jmc's classics
Memorial Day is supposed to be a somber day remembering those who have gave their lives for the country. Not about sales etc. This should not be a time for sales. It should be more somber. Labor Day should be later in September so summer can be Longer!
I don't wish people "Happy Memorial Day". Instead I say "have a good Memorial Day". This I don't consider to be a happy day. I am not in to Labor Day, Columbus Day or even New years Day. Veterans Day is also very important to me.
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There are a lot of classical crossover music. The Italian song O Solo Mio is translated "It's Now or Never" which was recorded by Elvis Presley. there are many Opera songs that have hit the pop charts. Michael Bolton recorded an album of opera arias.
The Canadian Brass has recorded albums of classical music including Baroque Music. I have two of their albums. Including one of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. The Four Seasons is a series of violin concertos. This is one of the most iconic pieces of classical music. There are five classical pieces that I would like to hear being played by a brass band, jazz band big band or on electric guitar: The second movement of Schubert's Fifth Symphony (D485 andante con Moto), The First Movement of Dvorak's String Serenade (Opus#22 Moderato), The Second Movement of Scriabin's Piano concerto (Opus#20 Andante), the Second Movement of Richard Strauss' Violin Concerto (Opus #8 Lento) and Mozart's Adagio and Fugue (K546). These would be interesting to hear. I do like big band and some jazz music. Big band or swing was popular in the 30's and 40's. It is a form of Jazz Music. jazz is considered and American original art form. Many Jazz musicians were originally trained as classical musicians. It is usually associated with saxaphones, trumpets and the bass violin. It originated in New Orleans. Yoyo Ma is one of the Most recognizable classical musicians today. He has been the foremost cellist of the world since the death of Mstislav Rostropovich 10 years ago. Like Renee Fleming he also dabbles in pop and other forms of music such as Bluegrass! He also plays traditional Chinese music. Bluegrass is a type of Country Music associated with Kentucky. It is called "Bluegrass" because Kentucky has so called blue glass.
I have several of his Cd's . He has collaborated with many other classical soloists and orchestras. He has won many Grammies in the classical field. He has a large classical repitoire. He was born in Paris France in 1955 to Chinese parents. The family moved to America when he was seven. He was a child prodigy. He has played for Most US presidents since Eisenhower. He was at Obama's first inauguration. He has studied at Julliard in New York which is one of the top conservatories in America. he is also a goodwill ambassador and a humanitarian. There are a lot of good classical music pieces that are not as popular. There are two cello concertos that tragically are not popular. The ones of Charles M arie Widor (1844-1937)(Opus#41) and that of Johan Svendsen (1840-1911) (Opus#7) Both works are beautiful. I can only find one CD each of each one. I wish would consider recording these works. Widor was knonw mainly for his organ works. Svendsen was mainly known as a violinist. Ma has recorded many recent classical works such as the works by Danielpour, Kirchner and Rouse which was recorded with the Philadelphia Orchestra for the Sony label and I am listening to now as I wright this article. Ma is also a great humanitarian good will ambassador. He has played for many of the US presidents regardless of their party. He has appeared on Sesame Street with Elmo. personally I like Cookie Monster the best. The Classical music superstars of today have to branch out to other genres of music and be humanitarians. When I was younger I thought of classical musicians as far off distant people. They are not like rock stars who seem to be on drugs and have their lives followed by the tabloids. Renee Fleming is retiring from Renee Fleming is retiring from the stage. She sang her last role at the met last week. Her most famous role is that of Marcelina in Der Rosencavelier by Richard Strauss. I am not familiar with this opera although I am a fan of Richard Strauss. I love his violin concerto.
Fleming also sang pop music and jazz. Like many opera stars and other classical musicians of this day they do other forms of music. She also sang Italian and Russian opera. Many of the Opera singers of old only did roles from their own country or language group. Christos Anesti!-Anethos Anesti! Christ has Risen!-Truly He has Risen!
I wish that somebody would create a Rock and Roll version of Bach's St. Matthew and St. John Pasions plus his Easter Oratorio. This would sound awesome! The Metropolitan Opera is one of the most storied opera houses in the world. It is in its second location. Which opened in 1967 at Lincoln center. The first location dates from 1883. La Scala in Milan Italy is another famous and maybe more prestigious opera house.
There are many stories and anecdotes about the Metropolitan Opera. It is relatively new compared to La Scalla and the Paris Opera Etc. The Paris Opera is the setting of the Phantom of the Opera. I have never seen the current musical. Personally I like the 1943 version with Claude Rains much better. It opens with music form Leoncalello's Pagliacci and Flotow's Martha. The Metropolitan Opera has the Opera Guild and several other Support organizations. The Web page for the Metropolitan is metopera.org. This sight has a lot of useful information on opera. They also publish a magazine which my subscription has long run out. Since 1931 they have had live broadcasts on Saturday afternoons. For a long time they were sponsored by Texaco. I usually work on Saturdays but sometimes I have had the chance to listen to the them. Texaco(now Texaco-Chevron) sponsored them form 1939 to 2005 The two most famous announcers were Milton Cross (1931-1975) and Peter Allen (1975-2004). They are still broadcast today on many stations and through XM. Check on the link for more information. They are now located at Lincoln center with the New York Philharmonic. The New York Philharmonic has not been at the famous Carnegie hall for many years. |
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