Classical Listening

[LitNetIsGreat]

Lucky you! So I talked you into making the London trip. Seriously, I'm not kidding... if I lived as close to New York... or Washington D.C. as you live top London I'd be there every other week. But then we Americans live in our cars. It's not unusual for many Americans to drive 40 or 50 miles or more to work each day.

Returning to Le Nozze... I have the Karl Böhm recording sitting in front of me... still in the shrinkwrap... and I must get around to playing it. But right now I'm four beers under the weather (3 Sam Smith Imperials, and a banana bread beer and I've got Miles' Kind of Blue blaring with a Three Philosopher's Belgian ale and the Stones waiting in the wings. No Mozart tonight.

No that sounds pretty cool actually, sounds like you are enjoying better quality beer than me at the moment for one - as I can't disagree with 54 bottles of Stella for £20; goes down well with the football anyway.

Yes, you talked me into London, that and the fact that I am a definite Figaro addict. Not sure how good the seat is going to be (and I'm not sure that I am going to be paying £8.60 for one glass of house wine) but I'm sure to enjoy the whole thing anyway. Got myself a good deal on first class train tickets as well, plus my uncle can get me super cheap train tickets in future, as he is a driver, so hopefully more trips to London on the way. As long as I don't get lost on the tube that is...

[kasie]

Enjoy the weekend, Neely - never mind if the seat is way up in the Gods, the experience will be the stuff life-long memories are made of.

I'm off to Cardiff on Monday to see (or is it hear? I'm never sure) Welsh National Opera: Rigoletto on Monday, Meistersingers von Nurenberg on Tuesday - Bryn Terfil is singing Hans Sachs, his debut in the role. It will be my first 'live' Wagner - I'm looking forward to it.

[stlukesguild]

Well, today I spent fully getting back into my current obsession with classical music. Two new discs arrived in the mail:





Zelenka I have already discussed above... but I must say this latest disc is quite marvelous... and I am still impressed with the muscular, driving rhythm of Zelenka's music. Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber was another marvelous German composer from the time of J.S. Bach. Like Bach and Zelenka he composed a share of marvelous choral works for the church...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hTsx...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oFjx...eature=related

Biber was born in Wartenberg, Bohemia (now Stráž pod Ralskem, Czech Republic).



Little is known about his early education, other than that he may have studied at a Jesuit Gymnasium in Bohemia. Before 1668 Biber worked at the court of Prince Johann Seyfried von Eggenberg in Graz, and then was employed by the Bishop of Olomouc, Karl II von Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn, in Kroměříž. Biber enjoyed a good reputation, and his violin playing skills were very highly regarded.

In summer 1670 Karl II sent Biber to Absam, near Innsbruck, to negotiate with the celebrated instrument maker Jacob Stainer for the purchase of new instruments for the Kapelle. Biber never reached Stainer, however, and instead entered the employ of the Archbishop of Salzburg, Maximilian Gandolph von Kuenburg. Because Karl and Maximilian were friends, Biber's former employer refrained from taking any action; he was, however, very hurt by the composer's decision, and waited until 1676 to officially release him. Biber remained in Salzburg for the rest of his life. His musical and social careers flourished: he started publishing his music in 1676, performed before the Emperor (and was rewarded by him) in 1677, became deputy Kapellmeister at Salzburg in 1679 and Kapellmeister in 1684. In 1690 Biber was raised to nobility by the Emperor, with the title of Biber von Bibern. Finally, the new Archbishop of Salzburg, Johann Ernst, Count Thun, appointed Biber lord high steward, the highest social rank Biber would attain.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Ignaz_Biber

Like Bach, the masterful organist and harpsichordist, and Zelenka and the bass, Biber's mastery of the violin certainly influenced his compositions. For all the pomp and spectacle of the great choral works Biber composed, he is even more known for his works for violin, including the masterful Mystery or Rosary Sonatas, which tell the narrative of Christ's birth and the Passion. A unique element in this music is the technique called scordatura, deliberate mis-tuning of the violin strings for unusual effects including dissonance or near-dissonance. These sonatas are quite intense in nature, avoiding beautiful melodies and typically baroque ornamentation most of the time. Biber, rather, has a dramatic story to tell, which he does with remarkably imaginative effects:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMC8mP66BXI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrpCEiug8Ks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPj5fyQjCC0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCSEEvEm3uc

The second composer I have listening to a great deal today has been Antonio Vivaldi:



Before the Historically Informed Performance movement delved deeper into Baroque music, Vivaldi was commonly seen as the third of the great Baroque composers along side of J.S. Bach and Handel... in spite of the fact that his known oeuvre was limited to little more than the Four Seasons and a few other concertos.

