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December 20, 2010
Beethoven's 240th birthday anniversary eclipsed several events that are very much worth noting. One of the greatest composers of the 20th century, Olivier Messiaen, was born on December 10, 1908. Messiaen was a bird-lover (as was one of his heroes, St. Francis of Assisi), considered himself an ornithologist, and incorporated birdsongs in many of his compositions. During World War II he spent a year in a prison camp where he composed one of his most profound pieces, Quartet for the End of Time (Quatuor pour la fin du temps). Here is Première communion de la vierge, from Vingt Regards sur l'enfant Jésus, played by the French pianist Jean-François Latour. And yes, you can hear the birds.
Another great French composer, Hector Berlioz, was born on December 12, 1803. Even though musically Messiaen and Berlioz are worlds apart, a historical curiosity links the two: for many years Messiaen worked as an organist at the church of Église de la Sainte-Trinité in Paris - the same church in which Berlioz's funeral was held on March 11, 1869. Berlioz wrote operas, songs, but is probably best remembered as a great symphonist. Here is the first movement, "Rêveries - Passions" (Daydreams - Passions) of his Symphonie Fantastique in the old noncommercial recording by Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin under the direction of Igor Markevitch.
December 13, 2010
Beethoven! As strange as it sounds, we don't quite know when one of the greatest composers in the history of music was born. We do know that he was baptized on December 17th, 1770, so the date of the 16th seems likely. But this uncertainty is not going to stop the world from celebrating the 240th anniversary of of Ludwig van Beethoven's birthday and of course we'll join in the festivities. Beethoven's output is so large and its level is so tremendous that the task of selecting several pieces for a playlist appears rather futile. With some trepidation we put together a playlist featuring different instruments, although we could've easily increased its size many times. We start with Sonata No. 21 in C major, Op.53, "Waldstein" played by the pianist Yukiko Sekino. Then the violinist Nathan Cole and the pianist Kuang-Hao Huang perform Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 8 in G Major, Op. 30, No. 3. Following that we'll hear Suren Bagratuni, cello, play 7 Variations on "Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen." He's accompanied by the pianist Ralph Votapek. Arianna String Quartet will then perform Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 18, No. 6. We'll finish with the Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73. James Dick is the pianist, with the Texas Festival Orchestra under the baton of Stefan Sanderling. To listen, click here.
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December 6, 2010
Three Flute Sonatas. After we posted a recording of Prokofiev's Flute sonata on Facebook last week, one of our friends mentioned that he thinks it's one of the greatest flute sonatas written in the last 50 years. We hastily agreed; only later it occurred to us that even though it sounds as fresh as ever, it was written more than 50 years ago, in 1943. We decided to look around for other interesting music for the flute written at about the same time. Fortunately, there are great pieces in our own library. Two more flute sonatas that would qualify were written around the middle of the 20th century: one by Francis Poulenc (1957) and another – by Paul Hindemith (1936). All three sonatas are rather elegiac in style, and even Hindemith, who is often so cerebral, is almost lyrical in his piece, especially in the first two movements. Poulenc wrote his sonata for the great Jean-Pierre Rampal. Prokofiev was approached by David Oistrach, who asked him to transcribe it for the violin – a rare occasion, since usually it's the flutists who borrow from the violin repertory.
The Prokofiev is played by Sonia Formenti and Mauro Bertoli (Piano); Poluenc – by Madelene Campos and Saori Chiba, Hindemith – by Jennifer Bartel and Melody Lord. You can listen to the sonatas here and decide for yourself, which one you like best.
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-13th 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 17th century to the 20th. 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.