Today is the last day of my latest musical journey! To my ears, a little Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) goes a long way. Whereas Haydn seems very staid and “by the book” to me, Bach seems busy, percussive, and, like a very rich chocolate, capable of giving me a stomach ache if I ingest too … [Read more…]
Ahh, Ludwig. You never let me down. Today’s album is Ludwig van Beethoven‘s Symphony No. 6, aka “Pastoral.” This gorgeous piece of music was composed between 1802 and 1808. Beethoven (1770-1827) was between the ages of 32 and 38. During the course of listening to 58 prior albums, I’ve been introduced to new composers, new … [Read more…]
This album holds the distinction of being “Fritz Reiner’s last recording with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.” According to the web site Stokowski (which includes what purports to be a complete list of Fritz Reiner and CSO concerts here), informs us that Fritz Reiner’s last performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra occured on April 20, 1963 … [Read more…]
Ahhh, now this is more like it. Pure, unadulterated Beethoven. I realize life requires variety, even experiencing/tasting/seeing/hearing things we don’t particularly like, just so that we’ll appreciate the things we do like. And I totally get that if all I listened to was Beethoven, I’d eventually get sick of Ludwig’s creative endeavors. As much as … [Read more…]
Today’s CD is another double – with nothing on the back cover and nothing on the gatefold inside. I put up with that before. But I’m not going to this time. There’s no excuse not to provide information – especially when I know the original album release contained an entire booklet inside the box that … [Read more…]
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…]
Now this is more like it: Beethoven. I’m a huge fan of Ludwig’s. In fact, my top three Classical composers are Bruckner, Beethoven, and Mozart – in that order. (Or, maybe Ludwig and Anton are tied for first. I can’t tell. Both offer some of the greatest music I’ve ever heard in my life.) Whatever. … [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…]