featuring Daniil Trifonov, under Sir Antonio Pappano November has been a big month for concerts already, even after I declined to go to a few. There were some personnel shuffles with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, so I refunded that ticket, … Continue reading Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
preformed by the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra under Mariss Jansons, or below by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Vladimir Ashkenazy It is the creation of a genial mind laboring in a field well known and loved by it, but not … Continue reading Revisit: Rachmaninoff Symphony no. 3 in A minor, op. 44
featuring Igor Levit “If you’re ever in that part of town, you should try…” It’s a small world, but it isn’t that small. You probably won’t accidentally find yourself in Taipei anytime soon, but if you were to, you might learn that … Continue reading Bayerisches Staatsorchester in Taipei
I was not prepared for such excellence. The last two years were big years for foreign ensembles coming to grace our concert hall. Truth be told, though, I’m sure there’s been a continuous string of five-star visitors, but it’s only been in … Continue reading Oslo Philharmonic in Taipei
Well, hello folks. It’s been quite sometime since we did any of this concert talk, something like six weeks, actually, and what an interesting six weeks it has been. It’s quite rare to go six weeks mid-season without a concert of any kind. … Continue reading NSO’s Russian Riches
performed by Santiago Rodriguez I’m quite glad we were able to discuss the Medtner sonata earlier this week, because today we’re discussing a work of equally epic pianistic and musical proportions, similarly Russian in nature, but also in many ways entirely … Continue reading Rachmaninoff Piano Sonata in Dm, op. 28
performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy, or below by Nikolai Lugansky Rachmaninoff! Also been a while since we’ve seen this guy. I actually had no intentions of duplicating so many of the composers from last year’s Russian Symphony series in this piano … Continue reading Rachmaninoff: Variations on a theme of Chopin, op. 22
This concert didn’t have a swanky title. But (either because of these upcoming TSO concerts or not, I can’t recall) I’ve recently been a bit more curious about Enescu, Martinu, and others. One of the defining characteristics, I feel, of … Continue reading TSO’s Berezovsky & Varga
featuring pianist Clipper Erickson Listen here or search for us in iTunes In my previous conversation with Mr. Erickson, we focused almost exclusively on the music of R. Nathaniel Dett, whose music Erickson recorded and released last year to great … Continue reading Podcast: His Cup Runneth Over, Pt. 2
performed by the USSR Symphony Orchestra under Eugene Svetlanov The golden cloud slept through the night Upon the breast of the giant-rock While Rachmaninoff composed a number of symphonic poems and things, his real contribution to classical music, at least … Continue reading Rachmaninoff: The Rock, op. 7
performed live by (again) the USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra under Gennady Rozhdestvensky, or in a very nice performance below by the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra (perhaps before they were ‘Royal’?) under Vladimir Ashkenazy This, this other terrible first. The … Continue reading Rachmaninoff Symphony no. 1 in D minor, op. 13
as performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Jascha Horenstein; Earl Wild, piano Wait, what? A piano concerto? Yes. So it just now occurred to me that this is the composer’s opus no. 1. And that is only another supporting reason for … Continue reading Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto no. 1 in F#m, op. 1
I look here and there for good ‘beginner’ concerts, evenings with programs that would be really good for someone whose never set foot in a concert hall before. In thinking about that, I wrote yesterday’s post about what for me … Continue reading Concert Review: NSO- An Evening of Piano Concertos
Concerts have become a bit slow-going in the summer. I’m pretty okay with that, though. There are some big ones coming up soon that I need to save up for. But perhaps aside from one or two graduation recitals (which I think were actually in May, so no), this was the first concert of the month of June, and one of perhaps only two. Let’s talk about it. Mr. Gilbert Varga is back in town with our Taipei Symphony Orchestra. Last time I heard them play was under The Great Maestro Eliahu Inbal. What a pleasure, a privilege to see/hear … Continue reading Concert Review: Taipei Symphony- Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff
台北愛樂管弦樂團 This concert was the day after the previous concert review, the one with Mo. Antoni Wit, and if you look at the two programs, it could also tenuously be called “Paganini Variations Part 2.” I don’t seem to have recalled hearing the Taipei Philharmonic before. For clarification’s sake, the previous day’s ensemble is the Taiwan Philharmonic, but only in English. Their Chinese name (國家交響樂團) translates to English as the National Symphony Orchestra. You can see how that may be confusing, but in any case, they’re different. I expressed in that article my continued and growing adoration for the NSO, … Continue reading Concert Review: Taipei Philharmonic 30th Anniversary Concert
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
This piece has been revisited, and an updated article has been written. Please read it here. I’ll keep the original article (below) for posterity, but I would suggest reading the new article instead. USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra under Gennady Rozhdestvensky (from a live performance) I love Rachmaninoff, or what I have heard of his. His two piano sonatas and the four concertos (far more familiar with 2 and 3), Paganini variations, and his second symphony. I’m not hugely familiar with a lot of his other works, but all of what I’ve heard sounds nice. I think even if … Continue reading Sergei Rachmaninoff: Symphony no. 3 in Am, op. 44
Fugue for Thought 