Vivaldi, however, has long had his detractors. The Four Seasons is overplayed to the point of irritation... in spite of it being a truly masterful work. Stravinsky disparagingly suggested that Vivaldi had not written 100s of concertos, but rather the same concerto 100s of times. Of course a cursory hearing of the whole of nearly any musical genre: jazz, bluegrass, Romanticism, opera, and not merely the Baroque or Vivaldi may lead one to the assumption that it all sounds alike. But the further one delves into the music, the more breadth, variety and originality one discovers.

Such has been true of the appreciation of Vivaldi as the result of relatively recent discoveries of vast previously unknown scores of Vivaldi's music... especially opera and choral works. Vivaldi's vocal works are among his most spectacular creations... among the greatest of all Baroque music. The Naive Record label has been releasing an entire series of simply stunning recordings of Vivaldi's vast repertoire with a focus especially on the previously unknown works. One of the most splendid recordings has been that of the Vespri per l'Assunzione di Maria Vergine (or the Vespers for the Assumption of the Virgin Mary):



Monteverdi, earlier, had composed a famous Vespers of 1610. Vivaldi was employed in the same city (Venice) and was known to have been commissioned to compose several Vespers... almost certainly including one for the same great cathedral (San Marco) in which Monteverdi's choral masterwork had been performed. Unfortunately, only separate elements of various whole Vespers have survived in Vivaldi's manuscripts. These, parts of various wholes, however, are inclusive enough for musicologists to construct a single whole Vespers... wholly of Vivaldi's composing. This reconstruction includes some of Vivaldi's most sublime music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep0ib8EIHnw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HaBQ...eature=related

The Psalm 126, or Nisi Dominus contains one of Vivaldi's most haunting creations, the unearthly Cum dederit... heard here in two equally beautiful... and yet very different performances... the first by the Polish conductor and counter-tenor, Jakub Burzyński:

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

The second version... perhaps less driven and earthy... but even more frighteningly "unearthly" is by the fast rising superstar counter-tenor, Philippe Jaroussky:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVgItFV0kBY

In fact... one may here listen to the whole of the Nisi Dominus:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqQJg...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyhbQ...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVgIt...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ7IB...eature=related

[Musicology]

Leo Delibes (1836-1891)
Ballet
'Coppelia' (1870)


1. Introduction and Mazurka

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=1u16...eature=related

-

2. Coda

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=vRyW...eature=related


///

[IceM]

Curious question; as one who has only experieced classical music through Academic Decathlon curriculum (two years ago was music of Latin America, last year pertaining to the French Revolution, this year to the Great Depression), I'm grosly ignorant to the vast library of masterpieces unheard by my ears. I download music frequently. Can anyone recommend me some lovely pieces that may be available for download? I'd really love to expand my boundaries.

Thanks,
IceM

[Emil Miller]

Curious question; as one who has only experieced classical music through Academic Decathlon curriculum (two years ago was music of Latin America, last year pertaining to the French Revolution, this year to the Great Depression), I'm grosly ignorant to the vast library of masterpieces unheard by my ears. I download music frequently. Can anyone recommend me some lovely pieces that may be available for download? I'd really love to expand my boundaries.

Thanks,
IceM

I'm sure there are plenty of forum members who could recommend something, but it would depend on what you mean by 'lovely pieces'.
Why not check out the many links posted on this thread which covers a wide range of musical expression?

[Genocide]

Curious question; as one who has only experieced classical music through Academic Decathlon curriculum (two years ago was music of Latin America, last year pertaining to the French Revolution, this year to the Great Depression), I'm grosly ignorant to the vast library of masterpieces unheard by my ears. I download music frequently. Can anyone recommend me some lovely pieces that may be available for download? I'd really love to expand my boundaries.

Thanks,
IceM

I'm not really sure what you're looking for but I know a way I usually manage to find a good song is on theradio. When I'm at home and just parusing the internet I use online radio broadcastings.

What are some of your favorites, if you don't mind me asking?

[IceM]

I love piano compositions; Franz Liszt's Liebestraum is my favorite to date. Tchaikovsky* is always a thrill to listen to, and I enjoy some of Mozart's pieces.

