What a difference a day makes. Yesterday, Van Cliburn and the CSO hit it out of the park with Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto. Today, the team’s bus got lost on the way to the stadium. And not because they weren’t all suited up and ready to play, either. And not because the lacked an adequate map. … [Read more…]
When I first looked at today’s album, I thought, “Oh what fresh hell is this?” I continued, uninterrupted. (I’m gracious with my own time that way.) “Is this is a mistake? I’ve already heard Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture! In fact, I’ve seen that very album cover already – in this very box se! Is this a … [Read more…]
Here’s another example of what appears to be a misspelling on the album cover. On Day 24, I had to look up the word “pavan” as it was used in the liner notes on the back of the album. Turns out, there’s no such word. It was supposed to be “parvane,” which is – according … [Read more…]
As I might have mentioned before, I’m not really a fan of Brahms. I realize his one of the big B composers (Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms). But I’m not that fond of Bach, either. So there. For a Living Stereo recording, this sounds unusually flat. Maybe my ears are getting old (and why not? since … [Read more…]
I’m listening to a pianist today that I hadn’t heard of before: Byron Janis (1928 – ). Mr. Janis recently celebrated his 93rd birthday! He’s considered one of the great pianists of the 20th century. At one point, according to his entry on Wikipedia, he was even a student of famed Russian pianist Vladimir Horowitz. … [Read more…]
The first thing I thought when I heard the second movement (Adagio Sostenuto) of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 was, “Gee, this sounds an awful lot like Eric Carmen‘s 1975 song “All By Myself.” So I looked up Carmen’s hit song and, sure enough, discovered Carmen lifted the melody from Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concert No. 2 … [Read more…]
Now this is more like it. As I’ve mentioned, several years ago (July 21, 2018 – December 29, 2018, to be precise) I spent 162 Days with Beethoven “Evaluating Symphonies 1-9 from 18 CD Box Sets.” (Famed conductor Herbert von Karajan was in there twice, with two different box sets. If memory serves, he recorded … [Read more…]
Richard Strauss again. This project of listening to the 63-CD Fritz Reiner box set is good for me. I wouldn’t normally listening to Bartok or Strauss or Tchaikovsky were it not for this project. So I’m being exposed to different composers. Whether I like them or not. And, I must admit, I haven’t liked Richard … [Read more…]
My listening post today for two Mozart compositions is, actually, tonight. I didn’t get around to listening this morning because I just wanted to sit in a restaurant and eat, not eat while listening to music and writing. Sue me. As it turns out, it’s a good thing I didn’t decide to listen to the … [Read more…]
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…]