jmc's classics
Pablo Casals(1876-1973) was on of the Greatest cellists of the 20th century. His did not play in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. He lived in Puerto Rico most of his later life. He was opposed to Francisco Franco and refused to play in countries who recognized the Franco government.
For those who saw the recent movie Jackie, He appeared in there. he played at the white house in 1961 for the Kennedys. Do did Russian cellist Mstisalav Rostropovich(1927-2007) in 1978. He recorded the Bach Cello suites, which was one of his more well known recordings. He recorded the Cello Concertos of Dvorak and Elgar. I have recordings of those works but not by Casals. My 2 favorite Cello concertos are those of Charles Marie Widor (1844-1937) and of Johan Svendsen (1840-1911) Unfortunately it looks like he did not record those works. Sadly I can only find one each recording of either work. He along with Isaac Stern Recorded Schubert's String Quintet. Stern also recorded it later with Yoyo MA. I have the later recording. He conducted Schubert's the Symphony which is on CD with the String Quintet. He was a strong supporter of the Spanish Republican Government during the Spanish Civil was. he stayed in Exile during that time and did not play in Spain. He started conducting in 1919. He did not deal much with opera. He mainly conducted with the Prades Festival Orchestra which is in France. Every four years since 2000 a festival in his honor is held in Frankfurt am Main Germany sponsored by the Kronberg Academy. Casals was also a great humanitarian he received The Medal of Freedom in 1963 from President Lyndon Johnson. . He had also played at the White House for Teddy Roosevelt. He was married twice. First to American Socialite and singer Susan Medcalf. They separated and eventually divorced. His next wife was Puerto Rican musician Marta Casals Istomin, who he married in 1957. She was 60 years his junior. After Casals' death she remarried American pianist Eugene Istomin. At this time she is still living.
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Arturo Toscanini (1867-1957) was one of the first conductors that I had heard of. My family had a 78 RPM of him conducting Mozart's Symphony 41 "Jupiter" It also had Bach's Air on a G String". I think that I still have that record somewhere Toscanini was one of the best known conductors. He had a photographic memory. His son-in -law was Russian Jewish Pianist Vladimir Horowitz ( 1903-1989) Horowitz did make some recordings with him. Toscanini was born in the Italian city of Parma. he studied cello at the local conservatory (music school) . At the age of 19 he was allowed to conduct as a fill in. he conducted from memory and amazed audiences. He conducted the New York Philharmonic from 1928-36 and had been the director of the prestigious La Scala opera house in Milan from 1898-1908 and again from 1921-1029. The NBC Symphony Orchestra was created for him in 1936. He was the first non German to conduct at the Bayreuth festival in Germany which performed Wagner's operas. he was a noted interpreter of Wagner. He also conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra in the 1940's and made some recordings with the orchestra. je was a strong Anti-Fascist and stayed put of Italy until after World War ll. he also was an advocate of music of Italian composers. he had conducted Puccini's operas. He made his first recordings in 1920. Most of his recordings were made on the RCA label. Some with EMI. RCA has released most of his recording on CD in a series which is still available. he was a good interpreter of Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Puccini Tchaikovsky and Wagner. He was not as much in to Bach. What is chamber music? The best definition is music for a small group of instruments. It originated in the 17th century when composers were hired by aristocrats to write music for them. It was played in smaller spaces by smaller groups or even one player.
