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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!
Do you write about classical music? Are you a blogger? Want to team up with Classical Connect? Send us a message, let's talk!
August 24, 2009
We have uploaded a number of highlights from the 2006 – 2008 seasons of the International Festival-Institute at Round Top. The Festival joins talented young musicians from across the world with a distinguished faculty for the summer months. They participate in master classes and perform. Here are several orchestral pieces by the Texas Festival Orchestra, with young musicians working under the direction of such conductors as Grant Llewellyn (Wales), Pascal Verrot (France), and Christopher Campestrini (Austria). You can listen to Mozart (from Serenade No. 9), Bruckner (Scherzo from the 6th Symphony), Mussorgsky (finale of the Pictures), and the great Adagietto from Mahler’s Fifth here. The easiest way to find more of their performances is by entering “Texas” in the Search window.
August 17, 2009
This week we celebrate the great French composer Claude Debussy, who was born on August 22 of 1862. Scouring the 60-odd Debussy recordings in our library, we created a playlist that aims to demonstrate the many facets of the composer’s genius. We start with the pianist Jorge Federico Osorio playing Bruyères, from Préludes Book II. Then Michael Mizrahi plays Evening in Grenada, from Estampes. We follow with the flutist Nina Assimakopoulos playing Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune. Then Shana Douglas plays the great violin sonata; soprano Tina Beverly sings Apparition from Quatre chansons de jenuesse, and Cypress Quartet performs String Quartet in g minor. We finish off with the pianist Gabriel Escudero playing Reflets dans l’eau, from Images. To listen, please click here.
August 10, 2009
In the more than 20 entries we’ve made so far, we somehow failed to feature the guitar. We’ll correct this omission by presenting two wonderful guitarists, Ana Vidovic and Manuel Esteban. Ms. Vidovic was born in Croatia in 1980 and has already established herself as one of the youngest guitar virtuosos in the world. She performs internationally and has won a number of competitions. To listen to Ms. Vidovic play Albéniz (Asturias), Tárrega (Recuerdos de la Alhambra) and Sonatina Meridional by Ponce, click here.
The repertory of the Spanish guitarist Manuel Esteban is very broad, from the Renaissance to the music of the 20th century. He also actively collaborates with other musicians and has formed several ensembles. In this selection Mr. Esteban plays two Pasacalles, one by the 17th century German composer Esaias Reusner and by the Bach’s contemporary Silvius Leopold Weiss. He also plays Fernando Sor’s Etude. To listen to Mr. Esteban, please click here.
August 3, 2009
Double the pleasure! Our library has many pieces of music that are performed more than once. We think this is wonderful: we can compare performances and gain insights into different interpretations as well as the compositions themselves. This what the Compare button on the Player is for.
Today we present Debussy’s Ondine, from Préludes Book 2, played by the pianists Junghwa Lee and Maya Hartman (to listen, click here).
You could then listen to the violinists Amaury Coeytaux (accompanied by Young Kyung Hyun) and Lindsay Deutsch (then just 19 and accompanied by Kuang-Hao Huang) play Brahms’ Scherzo for Violin and Piano in c minor. The Brahms can be heard here. Shortly, we’ll publish a list of multiple performances that you can browse, comparing compositions of interest to you.
July 27, 2009
Maurice Ravel’s own transcription of the orchestral “choreographic poem” La Valse seems to be very popular with pianists these days. We have six different interpretations (which you can compare using the Compare button in the Player). One of them is played by Soyeon Lee. Ms. Lee was born in Korea but eventually went on to study at the Julliard with Jerome Lowenthal and Robert McDonald. She has won several piano competitions and performs widely. The New York Times calls her a pianist with "a huge, richly varied sound, a lively imagination and a firm sense of style." Another reviewer finds that “her playing has delicacy and poetry but is capable of power and crisp articulation.” In our playlist, La Valse is preceded by two pieces by Scriabin and a Mozart sonata. To listen to Ms. Lee, please click here
July 20, 2009
Two hands, four hands… Recently we uploaded a concert by Lucille Chung and Alessio Bax, who played several pieces for piano four hands. Ms. Chung and Mr. Bax are wonderful pianists in their own right; they have both performed with leading orchestras in some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls. We’re fortunate to have a few of their individual recordings. So now we have them playing separately and together: Ms. Chung plays two Preludes by Scriabin and two Intermezzos by Brahms; Mr. Bax plays three Preludes by Rachmaninov; and then Ms. Chung and Mr. Bax pair up to play Schubert’s Fantasy in f minor. Click here to listen.