Classical Crushes

[stlukesguild]

Building off Brian Bean's recent postings on Yuja Wang:

Here is the great, and I mean great, Yuja Wang playing Rachmaninoff's Concerto No.2. If I were young enough and rich enough, I would marry her tomorrow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2JyZE-OaXY

Might we not start a thread on classical sex symbols... or which classical musician you'd marry in a moment?

I'll start with the delicious Anna Netrebko:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_kaOYC_Fww

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa58TdbRGJ4&feature=related

Placido shows that you still might be all washed up Brian.:D:blush2::ladysman:

[Emil Miller]

[QUOTE=stlukesguild;Placido shows that you still might be all washed up Brian.:D:blush2::ladysman:[/QUOTE]

I have to agree with that, but I don't think I could handle Ms Netrebko (metaphorically speaking of course), she has a glorious voice but appears to be a little too flighty to my mind. I have always preferred women to be small, delicate and a little on the quiet side. :D

[LitNetIsGreat]

I concur with Brian. Miss Netrebko seems like she could be a bit of a handful, too much trouble I mean.

I shall make endeavours to fall in love with my own musical beauty. A difficult day ahead.:yesnod:

[stlukesguild]

I concur with Brian. Miss Netrebko seems like she could be a bit of a handful, too much trouble I mean.

Yes... but the trouble would surely be worth it.:D:brow::blush2:

I have always preferred women to be small, delicate and a little on the quiet side.

I've always been quite the opposite. I've always preferred something more... more:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrBx6mAWYPU

:banana:






My wife's standing behind me, isn't she.:blush2::goof:

After the stunning Netrebko I'd have to admit to a secret passion for the exotic Danielle de Niese. Born in Australia of Sri Lankan heritage, and raised in the US, Danille is one of the recent crop of opera singers who can actually act. To this she has the added abilities as a dancer which make her a favorite in Baroque operas such as this stunning William Christie production of Rameau's Les Indes gallantes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7onnt2OvPY

(I especially love the campy God of war straight out of Twisted Sister:smilielol5:)

It was her role as Cleopatra in Handel's Giulio Cesare that first brought her to operatic stardom:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlTTcooIR84

[Emil Miller]

When it comes to beautiful opera singers this one was unbeatable. Legions of men must have had a crush on her.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCwB0Hd4MEI

[LitNetIsGreat]

I concur with Brian. Miss Netrebko seems like she could be a bit of a handful, too much trouble I mean.
Yes... but the trouble would surely be worth it.:D:brow::blush2:


Yes, but it would be a short-lived affair and expensive into the bargain. You would have the champagne, the whirl of expensive restaurants and fast living, hot passion and sweet kisses, but then you would be left in debt and out of luck - you have to weigh up the pros and cons!!:hat: She looks a bit like this one:

Anna Caterina Antonacci
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2XyHfi50yE
There's another dangerous type.

This is more my sort of thing (cream top). I like the long dark hair and delicate nature. Preferably Irish.:blush: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xrk78FTY6tQ

Much easier to deal with. Ah Louise. You could even go fishing with dad, take a couple of Guinness's, then go home to sweet Louise. Ah.:blush:Where did it all go wrong?:D

(That tune gets annoying after 5 views though...)

[stlukesguild]

Yes, but it would be a short-lived affair and expensive into the bargain. You would have the champagne, the whirl of expensive restaurants and fast living, hot passion and sweet kisses, but then you would be left in debt and out of luck - you have to weigh up the pros and cons!! She looks a bit like this one:

Anna Caterina Antonacci

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2XyHfi50yE

There's another dangerous type.

I could live with that.:D She definitely fits my ideal: "sehr hübsch".

Less Botticelli:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5009/5317370690_2fc143cbf1_z.jpg

or Kate Moss for that matter:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5049/5317382912_2ea105df28.jpg

and more towards Rubens:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5165/5317370768_68a2f10e08_z.jpg

Scarlett Johannson:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5170/5317383004_07640385af.jpg

or Christina Hendricks:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5005/5316787909_6ff48f60d5_b.jpg

When it comes to beautiful opera singers this one was unbeatable. Legions of men must have had a crush on her.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCwB0Hd4MEI

Well... if we're going back in time, surely no one could compete with the first true "diva" of the modern era...

La Divina!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9nrtFkj6Bo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZrao_GX4nk

She almost single-handedly resurrected Puccini... raising him from lightweight melodrama to the greatest of tragedies:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKm4-442E0o&feature=related

This conclusion to Madame Butterfly always makes the hairs on my neck stand up.

Callas called Butterfly a voice-killing role and only sang it live 3 times. Luckily we have this recording for Callas was right... roles like Butterfly and others not suited to her destroyed her voice far too early. A singer like Renee Fleming has been very judicious as to what roles she chooses and as a result she is still at the top of her game after age 50.

[Emil Miller]

StLukes, already your thread is taking a nosedive from Classical crushes to truck drivers fancies. What next, Dolly Parton?
Just to get back to real women, here's another clip of Analiese Rothenburger to show what a really beautiful lady looks like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XHGAGaqZb4

[LitNetIsGreat]

Well I always find Stlukes' threads so uplifting...

