November 29, 2010

Baroque Band, Part III. Yet again we visit with Baroque Band, this time to present their interpretation of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's masterpiece, Stabat Mater. It is thought that Stabat Mater was Pergolesi's last major work (he died in 1736 at the age of just 26, probably from tuberculosis). Stabat Mater Dolorosa, one of the most famous medieval Italian poems, was composed either by the Pope Innocent III, a crusader against the Cathars, or a Franciscan monk by the name of Jacopone da Todi. It is thought that the poem was written in the early to mid-13^th century. The poem has been set to music many times, for example by Palestrina and Haydn, but none of the settings became as famous as Pergolesi's. In this recording the soprano is Jennifer Ellis Kampani, mezzo-soprano – Jennifer Lane. As usual, Garry Clarke is conducting. To listen, click here.

November 22, 2010

What a bountiful week! We celebrate five birthdays, and that doesn't even include two great Antons: Rubinstein and Stamitz. So here we go, from the 17^th century to the 20^th. Jean-Baptiste Lully was born on November 28, 1632. Just two weeks ago we played his Suite from Bourgeois gentilhomme, so if you'd like to listen to it, check it out in the library or click on the entry below.

Sergei Taneyev who was born on November 25, 1856 in Vladimir, may not have been the most talented of his Russian contemporaries, but he was a wonderful pianist (he premièred the first piano concerto of his dear friend Tchaikovsky) and a great teacher of composition. Among his pupils were Rachmaninov, Scriabin, and Medtner. Here is his lyrical Canzona, played by the clarinetist Alexander Bedenko and the pianist Roman Rabinovich.

The wonderful Spanish composer Manuel De Falla was born on November 23, 1876. We have many of his compositions in our library. Here is a sample: Jota, from Suite Populaire Espagnole, brilliantly played by the violinist Giora Schmidt, with Rohan De Silva at the piano.

Virgil Thomson, who was famous as a critic at least as much as a composer, was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on November 25, 1896. Thomson spent many years in Paris where he studying with Nadia Boulanger. He was a good friend of Gertrude Stein, who wrote librettos for two of his operas. Here is his Concerto for Flute, Strings, Harp, and Percussion, played by Mary Stolper (Flute) and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Paul Freeman.

Alfred Schnittke was born on November 24, 1934. His father was a German Jew who moved to the Soviet Union for political reasons. In 1990, his health failing, Schnittke emigrated to Germany. As a young composer, Schnittke was influenced by Dmitri Shostakovich; later he experimented with the serialism. What eventually evolved was his more tonal "polystylism," a creative blend of diverse styles. Here's his playful Moz-Art à la Haydn, played (and whistled) by the violinist Yuri Korchinsky and the pianist Mikhail Bezverkhny.

November 15, 2010

The Georgian-American pianist Giorgi Latsabidze was born in Tbilisi in 1978. He graduated from the Tbilisi State Conservatory and then continued his post-graduate work at the Hannover Hochschule with Gerrit Zitterbart and the Mozarteum in Salzburg with Klaus Kaufmann. He also studied with Lazar Berman in Florence, Italy. In 2005 Latsabidze moved to the US and continued his studies at the University of Southern California with Stewart Gordon. Latsabidze maintains an ambitious performance schedule, appearing in master classes and concert performances throughout Europe, Asia, South America, and more recently, in the United States. In 2005 K-TV Austria produced a DVD about Giorgi Latsabidze (Portrait and Recital in Steinway Hall in Salzburg, Austria). In addition to playing recitals, Latsabidze collaborates with many musicians, including the soprano Su Xiaobo and mezzo-soprano Callie Hoffman, whom we’ll hear in the playlist.

We’ll begin with Franz Liszt’s Transcendental Etude No. 10 in f minor, followed by Chopin’s Polonaise in A flat Major, Op. 53. Then we’ll hear Claude Debussy’s Feuilles Mortes from Book II of Préludes. Also by Debussy is the song Le rossignol qui, du haut d'une branche, performed by the soprano Su Xiaobo. We conclude with the Robert Schumann’s Seit ich ihn gesehen habe, from the cycle Frauenliebe und -leben, sung by the mezzo Callie Hoffman. Both songs are sensitively accompanied by Mr. Latsabidze. To listen to the playlist, click here.

November 8, 2010

Baroque Band, Part II. We continue exploring our collection of recordings by Baroque Band, a Chicago-based period-instrument orchestra. This week we present three pieces: one written by an Italian who became the founder of a French Baroque style, another by a German who turned into the most famous English composer, and the third by a Savoyard of a Scotch descent who lived and composed all over Europe.

Jean Baptiste Lully (or Giovanni Battista di Lulli, as he was originally known) was born in Florence in 1632, the son of a poor miller; 20 years later he became the court composer for the Sun king, Louis XIV and a friend to Molière. Lully created the French Baroque style known as "Classique" and became immensely influential in France and beyond. Here is his Suite from Bourgeois gentilhomme.

George Frideric Handel doesn’t need any introductions. Born in Halle in the auspicious year of 1685, he moved to London in 1710 and become one of England’s and the world’s most celebrated composers. Here is his Concerto Grosso Op. 3, No. 4.

Georg Muffat was born in Savoy in 1653 when Savoy was an independent Italian duchy (it’s now a French province). Muffat was of Scottish descent but, as far as we know, never visited Scotland. Instead he lived in Paris, Alsace, Vienna, Salzburg and Passau. Muffat was quite influenced by Lully. Here is his Passacaglia.

November 1, 2010

Several recent birthdays. Domenico Scarlatti was born on October 26, 1685, 225 years ago. He wrote 555 keyboard (for either the harpsichord or early fortepiano) sonatas, which these days are often performed on the piano. Here is Sonata in A major K.322 performed on a Roland Digital piano by Nuccio Trotta, and this is Sonata in c minor, K. 129 performed on pianoforte by David Schrader.

Niccolò Paganini was born on October 27, 1782. We’d like to present two versions of La Campanella, the theme from the final movement of his Violin Concerto No. 2, played here by the violinist Judy Kang, and here, in the famous Liszt’s arrangement, by Alexandre Dossin (piano).

And lastly, one performance that allows us to celebrate two composers at the same time. Johann Strauss Jr. was born on October 25, 1825. Carl Tausig, whose birthday falls on November 4, arranged his famous Nachtfalter Waltz from the cycle Nouvelles soirées De Vienne. Tausig, born in 1841, was probably the most talented pianist of all of Liszt’s pupils (at least according to Hans von Bülow and Eugen d'Albert, also pupils of Liszt). Tausig died at the age of 29 at the height of his brief career. Listen to the transcription, played here by the pianist Sandro Russo.

October 25, 2010

And now for something completely different… Turtle Island Quartet. What are the limits of classical music and where are they? Is there a definable line that can be drawn to label some music as “classical” and other as “not belonging,” however good it might be? Perhaps the modified Supreme Court test could work: “I know it when I hear it.” But sometimes even this test gives ambiguous results. Kronos Quartet inhabits this borderline land, and now the Turtle Island Quartet has just come out with yet another one of their typecast-defying CDs, this one based on the music of Jimi Hendrix and David Balakrishnan. As Andy Summers writes, “Translating the music of Jimi Hendrix visceral electric guitar music into the vernacular of the classical string quartet seems like an improbably idea. Yet in this remarkable recording…[the quartet] has once again hit what at first might seem a difficult target.” Here’s Jimi Hendrix’s “1983… A Merman I Should Turn To Be,” arranged by the violinist, composer, and the founder of Turtle Island Quartet David Balakrishnan. We’re not sure about the labels, but we think it sounds great.