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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!
May 9, 2011
Today we're marking (albeit belatedly) anniversaries of two great composers: Johannes Brahms was born on May 7 in Hamburg, Germany in 1833, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky seven years later, in a small provincial town of Votkins, Russia. Both became famous during their lifetime, both wrote magnificent romantic symphonies and their piano and violin concertos are in the repertoire of every concretizing musician. What is surprising is how different the musical traditions were from which the two men came. Brahms, "one of the three Bs," as Bülow put it, followed in the steps of generations of composers. From Michael Praetorius and Heinrich Schütz in the early 17th century, to Buxtehude and Telemann, and then Bach, Gluck and on, classical music in Germany had been developing for hundreds of years. When Tchaikovsky was born, however, Russian classical music was all of 4 years old: Glinka's opera "Ivan Susanin," the first significant and authentically Russian musical composition, was completed in 1836. By the time of Tchaikovsky's death in 1893, Russian music was securely established as one of the leading national schools.
We have so many recordings of both composers that our listeners would do better by browsing the library. Still, here are two playlists. Brahms: the finale (fourth movement) of Piano Quartet Op.25 performed by Quartetto Anthos; Intermezzo in e minor, Op. 119, No. 2, played by the pianist Alon Goldstein; Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77 (with Joachim's cadenza), Rachel Barton Pine, Violin, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Carlos Kalmar conducting. Tchaikovsky: the 1st movement (Moderato e semplice) of Quartet No. 1 Op. 11, in D Major, performed by the Avalon String Quartet; Valse-Scherzo in C Major, Dmitri Berlinsky, Violin, Elena Baksht, Piano; Piano Concerto No. 1 in b-flat minor, Op. 23 James Dick, Piano, Texas Festival Orchestra, Robert Spano conducting. To listen to the Brahms playlist, click here, for Tchaikovsky – here.
May 2, 2010
The violinist Andrew Kohji Taylor captivates audiences with probing musical insight, luminous tone, expressive phrasing and technical mastery. Born in Boston, Mr. Taylor began playing the violin at the age of four and at nine began studying with renowned pedagogue Dorothy DeLay, who remained his teacher until the end of high school. The late Henryk Szerying was his mentor for many years. Taylor has also worked with Masuko Ushioda at the New England Conservatory of Music, Syoko Aki at Yale University and Uwe Martin Haiberg at the Hochschule der Kunste in Berlin.
Mr. Taylor made his New York concerto debut at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall with Gerard Schwarz and The New York Chamber Symphony, and has recently given a recital at Avery Fisher Hall as part of the Mostly Mozart Festival. He has also given solo recitals in Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Paris, Tokyo, and Washington DC. He performs at music festivals including the Marlboro and the Berlin Philharmonic Chamber Music Festival.
Taylor's recitals are frequently broadcasted on Boston's WGBH radio, NPR's "Performance Today," NHK Japan, and WFMT Chicago. He recorded works by Prokofiev, Janácek and Debussy for Warner Classic. He also recorded for the MMC label, Navona records, and Boston Records.
Our playlist consist of five pieces, three by the French composers, and two by Americans. First, Claude Debussy's Beau Soir arranged for violin and piano by Jascha Heifetz. We'll then hear Composer's Holiday, from Three American Pieces for Violin and Piano by Lukas Foss. Samuel Barber's Canzone for Violin and Piano follows the Foss. Then comes Le Printemps Op.18 by Darius Milhaud. We conclude with Maurice Ravel's Tzigane. Mr. Taylor is accompanied by the pianist Judith Gordon. To listen, click here.
April 25, 2011
Sergei Prokofiev. April 27 marks the 120th birthday anniversary of the great Russian composer. He was born in Sosnovka, an isolated rural estate in what is now Ukraine but in 1891 was part of the Russian Empire. By the age of five Sergei started taking piano lessons with his mother, a gifted pianist herself (she was from a family of serfs of counts Sheremetev, an old Russian nobility. The Sheremetevs, patrons of arts and music, provided education to the children of their indentured peasants). It was also his mother who asked Sergei Taneyev, the director of Moscow conservatory, to arrange for private lessons for her son. His tutor was Reinhold Glière, himself a budding composer. While studying with Glière, the 11-year old Prokofiev attempted to write a symphony. At the age of 13, on a trip to Petersburg, Prokofiev met with Alexander Glazunov, who was so impressed (Prokofiev by then had composed two operas) that he urged Sergei to apply to the Petersburg Conservatory. Prokofiev was accepted and became one of the youngest students in the Conservatory's history. While there, he wrote two piano concertos and Sarcasms, among other pieces (he played the First concerto to win a competition among the five best students of the Piano department; the score of the Second concerto was lost and Prokofiev rewrote it in 1923). In 1914 Prokofiev traveled to London where he met with Diagilev. He started a ballet Chout (Сказка про шута, or the Tale of the Buffoon). In 1917 he composed The Gambler and his first symphony, Classical. But by then, the Russian revolution was on the horizon and with it, the end of the first Russian period of Prokofiev's life.