[stlukesguild]

Brian, I honestly never heard of Anneliese Rothenberger until now. She is admittedly quite lovely, although perhaps a bit too elegant... cultured... dignified... not to say aloof... for my own tastes which are admittedly more... "earthy.":blush: I certainly cannot imagine her fishing with Neely's Dad or downing a couple Guinnesses. I certainly can imagine Ruben's Susanna Fourment, good hearty Belgian girl that she was, quaffing a few... if not offering up some marvelous Belgian alternatives.

As for Dolly Parton... better not to even go there.

Patsy Cline is another story altogether:D:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZKiZG0u7oc

[Emil Miller]

I certainly cannot imagine her fishing with Neely's Dad or downing a couple Guinnesses.

:smilielol5:

[Musicology]

More highly strung than any wild horse. The divas of the stage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLtHGbxLcMI&feature=related

:D

[stlukesguild]

Too bad there are no videos of Callas at her peak... as in her 1953 Tosca:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Jpu40Iq8WI

There is a recording of her performing the same opera in 1964... but she is past her prime at that point.

[LitNetIsGreat]

I certainly cannot imagine her fishing with Neely's Dad or downing a couple Guinnesses.

That's dad-in-law or potential dad-in-law. It's not that I want to go fishing with the guy in the video you understand(just watch him go). He just looks very protective of his daughter, so I might have to soften him up with a few fishing trips and free rounds of Guinness. I can imagine that my lovely Irish girl would be doing something productive while I was out catching trout and downing the black stuff, maybe something like weaving a basket or collecting sea shells, putting a nice bow in her hair, something like that.:hat:

[Gilliatt Gurgle]

Hmmm...I choose Hilary Hahn.
As for fishing, I bet she could tie some great flies, given the deftness of her fingers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpYxD7s7sHw&feature=related

.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Indeed. This one is not bad, Arianna Savall. She sings as well. You'll have to get passed Gandalf first though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUavmFj_FkQ&feature=related

[Musicology]

Georges Bizet (1838-75)
Opera
Gypsy Song
'Carmen'
Elina Garanca (2008)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgexPGh6omM&feature=related

Anton Dvorak (1841-1904)
Song to the Moon
Opera
'Rusalka'

Renee Fleming (2010)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E6HQkiocmY&feature=related

[Gilliatt Gurgle]

...You'll have to get passed Gandalf first though.

Very funny !!! I nearly spit my coffee out when he appeared.

[QUOTE=Musicology;994624]
Elina Garanca (2008)



Anton Dvorak
Renee Fleming (2010)


Elina and Renee...very nice indeed.

.

[yanni]

As Poe would say in plain english:

περί άλλα τυρβάζεις, Gilliat!

[Emil Miller]

Now here's a very crushable lady:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP4b-vE78HQ

[Wilde woman]

Are there no ladies here who like classical music? Because this thread needs some men!! :D

I'm quite partial to Stephen Hough:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TC2Wkv8IS8

I love Russians playing Russians, esp. Mr. Nikolai Lugansky tearing up some Rach:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhLDse5R8dQ

One of my first classical crushes, whom I saw at the first live piano concerto I ever saw, about ten years ago. He's the little known Italian pianist, Alessio Bax:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJneDa0Erno&feature=related

And my ultimate classical crush, a fellow Texan, the legendary Van Cliburn:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7MAriotZyE

[stlukesguild]

Well.... for the women and the men there is always Anna Netrebko with the so-called "silver fox", Dmitri Hvorostovsky:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36vm2VoXuXA

Robert... Elina Garanca! Yes indeed, and she's just come off a highly rated production of Carmen. Of course I love her here with Anna Netrebko where you get two gorgeous women with gorgeous voices for the price of one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u0M4CMq7uI

Brian... we're starting to note a fixation on Chinese women.:hand:

To throw out another lovely, here's Magdalena Kozena, one of my absolute favorite singers. She could sing the phone book, and I'd buy it:

I like this clever little video which plays with the fact that Bach was not permitted female singers as a result of the conservative church leaders whom he worked for, although we have some intimation that he wanted to utilize female singers after a visit to Dresden in which he witnessed the superior orchestras and the female opera singers at the wealthier court.

This is further related to the anecdote in which Bach was discovered in the organ loft with a woman... who was later top become his wife:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJcL-dSn5zo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5y6IQ2X9wA

[Emil Miller]

Brian... we're starting to note a fixation on Chinese women.:hand:

It goes back a long way StLukes, it's called the lotus blossom effect i.e Blue-black hair, ivory skin, slanting eyes and a delicacy not normally found in their western counterparts. A girl I worked with asked me what did orientals have that English girls didn't and I answered 'exoticism'. :yesnod:

Edit: I discovered today that Sarah Chang will be appearing in London on April 11th where she will be playing the Max Bruch, so I nipped over to the Royal Festival Hall and booked myself a seat four rows from the front.

Here she is showing total mastery in a truly stunning performance of the most romantic concerto of them all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiIm-vNBpao

[Emil Miller]

Thumbing through the London Philharmonic Orchestra's current concert season booklet, I noticed this picture of the violinist Stefan Jackiw which I thought might make a suitable classical crush for the Litnet ladies.
Born in 1985 to physicist parents of Korean and German descent, Mr. Jackiw began playing the violin at age four. He holds a B.A. from Harvard University as well as an Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory. He makes his home in New York City.


http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/6009/jackiw300.jpg

[LitNetIsGreat]

Edit: I discovered today that Sarah Chang will be appearing in London on April 11th where she will be playing the Max Bruch, so I nipped over to the Royal Festival Hall and booked myself a seat four rows from the front.

