A French volcano!

At about four minutes into this clip you will recognize a certain similarity with the "Dies Irae" from the Requiem. This is an early work and some of the writing is jingoistic, but none the less the inspiration is there. A Romantic volcano ready to explode upon the scene!

It's a good thing both for us and the medical profession at the time that he didn't stick to his father's determination to see his son become a doctor! One cadaver and according to what he wrote in his Memoirs, he jumped out of the nearest window! He also wrote about his legendary fights with Cherubini(his teacher) as the elder composer was determined to set his student on the "right" narrow minded path. Aren't we glad he won....well sort of, he didn't quite graduate!

Berlioz's day of judgement!

Berlioz's anthem

The only god Berlioz had was Shakespeare and perhaps his wife Harriet Smithson. When it came to writing religious works such as this "Te Deum" or the magnificent "Grande Messe des Morts"(Requiem), Berlioz tended to really pull out all the stops! The Requiem requires five period orchestras(20-25 players), brass bands, ten pairs of kettle-drums and at least three huge choirs! Nothing is ever done small and in so many ways I recognize Berlioz to be the very embodiment of what it was to be a Romantic composer. He never could play an instrument properly, composed at a desk(couldn't play the piano) and yet wrote a treatise on orchestration that is still used today! He wrote a precursor to the Requiem in the form of his "Messe Solennelle" that was written in 1824. He had some truly amazing ideas at a time when composers didn't or weren't able to think of the future. To my knowledge there hasn't been a period performance recording done of the Requiem or Te Deum....that would be quite an experience!

Bruckner's anthem for God

Great masterpiece performed by a great Bruckner conductor!

Bruckner Fifth.....Glorious!!

Mahler created galaxies of sound and Bruckner composed cathedrals!

Truly GLORIOUS!

Zelenka for a Sunday evening

Interesting music from a sadly neglected Baroque composer. Zelenka is rarely recorded but has been performed here in Toronto by "I Furiosi Baroque Ensemble" and "Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra". As you can hear, this is music that should be better known!

DISCOVER AND ENJOY!

Des Knaben Wunderhorn

The other day I bought the complete Symphonies of Gustav Mahler conducted by Riccardo Chailly at the unbelievable price of $48.45! Quite extraordinary recordings as in all my years of loving these masterpieces, I have never heard them so sonically spectacular! Decca must be very proud of these performances. I have known Mahler's Symphonies for over fourty years and have heard many a conductor's recording. You name it, I've probably heard it. My favorite conductors include Tennstedt, Bernstein, Haitink, Sinopoli and more recently Boulez. Now I can include Chailly! I also bought "Des Knaben Wunderhorn" recorded on Decca with Chailly and Barbara Bonney and Matthias Goerne. Best recording ever....just don't throw away the Bernstein/Ludwig/Berry performance as it is also quite excellent! Overall the sound quality and interpretations are superior to most versions currently available.

However as regards the Third Symphony Chailly does NOT displace the Boulez recording which is totally beyond reproach.

My goodness....I think I've finally become a Mahler fanatic!

Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute is coming!

Tafelmusik will start their Summer Institute with a concert starting at 8:00 PM on June 7, 2010 at Trinity-St Paul Centre in Toronto. As with previous years this will be a blockbuster! The orchestra and Tafelmusik Chamber Choir will be performing at their incredible best! Come one....come all! IT'S FREE!

The other concerts will be at the University of Toronto(2) and at "Grace Church-on-the-Hill"(the BIG finale). The BIG finale will be the combined forces of the Orchestra and Choir along with ALL the students(the biggest baroque orchestra on earth!). This is great music making!

Vaughan Williams at Sea

My favorite Symphony written by an English composer. This clip is taken from the last movement of Vaughan Williams' "Sea Syymphony". At the time signature 5:45 on this clip, starts one of the most noble passages he ever wrote!

I hope it enthralls you as much as it does to me!

Sir Michael Tippett

Grace Williams

Another great symphonist whose music is practically unheard of outside of the British Isles and specifically in her native Wales. This is the only clip of her music on YouTube.

Please enjoy!

William Alwyn

William Alwyn's music should be better known. A very convincing symphonist!

Rodeo....a rollicking good time!

Now this is a ballet!......YAHOO!

