I cannot even begin to tell you how much I dislike the opening to Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Whenever I hear it, I immediately think of hokey music sold on TV, or played – in an appropriately flamboyant manner, with exaggerated hand movements and the use of way too many notes – by third-rate … [Read more…]
This morning, I return to Brahms, one of my least favorite Classical composers (second only to Haydn as composers I just didn’t get), although this time I am treated to the debut (to my ears, anyway) of Jascha Heifetz, widely regarded as one of the world’s greatest violinists. From his entry on Wikipedia: Jascha Heifetz … [Read more…]
Today’s listening fare is Beethoven’s Eroica (Symphony in E-Flat, Op. 55). Three years ago, I spent five and a half months (162 Days) listening to all nine of Beethoven’s symphonies, as interpreted by 17 different conductors (Herbert von Karajan appears twice) in 18 CD box sets. So I’m relatively familiar with Symphony No. 3. To … [Read more…]