:smilielol5: Don't forget to take her some flowers. You never know?

[Emil Miller]

:smilielol5: Don't forget to take her some flowers. You never know?


I could never be unfaithful to Miss Yuja Wang :D


http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/1893/yujawang1.jpg

[LitNetIsGreat]

I could never be unfaithful to Miss Yuja Wang :D


http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/1893/yujawang1.jpg

Of course, of course, she is a pretty one indeed, soft and delicate and a not a bit scary like those lusty opera maidens. Still, it didn't stop you buying a fourth row ticket for the other lass did it? :D

[stlukesguild]

It goes back a long way StLukes, it's called the lotus blossom effect i.e Blue-black hair, ivory skin, slanting eyes and a delicacy not normally found in their western counterparts. A girl I worked with asked me what did orientals have that English girls didn't and I answered 'exoticism'.

Some one more cruel than myself might suggest a fear of a woman who is less of a "delicate" submissive flower and more bold...assertive..."lusty":D Seriously, two of my studio mates are Asian: one Chinese and the other Korean, and as a result I have spent a good deal of time around their wives, girlfriends, and sisters without ever noticing a greater or lesser "delicacy" than might be found in their Western/American counterparts. Indeed, in spite of the fact that these cultures are commonly thought of as still being quite patriarchal, the women were often the strongest personalities.

[Emil Miller]

But consider yourself, the magic of these ladies apart from their physical attraction; one the greatest exponent of the violin and the other the geatest current performer of the concerto repertoire .

[stlukesguild]

But consider yourself, the magic of these ladies apart from their physical attraction; one the greatest exponent of the violin and the other the greatest current performer of the concerto repertoire .

I don't question this. Although I probably lean toward Anne-Sophie Mutter, Andrew Manze, Rachel Podger, as well as the older violinists such as Yehudi Menuhin, Itzhak Perlman, Jascha Heifetz, Arthur Grumiaux, and Nathan Millstein.

As for Yuja Wang... I'm not one to dis another's romantic fantasies... but considering that the girl has only recorded two discs that I can find as of today, it would seem an incredible exaggeration to proclaim her the current greatest performer of the concerto repertoire. certainly she faces some formidable competition from Murray Perahia (who may be the reigning master of the piano) as well as Angela Hewwitt, Mitsuko Uchida, Krystian Zimerman, Leif Ove Andsnes, Martha Argerich, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Marc-André Hamelin (arguably the reining virtuoso), Alfred Brendel, and many more... although certainly she may be far more attractive that any of them:yesnod:.

[Emil Miller]

[Some one more cruel than myself might suggest a fear of a woman who is less of a "delicate" submissive flower and more bold...assertive..."lusty":D Seriously, two of my studio mates are Asian: one Chinese and the other Korean, and as a result I have spent a good deal of time around their wives, girlfriends, and sisters without ever noticing a greater or lesser "delicacy" than might be found in their Western/American counterparts. Indeed, in spite of the fact that these cultures are commonly thought of as still being quite patriarchal, the women were often the strongest personalities.

.......more bold...assertive..."lusty"? Are we talking Sarah Palin here?
Despite those orientals who have lived long in the US, or were born there, having adopted certain masculine characteristics, it's difficult to imagine an oriental equivalent of the Daughters of the Revolution or Annie Oakley.
I suppose it all comes down to whether you go for the grizzly bear hunting type or Madame Butterfly. It's simply a matter of personal preference.

[stlukesguild]

......more bold...assertive..."lusty"? Are we talking Sarah Palin here?

Oh please, Brian:sosp:...

Sarah's all show. Ms Grizzly-bear with her off camera entourage of make-up specialists, hair stylists, and speech-writers? Somehow I imagine a real-life Carmen tearing her to shreds... and looking better doing it:D.

[Emil Miller]

[COLOR="As for Yuja Wang... I'm not one to dis another's romantic fantasies... but considering that the girl has only recorded two discs that I can find as of today, it would seem an incredible exaggeration to proclaim her the current greatest performer of the concerto repertoire. certainly she faces some formidable competition from Murray Perahia (who may be the reigning master of the piano) as well as Angela Hewwitt, Mitsuko Uchida, Krystian Zimerman, Leif Ove Andsnes, Martha Argerich, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Marc-André Hamelin (arguably the reining virtuoso), Alfred Brendel, and many more... although certainly she may be far more attractive that any of them:yesnod:.


Well naturally she doesn't have the gravitas of older more experienced performers and I doubt that she could match some of them in their specialist fields. As far as recordings go, she has only recently signed for Deutsche Gramophon and has yet to record a concerto, her two existing records being for solo piano. She has, however, performed concertos by Ravel, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Bartok and Brahms as well as the Rach/Pag variations during the current season. The YouTube performance of the Mendelssohn 1st is something that, in my view, wouldn't be bettered by any other pianist. She has stood in for both Argerich and Lupu when they were indisposed and is being hailed as a phenomenon practically everywhere she performs.

http://www.yujawang.com/

Having said that, I must admit that I don't go for the marketing aspect of her persona. It's all too reminiscent of those two most redundant examples of humanity,namely, footballers and pop singers.

