| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
A year ago, on this thread, I mentioned some pieces by Leroy Anderson. Lately, I've been listening to a few more, like "Forgotten Dreams".
And I guess I can't discuss Anderson for long without mentioning "The Syncopated Clock". It was part of my childhood.
When I heard his "Trumpter's Lullaby" I thought it was too fast. But I like Al Hirt's performance. (You know Al Hirt? That's the guy with the Nixon-like denial "I'm not a jazz trumpeter and never was a jazz trumpeter". I might mention some of my favorite Al Hirt songs, which I feel were clearly jazz, but I guess those would be out of place on this thread.)
Heh. That's the same performance I mentioned two years ago, back on Page 6 of this thread. I notice that my URL no longer works, though. That upload must have gotten deleted or something. So it's good that you gave us an updated URL.
Did I influence you at all in the choosing of that piece? Or was it sheer coincidence?
|
Heh. That's the same performance I mentioned two years ago, back on Page 6 of this thread. I notice that my URL no longer works, though. That upload must have gotten deleted or something. So it's good that you gave us an updated URL.
Did I influence you at all in the choosing of that piece? Or was it sheer coincidence?
Coincidence! I heard it on Mozart in the Jungle and I was transfixed.
So this, with Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld, is not classical, but somehow I feel this is a more appropriate thread for modern music played on violin and various horns that's not rock/hip-hop or one of their offsprings than the What Are You Listening To thread.
As I've mentioned before, my piano-playing lately has been mostly show tunes. But I can't play music of my own choice for long without choosing Bach. Once again, I'm playing a Sinfonia from one of his Cantatas, only this time it calls for only two hands.
Which is lucky, since that's the number of hands I have.
I have to comment, though, that playing this has not been fun. So often, I listen to a piece, love it, and say "I want to play that!" It's easy to say, but I find some pieces - like this one - to be harder than they sound. I got tired and frustrated with this Sinfonia, and my performance didn't come out sounding so great. (Well, speed it up to 1.25 and it sounds better.)
It's a pity. Oftentimes I wonder if I could manage certain difficult pieces. I'm curious to know. Maybe I'd discover that some of those pieces aren't as hard as they sound. But times like this, I get so frustrated that it doesn't seem worth the time and effort.
<sigh> I'm going back to show tunes now.
When I heard "Trumpter's Lullaby" I thought it was too fast. But I like Al Hirt's performance.
And you know what else? I heard that Anderson's original Blue Tango was a #1 hit, spending 38 weeks on the Billboard's national singles charts... but that version never particularly grabbed me. But Les Baxter's version did, by going a bit wild with the percussion. The vocals were sometimes fun too.
Re-watched 2001 last night.
I still like to listen to some of the Sinfonias to Bach's Cantatas (as long as I don't have to PLAY the darn things, struggling to get them up to speed). I've mentioned my three favorites already on this thread, but lately, I've been listening to a couple of lesser-known ones, like one from the BWV 209 and one from the BWV 42.
Once again, I'm listening to Leroy Anderson. Check out Lazy Moon. You may want to reach for your tap shoes first.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Got this comrade/FB friend who is a Harvard clerical worker (actually, he might be retired, had a heart attack a year or two ago, haven't actually spoken to him much recently, should probably fix that) and he's always blasting his music listening all over his thread. Lots of classical stuff that I have never heard of. Anyway, he called this guy "Korea's greatest 20th century composer" and I'm all like, "sure, I can't even name a 20th century Korean composer," (or from any century, for that matter) so here I am listening to it.
Software Test Engineer
|
I spent the last week listening to waltz music for a royal ball in my home game. Of all the music I went through this gem ended up being the one that really caught the emotion I wanted for a particular encounter involving one of the groups adversaries trying to publicly humiliate the party members during the dance.
I always regarded Chopin as one of my favorite composers (and, at some times of my life, my SINGLE favorite composer), yet until now, I never got into his nocturnes, except for that one really famous one (the opus 9 number 2). Recently, I took an interest in his nocturne in E minor, opus 72 number 1. So I listened to a few recordings on YouTube, like one by Rubinstein, and one by... some other famous pianist. I no longer remember which.
