A note of thanks to those who sent emails. It's been another long month of hospital and doctor appointments.
I am hoping to return to regular blogging soon.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
What's Bart Been Listening to
not that you asked, but anyhoo
Sibelius - Symphony no6
Beethoven - Piano concerto no2
Adams - Grand Pianola
Bach - French Suite no4
Ravel - Piano Concerto in G
Babbit- Reflection for piano and synthesized tape
Liszt - Sonata in b (Gilels)
Kalkbrenner - Piano Concerto no1 in d minor
Pendrecdki - Cello Concerto
Sibelius - Symphony no6
Beethoven - Piano concerto no2
Adams - Grand Pianola
Bach - French Suite no4
Ravel - Piano Concerto in G
Babbit- Reflection for piano and synthesized tape
Liszt - Sonata in b (Gilels)
Kalkbrenner - Piano Concerto no1 in d minor
Pendrecdki - Cello Concerto
Beethoven afoot
I'll agree:
Concentrating on sublime Beethoven seems snooty, like insisting on premier cru claret. But the truth is that this music isn't just better than that of the earlier periods. It initiates us into a new musical order in which melodies sound like divine improvisation, though in fact they are undergirded by the tightest counterpoint since Bach.
As Edmund Morris points out, Beethoven's climaxes are created contrapuntally: the wildest of all, in which violins, viola and cello squawk and scream like frenzied vultures, occur in a fugue - the Grosse Fuge of the String Quartet Op.130.
Link
The late sonatas are almost hypnotic in their power. My favorite recordings of the late sonatas (say op109 tp 111) are Schnabel, Ashkenazy,Kempf, and Gilels.
Concentrating on sublime Beethoven seems snooty, like insisting on premier cru claret. But the truth is that this music isn't just better than that of the earlier periods. It initiates us into a new musical order in which melodies sound like divine improvisation, though in fact they are undergirded by the tightest counterpoint since Bach.
As Edmund Morris points out, Beethoven's climaxes are created contrapuntally: the wildest of all, in which violins, viola and cello squawk and scream like frenzied vultures, occur in a fugue - the Grosse Fuge of the String Quartet Op.130.
Link
The late sonatas are almost hypnotic in their power. My favorite recordings of the late sonatas (say op109 tp 111) are Schnabel, Ashkenazy,Kempf, and Gilels.
something to look forward to: Loesser and Bach
Now this is indeed something to look forward to:
Pianist Arthur Loesser (1894-1969) made few recordings for the world to
link
Pianist Arthur Loesser (1894-1969) made few recordings for the world to
remember him by; happily, one of his most important has recently been brought back to life by Jacob Harnoy of the Canadian record company, DOREMI.
link
Luck
A fine write-up of pianist Jon Nakamatsu (who I recently heard in the Rach 3 and was totally unconvinced by):
"My plan was kind of a romantic notion. I would do the best I could on my own until I reached my mid-30s, then if nothing significant happened, I would play one last recital and invite all the people who cared about me and supported me," Nakamatsu said recently. Then he would walk away from the keyboard. "I wouldn’t want to be in it until I was bitter or angry. The business of music can be ugly."
Link.
"My plan was kind of a romantic notion. I would do the best I could on my own until I reached my mid-30s, then if nothing significant happened, I would play one last recital and invite all the people who cared about me and supported me," Nakamatsu said recently. Then he would walk away from the keyboard. "I wouldn’t want to be in it until I was bitter or angry. The business of music can be ugly."
Link.
Thought for the day
what will happen to fortepiano and harpsichord samples now that gigastudies is official dead?
Beethoven tidbit
Moises Arias of “Beethoven’s Big Break,” the sixth film in the "Beethoven" series, says he loved acting alongside the Saint Bernard who played the film’s title role.
Oye! This can be filed under ouch.
link
Oye! This can be filed under ouch.
link
classica downloads
It's a spot of good news, but the truth is that there is loads of great classical music readily available and free for the download:
The first is that the behemoth of online music stores, iTunes Store, is dropping DRM for all audio files. As of January 5, approximately 80% of the catalog is being released in iTunes Plus format (no DRM, and higher bit rates). By spring, the entire catalog will be DRM-free.
Read the rest here
The first is that the behemoth of online music stores, iTunes Store, is dropping DRM for all audio files. As of January 5, approximately 80% of the catalog is being released in iTunes Plus format (no DRM, and higher bit rates). By spring, the entire catalog will be DRM-free.
Read the rest here