After the waif like Ms Wang, I leave you with this thought:

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/7788/sarahpalinu.jpg

[LitNetIsGreat]

Yukky yuk, what an awful woman in every way, she makes me sick. You should have posted a warning prior to that one!

It is not that I would turn down a hot, lusty night of (conversation?) with one of them there opera Valkyries you understand, I can certainly see the appeal dash it all (especially the Carmen I posted). However as long-term investments they just don't stand up to those Irish harpists/flute players, or indeed one of Brian's many oriental pianists/violinists ladies, for me anyway.

You'd wake up one day, half naked in some flush Parisian hotel with the mother of all champagne hangovers, in debt, hastily looking for your socks and wondering what the hell has just happened. In the bathroom would be a lipstick smeared message which would read "it's been nice, it's been hot" but then you are in the middle of Europe, sockless and left with nothing but those hot nights of "conversation". Is that what you want? :hand:

No. Much better to go fishing with the potential dad-in-law types or to hold in-depth conversations with Gandalf figures, and then to come home to a nice Irish lass who will read to you in that most beautiful, beautiful of accents before playing you a jig or something solemn on the harp or flute as you sit in your armchair looked after. Much better that methinks, oh yes. :yesnod:

[stlukesguild]

Yukky yuk, what an awful woman in every way, she makes me sick. You should have posted a warning prior to that one!

Indeed! What is truly scary is the number of people who honestly believe this woman is at all qualified to be president of the United States.:yikes:

It is not that I would turn down a hot, lusty night of (conversation?) with one of them there opera Valkyries you understand, I can certainly see the appeal dash it all (especially the Carmen I posted). However as long-term investments they just don't stand up to those Irish harpists/flute players, or indeed one of Brian's many oriental pianists/violinists ladies, for me anyway.

You'd wake up one day, half naked in some flush Parisian hotel with the mother of all champagne hangovers, in debt, hastily looking for your socks and wondering what the hell has just happened. In the bathroom would be a lipstick smeared message which would read "it's been nice, it's been hot" but then you are in the middle of Europe, sockless and left with nothing but those hot nights of "conversation". Is that what you want?

I could probably live with that. It would surely be worth a try. Besides... just think of all the inspiration it would provide for you next novel/painting.

No. Much better to go fishing with the potential dad-in-law types or to hold in-depth conversations with Gandalf figures, and then to come home to a nice Irish lass who will read to you in that most beautiful, beautiful of accents before playing you a jig or something solemn on the harp or flute as you sit in your armchair looked after. Much better that methinks, oh yes.

Neely, you've become too much of the realist. You're not going to churn out the next body of brilliant poetry ala Charles Baudelaire inspired by that nice girl that even dear ol' mum would take to heart. You need the girl that mom always warned you about.:hand:

[stlukesguild]

Now here is another stunner: Magali Leger, here performing in Rameau's Les indes galantes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKvd4tMkFHc

Magali irresistibly builds upon conductor Marc Minkowski's energy and enthusiasm for this music. You can't help but feel the pleasure... the sheer fun these performers are having with this music, as opposed to the image often attached to classical music as staid, stuffy, and stodgy.

Here in another selection from Rameau's opera Magali performs with Magdalena Kozena:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOlX-RF5sh4&feature=related

[Emil Miller]

Yukky yuk, what an awful woman in every way, she makes me sick. You should have posted a warning prior to that one!

As StLukes has pointed out, you are probably talking about the next president of the USA. If you thought George W Bush was Gung Ho, you 'aint seen nothing yet.

You'd wake up one day, half naked in some flush Parisian hotel with the mother of all hangovers, in debt, hastily looking for your socks and wondering what the hell has just happened.

Yes, Boulevarde Clichy in Montmatre, I remember it well but it wasn't a hotel exactly.

.....and then to come home to a nice Irish lass who will read to you in that most beautiful, beautiful of accents before playing you a jig or something solemn on the harp or flute as you sit in your armchair looked after.

What have you been drinking ?

[LitNetIsGreat]

I could probably live with that. It would surely be worth a try. Besides... just think of all the inspiration it would provide for you next novel/painting.

Yes it would indeed be inspiration and a hell of an experience, but I'm feeling passed all that now, too old! It sounds like Brian has already been sockless! Sockless in Montmatre, got be be a novel in that one!:hat:


Yukky yuk, what an awful woman in every way, she makes me sick. You should have posted a warning prior to that one!

As StLukes has pointed out, you are probably talking about the next president of the USA. If you thought George W Bush was Gung Ho, you 'aint seen nothing yet.

You'd wake up one day, half naked in some flush Parisian hotel with the mother of all hangovers, in debt, hastily looking for your socks and wondering what the hell has just happened.

Yes, Boulevarde Clichy in Montmatre, I remember it well but it wasn't a hotel exactly.

.....and then to come home to a nice Irish lass who will read to you in that most beautiful, beautiful of accents before playing you a jig or something solemn on the harp or flute as you sit in your armchair looked after.

What have you been drinking ?