But then I found one performance that flabbergasted me. The performer was eight years old! Her name is Annie Zhou.
And while I was at it, I also listened to Chopin's nocturne opus 9 number 1 in B flat minor (performed by Rubinstein).
I often like to listen to certain Beethoven piano sonatas. Sometimes I even play that stuff. Back on page 6 of this thread, I mentioned that I number Beethoven among my favorite composers, yet it's been years since I discovered a piece of his that impressed me all that much. And despite its fame the Hammerklavier never grabbed me... until now. Or at least, the first movement did.
I've been listening to the Bourree from Bach's English Suite #2.
Well, after a nine-month absence, I'm back in the saddle... or rather, back on the piano bench. To ease my way back into piano playing - because nine months ago I got sick of struggling with difficult pieces - I started with something childishly simple: the Valse from Edvard Grieg's lyric pieces Book 1, Opus 12.
I was originally planning to move onto another easy piece... but the piano bug has bitten me but good. Now I'm seriously considering jumping to the other side by attempting a recording-project more ambitious than any I've managed before...
It's a funny coincidence that I mentioned a Grieg lyric piece in my last post. I've played others in the past, and enjoyed listening to still more. Recently, while listening to the radio, I discovered two more: the Scherzo and Grandmother's Minuet.
I bought 2 MP3 files of Boccherini's Fandango - one performance of the original, and one arrangement for guitar quartet. I understand that Boccherini, who spent the last 48 years of his life in Spain, complained that he never understood what the Spanish style of music was. Well, I'm no expert, but that Fandango sounds Spanish to me!
Recently, I discovered this recording, which sounds different from any other performance I remember.
|
|
I bought 2 MP3 files of Boccherini's Fandango - one performance of the original, and one arrangement for guitar quartet. I understand that Boccherini, who spent the last 48 years of his life in Spain, complained that he never understood what the Spanish style of music was. Well, I'm no expert, but that Fandango sounds Spanish to me!Recently, I discovered this recording, which sounds different from any other performance I remember.
That is awesome!
For some reason I am always surprised when a “classical” composer has a piece with a great dance beat.
I don’t know if I shared this before, but here is the second movement of Louis Moreau Gottschalk’s first symphony. I had no idea what to make of it the first time I heard it.
Edit: I should have just scrolled up the page! I shared an excerpt from Escenas Campestres, not the first symphony, so it’s all good.
|
|
No Spanish beat, but another 19th century American composer:
Arthur Foote’s Piano Quartet in C, mvt III. I can still remember how moving this was the first time I heard it.
...here is the second movement of Louis Moreau Gottschalk’s first symphony.
Yeah, I've enjoyed that piece in the past. Now I've done so once more.
And it's good to see you, CH. After all these months, I was starting to wonder if I was the only one left on this thread.
Two years ago, on this thread, I mentioned that I had never liked any flute sonata until I discovered one by Bach, the BWV 1031.
Well, here's another good one, for those who like Clementi: his Opus 2 Number 3.
I was originally planning to move onto another easy piece... but the piano bug has bitten me but good. Now I'm seriously considering jumping to the other side by attempting a recording-project more ambitious than any I've managed before...
I DID IT!!!
I recorded myself playing ALL FOUR MOVEMENTS of Beethoven's Piano Sonata number 1!
You know, I remember back in 1996, when I bought my first PC, it came with a microphone, but for some reason, it didn't occur to me at the time to record myself playing the piano.
In 2014, when I got my first laptop, that helped to encourage me to record myself. But when I did, I started kicking myself. Why, during those 18 years, did I never record myself with a desktop? It's not that hard to move a desktop to a different room! Think of all the pieces that I played during those 18 years with nothing to show for my efforts! And of all the pieces that I could have recorded myself playing and didn't, the one that I most regretted was that Beethoven sonata. What a feather in my cap that would have been!
(I mean... okay, I recorded myself playing Bach's Italian Concerto - twice - but of course I HAD to record that; it was the Italian Concerto!)
