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
performed by the Zurich string trio, or below in a much brisker rendition by the Grumiaux Trio So trios… We talked about Beethoven’s op. 1 piano trios starting here, the first of those also in E flat. That was last summer, … Continue reading Beethoven Trio for violin, viola & cello in E flat, Op. 3
There are no words. But I shall try. Maybe it’s just me, but for some of these really special concerts from visiting ensembles (and/or just amazing performances all around), there’s a strange sense of connection, of appreciation and gratitude, that … Continue reading Berlin Philharmonic in Taipei
performed by the Artemis quartet, or below by in a fantastic performance by the Ariel Quartet And here we are at Beethoven’s first quartets. Like Haydn’s op. 1 and others after, Beethoven’s no. 18 is a collection of six quartets, published … Continue reading Beethoven String Quartet no. 1 in F, op. 18, no. 1
performed by Maurizio Pollini and the Berlin Philharmonic under Claudio Abbado, or the same pianist with the Vienna Philharmonic under Karl Böhm I saw almost nothing but empty pages; at the most, on one page or another a few Egyptian … Continue reading Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 in Cm, Op. 37
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
It was another one of those two-night concert specials, a foreign ensemble coming to Taipei, but this time one I should have had a much greater chance hearing in my home country: the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Riccardo Muti. The Chicago Symphony … Continue reading Concert Review: Chicago Symphony in Taipei
with Håkan Hardenberger The takeaway from this concert: Håkan Hardenberger is a classy, really nice dude who makes beautiful sounds on the trumpet. Like a Swedish George Clooney. As with every Taipei Symphony performance Maestro Varga leads, this one is … Continue reading Concert Review: TSO’s Trumpet Calls on the Wasteland
How quickly things happen. Just a few weeks ago, I was able to enjoy my first two-night concert set ever, and who better to enjoy it with than the Vienna Philharmonic? I’d gone to separate concerts back-to-back before, but never the … Continue reading Concert Review: The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
The actual music portion. Part one yesterday I suppose was more like a long preface or lead-in to the two concerts that will go down in my books as the most anticipated things I’ve ever attended. But yesterday, all we talked … Continue reading Concert Review: Vienna Philharmonic in Taipei- Part 2
The firsts. Also, could this have fit any better into the schedule? This was to be my first opera experience, but that title subsequently went, somewhat unexpectedly, to Ravel’s L’heure Espagnole, a piece I had the pleasure to attend last … Continue reading Beethoven: Fidelio
performed and discussed below by András Schiff, or in this live performance by Claudio Arrau in 1977 I started to feel with the articles on the piano trios that, as I stated there, we are (very obviously) entering a whole … Continue reading Beethoven piano sonata no. 3 in C, op. 2, no. 3
performed and introduced by András Schiff (or without explanation by Murray Perahia [with links to the other movements within]) As Schiff states, this sonata could hardly be more different from the one that precedes it. The overwhelming tone of the … Continue reading Beethoven piano sonata no. 2, op. 2, no. 2
performed by András Schiff (or here by Daniel Barenboim, without the talking) I had been listening to the box set of sonatas from The Complete Beethoven Edition, played by the great Wilhelm Kempff. The above presentation, with performances of the … Continue reading Beethoven Piano sonata no. 1 in Fm, op. 2, no. 1
I’m speechless. I don’t know how I’d managed to get through as much classical music listening, reading, YouTube viewing, and concert going and not have heard of Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. What initially struck my interest and sold me on the concert was one of the names below: It wasn’t Beethoven (x2), or Debussy or Ravel, but Boulez. In case you don’t know (and unless you know me personally, you probably don’t), I’ve been fascinated, obsessed, overwhelmed by the music of Milton Babbitt lately, and by extension, the concepts and ideas behind the serialist movement in general, and Boulez is a very … Continue reading Jean-Efflam Bavouzet: Piano Recital
(I recently wrote about this piece in what I can only describe as a far more informed, mature way than I did here. Please go have a read of that article.) performed by Nicolaus Harnoncourt and the Chamber Orchestra of … Continue reading Beethoven Symphony No. 3 in Eb, op. 55, Eroica
Once in a while, there’s a thing that you look so forward to that you can’t even concentrate, the day seems to go by slowly, and you cannot wait for this thing you know will be so amazing to arrive. Perhaps it’s a dinner at a fancy restaurant, or a vacation, or some kind of meaningful thing; it’s different for everyone. But then when you get there and it starts happening, it’s more meaningful and powerful and enjoyable and moving than you had thought it could be. Even the highest of expectations were exceeded. Perhaps that sounds corny, but it’s … Continue reading Concert Review: Salonen and the Philharmonia Orchestra in Taipei
Fugue for Thought 