:smilielol5: Well I haven't been sleeping very well so that combined with a few late night Organic Westons must have sent me over the edge? Still, that armchair in that Irish farmhouse and the gentle lassy running me a bath still does it for me. Have I said I'm feeling tired?

It can't be true about that awful women above. Please say it is not so.

[Emil Miller]

It can't be true about that awful women above. Please say it is not so.

It is all too true. So you might as well join in the ballyhoo with one of these.


http://sarahpalinforpresidentbutton.com/

[LitNetIsGreat]

It is all too true. So you might as well join in the ballyhoo with one of these.


http://sarahpalinforpresidentbutton.com/

:yikes: Oh Christ. This is another point in my favour for avoiding the news. I'm going to throw up my mince pie.

Edit: someone needs to post some nice women quickly!!


Now here is another stunner: Magali Leger, here performing in Rameau's Les indes galantes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKvd4tMkFHc

Granted yes.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Cheesy yes, but, oh, oh my...:nod:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ8B-Wl_trQ

:party:

[Emil Miller]

How about this lady StLukes? I don't know if she sings as well as Netrebko but she's in the Guiness Book of Records.

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/9743/britishwomanbigbubby.jpg

[LitNetIsGreat]

Tut, tut, people are lowing the tone again after the class I posted as well...

Don't tell me she is running for Vice President? I would believe it.

What's she in the Guiness Book of Records for anyway?:hat:

[Emil Miller]

What's she in the Guiness Book of Records for anyway?

Are you kidding?

[LitNetIsGreat]

Are you kidding?

:sosp::sosp::sosp:

[Emil Miller]

Raising the tone again, here is the delectable Lisa Shihoten who is a well known New York performer of chamber music and a music teacher.

http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/2841/lisashihoten.jpg

[LitNetIsGreat]

Ah another Madam Butterfly, yes, yes certainly more classy than the balloon lady!:) You can't beat those Irish lasses I posted last though, nothing can beat that flute player Corr woman, oh Lord...I feel like a geeky teenager.:blush:

[stlukesguild]

...you are probably talking about the next president of the USA.

Brian, I actually doubt she stands a snowballs chance in hell. While there are more than a few who support her... those not exactly at the top of the food chain... she is a lightning rod... hated by as many more... and dismissed by anyone with half a brain as little more than a joke.

In many ways the very fact that a candidate as blatantly unqualified as Palin or George W. could even be considered for such an office owes much to America's anti-elitism. Where logic would dictate that the best candidate for the job of President would surely be someone that is well-educated and smarter than the average person, we saw in the last few elections candidates being derided as "elitists" and out of touch with "Joe the plumber" for the very reason that they had graduated at the top of their classes from well-respected colleges and universities. Without a doubt, Clinton was so hated/feared by his political adversaries for the simple reason that he was far smarter than they... and an astute politician.

[stlukesguild]

Ah another Madam Butterfly, yes, yes certainly more classy than the balloon lady!:) You can't beat those Irish lasses I posted last though, nothing can beat that flute player Corr woman, oh Lord...I feel like a geeky teenager.:blush:

Neely, I'm afraid I'd have to go with Brian's Asian cutie. Your Irish lass just doesn't conjure up many fantasies for me... and certainly none of them the least bit wicked (let alone involving waking up naked in a hotel room in Paris). Now your Anna Caterina Antonacci is something else altogether... to say nothing of my beloved Anna.:D:mad5:

Balloon Lady on the other hand... now she conjures up nightmares more along the line of waking up naked in the back room of a biker bar somewhere in Alabama, discovering your credit cards are all gone, and you have several new prominent tattoos... all involving misspelling.:yikes:

[LitNetIsGreat]

Balloon Lady on the other hand... now she conjures up nightmares more along the line of waking up naked in the back room of a biker bar somewhere in Alabama, discovering your credit cards are all gone, and you have several new prominent tattoos... all involving misspelling.

:smilielol5:

I so Ellvis...


Neely, I'm afraid I'd have to go with Brian's Asian cutie. Your Irish lass just doesn't conjure up many fantasies for me... and certainly none of them the least bit wicked (let alone involving waking up naked in a hotel room in Paris). Now your Anna Caterina Antonacci is something else altogether... to say nothing of my beloved Anna.

You kidding? Yes I don't like the pop stuff they do for sure, but man she honestly stopped my heart a few times, and I felt again like a love-sick spotty teen. She is perfect. I am in love (don't tell Mrs Neely). I think I might have to go down to my local Irish bar tomorrow in search of her (though there will probably only be a few grizzly old men there) - seriously this is the greatest video of all time!!! She is the most beautiful thing on earth!!! The crush has landed...:D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ8B-Wl_trQ:yikes::blush:

I'd have that violinist too...

[Emil Miller]

Neely, I have to agree with StLukes that the Irish girl, although undoubtedly nice looking, is somewhat lacking in sex appeal.