So now, after all these years, I finally got the Beethoven recorded. And to me, it was no small feat. In particular, I found that fourth movement to be FIENDISHLY difficult. Plus real life kept getting in the way, preventing me - in various ways - from practicing and recording it. But I persisted and kept going back to it. And now - after all these months - I'm finally tasting the fruit of my labor!
Whew! The next piece I play will be much less ambitious!
I was originally planning to move onto another easy piece...
I got back around to recording that (relatively) easy piece I wanted to play months ago: the Gavotte and Rondo from Bach's Partita, BWV 1006. And while I was at it, I also recorded myself playing it on the Harpsichord setting of a digital piano.
Unfortunately, real life continues to interfere with my practicing. So after I play one little ditty (not classical) I'll have to quit for a while. It's a pity; I was hoping to attempt a certain challenging piece, and I wonder how well I could play it. Maybe it's just as well; the piece might reduce me to a sniveling wreck who swears he will never, never play piano again. Some difficult pieces have done that to me before.
And hey, this will free up my spare time, so I can go back to one of my other hobbies: composing original music.
It's not my usual fare, but lately I've been listening to the first movement of Mozart's Piano Trio K 502 (and sometimes to the other two movements while I'm at it).
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I'm breaking my months-long silence to announce that I'm coming out of my shell!
For 10 years now, I've been posting messages on paizo.com while making sure never to post a picture of myself. For years and years, I've been posting recordings of my own piano performances, but with audio only.
But this week, for the first time, I posted actual videos of myself, so you can see me playing Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, Prelude and Fugue #2 in C-minor.
And here I am playing it again on the "harpsichord" setting of a digital piano.
Again, I didn't speed up these videos, nor edit them in any way. That's the real me, uncut and uncensored.
Incidentally, you can also hear that piece in the album I'm about to discuss (in a separate post, because despite the same piece, it's really a change of subject).
I would urge you to grab this opportunity while you have the chance: Listen to Switched-On Bach!
I've mentioned Walter Carlos before (on the first page of this thread). I loved this album as a child. I loved it as an adult. Unfortunately, it's hard to find online. Years ago, someone posted the whole first side on YouTube, and shortly thereafter, it got pulled. And I never found ANY of Carlos' other material on YouTube (except for stuff like soundtracks she wrote for movies like The Shining, A Clockwork Orange and Tron, to which she probably wouldn't hold the copyright); I guess that Wendy Carlos - or whoever currently holds the rights to that material - must jealously guard the copyright... but if that's the case, why doesn't she (or they, or whoever) sell it digitally through Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, or any place where she might profit from it?!? I don't get it.
In fact - okay, I'm drifting off the topic a bit here - I recently bought the LP, but unfortunately, my record-player sounds pretty bad, and since I lost my job, I've been reluctant to spend more money on such frivolous things. And the CD is prohibitively expensive.
My point is this: I predict it won't be long before Carlos - or whoever - finds this YouTube video also and gets it pulled. So listen to this album now while you have a chance.
Yeah, I know, it's not the best sound quality imaginable. It sounds like someone pointed a microphone at a phonograph and didn't even hold it steady. But it sounds far better than my set-up!
|
|
I'm breaking my months-long silence to announce that I'm coming out of my shell!
For 10 years now, I've been posting messages on paizo.com while making sure never to post a picture of myself. For years and years, I've been posting recordings of my own piano performances, but with audio only.
But this week, for the first time, I posted actual videos of myself, so you can see me playing Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, Prelude and Fugue #2 in C-minor.
And here I am playing it again on the "harpsichord" setting of a digital piano.
Again, I didn't speed up these videos, nor edit them in any way. That's the real me, uncut and uncensored.
Incidentally, you can also hear that piece in the album I'm about to discuss (in a separate post, because despite the same piece, it's really a change of subject).
Great playing! One of my favorites.
And I've crawled back into my shell. I decided that the video recording program I used doesn't have good enough audio quality for me (and I'm too cheap to spend any money on anything better). So I went back to audio recordings only. Here I am playing the prelude from The Well-Tempered Clavier Book 2 number 12 in F-minor on the piano and on the "harpsichord" setting of a digital piano.
I tried playing the fugue as well, but that seemed a bit too much for me.
