jmc's classics
January 27 is the birthday of Wolfgang Mozart (1756-1791) and Edouard Lalo (1823-1892). Mozart is one most famous of classical composers along with Beethoven and J.S. Bach. Like Richard Strauss, Mozart's father was also a great composer. Richard is not related to Johan Strauss who also came from a musical family.
Lalo was French and of ancestry. He is mainly remembered for his Symphonie Espagnole for violin and orchestra. It is in five movements and more of a concerto than a symphony. As the name suggests, it is based on Spanish themes. It dates from 1874. He wrote one surviving symphony, a cello concerto and a violin concerto. He wrote chamber music, operas and songs. I enjoy his symphony in G. As I have said the CD which I have is of the Basal Symphony Orchestra conducted by Giancarlo Andratta on the CPO label. it also features some of his other orchestral works. CPO is a German label that has produced some good recordings of lesser known composers. In 2023 will be Lalo's Bicentennial, 2022 for Cesar Franck a 2024 for Anton Bruckner. I hope that ther will be a lot of commemorations.
0 Comments
January 22 was the anniversary of the Columbia Phonograph company in 1889. It was founded in 1889 by Edward D. Easton in Washington DC. Thus is the name "Columbia" It evolved and was purchased by Sony(a Japanese company)and is a major classical label. They are owned by BMG Who also owns RCA which is another major classical label. RCA purchased Victor Talking Machine Company in 1929.
I wish that more of the early sound recordings were more available on CD etc. Dawn Wells who played Mary Anne on Gilligan's Island recently died. Only Tina Louise who played Ginger is still living. As I said last year Phil Silvers guest stared in an episode and the staged a musical based using arias from Bizet's opera Carmen and Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffman. I would like to see a Hamlet musical using those arias and other arias as a tribute to Gilligan's Island.
I don't think that Gilligan's Island would survive today. It wouldn't be considered "Politically Correct" Polynesians and Pacific Islanders would complain that it stereotypes them. And they have a right to complain. It did. I thinks some of the episodes are funny. Especially the ones where they encountered natives. The Hamlet episode and the final episode where Gilligan was forced to dress as a woman were the two funnies episodes. Carrol O'Connor was considered for the role as the skipper and Jerry Van Dyke (the younger brother of Dick Van Dyke) was considered as Gilligan. Also In All in the Family, Micky Rooney was considered to play Archie instead of O'Connor. This past week was the 50th anniversary of All in the Family. That show would not make it today either. I liked that show. However, it was one of the first TV shows to start making fun of traditional values. Today many of the TV shows and movies that come out of Hollywood make fun of traditional values and this country. It is the new year. Christmas season is almost over. Most stations except the cable seasonal channel have stopped playing Christmas music until July whne there will be Christmas in July. It is a shame that they ate not playing as much of the traditional Christmas carols.
|
Archives
April 2024
Categories |