jmc's classics
January 26 was the birthday of British cellist Jaqueline Du Pre(1945-1987) whos career was tragically cut short by multiple sclerosis. She was married to Argentine-Jewish pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim.
she is the sister of flautist Hillary Du Pre. They were subject of a movie in 1999 "Hillary and Jackie" She made many recording in her short career of both concertos and chamber music. She made several recordings each of the concertos by Dvorak and Elgar. She was knighted by the queen in 1976. Her marriage to Barenboim and her friendship with other prominent musicians such as Itzhak Perlmen, Pinchas Zuckerman and Yehudi Menuhin resulted insome memorable chamber music performances. Her career was short. Unlike Pablo Casals (1876-1973) and Mstislav Rostropovich (1927-2007). I don't have any recordings of DuPre but I have of the later two. Her sister is a flautist. There were many concerti for the flute in the Baroque and Classical periods. One of the more popular concerti from the last century is that of Carl Nielsen (1865-1931) I have a copy of that work with Herbert Blomstedt conducting the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Franz Lemmser on the Flute. Two Cello Concerti were that of Charles Marie Widor (1844-1937) and Johanes Svendsen (1840-1911) I hope that in the near future they become more popular. I have CDs of both works and unfortunately there is only one each of these works available.. Du Pre left a good amount of recordings in her short career. Most of them are with the EMI Label.
0 Comments
Today is the anniversary of the premiere of Richard Strauss' Opera Elektra (Opus #53) in 1909. It is based on a Greek Tragedy. Richard Strauss Wrote many other operas. The most famous is Der Rosenkavalier (Opus #59) which has nothing to do with Greek Mythology. It is set in Vienna in the 18th century. I am not much in to Ancient Greek mythology even though I am partly of Greek decent. I am a fan of Richard Strauss' Other works including his Violin Concerto (Opus#8) from 1881, and his two early symphonies. Written when he was still a teenager. They are not as popular. His most famous work was Thus Sparke Zarathustra(Opus
#30) which was used in the movie 2001 a Space Odyssey. I am not in to science fiction either. The Libretto was written by German Poet Hugo Hofmannsthal. Strauss also wrote Daphne (Opus#82) which is also based on a Greek Tale. I hope that The Violin concerto and early symphonies gain more popularity. The 2020 Grammys is this coming Sunday January 26. I don't watch most awards shows. There seems to be nothing interesting in the Classical nominations. There is one for Bruckner's Ninth Symphony and one for Wagner's Lohengrin. Bruckner's Ninth was left incomplete at his death. Lohengrin is too long for me to listen to. The Melody "Here comes the Bride" comes from that opera.
This is the 250th anniversary of the birth of Beethoven(1770-1827) He is one of the most famous musicians along with Mozart and J. S. Bach. There will be many activities this year to mark the occasion. My favorite works of his are his Seventh and Eighth Symphonies along with his First Piano Concerto. Georges Onslow(1784-1853) is sometimes called the "French Beethoven". He was born I France to an English Father who had fled England because of a scandal and a French mother. I don't see much similarities between the two of them. Onslow's music is largely forgotten today
There were a lot of movies about Beethoven. The most famous was Imortal Beloved from 1994 staring Gary Oldman. I have seen this movie. In my last post, I spoke of the English Horn. It is a member of the Woodwind Family. The French Horn is a member of the Brass Family. They are not related. The French horns were derived from `6th Century Hunting horns that were used by by hunters in the 16th Century
The French Horn is actually a German instrument. The English Horn or Cor Anglais is a French instrument. The English horn is more related to the Oboe. Not related to the French Horn. There are a lot of works written for the French Horn. Among them four French Horn Concerti By Mozart, two by Richard Strauss and one by Paul Hindemith plus Brahms' Trio for Horn, Piano and Violin9opus#40) among others. The French horn has a very distinctive sound. Richard Strauss' father Franz Strauss(1822-1905) was a famous French Horn player and also a composer. So was Mozart's father Leopold Mozart(1719-1787). Richard Strauss is no relation to Johan Strauss and his family. Both instruments are also part of brass bands, jazz bands and others. It is a very big part in the Canadian Brass. Actually some of the members of the Canadian Brass are actually Americans. Trumpets are also part of the Jazz band. Horns may be included in Jazz music as well as the Big Bands from the 1940's but usually do not play as important of a part. I personally like the sound of both the French Horn and the English Horn. I wiah that there would be more music written for the English Horn. The Christmas Season is over except in Russia, Serbia, Armenia and a few other places where they use the Julian Calendar. Christmas music is put away till November. In some Catholic countries it is played February 2 The Presentation of Christ.
I did purchase a new Christmas album "Cor Christmas" by Cally Banham who is the English horn player for the SLSO along with another album of hers "Tandas" which is Tangos. The Tango is an argentine dance. In this album she collaborates with other SLSO musicians. I enjoy both albums. The English Horn (aka Cor Anglais) is a woodwind instrument related to the oboe. It is not to be confused with the French Horn which is a Brass instrument. "Anglais is the French word for "English" It is considered to be a "tenor" and the oboe is considered to be a soprano in the oboe family. I personally like the sound of both the oboe and the English Horn. I wish that there would be more music written for these instruments. There are several excellent well known chamber pieces and concertos for the oboe. Especially by Cimarossa, Krommer, Mozart, R. Strauss and Vaughan-Williams. I am not familiar with Tango. It is Argentine form of music. It draws on influence of Spanish as well as German, Czech and other forms of music. Argentina like America received a lot of immigrants from Germany Czech Republic and other parts of Europe. This dance form and music has also been popular in America as well. Evedintly Ms. Banham has an interest in Tango music. I enjoy both albums. In a few months people are going to start recording Christmas albums. It typically takes a few months to produce an album. |
Archives
April 2024
Categories |