On the other hand, this video shows how it should be done; the German director deserves an Oscar for his brilliant cross-cutting technique.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcma31JBwLs

[stlukesguild]

You kidding? Yes I don't like the pop stuff they do for sure, but man she honestly stopped my heart a few times, and I felt again like a love-sick spotty teen. She is perfect. I am in love (don't tell Mrs Neely). I think I might have to go down to my local Irish bar tomorrow in search of her (though there will probably only be a few grizzly old men there) - seriously this is the greatest video of all time!!! She is the most beautiful thing on earth!!! The crush has landed...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ8B-Wl_trQ:yikes::blush:

Must be an Irish thing. I can't even figure out how they have filled a stadium. Free beer?:D Seriously, the music seems as far removed from real Celtic folk music as Shania Twain is from real American bluegrass or Brian's latest posting is from real music of any sort.:yikes:

[LitNetIsGreat]

I'm in mourning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHsn0_Wxnr4&feature=related

Because of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaoqrbCGSTU&feature=related

:cuss:What's that ugly bald bloke got that I haven't? Life is simply not fair. I'm honestly upset.


Neely, I have to agree with StLukes that the Irish girl, although undoubtedly nice looking, is somewhat lacking in sex appeal.

Dis-a-greeee. That women is sex itself!! That neat little wiggle, that smile, that long dark hair, that provocative tin whistle playing, oh, oh.


On the other hand, this video shows how it should be done; the German director deserves an Oscar for his brilliant cross-cutting technique.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcma31JBwLs

I can see the appeal (and just about see passed the awful Euro-Asian pop to get to the end) I can, but I'll stick to my Irish lasses (or not:arf:). It's not just the Irish. I like that long, dark haired look generally, French/Italian types, continental lasses y'know, but the Irish are the best.

Edit:

Must be an Irish thing. I can't even figure out how they have filled a stadium. Free beer? Seriously, the music seems as far removed from real Celtic folk music as Shania Twain is from real American bluegrass or Brian's latest posting is from real music of any sort.

I'm not dancing to the music.:)

[Emil Miller]

I have to admit that music was the last thing on my mind :D

Now make yourself comfortable on this couch Mr Neely and tell me when you first started getting these delusions that tin whistles were sexy.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Now make yourself comfortable on this couch Mr Neely and tell me when you first started getting these delusions that tin whistles were sexy.

When I saw this lady gently caressing it with her Irish lips:

http://cache3.asset-cache.net/xc/52325073.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=77BFBA49EF878921F7C3FC3F69D929FD532A175619695D43 D121FA4C1E8FD995C405FF96BDD10029B01E70F2B3269972

Oh, if I wert that tin whistle upon that lady's lips...


I think this is going to be my new clothes shop from now on :D:
http://www.cafepress.co.uk/+tin-whistle-humor+underwear-panties

Incidentally, I just discovered this video of the most beautiful faces 2010. Not a bad way to spent 6 minutes? Miss Corr (or whatever her name is now:bawling:) was no.1 twice apparently, though drops down this list a little now. Nevertheless there’s something here for everyone!
http://www.tccandler.com/beautiful-faces/most-beautiful-2010/

[Emil Miller]

Notwithstanding the few oriental lollipops on the list, I would quite readily swap all of them for this lady:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejI3o7RCma0

[LitNetIsGreat]

Yes, yes very nice (I listened to her play Brahms too) BUT, more tin whistle sexiness:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8WODG-KO50&feature=related:drool5::cheers2:

[Gilliatt Gurgle]

They are all too young for me.
I want a woman who knows the ways of love through years of experience:


http://i963.photobucket.com/albums/ae114/tabuka1/Misc%20Album/lg_Frances20Alda-Herman20Mishkin1.jpg


with the voice of a thousand butterflies in chorus on a hot summer night:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qax8XjW2qM


.

[Emil Miller]

They are all too young for me.
I want a woman who knows the ways of love through years of experience:


This one seems to match the criterion Gilliatt.

"My left leg is Christmas and my right leg is New Year’s. Why don’t you visit me between the holidays?” -Mae West

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/5614/maewest01.jpg

[stlukesguild]

I just came across a talented beauty that may surely be more up to Neely's ideal:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5125/5344799890_73ab44400e_b.jpg

Ivana Gavrić was born in Sarajevo and moved to the UK where she studied music at the Guildhall School of Music, Cambridge, and the Royal College of Music. She has studied with pianists as distinguished as Dmitry Bashkirov, Stephen Kovacevich, and Roger Vignoles.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5242/5344799958_8f4e59863e_z.jpg

Ivana is featured as ‘Rising Star’ in the BBC Music Magazine’s December 2010 issue, and as Gramophone’s ‘One to watch’ in the September 2010 issue. She has garnered glowing reviews for her performances and her first recording, has received the highest accolades including comments such as "There is no doubt in my mind that this CD could well mark the beginning of an outstanding international recording career: playing of this quality does not come along every day. Above all, Ivana Gavrić is a true musician." (International Record Review, October 2010) and "Gavric’s playing is altogether of an extraordinary calibre.” (5 stars) Instrumental Choice of the month)." (BBC Music Magazine)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5009/5344188921_00d89a925a.jpg

I'm intrigued in her unusual or eclectic choice of music for her first recital recording. Rather than seeking out the usual favorites of Chopin or Beethoven, Gavrić elects to perform Janácek's In the Mists, Schubert's Sonata in D Minor, D 784 and several of his Moments Musicaux, as well as Liszt's Tre Sonetti di Petrarca from Anées de Pèlerinage and a couple of Rachmaninoff's Preludes.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5244/5344800174_a6418c4847_z.jpg

Ivana Gavrić's website can be found here:

http://www.ivanagavric.com/

... and samples of her playing can be heard here:

http://www.ivanagavric.com/audio/

[Gilliatt Gurgle]

.

