performed by Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, or below by Annie Fischer I cannot overstate the wonderfulness of Sir András Schiff’s series of lectures about the Beethoven sonatas. They make me feel like I know these works so well, and even after having listened … Continue reading Beethoven Piano Sonata no. 5 in Cm, op. 10 no. 1
performed by the Endellion String Quartet and David Adams, viola, or below by the Zurich String Quintet Composed in 1795, Beethoven’s op. 4 was originally an octet written for pairs of oboes, clarinets, bassoons and horns. That work was given … Continue reading Beethoven String Quintet in E flat, op. 4
featuring Yu-Chien Benny Tseng (曾宇謙), violin After a very hot day in Taipei and a train ride back down to the new(ish) opera house, which I haven’t visited for almost exactly four months, I find myself yet again in one of … Continue reading Esa-Pekka Salonen & Philharmonia Orchestra
featuring Kolja Blacher (subtitled ‘The Arts of Play & Lead’) Beethoven, Brahms, Britten and Blacher. But not in that order. That ‘Play and Lead’ title refers exactly to what made this concert so special, the almost unbelievable feat that Blacher … Continue reading Blacher & NSO
featuring Carl St. Clair, conductor; Albrecht Mayer, oboe Yes. It’s called that for the reason that you think it is. But we’ll get there. It’s been more than a month since I’ve been in the concert hall, and that’s a … Continue reading NSO’s Eroica
performed by Andrew Clark, natural horn; Geoffrey Govier, fortepiano Who is this Beethoven? His name is not known to us. Of course, Punto is very well known. Hungarian Music Critic, in response to a performance of the work by its … Continue reading Beethoven Horn Sonata, op. 17
This is the second concert lately to feature works from Russian composers (singular in this case), and there’s lots more Russian music in the next few weeks. First, I have to say that the cast (as it was sort of a cast) … Continue reading The Soldier’s Tale
performed by Peter Schreier and Andras Schiff, or below with Schreier and Walter Olbertz as pianist Here we are, jumping ahead to the latest of Beethoven’s works on the blog so far, after seven piano trios, eleven string quartets, ten … Continue reading Beethoven: An die ferne Geliebte, op. 98
performed by the Artemis Quartet, or below by the Belcea Quartet Here we are, finally halfway through Beethoven’s Haydn-inspired (or at least influenced) installment of the six quartets, his first six, published as op. 18. As a matter of fact, … Continue reading Beethoven String Quartet no. 3 in D, op. 18 no. 3
It could hardly have been a more music-filled weekend, and it ended on a note of hope, of triumph, of absolute triumph and sublime beauty. In case you missed it, I also attended concerts on Friday and Saturday, the former … Continue reading TSO’s Beethoven 9
performed by the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich under David Zinman Radiant beams shoot through this region’s deep night, and we become aware of gigantic shadows which, rocking back and forth, close in on us and destroy everything within us except the … Continue reading Beethoven Symphony no. 5 in Cm, op.67
performed by Yefim Bronfman, Truls Mørk and Gil Shaham with the Tonhalle Orchestra under David Zinman, or below by the Chamber Orchestra of Europe under Bernard Haitink with: Renaud Capuçon, violin Gautier Capuçon, cello Frank Braley, piano So our first … Continue reading Beethoven Triple Concerto in C major, op. 56
for violin, viola and cello, performed by the Zurich String Trio, or below by the Grumiaux Trio So it’s 2017 and all… We’ve yet to complete even our traversal of the op. 18 string quartets, and that will slowly but surely … Continue reading Beethoven Serenade in D major, op. 8
featuring 楊文信 (Wen-Sinn Yang), cello Welcome back, NSO! Our very own National Symphony Orchestra recently returned from their trip abroad, their first concert visit to America, as well as a concert in Vancouver. They got newspaper spots, filled Western concert … Continue reading NSO’s Cello & Symphony
We’re quite spoilt here in Taipei. I won’t go on again about having seen the world-famous ensembles from Berlin, Vienna, Chicago, and Munich come visit, along with the likes of the Concertgebouw and Philharmonia, and on and on, but we … Continue reading Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Taipei
Beethoven’s ninth. Everyone knows it. Or they think they do. ‘Ode to Joy’ has been used and reused in everything from church hymns to TV commercials, but do you know the whole thing, its ins and outs, and what it … Continue reading NSO: The Immortal 9th
featuring Freddy Kempf, conducted by 張尹芳 (Zhang Yin Fang) Midweek concerts are always a bit tougher to get around to, especially in rainy weather, and tonight’s turnout showed it. As a heavy-duty subscriber to the NSO, I get some perks, … Continue reading NSO’s Concerto for Orchestra
It was almost six months ago to the day that I first knew that the Quatuor Diotima would be visiting Taiwan, and that was the same week I posted an article I spent a lot of time preparing for, only to share … Continue reading Quatuor Diotima in Taipei
performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Rene Leibowitz (see below for more information on recordings) “a slender Greek maiden between two Norse giants” Robert Schumann of Beethoven’s fourth symphony I don’t know that I’d call her that, but she’s certainly … Continue reading Beethoven Symphony No. 4 in B-flat, Op. 60
The Overture to the Ballet performed by the Gewandhausorchester under Riccardo Chailly, or below by the Vienna Philharmonic and Claudio Abbado So we’re not talking about the entire ballet, at least not yet. Maybe we should. In any case, if you’ve … Continue reading Beethoven’s Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus, op. 43
performed by the Artemis quartet, or in a live performance below by the Belcea quartet (I always love to watch the intensity of the performers playing these works) We’re on to Beethoven’s second string quartet, the no. 2 of the opus 18 … Continue reading Beethoven String Quartet No. 2 in G, op. 18, No. 2
Fugue for Thought 