A Stravinsky favorite....Pulcinella

I may be critically hard on "Le Sacre du Printemps", but not so when it comes to this wonderful ballet! This is music that simply can NOT "hurt your ears"!

Stravinsky for eight

It would seem that France was a hotbed for fun and jazzy wind music before the Second World War.

Harpsichord a la Poulenc

WHAT FUN!

Poulenc high jinks

Poulenc was considered in his time to be somewhat of a "clown". His music is always playful and nowhere is this more evident than in his chamber music. There is an excellent series of these works on the NAXOS label that I heartily recommend! His Piano and Wind Sextet is a classic!

Civilized music at it's finest!

Until recently I have never appreciated Faure's music. I'm still NOT a fan of his Requiem and his orchestral music is boring, to say the least. That all changes when I approach his chamber music! The man was a genius and this is most evident in his Quartets(2) and Quintets(2) for piano and strings...glorious and immensely civilized!

A "Das Lied von der Erde" for me..... finally!

In a previous post I had mentioned that I purchased a chamber version of Mahler's masterpiece. The recording was made by Harmonia Mundi and features Phillippe Herreweghe conducting the Ensemble Musique Oblique with Birgit Remmert and Hans Peter Blochwitz. In all the 35 years I have known this work, I've finally found a recording that pleases me! Especially Mr. Blochwitz's(tenor) performance, as no singer on any recording has ever satisfied me. This version and recording is simply the best I have ever heard by anyone and in my opinion, one of the best Mahler recordings EVER!

The recording is on YouTube but I am unable to post this on my blog! Please investigate and discover the revealed treasures in this version!

Another great Battle Song!

Malcolm Arnold is damn good fun! He composed the music for "Bridge over the River Kwai", but I feel that he'll be remembered most for his music for the four "St. Trinians"(a girl's school that would have made the Germans and Russians in Eisenstein's epic, run in fear) movies!......in my opinion, of course.

Wow! This is REAL filmscore!

Prokofiev wrote this music for the Sergei Eisenstein's epic film "Alexander Nevsky". Later he compiled the music for a "Cantata" which is how we know the score today. It is ironic that Prokfiev died the same day as Stalin and would never get to know the "relaxed" artistic freedoms that Shostakovitch would later come to "enjoy".

Please get to know this fantastic music......it won't "hurt your ears"!

The Sea Hawk

Ah, the good old days! ENJOY!

Korngold's "Superman" Symphony!

Sadly, there is no clip of the second movement of Korngold's Symphony on YouTube. Should you purchase this glorious Symphony on CD, you will discover a theme in the second movement that sounds a LOT like a John Williams filmscore we all very much know. Considering that the Symphony(1947-1952) predates anything Mr. Williams' did "compose", it is no wonder that I find him less and very much less ORIGINAL! There are times in the Symphonies of William Alwyn where I expect Luke Skywalker to jump out the speakers! There were days, in the past, when studios had REAL composers writing original filmscores: Miklos Rozsa, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Max Steiner, Malcolm Arnold and so many more. Imagine that the studios in the Soviet Union had Prokofiev and Shostakovitch writing scores. As for today.......well, why bother even bringing that up!

I heartily recommend Korngold's glorious Symphony. The recording on the Chandos label is both out of this world and remarkably inexpensive!

Stalin meets "The Sound of Music"

Listen to the theme that comes in around 2:25....sounds familiar? I should say so! Hammerstein......you naughty boy! Plagiarism.....pure and simple! Ah, the trouble we have with Stalin!

Song of the forest

I'm lost in a "forest" as to how I thought 30 years ago that this piece of Stalinist propaganda was great music!

Song of destiny

GLORIOUS.....SUBLIME.....HEAVENLY!

No other work so reminds me of my first visit to Germany in 1977. I spent 3 months trying desperately to incorporate the German language into my psyche and this music somehow made it happen far faster than I thought possible.....DESTINY AT WORK!

I love Brahms....who doesn't?

Now this is my favorite piano concerto! This is music making of the highest caliber!

I hate Chopin but.....