More familiar forms are the string quartet, string quintet, String sextet and string octet. Also piano trio piano quartet and piano quintet. And the sonata for violin and piano and the sonata for cello and piano. Most composers have written chamber music either a string quarter or a piano trio. many such as Beethoven, Mozart and Schubert wrote a lot of it. As stated a chamber orchestra is a smaller of 50 or less players. Most of them do play chamber music. Some of them such as the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra do not have a conductor. They believe that chamber music does need a conductor or was intended for a conductor. There are several chamber music societies in America and Canada : Chamber Music Americaacmp.net, the New York based Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center chambermusicsociety.org and the Ottowa Chanber Music Society chamberfest.com to name a few. There are many famous chamber ensembles besides chamber orchestras such as the Tokyo Quartet, the Cleveland Quartet to name a few. Violinists such as Itzak pearlmen, Isaac Stern and Yihudi Menuhen anad cellists such as Pablo Casals, Mstislav Rostropovich and Yoyo Ma have all played concertos and camber music. There are many famous String Quartets and Quintets. There are 2 basic types of String Quintet: 2 violins, 2 cellos and 1 viola. The next type is 2 violins 2 violas and 1 cello. There is also a less common one for 2 violins,1 each cello and viola plus a double bass. What is the difference between a symphony orchestra, pops orchestra, philharmonic orchestra and a chamber orchestra? A symphony or philharmonic orchestra is the largest. A pops (such as the Boston Pops) usually plays more popular music instead of traditional classical music. A chamber orchestra (such as the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra) are smaller with 50 or less players and only have one or two players for each instrument except for the strings. Some chamber orchestras like Orpheus do not have a conductor.
Most major cities in America have a symphony or philharmonic orchestra. Philharmonic means love of music. The definition in several dictionaries defines the word "philharmonic" as an orchestra and it supporters and admirers. There are many independent orchestras around the world. There are orchestras that specialize in certain types of music. The New York Scandia Symphony nyscandia.org . Which specializes in music of Scandinavian Composers. Also the Great Brittan based Academy of Ancient Music aam.co.uk which deals with Baroque Music. One of the most famous chamber orchestras is the London based Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. It is called that because when it was organized in 1958 they used the Anglican church of St. Martin in the Fields asmf.org. it was founded by the late Neville Mariner who was its main conductor until his death last year. The current conductor is American born Joshua Bell. They originally specialized in Baroque music. Now they do music of all periods. The most famous orchestra in America is the New York Philharmonic One of the "Big 5' (the other 4 are the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra). They are based at The Lincoln Center in New York and had been at Carnegie Hall. It dates from 1842. it was led by Leonard Bernstein America's most famous conductor for many years. I remember the Young People's concerts from TV when I was a child. Another famous conductor was the Italian Arturo Toscanini (1867-1957) who was the father in law of pianist Vladimir Horowitz (1903-1989). Toscanini was one of the more famous conductors. The NBC Symphony Orchestra was created especially for him in 1936. This orchestra played radio broadcasts on the NBC Network. many of them are now on recording. Toscanini and the NBC Orchestra were one of the first orchestras and conductors that I had heard of. My family had a 78 rpm of him conducting Mozart's Symphony 41 "Jupiter". Toscanini retired in 1954 and died in 1957. The NBC Orchestra existed for a few more years under the name "Symphony of the Air" then it disbanded. Max Bruch (1838-1920) was a contemporary of Brahms, Saint-Saens and Tchaikovsky. He was German and
