performed by the Hamburg Philharmonic under Simone Young, or as below with the Vienna Philharmonic under Carl Maria Giulini (cover image by Fábio Ferreira) Bruckner’s seventh symphony, one of his most famous and successful, was written between 1881 and 1883, … Continue reading Bruckner Symphony No. 7 in E, WAB 107
performed by The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields under the late Sir Neville Marriner, or in a superb recording with the Vienna Philharmonic under István Kertész (cover image by Patrick Baum) It’s also been a while since we’ve … Continue reading Schubert Symphony no. 6 in C, D. 589
performed by the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra under Sergiu Celibidache (cover image by Eberhard Grossgasteiger) Its themes are exceptionally beautiful, its harmony has moments of both boldness and subtlety, its instrumentation is the most imaginative he [Bruckner] had yet achieved, and it possesses a mastery … Continue reading Revisit: Bruckner Symphony no. 6 in A, WAB 106
performed by the Hamburg Philharmonic under Simone Young, or below with a second favorite, the Saarbrücken Radio Symphony under Stanisław Skrowaczewski (cover image by Cassie Boca) Back to Bruckner. He’s a link between Beethoven and the next composer we’ll be … Continue reading Bruckner Symphony no. 5 in B-flat, WAB 105
performed by the Minguet Quartett second and third/fourth movements (cover image by Steven Wang) Robert Fuchs was born on February 15, 1847 in Frauental an der Laßnitz, the youngest of 13 children. He studied at the Vienna Conservatory with Felix Otto … Continue reading Robert Fuchs: String Quartet no. 1 in E, op. 58
performed by the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin under Riccardo Chailly, or below by the Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra under the late Stanislaw Skrowaczewski (cover image by Adam Edgerton) It’s been sometime since we’ve seen Bruckner. And aside from the revisit article … Continue reading Bruckner Symphony No. 3 in D minor, WAB 103
performed by Hilary Hahn and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Esa-Pekka Salonen [It] is extremely difficult, just as much for the head as for the hands. I am delighted to add another ‘unplayable’ work to the repertoire. I want … Continue reading Schoenberg Violin Concerto, op. 36
Performed by the Quatuor Diotima and Marie-Nicole Lemieux, or below by the Juilliard Quartet (without vocalist) If I haven’t already mentioned it, and I’m pretty sure I have, the works of Alban Berg might for many be the way into … Continue reading Berg: Lyric Suite
performed by the Vienna Philharmonic under Claudio Abbado and all the people in this recording (Act 1 with subtitles below, Abbado and the Vienna State Opera) Still, alles still, als wär’ die Welt tot (Still, all is still, as if the … Continue reading Berg: Wozzeck, op. 7
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 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 Mitsuko Uchida and the English Chamber Orchestra under Jeffrey Tate, or below by the English Chamber Orchestra with Murray Perahia The eighth concerto is the last of three from Mozart written in 1776, April of that year, and … Continue reading Mozart Piano Concerto No. 8 in C, K. 246
performed by Andras Schiff, Daniel Barenboim, and Georg Solti with the English Chamber Orchestra (I think) Talk about extravagant. Why three pianos? I thought the same thing, and I’ll tell you why, or rather Wikipedia will: The concerto is often … Continue reading Mozart Piano Concerto No. 7 in F for three pianos and orchestra, K. 242
performed by Mitsuko Uchida and the English Chamber Orchestra under Jeffrey Tate, or below from Murray Perahia and the English Chamber Orchestra Well, we did some sonatas, and now, as you should have expected, some concertos. (A quick note on the … Continue reading Mozart Piano Concerto no. 6 in B-flat, K. 238
performed by Christoph Eschenbach, or below by Sir András Schiff second and third movements We have now reached somewhat of a (very insignificant) milestone in our coverage of Mozart’s piano sonatas. For one, this puts us a third of the … Continue reading Mozart Piano Sonata No. 6 in D, K. 284 / 205b
performed by Christoph Eschenbach, or below by the also spectacular Mitsuko Uchida Here we are with Mozart’s fifth piano sonata, and per yesterday’s article, the two Köchel numbers reflect its original and incorrect ordering, later being given the lower number to reflect … Continue reading Mozart Piano Sonata No. 5 in G, K. 283 / 189h
performed by Christoph Eschenbach, or below by the also outstanding Mitsuko Uchida We haven’t seen Mozart in a while. Actually it hasn’t been that long. We featured him more than once or twice during the horn series and a few … Continue reading Mozart Piano Sonata No. 4 in E-flat, K. 282 /189g
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 Here we are with another horn concerto from Mozart for his decades-older friend … 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 W. A. Mozart took pity on Leitgeb, ass, ox and fool … 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 the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields under Sir Neville Marriner, or below with The Academy of Ancient Music under Christopher Hogwood There are only two full sentences on Wikipedia for today’s symphony, and the first one, rivetingly, … Continue reading Mozart Symphony no. 21 in A, K. 134