Aye, now that's a crush!
Now I see how they got the name for these:


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Mae_West_life_preserver.jpg/170px-Mae_West_life_preserver.jpg


My new classic crush:

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSGtWJ1HALo-1lMeUGxkdOHUI5IPa2UYqQseRe9Wi-PRs3FUZdGCw



Note the young Henry Fonda:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TfddrnmvbA



.

[LitNetIsGreat]

I just came across a talented beauty that may surely be more up to Neely's ideal:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5125/5344799890_73ab44400e_b.jpg

Ivana Gavrić was born in Sarajevo and moved to the UK where she studied music at the Guildhall School of Music, Cambridge, and the Royal College of Music. She has studied with pianists as distinguished as Dmitry Bashkirov, Stephen Kovacevich, and Roger Vignoles.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5242/5344799958_8f4e59863e_z.jpg

Ivana is featured as ‘Rising Star’ in the BBC Music Magazine’s December 2010 issue, and as Gramophone’s ‘One to watch’ in the September 2010 issue. She has garnered glowing reviews for her performances and her first recording, has received the highest accolades including comments such as "There is no doubt in my mind that this CD could well mark the beginning of an outstanding international recording career: playing of this quality does not come along every day. Above all, Ivana Gavrić is a true musician." (International Record Review, October 2010) and "Gavric’s playing is altogether of an extraordinary calibre.” (5 stars) Instrumental Choice of the month)." (BBC Music Magazine)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5009/5344188921_00d89a925a.jpg

I'm intrigued in her unusual or eclectic choice of music for her first recital recording. Rather than seeking out the usual favorites of Chopin or Beethoven, Gavrić elects to perform Janácek's In the Mists, Schubert's Sonata in D Minor, D 784 and several of his Moments Musicaux, as well as Liszt's Tre Sonetti di Petrarca from Anées de Pèlerinage and a couple of Rachmaninoff's Preludes.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5244/5344800174_a6418c4847_z.jpg

Ivana Gavrić's website can be found here:

http://www.ivanagavric.com/

... and samples of her playing can be heard here:

http://www.ivanagavric.com/audio/

Oh by golly yes. This is indeed a pretty looking one and something to bring a little light into a dreary January. I must look into those (and listen to them when I am at home, no sound here). Sounds a promising one too.

[Taliesin]

I must admit that I haven't yet progressed to the level where I can tell the differences of different classical performers so, for aesthetic appeal, I have to settle for composers.

Such as Eric Whitacre.
http://blog.musicroom.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Eric_Whitacre-300x281.jpg


He conducts his own pieces here:

Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsLiivVgxmM&feature=channel)
or
Stolen Child (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv8B6tMNFJI)

I still have to admit that I like his music better than his face and if it weren't for his music, I probably wouldn't find him that attractive, though he looks pretty good while conducting.

[LitNetIsGreat]

He looks a bit like Brad Pitt.

I'm definitely liking the cute Ivana Gavrić. It's a shame that she is only playing in London at the moment. I'll keep my eye on her though that's for sure.

[stlukesguild]

I didn't know that Whitacre was so young. He must certainly be the youngest composer whose music I have been actively following.


No... I did a quick Wiki search and discovered that Thomas Adès, born March 1, 1971 and Tarik O'Regan, born January 1, 1978, are both younger.

What is really sobering is that I am currently listening to a new recording of a composer who was dead before he had reached the age of any of these young composers with the exception of O'Regan:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5206/5347456264_28de4ed97f.jpg

Needless to say, just these two works outstrip the entire oeuvre of any of these composers.

Symphony 41, is an absolute miracle... especially the final movement. Mozart constructs the final movement of five separate themes which he eventually weaves together in a fugue-like structure inspired by his recent explorations of J.S. Bach. The results are spectacular. This symphony won't be equaled until Beethoven's 3rd:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prvBEXbnDR0

[DanielBenoit]

I have been unable to fully appretiate another Le Nozze di Figaro ever since watching the Karl Bohm conducted 1976 version of the opera which is in fact filmmed on a film set with everything dubbed. Of course this is a distraction as well as the attempts to make a "cinematic" version of the opera with all sorts of distracting visuals. But all-in-all because this was one of the first operas I saw, I am in love with it and all of its singers who act wonderfully and with great charm.

Now it is a great thing that Mozart didn't let Figaro into every scene or else the infinitely handsome Hermann Prey would dominate my attention and overshadow the less charismatic but equally great characters such as the Count and Countess.

I just love him, not only is he gorgeous but the charisma he puts into the character of Figaro compliments the music and the playfulness of Mozart exceptionally.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViX6aQKENxE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeGbiRKYI4Q

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_QzH1YFoYXFM/TC9lO4QbwXI/AAAAAAAABfI/0APFOfPllwM/Captura%20de%20pantalla%20completa%2003072010%2018 1833.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514G5ip9DfL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

http://i43.tower.com/images/mm107047898/mozart-le-nozze-di-figaro-hermann-prey-dvd-cover-art.jpg

That said, he only seems to look good when he either has a mustache or is under 50 :brow:

[LitNetIsGreat]

A genuine reason to bump off work next Wednesday?

http://www.musicintheround.co.uk/event.php?id=203

[Emil Miller]

A genuine reason to bump off work next Wednesday?

http://www.musicintheround.co.uk/event.php?id=203

Does Mrs Neely know about your interest in the oboe?