Lived in Scotland and England. He is mainly known today for his first Violin Concerto (Opus26), (he wrote 3), His Scottish Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra (opus46) and Kol Nidrei for Cello and Orchestra(Opus 47) He wrote several other works for solo violin and orchestra, 3 symphonies, 2 string quartets among other works. He also wrote choral works and songs. He wrote an early symphony form his younger years which is lost. Kol Nidrei is a Jewish prayer for Yom Kipper. He was neither Scottish or Jewish. This along with Tchaikovsky's Andante Cabitalle and Nocturne along with Richard Strauss' Romance for Cello and Orchestra are some of my favorite pieces as well as the more popular short pieces for solo cello and orchestra. his 2 most famous works are his first Violin Concerto and Scottish Fantasy. He wrote 2 other Violin concertos. His second Violin Concerto (opus44) has achieved some popularity. He wrote a 3rd Violin Concerto (opus 58) in 1891 which has been described as a "musical unicorn" because it has never been played. There are myths about unicorns. On Arkivmusic.com It only lists 7 recordings of the 3rh, 16 of the second and 126 of the first. Both the 2nd and 3rd are in the D minor key. According to the Wikipedia article on the 3rd, program notes for a 2013 performance of the first Violin Concerto by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, existence of a third concerto was denied. His slightly older contemporary Frenchmen Camille Saint Seans (1836-1921) also wrote 3 violin concertos. His 3rd is his best known. As Stated Kol Nidrei is a Hebrew prayer for the Yom Kippur. Perry Como has sang and recorded the Kol Nidrei in Hebrew. I like Perry Como's music. He made some good Christmas recordings. he did a good rendition of The Lords' Prayer and Schubert's Ave Maria. He wrote very little chamber music. Two String Quartets published in his lifetime. Several works near the end of his life published posthumously: A octet, String quintet and a piano quintet. he also wrote a Venetian Serenade. He was a stuffy German. He was Protestant. Because of his work Kol Nidri there was a misconception that he was Jewish. As a result his music was banned in Nazi Germany. His operas and choral music is not popular. I have checked on Arkivmusic.com and I can not find any recordings of any of his operas. meBruckner's music was and to this day is sometimes not understood by people who are not as familiar with it. As I had said, At a St. Louis Symphony orchestra concert a lot of the audience walked out during the performance of one of his symphonies. Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) was born in rural Austria near the city of Linz and lived much of his life in Vienna. Classical Music critic Bill Parker said that Bruckner today might be "labeled and idiotic savant" He never married and often proposed marriage to teenage girls on his first meeting. He was and admirer of Wagner. He reportedly tipped a conductor at the rehearsal of one of his symphonies. There are many other anecdotes about Bruckner.
He was an organist. He wrote compositions for organ. He taught organ as well as counterpoint and harmony at the Vienna Conservatory. His success as a composer varied throughout his lifetime. like many composers his music is appreciated more after his death than during his lifetime. He wrote 9 numbered symphonies plus 2 earlier symphonies that he did not intend to publish: Study Symphony and symphony 0. His symphonies are long usually lasting over an hour. Many his symphonies are slow and can be boring. My personal favorite symphony of his is the 3rd Symphony. The version that I have is the one with Kurt Masur conducting the New York Philharmonic on the Teldec label. Masur did a good version of Bruckner's symphonies on this label. The most famous of his symphonies are the 4th "Romantic" and the 8th. In the 9th he knew that he would not complete it he suggested that his Ten Deum could be used as a completion of the 9th on his deathbed. There have been several attempts to complete the 9th. It did not premiere until 1903. One anecdote about Bruckner is that he only wrote one symphony 9 times instead on 9 symphonies. He wrote a string quartet and quintet. Plus and Intermezzo for Quintet and a Rondo for Quartet. My personal favorite Bruckner work is the Intermezzo. I am a fan of his Intermezzo. I have heard several good versions of this work. The version I have is by the fine Arts Quartet with Gil Sharon on the second Viola. This and the quintet were written in 1886 around the time of his 5th and 6th symphonies. His quartet was composed in 1862 (the year of Claude Debussy's birth) however, it was not heard until after Bruckner's death. Many of Bruckner's symphonies sound similar. However, I find that the chamber music that he wrote does not sound like his symphonies. There is a certain sound to his symphonies. They reflect his native Austria and the Alps most of them typically last over an hour. I find his symphonies and chamber music very relaxing and soothing. Belgian -French composer Cesar Frank (1822-1890) has been compared to Bruckner. he also was a teacher and wrote organ music. He only wrote 1 symphony (Symphony in D). He is mainly known for this and his version of Panis Angelicus which is part of the Catholic services. French composer Alberic Magnard(1865-1914) is referred to as the "French Bruckner" Magnard was tragically killed during World War l. I have a CD of his 1st and 3rd Symphonies. They are both shorter. I see no paralels between the two men's lives. Magnard was married while Bruckner never married. Obscure French composer Georges Onslow (1784-1853) is