performed by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Zubin Mehta, Barbara Hendricks, soprano (my hands-down absolute favorite recording of this piece; she’s stunning. Took my breath away the first time I heard her after having listened to many other recordings, but the … Continue reading Mahler Symphony No. 4
performed by Nicolaus Harnoncourt and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe (which seems not to be available online, so we will go with a slightly less favorite but almost equally as wonderful interpretation, and very much along the same lines, our … Continue reading Beethoven Symphony No. 3 in Eb, op. 55, Eroica
performed by the Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin under Riccardo Chailly; Martha Argerich, piano //player.vimeo.com/video/63725542 This is intimidating. I guess everything about this piece is except for listening to it, and sometimes even that. There’s so. much. to. say. about this piece that I almost don’t want to try. There are so many theses, recordings, liner notes, program notes, concert talks and everything else about this piece that it would be ludicrous for me to think I have anything else to add but my own opinion and feelings of the piece, so that’s pretty much all I’m going to share, aside from some basics. For the technical bits … Continue reading Centenniel Music Post: Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 in Dm, op. 30
performed by Ashley Wass (per the YouTube video info) The rest of the first movement (Hexameron has apparently not uploaded the second movement…) The third movement (There was another fantastic performance of this piece in its entirety up on YouTube, … Continue reading Frank Bridge: piano sonata, H. 160
performed by the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra under … someone, perhaps the composer. And now… for something completely different. We went from a nine-week discussion of some quite heavy German(ic) music, to a brief discussion of some Eastern European music … Continue reading Alfred Reed: Armenian Dances
performed by the Radio Symphonieorchester Wien under Dennis Russell Davies It is completely impossible to estimate what music has lost in him. His genius soars to such heights even in his first symphony, written at the age of twenty, and … Continue reading Hans Rott: Symphony in E major
– a foreword The Artist. Inspiration. Intensity. Devotion. Drama Genius. Talent. Tragedy. Success. Failure. And usually a little bit of crazy. Most of these things come to mind when people think of the typical ‘artist’ in whatever medium, be … Continue reading Hans Rott: The Real Genius?
performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Jascha Horenstein, Earl Wild, piano This may not be the most popular version of the work, but it’s the one I ‘learned’ this piece from; it’s the one I came to love this piece as a result of, and no other performance compares. It may be a bit brisker than a few other interpretations, but it’s perfect. These people knew what they were doing. and this is a must-watch Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 (Nikolai Lugansky) from Philharmonia Orchestra on Vimeo. So…. This is an important piece. I’d been thinking what to … Continue reading Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 in Cm, op. 18
(I have written an updated article on this symphony in the few years since this original article. It can be found here, and I’d suggest reading it at least in addition to if not in place of what is below. For posterity, I’ve kept the original article as is.) performed by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra under Neeme Järvi Let me just say I love the fact that Nielsen was playing in the second violins for the premiere of this piece. How cool is that? We’re getting back around to symphonies, probably for at least the next month or so. I … Continue reading Nielsen Symphony no. 1 in Gm, op. 7
performed by the London Symphony Orchestra under Valery Gergiev (this is not the studio recording I am familiar with here, but it’s the same ensemble and conductor) Another one of my favorites, this one. I am compiling a list that … Continue reading Prokofiev symphony no. 7 in C#m, op. 132
performed by the National Symphony Orchestra under Mstislav Rostropovich Buckle up… please listen to this piece, and please read this whole thing. Or just read the wikipedia article on it. I reference it a lot. I listened to his first … Continue reading Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47
https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/vmUPl7Pv0Zg&source=uds performed by the Seoul Philharmonic under James Judd, Valentina Lisitsa, piano (I wanted to find a video or recording of her performance here in Taipei from back in October 2013, but the best I could do was this rather useless ad) Can you think of any other piano concerti in Am? Schumann? Very good. What about Mrs. Schumann? Also very good. The first one is the more important, and while Grieg had it in mind (to some extent or other) during the composition of his own piano concerto (both of them having only written one piano concerto, Grieg not … Continue reading Edvard Grieg: Piano Concerto in Am, op. 16
performed by Idil Biret (from her box set on Naxos of Chopin’s complete works) there are also these, more for comparison than anything else: –A 1968 performance by Vladimir Horowitz in Carnegie Hall that everyone seems to love –This performance by … Continue reading Post #50: Chopin: Ballade no. 1 in Gm, op. 23
performed by Pascal Rogé (from the two-disc Ravel: Piano Works from Decca) (link to a YouTube version, also a superb interpretation played by the fantastic Martha Argerich, whom I talk about below: 1. Ondine 2. Le Gibet 3. Scarbo AND … Continue reading Maurice Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit: Trois poèmes pour piano d’après Aloysius Bertrand
This article has been marked as in need of a revisit. That’s where I feel like I didn’t do the piece justice or have more to say (usually because I didn’t know it nearly well enough or didn’t have the … Continue reading Brahms Symphony no. 1 in Cm, op. 68
performed by whoever plays it in the following videos: Section 1Section 2Section 3 Julius Reubke was a student of Franz Liszt, his favorite pupil at one point, as Liszt himself apparently stated. It shows. While the previous piece I wrote about is a concerto dedicated to the memory of a man whose life was at its end, and written in his style, this piece, dedicated to the composer’s teacher, shows heavy direct influence from the man himself, even quotes directly from Liszt’s piano sonata in a place or two. The sonata was written in 1857, when the composer was 23, … Continue reading Julius Reubke: piano sonata in Bb minor
performed by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Simon Rattle (or below in an equally wonderful recording with the Lahti Symphony under Osmo Vänskä) This one’s been brewing a while. It has been the most thorough preparation of any … Continue reading Jean Sibelius: Symphony no. 2 in D major, Op. 43
Fugue for Thought 