You may remember, back in 2016, when I wrote on this thread about the F-minor one, I had to mention the C-minor one from Book 1. Here's a link to the post. So after playing the C-minor one last month, I knew I had to try the F-minor one.
And once again, I'm getting off the piano bench for a while as I wish to use my limited spare time for other hobbies. I haven't played any RPGs in over a year...
My point is this: I predict it won't be long before Carlos - or whoever - finds this YouTube video also and gets it pulled. So listen to this album now while you have a chance.
And it happened just as I had predicted. Click on that link now and you'll see:
This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Serendip LLC.
(Serendip LLC is the company Carlos set up as the owner of her copyrights and master recordings.)
I haven't been playing much piano lately. I've grown tired of performing that sort of way and turned my musical tendencies in other directions. But I still play the occasional simple ditty.
And in the five years since I started recording myself performing, I've played a lot of Bach, but I never recorded myself playing any Baroque composer other than Bach, until now. I just played something Bach DIDN'T compose...
...technically. Admittedly, the piece is widely attributed to Bach because it was in the Anna Magdalena Bach notebook, but it actually comes from the Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel opera Diomedes.
It's called Bist Du Bei Mir.
Recently, I was surprised to hear it played as a solo piano piece on the radio. I had never heard it that way before, and almost immediately set out to play it myself. Would you believe I didn't find a single solo-piano version on IMSLP?
Lately, I've been listening to the first movement of Schubert's 2nd symphony.
(Okay, that's a link to the WHOLE symphony. The 1st movement ends around 11 minutes in. But I chose that video - rather than numerous others on YouTube - because in so many performances, the first statement of the main theme begins so softly, you might not hear it if the volume isn't cranked up. This video doesn't have that problem. Yeah, I understand that it's SUPPOSED to start softly, but if you're not in a concert hall, "too soft" can be a problem.)
Does anyone here remember P.D.Q. Bach? I remember listening to my father's copy of The Intimate P.D.Q. Bach 40 years ago. A week or two ago, my brother's family gave me that very copy (because I got a turntable a few months ago). I thought it was a big deal because most of it isn't available on YouTube. Yesterday the thought hit me: It SHOULD be available on YouTube! I already uploaded several albums; why not this one? I saw one aria from "Hansel and Gretel and Ted and Alice" and the whole "Art of the Ground Round" - as well as other Vanguard P.D.Q. Bach recordings - that have been on YouTube for years and years, with no apparent trouble.
So here it is: The Intimate P.D.Q. Bach
And just in case I'm wrong - if the copyright holders complain and get the videos pulled - you might want to listen to it now, while you have the chance.
I also feel compelled to mention (although I probably shouldn't, as you might not notice it if I don't) that the audio quality isn't quite as good as it could be. I got some of my records professionally "digitized" for $5 with better results. But this time around, I got cheap and lazy, using my own makeshift equipment at home. Well, who knows? If those videos don't get pulled, and if I get lots of favorable responses, maybe I will have it professionally redone.
But then... maybe the different audio quality is a mixed blessing. In "Nelly is a Nice Girl", I can hear Schickele better than ever before. I never noticed before, but in the fast reprise, he messed up a line! The first time he was supposed to sing "Show it to him once and he will sing it through" he instead sang "He will do his duty and his duty is a doo bee doo bee..." I don't think that was deliberate; the singers in general had a hard time keeping up throughout that encore. But I think the audience noticed and laughed at it.
And I'm visible once again.
Although I'm not as serious about it as I was in the past, I still occasionally dabble in the piano. I recently uploaded this video.
Clementi's (and Kuhlau's) sonatinas may not be very virtuosic, but I feel that musically, some of them stand up well to any of Mozart's or Haydn's piano SONATAS.
|
|
Lately, I've been listening to the first movement of Schubert's 2nd symphony.
(Okay, that's a link to the WHOLE symphony. The 1st movement ends around 11 minutes in. But I chose that video - rather than numerous others on YouTube - because in so many performances, the first statement of the main theme begins so softly, you might not hear it if the volume isn't cranked up. This video doesn't have that problem. Yeah, I understand that it's SUPPOSED to start softly, but if you're not in a concert hall, "too soft" can be a problem.)
