performed by Régine Crespin and the L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande under Ernest Ansermet [The poems] form a narrative which leads from a spring-born joie de vivre (Villanelle) and a loss of innocence (Le spectre de la rose), to the … Continue reading Berlioz: Les nuits d’été, op. 7
Old familiar tunes. There are some upcoming articles in which I soapbox a bit on just listening to new music. You don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on a crazy music collection with tons of albums and fancy equipment; just dabble in classical … Continue reading NSO’s Symphonie Fantastique
Two things: Olesya Petrova is a phenomenal, breathtaking, delicate powerhouse. Simon Rattle sat (a few rows) behind me tonight (in the next section over). I’m not ashamed of the fact that I’m familiar with (very) little of Berlioz’s music aside … Continue reading NSO’s Berlioz Bash
performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Sir Colin Davis Berlioz tells it like it is. You take a trip, you wind up screaming at your own funeral. Honorable mention in the “Symphonic but not a symphony” category is this … Continue reading Hector Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique
So… the Vienna Philharmonic is a tough act to follow. But I do love our local ensemble, and even though our maestro 呂紹嘉 wasn’t with us, I was still looking forward to the concert. I also have a confession: I … Continue reading Concert Review: NSO- A Fantastic Symphony
Franz Liszt: where does one begin? Handsome chap, too Most people know him as the frighteningly virtuosic virtuoso pianist born in 1811, the year after Chopin and Schumann, he himself being one of the most influential performers/composers of the 19th … Continue reading Influential People: Franz Liszt
Fugue for Thought 