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Do you write about classical music? Are you a blogger? Want to team up with Classical Connect? Send us a message, let's talk!
June 15, 2009
We don't have that much 16th or early 17th century music, but here's some, courtesy of Réjean Poirier. Mr. Poirier is an award-wining organist, harpsichordist, teacher, composer and scholar. A man of wide interests, he designed harpsichords, researched the use of graphic symbols in composition as a substitute for traditional notation, and participated in the founding of several performance groups and studios. Dean of the Faculty of Music of the Université de Montréal from 1998 to 2006, Mr. Poirier teaches harpsichord and organ and continues an international career on both instruments.
In this selection, Mr. Poirier plays an organ piece by the 16th century Dutch composer Sweelinck, two compositions by the French Baroque composer Nicolas Lebegue, and several harpsichord pieces: three by the early Baroque Italian, Giovanni Picchi, and the late-16th – early-17th century Englishmen John Bull and William Byrd. Don't miss the fascinating notes Poirier wrote to several of the compositions, especially Bull and Byrd.
June 8, 2009
"Dmitri Berlinsky's concert revealed an exceptional musician… polished and thoughtful, he is a violinist fully in control of his instrument and the music," wrote The Los Angeles Times.
Mr. Berlinsky arrived on the international scene as the youngest winner in the history of the Paganini International Violin Competition in Genoa, Italy. Subsequent triumphs at the Montreal International Violin Competition (Grand Prize), the International Tchaikovsky Competition and the Queen Elizabeth Competition in Brussels, led to appearances with major orchestras in Europe, Russia, the Far East, North and South America.
Mr. Berlinsky has performed in major venues such as Carnegie and Avery Fisher Halls in New York, The Kennedy Center in Washington DC, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, the Berlin Philharmonic Hall, among others.
This season, he performs with Russian National Orchestra, Prague Radio Symphony, Orchestra de Chambre Français in New York, Russian Chamber Philharmonic. He gives recitals in the United States, Korea, Italy, Mexico, and Russia.
The playlist of Mr. Berlinky's performance contains violin concertos by Bruch and Glazunov, Prokofiev's sonata No.2, Tchaikovsky's Scherzo and a sonata by Ysaÿe. You may listen to it here.
June 1, 2009
Has there ever been a more a more profound piece of music than the Hammerklavier sonata? This, of course, is a rhetorical question: we cannot describe music or even categorize it – esthetical and philosophic concepts prove inadequate, even when applied by great writers such as Thomas Mann. Here's Eteri Andjaparidze's interpretation of Beethoven's Sonata number 29, op.106.
May 25, 2009
James Dick is a brilliant concert pianist. He's also the founder of the International Festival-Institute at Round Top. Now in its 39th year, the Festival-Institute is a summer program for talented young musicians from all over the world. They study, perform and participated in master classes, forums and musical events. The faculty, which includes James Dick, consists of star-quality musicians. We have a number of recordings made by James Dick for the Festival's label, Round Top Records. Listen here to Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 (the "Emperor"), recorded in July of 2000. Stefan Sanderling (son of Kurt Sanderling) conducts the Texas Festival Orchestra.
May 18, 2009
When we heard the Cypress String Quartet performance of the second movement of Debussy's quartet, our first thought was: but why just the second movement? Fortunately, it turned out that the rest of the quartet was recorded as well, and now you can enjoy the complete performance. The Cypress String Quartet is a young ensemble from California (they are in residence at San Jose State University). In addition to playing the traditional repertory of Haydn, Beethoven and Mendelssohn, they have commissioned and premiered over 25 works of America's leading composers. In the words of Cypress, they've "created a dialogue between the old masters and living composers." As an encore, you can hear the bravura performance of the finale of Haydn's Quartet Op. 76 No.5. To listen to Cypress, click here.
May 11, 2009
Something old, something new: Thomas Bergeron plays trumpet. We start with a very classical piece: the 2nd Movement of Haydn's Trumpet concerto. Then you'll hear something new indeed: the recording of the premiere performances of Jay Wadley's "Upon Awakening, Still Burning." Wadley is 26, recently out of Yale. The style of "Upon Awakening" borrows both from minimalism and jazz improvisations, but on the whole, delivers an original and interesting composition. The last piece on the playlist is Villa-Lobos's Aria from Bachianas Brasilieras. To listen, click here.