I am obsessed with the 3rd movement of that symphony. Every time I hear it, I can’t believe Schumann wrote it. It sounds more like Brahms or Dvorak to me - maybe even Bruckner.
|
|
I guess I shouldn’t drive-by post without some links.
Schumann’s slow movement from his 2nd Symphony is less surprising when one knows this incredible gem from his 3rd Symphony: LINK
As a bonus, here is a gorgeous work that was meant to be the second movement of Edward Elgar’s unfinished piano concerto: LINK
I am obsessed with the 3rd movement of that symphony. Every time I hear it, I can’t believe Schumann wrote it. It sounds more like Brahms or Dvorak to me - maybe even Bruckner.Lately, I've been listening to the first movement of Schubert's 2nd symphony.
(Okay, that's a link to the WHOLE symphony. The 1st movement ends around 11 minutes in. But I chose that video - rather than numerous others on YouTube - because in so many performances, the first statement of the main theme begins so softly, you might not hear it if the volume isn't cranked up. This video doesn't have that problem. Yeah, I understand that it's SUPPOSED to start softly, but if you're not in a concert hall, "too soft" can be a problem.)
I never thought of it that way before, but after you mentioned it, I listened to it a few times and... yeah, you could fool me into thinking that it was Brahms or Dvorak.
I already related some of this on the previous page of this thread here but you wouldn't remember after after 4 1/2 years, so I'll recap.
In the 1980s, all I saw or heard of Gilbert & Sullivan was Pirates of Penzance and HMS Pinafore. I must have listened to the former dozens of times and the latter many times. (I saw also saw Pinafore performed live and Pirates in the movie theater.)
Then in the 1990s, I watched a video of the Stratford Festival's performance of The Mikado, which you can see here and here. I loved it; I'm sure I watched it over a dozen times (and probably several dozen. I also saw it performed live once, but that wasn't the Stratford Festival). I thought the Stratford Festival brought more humor into the operetta than, perhaps, other productions did.
After the turn of the century, I wondered what else the Startford Festival did with G&S. I found more than half of their version of The Gondoliers on YouTube. I liked some of the arias on it. Unfortunately, it's not on YouTube anymore.
So I settled for D'oyly Carte. Around 2011 I listened to Iolanthe and chose a few of my favorite arias and choruses from the CDs.
In 2015, I tried Patience. (Hah!) I mentioned my favorite selections in this post.
And here's the point. This month, I got a bit nostalgic for The Gondoliers so I gave it a listen. It was the first time I heard some parts of it. Here are my favorite selections:
List and learn
We're called gondolieri
In enterprise of martial kind
Take a pair of sparkling eyes
Dance a cachucha, fandango, bolero
Once more, gondolieri (sic - the YouTube video title has a typo)
You know, maybe I shouldn't wait for years between G&S operettas. Maybe I should try another one every few months. There are so many supposedly great ones from which I've heard only a few arias, or in some cases, nothing at all. Maybe I should try Trial by Jury, The Sorcerer, Princess Ida, Ruddigore, The Yeomen of the Guard, and/or Utopia Limited.
|
|
Curious happenings...
There are certain experiences I have had in attending performances that I consider transformative - performances that made me think differently about what music can be or how it can affect people. One such occurred many years ago when I attended the final round of a youth international piano competition back in 2004. The 2nd-place finalist was a 16-year-old from Russia, and he played Prokofiev’s 2nd piano concerto with an intensity I had never encountered. The kid probably weighed 110 lbs soaking wet, and I thought he would break the piano. But it wasn’t too much - I realized that an amazing musical performance can make you forget to breathe.
Here is a performance by Yuja Wang. I highly recommend checking out the 1st movement, which is what I heard him play.
Well, I thought about that piano competition recently, and wondered what that young Russian pianist whose name I couldn’t pronounce is doing today. Through the magic of the Internet I found an article from 2004 recording the final placements of the competitors. His name is Georgy Tchaidze and he has amassed quite the reputation, doing well in competitions, playing with orchestras, and releasing albums.