With the exception of a few small pithy pieces that Chopin wrote, I loathe the thought of listening to his music. Another exception are the Piano Concertos ONLY in the transcriptions for piano and string quintet. The orchestral version is a prime example how NOT to orchestrate, but then again Chopin had no experience in this art. What surprises me is that he could have been helped by Franz Liszt, but I assume that was not to be and perhaps that is a good thing as Liszt's concertos are even more overblown and pithy! The chamber versions bring sparkle, joy and cleaner textures that make these two of my favorite pieces by Chopin, which really isn't saying all that much!

Please listen and discover!

The Song of the Earth

Having recently purchased a recording of Mahler's "Das Lied von der Erde" in the chamber version made by Schoenberg/Riehn, I have discovered that I now prefer it to the full orchestral version. It would seem that in the chamber version the music and words seem to benefit from clearer textures that the orchestral version, with it's scoring for a large ensemble, simply "blur".

Discover and Enjoy!

Do you love Beauty?

Mahler's "Rueckert Lieder" includes this marvelously wonderful "Lied"(song) call "Liebst du um Schoenheit?"(Do you love Beauty?). The song is one of Mahler's most memorable and beautiful!

A song sung by an Angel!

Richard Strauss' "Vier Letzte Lieder"(Four Last Songs) are the most beautiful songs ever written in the history of all music, of all time sung by the greatest Strauss singer of all time! This recording has NEVER been surpassed before or since it was made.

LOVE DIVINE!

Classic Bartok!

This is aa amzing 20th Century classic that is well known to concert audiences the world over. It is perhaps the best known orchestral work composed in the last century!

Love......French style!

Messiaen's "Turangalila Symphony" is a tremendous celebration of love. Scored for massive orchestral forces and in a language that every one should have no trouble engaging! This is an important 20th Century classic and sadly, rarely performed.

Please DISCOVER and ENJOY!

A Chamber Music favorite

This piano Quintet was written by Erno Dohnanyi and it has always been one of my favorite Quintets for Piano and Strings!

ENJOY!

Songs of Eternal Being!

Lister to Maestro Wit`s wonderful recording of Karlowicz`s magnificent tone poem!

The Seven Gates of Jerusalem

Mahler in Warsaw!

The Naxos recording of the monumental Eighth Symphony by Herr Mahler is an absolute MUST hear! It is the best I have ever heard in the 40 years I have known and loved this work! The recording lets you hear every sound and voice as clearly as if you were there. There are moments in this recording where I can truthfully say I have NEVER heard, in any other performance, everything the Master put into his masterpiece. Kudos and bravos to Naxos and to one of the greatest conductors of our time: Antoni Wit. Another outstanding recording conducted by Maestro Wit is Penderecki's Seventh Symphony on the Naxos label. This one will blow you away.....sonically unbelievable!! I have always admired Maestro Wit, especially for his recording of Bedrich Smetana's "Ma Vlast". This is the only recording that EVER satisfied me, and I have heard them all! Naxos is to be praised for their determination to bring to the world the best artists and their recorded performances!

Finally a Mahler third!

I have never liked Mahler's Symphony no. 3 mostly due to lousy interpretations and/or recordings. I recently bought a used copy of Pierre Boulez conducting this great masterpiece with the great Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, on the Deutsche Grammophon label. Absolutely awesome recording and flawless interpretation!! Now I have rekindled a long overdue(over 35 years) love for this work. Bravo Maestro!

Mahler rocks!!

"The Belles of St. Trinians"....a great silver screen classic!

Malcolm Arnold wrote serious classics, but did enjoy being quite a joker when it came to the Hoffnung Festival and the "St. Trinian's" movies. Great fun! "The Belles of St. Trinians" should have won an Academy Award!

Autumnal dreams

This movement from "Das Lied von der Erde" has always hypnotized me! This is immortal music from Herr Mahler. I have heard many a singer sing this(Janet Baker, Christa Ludwig...etc), however Jessye Norman's is the finest rendition ever(in my opinion).

Listen and enjoy this heavenly music!

An Immortal favorite!

Wagner's Rienzi Overture

As Parsifal was the last piece Wagner wrote, Rienzi Overture is the earliest most recognizable piece that he wrote. Isn't it a wonderful work.....thrilling and majestic! I hope you like this, Raul!

Beethoven's(?) Leonore overture no. 4

Speaking of opera, this is one of the best(?!) overtures ever written(!?).

Wagner at Bayreuth!

