHE No. … Continue reading SQS: Haydn’s Divertimenti a Quattro, op. 2
performed by the Buchberger Quartet, or below by the Kodàly Quartet no. 2 no. 3 no. 4 no. 5 no. 6 The below from Wikipedia: Quartet No. 1 in B♭ major (“La Chasse”), Op. 1, No. 1, FHE No. 52, Hoboken … Continue reading SQS: Haydn’s Divertimenti a Quattro, op. 1, no.s 1-6
performed by the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra under Adam Fischer, or below by L’Estro Armonico under Derek Solomons This was originally intended to be the last post in the second installment of Haydn symphonies by fives. We did 1-5 sometime last … Continue reading Haydn Symphony no. 10 in D, H. I/10
performed by the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra under Adam Fischer, or below by the Academy of Ancient music under Christopher Hogwood (I enjoy Fischer’s much more) So here we are again with another Haydn symphony. As I mentioned yesterday, Haydn’s catalogue is not … Continue reading Haydn Symphony no. 27 G major, H. I/27
performed (as always) by the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra under Adam Fischer (from whence comes the cover image for this article), or below by the Academy of Ancient Music under Christopher Hogwood So we’re going to get back around to Haydn … Continue reading Haydn Symphony no. 18 in G, H. I/18
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
performed by Steven Isserlis, or below (in full) by Maurice Gendron So here we are for the second of our installments of the Bach cello suites. If you haven’t yet listened to the awesome third episode of the podcast with cellist Richard Narroway, … Continue reading Bach Cello Suite No.2 in D minor, BWV 1008
performed by Stephen Isserlis (the above video begins with the prelude of no. 1, but is excerpts of Isserlis’ performances of all the suites. Find plenty of full versions of the work on YouTube or practically anywhere music exists. I … Continue reading Johann Sebastian Bach: Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007
There are so many string quartets… The obvious contributors: Haydn has 68 numbered quartets Mozart has 23 Beethoven has 16 numbered quartets (and the Große Fuge) But that’s not all. There are composers the average classical music listener (including myself) has … Continue reading String Quartet Series
performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Sir Colin Davis Berlioz tells it like it is. You take a trip, you wind up screaming at your own funeral. Honorable mention in the “Symphonic but not a symphony” category is this … Continue reading Hector Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique
performed by the Toulouse Capitole Orchestra under Michel Plasson It’s about trains. Or is it? So Pacific 231 is a kind of train, and Arthur Honegger was, as Wikipedia says: …widely known as a train enthusiast, and once notably said: “I … Continue reading Arthur Honegger: Pacific 231
performed by the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal under Charles Dutoit Four years after yesterday’s Pines, and more than a decade after Fountains, we have Festivals. As Wikipedia says: Each of the four movements depict a scene of celebration from ancient or modern Rome. It is … Continue reading Ottorino Respighi: Feste Romane
performed by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal under Charles Dutoit The Pines of Rome Like I said in yesterday’s post, I have a strange nostalgic connection to these pieces. It’s not that they’re necessarily favorites, but I have a certain fond memory … Continue reading Ottorino Respighi: Pini di Roma
performed by the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal under Charles Dutoit …or Fountains of Rome While it’s a four-movement work, this entire piece takes up only about fifteen minutes. But we should back up a bit and start by saying that this … Continue reading Ottorino Respighi: Fontane di Roma
performed by the Vienna Philharmonic and Violeta Urmana under Pierre Boulez, or in full here with Anna Larsson. Below is a recording of Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen with Magdalena Kožena and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra under Claudio Abbado So it’s a leap … Continue reading Leap Day: Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder
Fugue for Thought 