I thought it might be cool to buy one of his albums, and I found one that looked interesting - music of Medtner, Prokofiev, and Mussorgsky. But then I thought, “No, the name is familiar. Do I already have something by him?” I had to search my music library and there it was - the exact album I was about to buy again. I had purchased it a few years ago without knowing I was buying an album recorded by that young pianist who made such an impression on me all those years ago!
Without further ado, here he is playing Medtner.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Months ago, I posted a video of myself playing a sonatina by Clementi. I commented about it at the time. I've been playing Clementi sonatinas since I was - what? - 9 years old or something like that. But despite the technical simplicity of those sonatinas, I feel that musically, some of them stand up to any of Mozart's or Haydn's SONATAS.
Well, pretty much all that stuff I said about CLEMENTI's piano sonatinas also applies to those of Friedrich Kuhlau. As I worked on that Clementi piece all those months ago, I kept thinking I should include a Kuhlau sonatina as well. (And I wasn't even sure of which one to choose.) But I allowed other things to get in the way, so it was months before I got around to it, but here, at long last, is Kuhlau's sonatina Opus 20 number 1.
I've ranted before that I've been posting on this website less and less often in recent years. I've now broken a new personal record by going 3 1/2 MONTHS without posting here. But I've stumped someone else with this question and I wonder if anyone else might know the answer.
I've recently discovered the music of pianist Laurens van Rooyen and listened to many of his albums. One of those albums, Kaleidoskoop, took a lot of classical pieces which van Rooyen played with heavy liberties. For instance, I instantly recognized one piece from a Partita by Bach. (In fact, it was on the fourth page of this very thread that jocundthejolly and Celestial Healer first identified the piece for me, and I talked about my own experiences in playing it on the fifth page.) Similarly, the album took one piece by Couperin, one by Debussy, one by Saint-Saens, one by Scarlatti, etc. But I can't identify all of them. I particularly liked his take on one piece:
But it's simply titled "Prelude". Does anyone have any idea what piece that is?
In the 1980s, all I saw or heard of Gilbert & Sullivan was Pirates of Penzance and HMS Pinafore. I must have listened to the former dozens of times and the latter many times. (I saw also saw Pinafore performed live and Pirates in the movie theater.)
Then in the 1990s, I watched a video of the Stratford Festival's performance of The Mikado, which you can see here and here. I loved it; I'm sure I watched it over a dozen times (and probably several dozen. I also saw it performed live once, but that wasn't the Stratford Festival). I thought the Stratford Festival brought more humor into the operetta than, perhaps, other productions did.
After the turn of the century, I wondered what else the Startford Festival did with G&S. I found more than half of their version of The Gondoliers on YouTube. I liked some of the arias on it. Unfortunately, it's not on YouTube anymore.
At last!
Somebody posted a whole lot of Stratford Festival G&S stuff on YouTube, including The Gondoliers! After all these years, I could finally watch the whole thing!
But there's more. In recent years, I had a craving to see HMS Pinafore. I watched two whole productions of it on YouTube, both with bad sound recording quality and with bad performances. Not only did many of the instrumentalists fail to play on key, but so did some of the singers - including some of those playing the major parts. So when I found the Stratford Festival production of HMS Pinafore I thought it a godsend!
And while I was at it, I watched Iolanthe Part 1 and Part 2.
I did not, however, watch Pirates of Penzance. After listening to the record (with Rex Smith, Linda Rondstadt and Kevin Kline) dozens of times in my youth, and to the CD dozens more times in my adulthood, and seeing the movie many times, I had enough of that.
Okay, I just linked you to a lot more video than you probably have time to view. And there were many times in The Gondoliers and Iolanthe when I got bored. But HMS Pinafore is worth your time. In fact, I feel the Stratford Festival shortened it too much, rushing some parts and editing out others; I'm guessing there were time constraints. But Pinafore is definitely my third-favorite G&S operetta. And if that production is too short, at least that means it will take up less of your time.
Here's my latest attempt at performing:
Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1 Prelude #6 in D minor
This time, I didn't even bother TRYING to play the fugue. I had enough trouble with the prelude, which by my standards was a real knuckle-buster!