performed by Andreas Bach, or below by Jenő Jandó (cover image by Roman Mavrin) While Bartók’s music may not strike you as something that would challenge your perception or definition of ‘classical music,’ I think this little set of pieces might. … Continue reading Bartók: Hungarian Folksongs from Csík, Sz. 35a
performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy (or for those of you to whom the above video is unavailable, another one here by Richter) Life is fearfully expensive, and the climate is rotten. The air in the areas where we could find an apartment … Continue reading Scriabin Piano Sonata no. 5, op. 53
performed by the Columbia Symphony under the composer’s baton To think that this is the first Stravinsky piece we’ve touched in our more-than-two-years here… better late than never. For those of you who think of Stravinsky as a wild, imaginative … Continue reading Igor Stravinsky: Symphony in Eb major, op. 1
In our last Mahler symphony post not all that long ago, we discussed the composer’s smallest and extremely gorgeous fourth symphony. The happy couple…? That piece of the puzzle represented the filling in of a big hole in our … Continue reading Mahler Thus Far: Part II
Is it still called a concert if it’s an opera? I have a confession: this is the first opera I’ve ever attended, and one of only a few I’ve ever listened to from beginning to end. To my recollection, aside from L’heure Espagnole yesterday evening, the only operas I’ve ever listened to in their entirety are Wagner’s Das Rheingold (a few times) and Verdi’s La Traviata. That’s it, as far as I know. Anything else would be more like secondhand smoke than real listening. All of that being said, I have more than a few opera friends. While the real … Continue reading Opera: L’heure Espagnole
performed by the Hamburg Symphony under Miguel A. Gómez-Martinez Last week’s symphony moved a bit out of the realm of that deep rabbit hole of associations among Mahler and Rott and Bruckner and Brahms that all started with Beethoven. It … Continue reading Felix Woyrsch: Symphony No. 1 in Cm, op 52
performed by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra under Osmo Vänskä I cannot think of a better contrast to the previous Mahler symphony as this piece. Do I love it? Yes. Does it make me want to stop everything I’m doing and … Continue reading Sibelius Symphony no 3 in C, op. 52
Fugue for Thought 