[LitNetIsGreat]

Does Mrs Neely know about your interest in the oboe?

:lol: Well Mrs Neely doesn't have to know anything about it, I managed to keep my love of tin whistles hush hush anyway.

[stlukesguild]

Well, as you have resurrected this thread, Neely, I might as well add another lovely with more talents than than mere appearances... although these are certainly attractive in their own right:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5174/5524689926_c2315ede99.jpghttp://farm6.static.flickr.com/5011/5524097225_9c3cded5c1.jpghttp://farm6.static.flickr.com/5256/5524689854_77b128de2b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5055/5524097151_1575e34baa.jpg

Emmanuelle Haim is a French harpsichordist and conductor specializing in Baroque music. She studied at the Conservatoire Supérieur de Musique et de Danse in Paris, after which William Christie invited her to work with his ensemble, Les Arts Florissants. She has also worked as a coach and assistant to Simon Rattle.

She began conducting in 2001. Her production with the Glyndebourne Touring Opera of Handel's Rodelinda, first brought her to wider artistic notice. Her return to Glyndebourne in 2006 with the production of Handel's Giulio Cesare was highly acclaimed.

She has been involved in a number of highly acclaimed recordings including a marvelous recording of Bach's Magnificat and Handel's Dixit Dominus...

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5255/5524097391_236d8c36a8.jpg

a brilliant new recording of Moneteverdi's L'Orfeo with Veronique Gens, Ian Bostridge, and Natalie Dessay...

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5215/5524689962_8dced95dd7.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvK7A5k6yJE

and several highly acclaimed and award winning discs by Natalie Dessay...

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5012/5524690030_f549ce2548.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5057/5524097451_f04d4728c4.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovUxhXMbtUs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrXcT-j27Rc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChXIOeGkvX8

and the brilliant Philippe Jaroussky:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5293/5524097517_ff94640b9b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5093/5524459550_dac33d9308.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKzL7Xqy7jg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v9PHmwRBIY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEJs5X57LMg

[Emil Miller]

This coincides with the Gershwin entries on the Classical Listening thread.
I know this doesn't actually qualify for a Classical Crush as the girl is a skater but the music fits the bill and what an angel she is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yc35PYNEQMk

[Petrarch's Love]

This thread clearly needs some more men on it. The first classical performers that spring to my mind are the opera singers. I quite like the looks of Lawrence Brownlee:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rdz6yVm2IJs&feature=related

Juan Diego Florez:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vawnfrv7n7I

And I must say I would have liked to see a young Jose Careraras

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVvcKIbSZ9U&feature=related

or Placido Domingo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CedCD33qB5g

both with those gorgeous dark eyes. I saw Domingo perform a few years back and, even old in person that voice was incredibly seductive (at least from the last row in the house where you could pretend it was a much younger man on the stage):


The cellist Zuill Bailey is also fairly easy on the eyes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgX3aT8jN9o&feature=related

And the beautiful violinist Stefan Jackiw:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_owoi6fInU

[Emil Miller]

This really is the stuff that dreams are made of.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4Vi2QweFww

[stlukesguild]

I thought I'd make an attempt to breathe some new life into this thread considering my recent references to it. Beside which... I am of little doubt that Kristine Opolais deserves to be recognized here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh4bLomcrwQ

To be honest... however... it was her performance in La Traviata that first garnered my attention:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTAYNoZSQTA

Don't get me wrong... I am still "loyal" to my beloved Anna Netrebko... especially after seeing her in Massenet's Manon!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQC0O3j8Ttk

For some time the recording by Pavarotti and Joan Sutherland was considered the finest performance of this opera on record... yet can you imagine the two of them rolling around in bed during this scene?.:eek::nonod::sosp::smilielol5:

[stlukesguild]

Now Gaële Le Roi is absolutely enchanting in this version of the Magic Flute. You can absolutely feel the sexual tension as Papagena leaves Papageno absolute speechless... unable to utter anything but gibberish: "Pa Pa Pa Pa..." Only Mozart could pull off the most brillian love song with the most inane of lyrics!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87UE2GC5db0

Of course Sylvia Moi is equally enchanting in her own way in the same duet:

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6077/6044585506_9e9964614d.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prdOP-9kgLI

[stlukesguild]

Natalie Dessay is another lovely singer whose name has yet to come up. Of course, after watching her in the famous "Mad Scene" from Lucia di Lammermoor might lead one to second thoughts. Surely a woman not to be trifled with.:sosp::eek:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYm7oJXVeks

Donizetti's use of the glass harmonica was an inspired touch... lending something of an unearthly touch.

[Emil Miller]

Yuja Wang showing her Rachmaninoff variations technique. She calls it a concerto even though it's obviously not in concerto form, but when she's wearing that dress who am I to argue?

http://youtu.be/tRmQ7HWtDAo