Hindemith Conducts Hindemith:
The Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon
Conductor: Paul Hindemith
Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic
Performers: Monique Haas, Hans Otte (Piano), Hans Gieseler (Violin)
Years of recordings: 1954-1957
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
SPARS Code: AAD, ADD
About the Composer: A dedicated musical theorist and staunch critic of Atonalism, German composer Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) produced a large number of [...]
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Howard Hanson Conducts Bloch
Conductor: Howard Hanson
Orchestra: Eastman-Rochester Orchestra
Performer: Georges Miquelle (Cello)
Years of recordings: 1959, 1960
Label: Mercury Living Presence
SPARS Code: ADD
About the Composer: Born in Switzerland, Ernest Bloch (1880-1959) was a Jewish composer who wrote several orchestral works, many of which derive inspiration from Hebraic literature. After touring extensively [...]
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Posted in All Posts, Writing on April 8, 2008 | No Comments »
I find children’s language acquisition to be absorbingly fascinating. I have no reason to believe my elder daughter is particularly gifted, but I marvel all the same at her learning process.
Almost a year ago, I blogged about her language development to 26 months in my post, “A 2-Year-Old Learning English.”
I had noticed over the past [...]
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Salonen: Wing on Wing
About the Composer: Aside from his extensive conducting career, Finlander Esa-Pekka Salonen (1958- ) has spirited away to his writing desk on several occasions and has cemented his reputation as one of the most significant modernist composers.
About the Music: Shortly after Vince began exploring various Naxos Lutosławski recordings and discussed them in [...]
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Posted in All Posts, Writing on February 26, 2008 | No Comments »
In the world of music composition, the desire to experiment, to advance the state of the art, tugs against the siren call of popular acclaim. Risk the new, or refine the familiar? In the world of music reviews, experimentation seems more often praised than populism. The “great composer” label seems most frequently awarded to those [...]
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Rolling thunder from the kettles, Orchestra London opened this year’s Valentine’s concert with Sibelius’ The Swan of Tuonela. Such a quiet piece, its dark edge of restraint holds the attention surprisingly well. Orchestra London’s own Jennifer Short entered the spotlight with her rich English Horn.
Following along the Finnish theme, we next heard Rautavaara’s Concerto for [...]
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Orchestra London performed three Beethoven works this evening, the third installment in their Ovation Series. Under the baton of guest conductor Simon Streatfeild, the headliner and closing piece was Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony which certainly drew the standing ovation at the end of the show.
But, it’s all in the journey. So, let’s start at the beginning [...]
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Scott: New Music for Bowed Piano
About the Composer:
Stephen Scott (1944-present) is an American composer and professor at Colorado College.
About the Music:
The bowed piano is not an instrument so much as a technique for playing the strings on a Grand Piano. Ten musicians use mono-filament bows to play these strings, often without ever using the piano [...]
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Dvořák: Cello Concerto; Tchaikovsky: Rococo Variations
About the Music: After exploring Dvořák’s final three symphonies many moons ago, I read about his renowned Cello Concerto (Op.104), which was written in 1895 while he was residing in the United States. I have been curious about the cello for some time, as it strikes me [...]
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Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra; Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta; Hungarian Sketches
About the Composer: A key figure of the Modernist school, Béla Bartók (1881-1945) was a Hungarian composer whose strong enamourment with traditional folk music led him to become one of his country’s most important musical pioneers. His most popular work is his [...]
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