In Memoriam
Submitted by jsdubois015 on Mon, 04/26/2010 - 16:34
Throughout its history, music has always been regarded as the most subtle of the arts, the one closest to the heart of man. The Romantic philosophers regarded music as the most noble of the arts, a gift from heaven itself, and the language of the angels. Music has the power to make clear what we cannot comprehend in any other way. It searches the deepest recesses of what makes us human. It gives expression to feelings when there is no other adequate way. It calms us. It inspires. It can lift us up when we're down. It can give us the motivation needed to press on.
Read more... 3 commentsApril 26, 2010
Sergei Prokofiev, one of the most important composers of the 20th century, was born this week, on April 25, 1891. By his mid-20s he was already well-known as a composer and pianists: his first piano concerto was written in 1910, the violin concerto – in 1915. Prokofiev left Russia shortly after the revolution. He spent most of his subsequent 17 years in the US and then France before returning to the Soviet Union in 1935. Despite all the difficulties (his wife was arrested as a “spy” and he was often criticized in the official press as a “formalist”), he wrote some of his best music in the late 1930s and the 40s: piano sonatas 6 through 9, which were championed by Sviatoslav Richter and Emil Gilels, a cello sonata that was first performed by the young Rostropovich, along with operas, ballets and symphonies. He died the same day as Stalin, March 5, 1953. His death wasn’t announced till three days later.
We’ll open the Prokofiev playlist with his youthful Sarcasms, Op. 17, played by the pianist Milica Jelača Jovanović. We’ll continue with Five Melodies for violin & piano, Op. 35 bis, performed by Ilya Kaler (Violin) and Eteri Andjaparidze (Piano). Following that, the pianist Vakhtang Jordania plays Sonata No. 8 in B-flat Major, Op. 84. We’ll conclude with Jeffrey Biegel soloing in the Third Piano concerto in C Major op. 26. To listen click here.
Igor Stravinsky - The Firebird
Peabody Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra)
Hajime Teri Murai (Conductor)
Classical Music and Peace of Mind
Submitted by jsdubois015 on Sat, 04/24/2010 - 09:34
If you have kept up with recent news, then you undoubtedly know about the volcanic eruption that occurred in Iceland last week. Due to the ash cloud from the eruption, air travel was completely suspended throughout much of Europe. Thousands of flights were canceled and thousands more people were stranded with virtually no way of getting home. I was one of them. I had only been in England for two days when I heard the news of the volcano eruption. My return flight to the US was scheduled for this past Monday, but air travel didn't resume until the following Wednesday.
Read more...From our Historical Interviews:
Bruce Duffie talks with the composer Krzysztof Penderecki
To commemorate the recent events in Poland, we publish Bruce Duffie’s interview with the great Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki. Penderecki, the author of eight symphonies, four operas, several concertos and a Polish Requiem, also wrote music to the movie Katyn, the center of the recent tragedy. Here are several excerpts from the interview.
Bruce Duffie: What is it about the voice that intrigues you?
Krzystof Penderecki: I think it’s the most beautiful instrument ever created, the human voice. Since I’m writing for voice almost fifty years, I can always find something which interests me in the voice, so it’s no limit writing for voice, I think.
KP: …Writing for instruments, music is more abstract, I would say. I’m looking for some sounds of the instruments, to find the different new sounds. In the Seven Gates of Jerusalem, I invented a new instrument, the tubaphones. They’re pipes, long, plastic pipes. I wanted to have a deep percussion tuned instrument, and it doesn’t exist, so I had to invent the new instrument.
KP: … the problem for all composers, not only for me, is that we have to use instruments which were built 300 years ago, or 200 years ago. The newest instrument in the orchestra, maybe, is the saxophone, but it’s over 100 years old now. In the century of the great discovery, landing on the moon and so on, we still have to write for very old instruments, museum instruments really. I think this is the problem. It became really the problem in the second half of the twentieth century, that there is not much progress because of the lack of the instruments.
April 19, 2010.
We were playing catch up celebrating several birthdays when tragic events forced us to focus on Poland and its contribution to the world of classical music. In the mean time, yet another birthday of a great composer has passed: Sergei Rachmaninov was born on April 1, 1873. So today we’ll play some music we planned to present earlier, along with some Rachmaninov. We’ll start with Pablo Sarasate, the Spanish violinist and composer; his Playera is performed by Albert Markov. The Hungarian Béla Bartók was one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. He was often inspired by regional folk music, both Hungarian and Romanian. We’ll hear a rather unusual performance: Michel Tirabosco is a virtuoso player on Pan Pipes. He’ll perform Six Romanian Popular Songs accompanied by the guitarist Antonio Dominguez. Some day we’ll dedicate a program to Sergei Rachmaninov. But today, as a token, we’ll play his Prelude Op. 32, No. 5, in G Major in Jeffrey Biegel’s interpretation. To listen, click here.
Giovanni Bottesini - Tarantella
Nicholas Santangelo Schwartz (Double Bass)
Ayako Yoda (Piano)
Amy Beach - Romance for Violin and Piano, Op. 23
Nicholas Santangelo Schwartz (Double Bass)
Ayako Yoda (Piano)
Franz Schubert - Sonata in A minor D. 821 (Arpeggione)
Nicholas Santangelo Schwartz (Double Bass)
Ayako Yoda (Piano)
Basic Ideas about Music Theory
Submitted by jsdubois015 on Thu, 04/15/2010 - 15:05
Music theory has always been a strong point of mine. It is an intriguing subject—a challenge, and it requires a constant mental effort. This is one of the reasons why I love it. From my point of view, though, it is also a subject of much confusion and contradictions.
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