The Arts Blog (Free subscription) | 12 hours ago
I’ve signed up (it took a few seconds). You get an e-mail in return, with a link to the Berlin Philharmonic free webcast. I plan to watch. According to the e-mail, the webcast begins streaming at 4:45 p.m., our time. Simon Rattle conducts the orchestra in the Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4 by Johannes Brahms. related links: [...]
Summer is Coming In (Free subscription) | yesterday
Brahms' Symphony No. 1 is one of those rare pieces I can listen to over and over again, without ever getting bored. There's so much drama, anxiety and (eventually) affirmation in the piece that I would gladly travel abroad to hear different performances of it. So I did. Brahms' First is often mockingly called Beethoven's Tenth, so it was a fitting conclusion to Bonn's Beethovenfest last month. The...
The Classical Beat (Free subscription) | 11/06/2009
Due to earlier deadlines because of breaking news, last night's NSO review is being held for tomorrow's paper, but here's the preview version for blog readers. Edited to add: Correction: the review did make it into today's paper, but there was a delay posting it to the Web. Cheap thrills: the NSO flirts with vulgarity in Russian program by Anne Midgette Perhaps it’s due to long years of habit...
The Arts Blog (Free subscription) | 11/05/2009
The third movement of the Symphony No. 4 by Brahms, Carlos Kleiber conducting the Bayerisches Staatsorchester. There are so many good things about this performance, but one thing I especially like is the variety of tone colors Kleiber gets out of this orchestra and out of the piece. So many performances of Brahms are thick and [...]
AfriClassical (Free subscription) | 11/04/2009
[“The Brahms Recital”, Eldred Marshall] On October 25, 2009 AfriClassical posted: “AfriClassical Interviews African American Pianist Eldred Marshall.” The pianist explained that in 2008 he made two CDs which are available for $15.00 each, including shipping and handling, at his website, http://www.eldredmarshall.net/ Eldred said the first to be recorded was “Eldred Marshall:...
The Arts Blog (Free subscription) | 11/04/2009
Deutsche Bank will present a free webcast of the Berlin Philharmonic and conductor Simon Rattle performing Brahms’ Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4 as part of a promotion of the orchestra’s upcoming U.S. tour (which stops at Disney Hall on Nov. 23-24). The webcast will be streamed at 8 p.m. EST on Nov. 9 (that would be 5 p.m. [...]
Cellomania (Free subscription) | 11/02/2009
Concert Notes The best part: I played the entire " In the Hall of the Mountain King " piece at tempo with no mistakes! I've mentioned before that this piece was my first "classical" favorite - from second grade. Being able to actually play this particular piece - with its intense cello part - in my first performance with a full orchestra is a milepost of sorts in my cellomania....
Classical Iconoclast (Free subscription) | 11/02/2009
Public bookings for the Wigmore Hall new season began at midnight but by 0015 some were already sold out. So if you want to hear Angela Kirschlager in an incomparable Strauss and Wolf concert, or on Schubert's birthday, you'll have to stand in line for returns. Ditto Matthias Goewrne's continuing Schubert series. Of three concerts, one's completely gone and the others very few seats left. By the time...
Violinist.com (Free subscription) | 10/28/2009
By Bram Heemskerk: Again a violincompetition till 27 year with Paganini, Ysaye and Bach in first 2 rounds and well known pieces in the final: -Bartók: Violin Concerto No.1+2 -Beethoven: D major, Op. 61 -Brahms: D major, Op. 77 -Prokofiev: D major, op. 19+ Tsigane Ravel -Prokofiev: G minor, op. 63 -Paganini 1 -Schostakovich: A minor, op. 99 -Sibelius: D minor, op. 47 -Tchaikovsky: D major, op....
ArchitectureChicago PLUS (Free subscription) | 10/28/2009
Not that there aren't other bargains. (the 4 Brahms symphonies, with Rattle and the BPO, for $16.00), but for a penny less, iTunes is now offering Bernard Haitink's recent Beethoven cycle with the London Symphony - all nine symphonies plus the Leonore #2 and Triple Concerto, for $15.99. How could anyone resist? Check it out here:
AfriClassical (Free subscription) | 10/28/2009
[Marlon Daniel] Marlon Daniel sends us YouTube videos of about 5 minutes each of rehearsals in Prague, followed by two links to preview information for the Nov. 8, 2009 concert in New York: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqrz14stNrg Conductor Marlon Daniel shares with us the theories and music of Gustav Mahler. Observe the preparation involved for an electrifying performance by Marlon Daniel with special...
Andrew Patner: The View from Here (Free subscription) | 10/24/2009
Here is my Chicago Sun-Times and suntimes.com review of the Thursday October 22 2009 Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus concert with Riccardo Muti and vocalists Elin Rombo and Russell Braun. Muti's Brahms 'Requiem' sticks to text yet digs deep Repeats:...
Theme and Variations (Free subscription) | 10/23/2009
Which is more important – the composer or the performer? Put another way, would you rather listen to a song that you really like sung by someone you don’t like? Or would you rather hear a singer that you like sing a song that you don’t like? Which is worse? When putting together a classical music collection, should the emphasis be on the composers or the performers? Ideally, of course,...
The Opera Tattler (Free subscription) | 10/22/2009
* Notes * San Francisco Opera's Salome had a second performance last night, after opening last Sunday. Maestro Luisotti was more restrained in this than in Il Trovatore or the Brahms he conducted across the street. The orchestra never overwhelmed...
The Detritus Review (Free subscription) | 10/19/2009
"That's like asking the square root of a million. No one will ever know."*But more to the point...Elaine Schmidt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel needs a thesaurus.MSO plus Beethoven equals grandeur"How many pounds in a gallon?"Two of the three "Bs" of classical music, Beethoven and Brahms, dominated Friday evening's Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra program.Felix Blumenfeld...
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