The issue is, I'm so ignorant to what much great music is simply because I haven't been able to hear it. My region of California has no classical station; my internet is faulty and typically cannot upload Youtube videos; and it cannot play online radio, either. I tried, thanks for the link nonetheless.

I'm just looking to hear more classical music and wondering which pieces composed are worth listening to.

[Emil Miller]

I love piano compositions; Franz Liszt's Liebestraum is my favorite to date. Tchaikovsky* is always a thrill to listen to, and I enjoy some of Mozart's pieces.

The issue is, I'm so ignorant to what much great music is simply because I haven't been able to hear it. My region of California has no classical station; my internet is faulty and typically cannot upload Youtube videos; and it cannot play online radio, either. I tried, thanks for the link nonetheless.

I'm just looking to hear more classical music and wondering which pieces composed are worth listening to.

I'm amazed that you don't have access to music in California but if you like piano music it has to be Chopin, preferably the waltzes and nocturnes, not to mention the etudes and his two piano concertos. Tchaikovsky's ballet music for The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake and The Nutcracker are all brilliantly tuneful and I would also recommend his Romeo and Juliette concert overture and especially the Francesca da Rimini overture. No other composer can match Tchaikovsky for tuneful orchestral pieces but the number of non-symphonic works by other composers is vast and you might look at Sibelius, Rachmaninoff, Dvorak and Mendelssohn for some really enjoyable music. Another composer whose music is very melodious and exciting is Rimsky Korsakov; especially his Russian Easter Festival Overture and Scheherazade.
This only scratches the surface and is fairly random but it might help.

[Genocide]

The issue is, I'm so ignorant to what much great music is simply because I haven't been able to hear it. My region of California has no classical station; my internet is faulty and typically cannot upload Youtube videos; and it cannot play online radio, either. I tried, thanks for the link nonetheless.

I'm not going to lie, there are a lot of "great pieces" that are highly praised that I'm not too fond of so if you ever happen to run into a random piece you can't stand, don't feel bad, okay? :]

I'm really confused as to why you don't have a classical station! California and I are more than friends and so far where I've been I've managed to find at least one wherever I go (though one of my favorites was shut off not too long ago).

If I were you I'd be at a cd shop testing out what they have. Good luck, though.

[stlukesguild]

If piano works like Liszt's Liebestraum interest you then I would second Brian's recommendation of Chopin's Waltzes and Nocturnes. To these I would add Schumann's Papillons, Carnaval, Fantasiestücke, Kinderszenen, and Kreisleriana. Schubert's Impromptus would also fit in here and then perhaps Beethoven's more famous piano sonatas: 8 (Pathetique), 14 (Moonlight), 17 (Tempest), 21 (Waldstein), 23 (Appasionata), 26 (Les Adieu). I would also suggest you listen to Mozart's piano concertos... especially the late ones: numbers 18-27 for example.

Really, if you are just beginning to explore the world of classical music you would do well to look to a guide to the basics. I would highly recommend the book, Classical Music; the 50 Greatest Composers and their 1,000 Greatest Works by Phil G. Goulding. This book is well written in a clear and concise language that avoids excessive technical jargon. It is much more than a check-list of the "greatest" composers. It offers a basic understanding of classical music forms and structure, developments, history, as well as a good many of the technical terms.

Today a new recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations arrived. This is perhaps my 6th or 7th version of this magnificent work... but then again... one can never have too much Bach. While I tend to prefer Bach's keyboard works played upon the piano (especially when performed by such masterful interpreters as Glenn Gould, Rosalyn Tureck, Angela Hewitt and Murray Perahia) this particular recording, by Andreas Staier on Harmonia Mundi, is played on the harpsichord. This is surely one of the finest harpsichord recordings I have heard. The instrument is well recorded... avoiding the jarring and jangling nature that makes it difficult to listen to some harpsichord recordings for long. This is a full and rich-sounding instrument, and Staier makes judicious use of the organ-like stops on the instrument that can lend a greater variety or sound color to the work.



The work also comes with a DVD in which there is a brief (perhaps 20-minute) interview with the performer:

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2hFP79Q1Ds

Highly recommended!

And now I'm on to the second disc that arrived today... a collection of works by Gérard Grisey... who is a bit further out there than Bach.

Today yet another Bach purchase arrived in the mail... although in this instance the work is something of the Holy Grail of Bach recordings:



Last December I had planned upon purchasing this set of Bach recordings by Gardiner...



