For those of you who are interested, here’s the recording I made after eight piano lessons at OC Music and Dance community arts school in Irvine. Eight Lessons Later: The Recording. OC Music and Dance Blog, Sept. 18, 2017.
Listen to this: Rondo
As we discussed in a previous post on the Minuet, classical music doesn’t always have to be as hard as it seems to be. With some simple listening tips, the arcane (seeming) can often become clear. Let’s take a look
Audio: Prokofiev ‘Scythian Suite’
When I was in college, a brass player majoring in music, the Chicago Symphony set the gold standard for brass playing, and my fellow music students and I always listened to their records with mouths agape. I was reminded of
Video: The lighter side of classical music: Jacques Casterede’s ‘Menage a trois’
I love humor in music. This in on the broader side of the spectrum, but nonetheless it’s very well done and the music is snappy. Listen to Jacques Castérède’s “Ménage à trots” performed by Par Ibban Malonga, Loann Fourmental et Théa de
Miscellany
(Curated classical music news and views from around the internet.) A classical music festival in Rhode Island goes horribly wrong…. Kiri Ti Kanawa confirms her retirement from singing…. Another Proms season — the 123rd — is in the books…. Meet
Audio: Beethoven Symphony No. 5, III. Allegro
Glenn Gould plays the scherzo from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in the transcription by Franz Liszt. Initially, Gould’s tempo may seem too slow, but it works quite well over the long haul I think.
Previn cancels
André Previn, who was scheduled to conduct the Pacific Symphony in three concerts in October, marking his return to Southern California as a performing musician after more than two decades, has cancelled. The 88-year-old musician has withdrawn from the concerts
Pacific Symphony 2017-18 classical season: A brief overview
By TIMOTHY MANGAN One of the more interesting discussions going on in the world of symphony orchestras these days, well into the second decade of the 21st century, concerns the matter of programming. What, exactly, can an American symphony orchestra
Audio: Beethoven: Symphony No. 5, first movement
Here’s one of the earliest recordings of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, with Arthur Nikisch conducting the Berlin Philharmonic in 1913. Don’t let the primitive sound put you off; it’s a fascinating interpretation, notable for its extremely flexible approach to tempo. Carl
Classical cover: Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2
In 1945, a theme from the third movement of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 (played Saturday) was turned into a popular song called “Full Moon and Empty Arms,” which over the years has been recorded by Frank Sinatra, Eddie Fisher,