often called the "French Beethoven". Again, I see no parallel with the 2 of them. George Solti, Lenard Bernstein and Herbert Von Karajan were all good interpreters of Bruckner's symphonies. TherAs I said earlier, Beethoven is remembered for his 5th and 9th Symphonies-2 of the most famous compositions along with Rossini's William Tell, Handle's Messiah and several other pieces. Schubert wrote a 5th and 9th Symphony. His best known is his 8th "Unfinished". He completed 2 movements and a few bars of a 3rd. His main known work is his rendition of Ave Maria. Ave Maria is a Catholic prayer the Hail Mary. It was set to music by many other composers. Max Bruch, Luigi Bocherichini, Francis Poulenc and Giuseppi Verdi among others. Max Bruch a German was not even Catholic. He was Lutheran. Bruch is one of the lesser known composers. He is mainly remembered for his Violin concerto #1 and Scottish Fantasy for Violin and orchestra. His name sounds to much like Brahms, Bruckner Bach and Brittan. Bruckner and Mahler also wrote unfinished symphonies. Their deaths caused them to remain unfinished. Not Schubert's however. Schubert just put the score aside to work on other pieces. I like Bruckner's music. His symphonies are long and can be considered boring. A few years a ago a lot of the audience was walking out of a performance of one of his symphonies (I forget which one). His music for some bay be boring and difficult to understand. I like his 3rd Symphony and Intermezzo for String quintet. He wrote the intermezzo, one each string quintet and quartet plus a rondo for string quartet. He also wrote a lot of religious music. He like Schubert was a devout catholic and lived in Vienna. Schubert's music is listed as "D" instead of Opus. D is German for Deutsch. He wrote many works Songs or lieder. He wrote chamber music, operas and several settings for the Catholic Mass. His most famous chamber music is his string Quintet (D956) Piano Quintet "Trout"(D667) and String Quarter 'Death and the Maiden" (D810). Today Schubert's operas are not as popular. He only lived 31 years (1797-1828) He was born the same year as Geatano Donizetti who out lived him by almost 20 years. He was the son of a teacher and he himself also taught. My 2 favorite symphonies of his are the 9th in C (D944) the Great and the 5thin B (D485). the 9th is Called Great to distinguish it from his 6th also in C (D589) or the Little Symphony. The 9th is the longest lasting 45 minutes to an hour. The 5th is the shortest lasting 20-25 minutes. The 5th is charming and almost Motzartian in essence. The second movement (Andante con Moto) is very charming. The second movement along with the first movement (Modereto) of Dvorak's String Serenade ( Opus 22) are very relaxing and I especially enjoy these movements. Schubert's early symphonies are not as popular as the 5th, 8th and 9th. but the do along with the 6th have a certain charm to them. The 4th is labeled "Tragic". Gustav Mahler's 6th Symphony is also labeled "Tragic" and he also wrote an unfinished 10th symphony. "Mahler (1860-1911) used voice for his 2-4 and 8th symphonies. I am not that much in to his music. Some of it sounds too depressing. Much of the 5th symphony has influence of Mozart and sounds like Mozart might have wrote it. There are no trumpets or percussion in this symphony. It dates from 1816 when Schubert was only 19. There was no 7th Symphony from Schubert. Only a few sketches. There may have also been a short sketch of a 10th by Schubert. His 6th Symphony (D589) is from 1818 it has trumpets but no trombones. It is not as mature as the the 9th but it is just as good. It has many of the themes of Schubert's overtures and may be Italian in spirit. he wrote several overtures. His 3rd and 4th Symphonies are also nice and should be listened to. I like the second movement "Allegretto" form his 3rd symphony. The 3rd lasts around 22 minutes and the 4th lasts about a half hour. Both would be good concert pieces at a symphony orchestra concert with one ore two longer works. The 9th Symphony is said to have themes and connections to Beethoven's 9th symphony. Beethoven died about a year before Schubert. Contrary to popular belief their are Claccical Grammy awards grammy.com. The awards is set for February 12. About a month away from now just before Valentines Day. I have seen the list of nominations. There are many composers whos names I don't recognize Best contemporary clasical has some interesting nominations. One interesting looking album is Michael Daughert's "Tales of Hemingway" on the Naxos lable. I have never been a fan of Hemingway. He was not a good role modle. He was given a Novel Prize for Literature in 1954. there were other people more deserving. I have only read one story of his "A Farewell to Arms" over 30 years ago in a literature class that I did not do good in and did not want to take. Another interesting looking one is Bates: 'Anthology of Fantistic Zoology".