In our playlist we have three pieces. The first one, Suggestion Diabolique, Op.4, No.4 was composed in 1910-12. It's played by the pianist Tania Stavreva. The Violin Sonata No. 2 in D Major, Op. 94 bis, 1943, based on the flute sonata, was transcribed for the great violinist David Oistrach. It's performed by Brendan Conway, with Anna Balakerskaia on the piano. Finally, Natasha Paremski plays Piano Sonata No. 7 in F-flat Major, Op. 83. To listen, click here.
April 18, 2011
The violinist Christoph Seybold was born in 1978 in Heilbronn, Germany. Described by reviewers as a "dazzling artist with a distinctive masculine violin sound" he has performed both as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Europe, North and South America, Israel and Japan. Starting violin lessons at age 4, he continued at 11 in the Pre-College Program at the Freiburger Musikhochschule. Later he majored in violin performance at the Music Universities in Cologne and Hanover, where his teachers included Zakhar Bron and Jens Ellermann. He received additional musical input from musicians such as Pinchas Zuckerman, Shlomo Mintz and Ida Haendel .
His performances have recently taken him to major concert venues in Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Munich, and Bremen. He performed with many orchestras, Klassische Philharmonie Bonn, the Philharmonie der Nationen , Württemberg Chamber orchestra, the Bratislava Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Polish Chamber Orchestra among them. Other concerts took him to the stages of the Celibidache Festival, the Gran Canaria Music Festival, and the Chautauqua Music Festival.
Mr. Seybold has recorded for several German broadcasting companies including the ZDF, WDR, NDR Deutschland Radio Kultur. His CD recording released in 2010 for the label Genuin Classics contains works by Beethoven, Bach, Grieg and Waxman. It was enthusiastically received by both audiences and critics.
We'll hear the first movement, Allegro assai, of Beethoven's Violin Sonata no. 8 (our library has the complete Sonata); the second movement, Improvisation: Andante cantabile, from Sonata for Violin in E-flat Major, Op. 18 by Richard Strauss, and Franz Waxman's Carmen Fantasy. Christoph plays a 1725 Antonio Stradivari, that was given to him on loan through Machold Rare Violins. He's accompanies by Milana Chernyavska. To listen, click here.
April 11, 2011
Virtuoso Natasha Korsakova, of Russian-Greek decent, is one of the most popular violinists of her generation. The German Süddeutsche Zeitung describes her ability to play the violin as a "sinfully beautiful listening experience". The young violinist, who speaks five languages, is currently a coveted guest for national as well as international orchestras, music festivals and concert events.
Natasha Korsakova was born into a music family in Moscow and began playing the violin at the age of 5. She is a descendant of the composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Her first teacher was her grandfather Boris Korsakov. Natasha then studied with her father, the well-known Russian violin virtuoso Andrej Korsakov. Her mother is the pianist Yolanta Miroshnikova-Caprarica. After the early death of her father, Natasha Korsakova studied with Ulf Klausenitzer in Nuremberg and then later with Saschko Gawriloff in Cologne.
She has appeared in some of the world's most prestigious concert halls such as the Auditorium di Milano, Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, the Berlin Konzerthaus, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam, the Wigmore Hall in London, the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome. Upon invitation from Mrs. Irina Shostakovitch, Natasha Korsakova appeared in Paris as part of a festival concert honoring Dmitri Shostakovitch.
Natasha Korsakova has co-operated with a number of renowned conductors, including Mstislav Rostropovich. As an enthusiastic chamber musician, Natasha Korsakova plays together with musicians such as Uto Ughi, Kira Ratner, José Gallardo Giovanni Angeleri, and Simone Soldati.
In 1996, she was the first musician to receive the "Russian Muse" award in the Great Hall of Moscows Conservatory. In 1998, she became "Artist of the Year" in Chile.
We'll hear several pieces Natasha recorded on her CD "Natasha Korsakova plays Gershwin and more." The playlist starts with the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's Legend, followed by Romance by Antonin Dvořák. We'll then hear the first movement of Daniel Shnyder's Concerto Mozart in China. And we'll conclude with Porgy and Bess Fantasia, arranged by Igor Frolov. The North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra is conducted by Charles Olivier-Munro. To listen, click here.
April 3, 2011
The Swiss pianist Felix Buchmann was born in Basel, Switzerland, in 1958. At the age of eleven he made his first public performance with an orchestra (he played Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 20 in d minor with Hofer Symphoniker, a German orchestra). He went on to perform Mozart's Concerto no. 21 in C Major and Beethoven's first Piano Concerto. At the age of 14 he started playing public piano recitals. Among other pieces, his repertory included Beethoven's Waldstein sonata and Chopin's Fantasy in F-minor op. 49. At the age of 19 Mr. Buchmann entered the Basel Conservatory, where he studied with Peter Efler and received the Teacher's diploma. He then moved to Bern, where he continued his studies with the remarkable Swiss pianist Michael Studer, and acquired the Performer's diploma. Mr. Buchmann also attended master classes with Bernhard Ebert of Musikhochschule Hannover and was advised by Hubert Harry of the Lucerne Conservatory.
In our playlist we'll hear three performances by Felix Buchmann. First, Piano Sonata No 24 in F-sharp Major by Beethoven; then Robert Schumann's Romance in F-sharp Major, Op. 28, No. 2 and finally, the second movement (Adagio) of the Piano Concerto no. 2 by Beethoven. This live recording was made with the Orchestra of Gelterkinden, which was conducted by Meinrad Koch. To listen, lick here.