Having witnessed this glorious opera performed at Bayreuth in 1977, I can testify that Parsifal should be performed ONLY at the Wagner Festspielhaus. This is my very favorite opera of all time!!! I visited the grave and Haus Wahnfried where I paid my respects to this great German master. I adore Wagner!!

A great....GREAT.....grand....Grand Serenade!

Bless his heart, Prof. Schickele has unearthed another musterpiece by good ole PDQ Bach! If it weren't for the determination of this great American musicologist, we would never have known about PDQ Bach! His works would have remained buried under endless heaps of loo literature all over the world. Perhaps the Mormons could use this as their anthem, after all it is music for an awful lot of wind(bag)s. Thank-you Professor!

Early American master

Arthur Foote is a tragically neglected composer who wrote quite marvelous music especially in the field of the chamber music repertoire. Some of his music can be found on the NAXOS label and I heartily recommend every recording.

DISCOVER AND ENJOY!

A symphony for the common man!

You might recognize "Fanfare for the Common Man" quoted at the begining of the last movement of Copland's third Symphony. Such a great work, it almost makes me proud to be an American, which I am not(but still very proud to ba a Canadian).

Piston in all his glory!

I have always admired the American mind in music! American music has enriched my life in ways I can hardly imagine. Composers such as Walter Piston, Roy Harris, William Schuman, Leonard Bernstein(composer and conductor), Aaron Copland, George Rochberg, Samuel Barber and many more, have made me proud to be neighbours with the great USofA! In so many ways I consider the nation of American music to be my favorite in the whole of the 20th Century! Many a great non-American composer has written his greatest masterpieces in the USA: Martinu, Hindemith, Schoenberg, Bartok, Dohnanyi, Stravinsky, Rachmaninov and so many more. Where indeed, would we be without America? But be rest assured, I have no love for the likes of their crappy popular "artists" such as that wretched skanky britney spears or lady gaga(I'm gagging). Has American tastes finally gone down to the bottom of the septic tank? I could cry! Shame for the crap we are subjected to on "American Idle"(sic)!

Listen to Mr. Piston's wonderful music and remember when America showed the world who was on top!

The other Rebel

Get a load of this! Isn't Rebel's imagination out of this world! There is a recording on the "early-music.com" label recorded by the "Arion Baroque Orchestra" from Montreal of music by Jean-Fery Rebel.......truly excellent recording and orchestra! Actually any recording by "Arion" is mind boggling! They have done magnificent recordings of Telemann and Vivaldi. A MUST HEAR!

Rebel.....American baroque masters!

I have heard two of their CD's and without a doubt they really know their stuff! They did an album called "Telemann alla Polacca"(Dorian CD) which was absolutely out of this world! That much sound out of so few musicians! EXCELLENT!

A French symphonic masterpiece!

Glorious, isn't it....I have my first follower

Vivaldi in Moscow

Telemann in Moscow

A Russian early music orchestra.....Marvelous!

I recently discover two CDs on the "Caro Mitis"(Russian) label of this wondrous group performing world premiere recordings of Telemann Suites and Concertos. They are a force to reckon with and are truly amazing! Search them out and discover how engaging they are. Click on the link for "Caro Mitis" under "Institutions I follow" to discover other recordings this company offers. Click also on the link "Grigorian.com" in order to order these items.

DISCOVER AND ENJOY!

A wonderful masterpiece!

More of Toronto's best!

I have met them both. They are wonderful people and great masters of their instruments! I adore the theorbo!! Lucas Harris also directs the Toronto Continuo Collective.....a group of incredible musicians!

Our very own in Germany

I love this group and their concerts are a mix of great music and a heavy dash of humour! They all blow me away but honestly the two violinists(Aislinn and Julia) really strike a chord of astonishment and wonder!

Vivaldi from Montreal

This is a group(Ensemble Caprice) to watch out for....they are AMAZING!

Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute is coming!!!!

The first concert is on June 7, 2010 at Trinity-St Paul Centre! Don't miss it! I am surprised that a video was recorded by someone. I was at that concert held at the U of T. The Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute is an event no one should miss!

Too bad the whole "video" is not solely about Tafelmusik's performance! It does however show Toronto as the centre of the universe!

Vive Britannia!

More glorious Telemann!