I’m not even going to wait for the “Subjective Stuff.” This is gorgeous, gorgeous music. When I think of Classical music, this is precisely what I think of. This is what my heart needs. I’ve written it before: Mozart appeals to my head. Beethoven appeals to my heart. Bruckner appeals to my spirit. I’m not … [Read more…]
This is just the kind of music I needed this morning to broom the cobwebs out of my mind. Well, a better verb would be jackhammering. Because some of this is really, really loud and busy. On second thought, maybe I’d better turn down the volume a little. I’d like to leave few cobwebs behind … [Read more…]
Tonight’s album is Unfinished Symphony and Symphony No. 5 in B-Flat by Franz Schubert (1787-1828). So, I figured that this august recording deserved a tasty accompaniment: an ice-cold Schlitz, for example, one of the few remaining beers from the good old days when men were men and beer was beer. Schlitz – like Stroh’s, Carling … [Read more…]
I got to my favorite Reiner-listening restaurant before it opened this morning. I didn’t mean to. I must have gotten up earlier than usual. Or farted around getting ready less than usual. Anyway, when I saw the waning gibbous moon hung above the entrance, I did what any self-respecting prospective diner holding a satchel full … [Read more…]
There’s a magical quality to today’s album, a certain dreamlike bouquet. And it begins with Claude Debussy’s La Mer (the sea), which is “A Tone Poem after Lenau,” whatever that means. The Objective Stuff From his entry on Wikipedia, (Achille) Claude Debussy (1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as … [Read more…]
It’s funny how a person associated with someone negative can taint the person. Sort of like the old saying, “one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch.” When it comes to Richard Wagner (1813-1883), his antisemitism and, later, musical appropriation by Hitler sort of taints everything for me. Whereas some of these composers made me … [Read more…]
This was the first Fritz Reiner /CSO CD I ever purchased, and it’s still my favorite. When I’m not listening to an audio book in the car – my current favorite is the Longmire series, consisting of 17 novels written by Craig Johnson, narrated by George Guidall – I’m listening to our local Classical radio … [Read more…]
Today brings another musical discovery for me. I’d never heard of Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) before this morning. Therefore, I’d never heard of these two compositions – Pines of Rome and Fountains of Rome – either. But I’m hearing one of them (Pines of Rome) as I type these words. And it’s not bad. Not generally, … [Read more…]
I knew it was going to come to this, sooner or later. The Nutcracker. The most notoriously kid-friendly, syrup-sweet, Christmas-themed composition in the history of compositions has taken refuge in my earphones today. I took my wife to The Nutcracker ballet once, about 15 years ago. She told me that it was her favorite Christmas … [Read more…]
Everybody knows the name Van Cliburn (1934-2013). I knew it decades ago, even while I was listening to The Monkees. So when it popped up in today’s rotation, I was thrilled. Strangely, in all of my knowing the name Van Cliburn, I don’t recall ever hearing him play. Today’s the day I will rectify that … [Read more…]