performed by Maurizio Pollini (live performance below) I said to Webern: for my music you must have time. It does not suit people who have other things to do. But it is in any case a great pleasure to hear … Continue reading Schoenberg: Sechs Kleine Klavierstücke, Op. 19
performed by the New Vienna String Quartet (above is the first ‘movement’; the entire work is available from this playlist) I have conducted the most difficult scores of Wagner; I have written complicated music myself in scores of up to … Continue reading Schoenberg String Quartet no. 1, op. 7
performed by the Kubín Quartet This work, unlike many of the quartets from Beethoven, Mozart and Schubert (and Haydn) that we’ve discussed so far, while still bearing a ‘no. 1’ moniker, is not a first attempt, nor is it a youthful work. … Continue reading Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf String Quartet no. 1 in D
performed by the Melos Quartet, or below (which I believe is the exact same recording, though uncredited and un-movement-ed) I’m not sure what to make of this work. I’ve found very little about it online, often referred to as a … Continue reading Schubert String Quartet no. 2 in C, D. 32
I love the French horn. But it has to be one of the most difficult, unreliable, wobbly instruments in the ensemble. In most (rare-ish) cases of a missed entry or high note, a ‘whoops’ of loss of tone or control, the … Continue reading Concert Review: NSO’s Blast of Spring
performed by the Melos Quartet This quartet is listed in some places as being in “various” or mixed keys. The Kalmus Study Score that I rented from the library (volume one of three) lists it as C minor. In any … Continue reading Schubert String Quartet no. 1, D. 18
performed by Mitsuko Uchida We’ll get around to the other incomplete sonatas and stuff later, but for now, we feature the first piano work of his that really blew me away, and the earliest completed sonata. I was fascinated with his Wanderer … Continue reading Schubert Piano Sonata no. 4 in C, D. 537
performed by Wilhelm Kempff If, as Messiaen stated and many others might agree, Mozart is ‘an extraordinary rhythmician,’ one of the most talented and gifted rhythmic composers, then Schubert must be one of the most lyrical. With Mozart’s first string quartet from a … Continue reading Schubert Piano Sonata in E, D. 157
performed by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields under Sir Neville Marriner, or below by The Academy of Ancient Music under Christopher Hogwood (what’s with the academies?) So it’s been some time since we got around to a Mozart … Continue reading Mozart Symphony no. 13 in F, K. 112
performed by the Amadeus Quartet This first string quartet effort, when the composer was only fourteen years old, has charm and interest in spades compared to the first efforts of Papa Haydn. While I’m sure his divertimenti served their intended … Continue reading W. A. Mozart String Quartet no. 1 in G, K. 80
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 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
Schoenberg’s piece terrified me. And every Mahler symphony ever written is one of the greatest symphonies ever written. I died a little bit last night, in the most moving, inspiring way. This is a concert I’d been waiting to attend … Continue reading Concert Review: NSO’s Mahler 6
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
It’d been like, three weeks since I’d been in the concert hall. Things always slow down around Chinese New Year, with annual maintenance and whatever taking place. The whole country kind of stops what they’re doing for the week anyway, … Continue reading Concert Review: RSO-Wien
This is the actual part that talks about the concert. It’s the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra’s 70th anniversary, and what better piece (well, aside from like, Mahler 8) to commemorate than something as huge and glorious as the Auferstehung?! I talked earlier … Continue reading Concert Review: NTSO’s ‘Resurrection’
performed by the New Vienna String Quartet (Neues Wiener Streichquartett) A playlist with all four movements can be found here. “…it awakens feelings that are not far from those caused by euphony.” From this article, which I’ll cite also below … Continue reading Schoenberg String Quartet no. 4, op. 37
performed by Mitsuko Uchida second movement third movement or also this very interesting performance of the first movement by Robert Levin on an actual fortepiano, similar to what Mozart would have played on This third of Mozart’s piano sonatas is … Continue reading Mozart Piano sonata no. 3 in Bb, K281
Fugue for Thought 