I was hooked from the first few seconds of this captivating piece of music. Some musicians, like some compositions (and some recordings), touch me immediately. Pianist Byron Janis is one of those musicians. And this is one of those compositions. And one of those recordings. The Objective Stuff For more about pianist Byron Janis (1928 … [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 is a challenging CD for me, for a number of reasons. First, I’m not a big fan of Gustav Mahler. Second, I’m not a big fan of opera. Third, I’m not a big fan of Gustav Mahler’s opera. So I’m listening and gritting my teeth and fighting the urge to leave snide comments on … [Read more…]