Don't Weep for me, O Mother
Submitted by conductor on Wed, 03/31/2010 - 13:22Our friends from the Abbey of Chevetogne are back, and we will begin and end our Belgian series with their latest two recordings. This week, the Matins of Holy Saturday.
Victoria, Cabezon, Praetorius
Submitted by conductor on Wed, 03/31/2010 - 11:04Additional works from both the concerts by The Sixteen and the Huelgas Ensemble surround harpsichord virtuoso Diego Ares' tribute to the blind composer and performer Antonio Cabezon (c.1510-1566).
Michael Praetorius
Submitted by conductor on Wed, 03/31/2010 - 10:42In a typical break with the prevailing winds, Paul Van Nevel and his Huelgas Ensemble give us a concert illustrating Praetorius' pivotal role between the Renaissance and Baroque styles of music.
A Composer's Last Works
Submitted by jsdubois015 on Mon, 03/29/2010 - 17:24
It’s always fascinating to look at the entire works of a composer, to witness the development of an artist from his earliest works to his last. Sometimes, even just a particular genre, tells much of the story of the developing musician. Take for example Beethoven’s piano sonatas--starting with the Opus 2 sonatas that are so much in the spirit of Mozart and Haydn, you then pass through the Pathétique, the Waldstein and the Appassionata, then the colossal Hammerklavier, and end with the 32nd sonata in C minor.
Read more... 3 commentsMarch 29, 2010
The pianist Alon Goldstein, violinist Ilya Kaler and cellist Amit Peled, wonderful instrumentalists in their own right, have been playing together for a number of years. Now they call their ensemble the Tempest Trio. The Tempest has embarked on an exploration of all Beethoven trios for piano and strings. Beethoven wrote piano trios throughout most of his creative life, starting with Op. 1 and finishing with the “Archduke” in 1811. If we count trios without opus numbers, then the total comes to 12, so the Tempest, and its listeners, are set for a wonderful journey. We have three trios in our library, numbers 4, 5, and 7. Today we present Trio no 7 op. 97, “Archduke.” To listen, click here.
Ignorance is Bliss: Historically Informed or Not?
Submitted by jsdubois015 on Fri, 03/26/2010 - 15:00
Yesterday, I heard part of a recording, from the 1950s I think, of Bach's Mass in B minor. As I understand it, this places the recording a couple of decades before historically informed performances became a big to-do in the music world. Compared to Robert Shaw's 1990 recording that I own, this older recording was strikingly fresh. Now, Shaw's recording is quite spectacular in its own way, and I'm not knocking it at all, but, as for me, I've never been a big fan of the historically informed performances.
Read more...Treasure Hunt
Submitted by jsdubois015 on Tue, 03/23/2010 - 13:40
In just about any subject, particularly if you're studying it from a historical perspective, it doesn't take long before you start to realize that the really juicy stuff, the knowledge that you can really sink your teeth into, is sometimes not easy to get to. In music, for example, C.P.E. Bach's Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments was long neglected, even in Germany, and did not appear in an English translation until the 20th century. Other treatises have suffered similar fates.
Read more...March 22, 2010. Bach at 325!
Johann Sebastian Bach was born three-and-a-quarter centuries ago, on March 21 1685, but the freshness and impact of his music remains as true today as the day it was written. Considered by many to be the greatest composer of all time, his compositions are performed by instrumentalists, orchestras, and singers around the world. His music is sought by concertgoers and Internet users alike: Bach, together with Mozart, is the most popular composer on the Web. We could play his music all day long, but we’ll limit our selection to just five pieces. We’ll start with David Schrader playing Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in d minor, BWV 903 on harpsichord. The pianist Elena Baksht will then play English Suite No. 2 in a minor. The cellist Inbal Segev will follow with Prelude and Gigue, from Suite Number 6, BWV 1012. Rachel Barton Pine (violin) will play Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001. We’ll conclude with David Schrader, again, in this case as the organist: he’ll play Toccata and Fugue in d minor, BWV 565. To listen, click here.
Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov - Violin Sonata, Op.8: II. Valse Mélancolique
Yuriy Leonovich (Cello)
Elizabeth DeMio (Piano)
Maurice Ravel - Daphnis and Chloé, Suite No. 2
Peabody Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra)
Hajime Teri Murai (Conductor)