... but I ended up putting off this purchase wanting to save the money for the holidays. This disc contained the Saint Matthew Passion, the Saint John Passion, the Mass in B-minor, and the Christmas Oratorio and through Amazon Marketplace dealers it ran from $35-$45 US. I am now glad I put off buying, for this new box set (top) contains not only all four of those works but the Magnificat and 35 of Bach's Cantatas as well... 22 discs in all... and the price is no greater than the earlier set!!

These works are the central achievements of Bach as a composer of sacred choral music... and any number of the individual compositions (the Saint Matthew Passion, the Mass in B-minor, the Magnificat) might be counted among Bach's greatest works... and among the greatest works ever composed. The recordings by John Eliot Gardiner, the Monteverdi Choir and English baroque Soloists are regarded by many critics (in Gramophone, BBC Music, Penguin Guide, etc...) as being the "first choice" for many of these works. These recordings include such talented and renowned singers as Bernarda Fink, Barbara Bonney, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Magdalena Kozena, and Anne Sofie von Otter.

Currently, I am listening to the Mass in B-minor. This work was composed upon a scale beyond any of Bach's other works in terms of the orchestral forces employed. Here we find Bach utilizing the brass, timpani, massed choirs... and a variety of instrumental soloists. Some have suggested that Bach was inspired... a provoked to prove himself... by the example of the great choral works of Jan Dismas Zelenka. Zelenka, working for the Catholic court in the large city of Dresden had access to a far greater orchestra and choir than Bach in had in Leipzig, and the Mass in B-minor was dedicated and presented to Zelenka's patron, August III, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and Elector of Saxony, in a failed bid to obtain the position of court composer.

The scale of this work leads one to wonder just what Bach might have achieved beyond his already unfathomable achievements, had he ever been awarded a position worthy of his talents, such as the rank of court composer in Dresden, Vienna, Salzburg... or Paris... or a free-lance position such as Handel had in London. While Handel, Biber, Zelenka, and Rameau cannot rival the depth of spiritual feeling and the intimacy exuded in Bach's cantatas written for the relatively small Lutheran churches of Leipzig as required by his position as Cantor of Thomasschule and Director of Music in the principal churches in the town (primarily St. Thomas and St. Nicholas), one wonders what Bach might have done with the forces of a truly grand orchestra and choir. One can only imagine Bach's genius applied to choral works on the level of grandeur expected at the French court in Paris... or operas and oratorios written for the great London audiences and their marvelous grand orchestras.

Nevertheless... we still have the Mass in B-minor:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcqaY...eature=related

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZvkS...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JltB7...eature=related

[Musicology]

This morning, after seeing some plants growing in the garden heard this for the first time in months -

'Bach was an inside job' !!! LOL !!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=NBT7...eature=related

[Lokasenna]

On a friend's advice, I'm just getting into Mahler for the first time, and enjoying myself so far. The 6th symphony is particularly rousing!

[stlukesguild]

I first got into Mahler with the First (love that death waltz set to 'Frère Jacques'), the Second (the great "Resurrection") and the 5th and 9th Symphonies in the brilliant Barbirolli recordings. I now think that my favorite work would be Das Lied von der Erde conducted by Bruno Walter and featuring the great English contralto, Kathleen Ferrier. Her performance... especially of Der Abschied... a long orchestral song celebrating the eternal cycle of death and rejuvenation... as the singer knew she herself was dying... composed by Mahler who was equally aware of his own mortality... is incredibly heart-wrenching. Ferrier, ever the professional, apologized for what she felt was a missed cue. Bruno responded that it was he and the audience who should apologize that they were not all in tears.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtV7TSRLs5Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X_Ii...eature=related

Currently I'm doing a little listening to a cappella vocal works. The first collection being a selection of the works by arch-Modernist, György Sándor Ligeti (1923-2006).



I like a good many of the pieces well enough... especially the well-known Lux Aeterna used in Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnuAaKiX1sg

Currently I'm listening to something older... quite a bit older. Some of the music here dates from the 4th century!



The music is chant of the Melchite or Imperial Byzantine Church. The music evolved from a culture in which Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Latin, and Arabic rubbed shoulders in the streets... and in philosophical, religious, and artistic institutions. This chant eventually made its way west to Morocco and into Islamic Spain where remnants remain in music today. In many ways it makes the music of Ligeti sound almost "conservative" by way of comparison.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VoD_Zt0aFk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAhvJ...eature=related

[Musicology]

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=mc2z...eature=related

and also -

BWV 62
http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=DWwZ...eature=related