In the Best classical Compendium another album by Daugherty based on Hemingway "Tales of hemingway; american Gothic; Once upon a Castle is nominated. Vaughn Williiams Discoveries on the Albion lable is listed. I am a fan of Ralph Vaugn_Williams (1872-1958), and Zappa 200 Motels on the Universal Lable. I would asume that it is Frank Zappa. The Father of Moon Unit Zappa. For Best Opera Handle's "Giulio Cesare" (Julius Cesare) on the Decca lable is listed is listed along wiht John Corigliano's "The Ghosts of Versailles" Handle's operas are not popular today. The Operas of his time were different. During Handles's time untill the end of the 18th century female rollse were sung by the Castrati (aka male supranos). This was also done in theater. In the Movie "Shakespear in Love" with Gweneth Paltrow there is a referene to males playing female parts. We will see in a month which albums get the Grammys. Opera is considered classical music. so is ballet. One of the first operas that I had heard of is Barber of Seville (Il Barber Di Seville) which was on a 78 RPM. My dad had some records of Enrico Caruso and Feodore Challiapin. They were early opera singers at the dawn of recording. Everybody has heard of the "3 Tenors" A Tenor is a range of voice. I have heard some of the Recordig of opera Singers from when recordings came out. No offense to any body is a decendent of any of these people but they do not stack up to the singers of today. Their voices sounded different. They would probably not make it if they were around today. Most of them had heavy accents.
Barber of seville is a comic opera of the Bel Canto tradition. It was written by Rossini (1792-1868) Who also wrote the William Tell Overture of Lone Ranger fame. Barber of Seville has one of the mst famous aris "Figero" it was played on one of the Bugs Bunny films. Loony Toons also used classical music. Bel Canto means 'beautiful singing". It is an Itlaian word. many music terms are of Italian origin. Bel Canto was a movement of sorts in opera in the 18th and 19th centuries in Italy it deltmainly with comic opera. Another composer who delt with Bel Canto was Geotin Donnizetti (1797-1848) His most famous opera was Lucia Di lamimore which was based on a novel by Scotish writer Sit Walter Scott. He wrote many other operas also wrote symphonies and string quartets. Vincinzio Bellini (1891-1835) also wrote in the Bel Canto tradition. For more on Bel Canto see the article on Bel Canto in Wikipedia. Opera also involves a lot of sex and fighting. Some operas could be rated "R" or "X". and some people think that rock and roll lyrics are bad. Opera has nothing to do with soap operas. They name came about because in the 1920's readio shows of this type were sponsored by soap companies. I have never been in to soap operas. Wagner(1813-1883) and Verdi (1813-1901) were important opera compsers in the 19th century. Their operas were more realistic and more complicated than earlier operas. Various countries in Europe in the 18th and 19th centruies developed their own types of opera. In the late 19th century a form of opera called "operetta" began to emerge and become popular. they were also called "lite operas". They were not as log or complicated. The plot is more make believe and were not of a serious nature like the longer operas. Parts of the dialogue is sometime spoken instead of sung. Today operettas are not as popular. The operetta is a forrunner to the musicals that we have today. Musicals are completely differeent than operas or operettas. Among the important operetta composers were Franz Lehar (1870-1948), Jaques Offenbach (1818-1881) and Johan Strauss Jr. (1825-1899). Many opera and operetta aries are still popular today without being heard as part of the entire opera. La Donna e Mobile is part of Rigeletto by Verdi adn is one of the most famous opera aries. In the Movie Trading Places with Eddie Murphy and Dan Akroid, the overture form "The Merriage of Figero is played at the beginning. Dan Akroids caracter has tickets for La Bohemme(I assume that it is the Puccini version. Rugerio Leoncavello also wrote a version of La Bohemme). Another favorite movie of mine is The Burbs with Tom Hanks. There is a sceen where Quest un Quella also form Rigeletto is played. It sounded like an old recorcing. Who was singing it? It was not Enrico Caruso or John McCormack. Happy 2017! let's hope it's a good one!
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