jmc's classics
As I have stated I live in St. Louis. However I do not follow the St. Louis Blues. I am more in to baseball. Hockey is a Canadian game. Most hockey players are Canadian Nationals. I hope that the Blues go all the way.
The theme song is "Gloria" by the late Laura Brannigan (1952-2004). I with that the Blues would make "Band of Gold by Freeday Payne, "Baby Go all the Way' by the Raspberries or Schubert's Great Ninth Symphony (D944) as their theme song instead of Gloria. That would make it more exciting!
0 Comments
It is almost memorial Day. I am trying to order some CDs through Arkiv Music and I have problems contacting them via e-mail they do not have a phone number listed.
Memorial Day is coming up. I miss the Gypsy Caravan which was the SLSO's main money making event. I got to see an eclectic mix of eccentric people there.
I have a Facebook page. I am not in to it. However I found a link to an article in the New Yorker Magazine about Willhelm Furtwangler newyorker.com
Furtwangler(1886-1954) was a German conductor. He was the conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra from 1922-1945 and again from 1952-1954. He was one of Hitler's favorite conductors. There is a lot of controversy about him. I have a CD of him conducting Bach's St. Matthew's Passion. He was also a composer. He wrote several symphonies. His works are not as known. I am not familiar with his music. I can't type the article out. Evidently, some of his recordings he made the war years are being released on CD. In those days many orchestras played on the radio. TV was just getting started. It would not take off until after the war. It is an interesting article. It mainly talks about the recent release of the box set of CDs of his wartime recordings. It must also be noted that the recording technology at that time is primitive compared to what we have today. If you listen to older recordings you will know the difference. I have heard some of his other recordings. Check it out. Also, as I have mentioned before many of the artisans of that period had to tow the like and cooperate with the government if not they would be in trouble. That was the same in the communist countries. He was the most important conductor to have remained in Germany during the third Reich years. Evidence shows that he was not an Anti-Semite. He was also the principal conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra from 1922-26. Also he served as a guest conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic. He first considered himself a composer and started conductiong to conduct his own works. His father was Adolph Furtwengler (1853-1907)who was a famous German archaeologist. The article is very interesting. I attended the second to last concert of the SLSO of the season yesterday. The program included Esa-Pekka Salonen's Nynx, Maurice Ravel's Sheherazade and Hector Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. Isreale Soprano Rinat Shaham was the soloist for Sheherazade. Conuctor designate Stephane Deneve conducted the orchestra. He wore a St. Louis Blues jersey for the introduction where he spoke of the program for the evening. Salonen (1958-) is a Finnish composer conductor. Nynx was a figure in Greek Mythology. She was the mother of sleep and death. This piece is about this charter in Greek mythology. Salonen also shows influence from German writer Frederick Nietzsche (1844-1900).
Ravel's Sheherazade is based on Arabian legends. Ravel (1875-1937) is known for his Bolaro which was used in the movie Ten. He was fascinated with Ancient Greece. He wrote music about ancient Greece. This is a song cycle which I have never heard. Nickoli Rimski-Koriskoff also wrote a piece called Sheherazade. The Ravel work is a song cycle. Which is a group of songs. This piece also has some influences of Debussy. I had not heard this piece before. The finale piece on the program was Hector Berlioz's(1803-1869) Symphonie Fantastique which was the only piece that I was familiar with. It dates from 1827. it is about an unnamed artists obsession with a woman. It may have been based on his obsession with an actress around the same time. Berlioz was a fan of Shakespeare. He wrote several works base on Shakespeare's works. It is in five movements: Passions, A Ball, Scene in the countryside, March of the Scaffold and Witches Sabbath. This work was considered groundbreaking for its time. This piece is often compared to the effects of opium in a dream. the copy of this work that I have is of Charles Munch conducting the Orchestra of Paris on the EMI label. In 1831 Berlioz wrote a wequel "Lelio ou Le Retour a la Vie or Lelio the retrun to life. I have not heard this work. THe season starts up again in September. I was at the May Third Coffee Concert. The program featured Samuel Barber's First Symphony (Opus#9), Jeff Beal's song cycle "Paper Lined Shack which was the world premier and Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony "Pathetic" (Opus#74). It was conducted by Leonard Slatkin the former conductor of the SLSO.
The first two composers are American. Samuel Barber (1910-1981) was born in Pennsylvania and was a nephew of operatic contralto Louise Homer. Jeff Beal (1963- ) is best known for his soundtrack for the TV show "House of Cards" which I have not yet seen. Barber is best known for his "Adagio for Strings" (Opus #11) which is taken from his only string quartet. It has a dirge like sound and was played on the radio at the deaths of Presidents Roosevelt and Kennedy and on September 11, 2001. Tomaso Albioni (1671-1751) also wrote an Adagio for Strings. Barber's first Symphony is in one movement and lasts about 20 minutes. it dates from 1936. Like the Adagio it dates form his 20's The opening them of this work is the glue for the rest of it. This is a very lyrical piece of music. Jeff Beal is contemporary. I had never heard of him before. This song cycle was commissioned by the SLSO in honor of Leonard Slatkin's 50th anniversary with the SLSO. It is based on some passages form his Great Grandmother's diary when she was unpacking boxes for a move. It is for soprano and orchestra. The soloist was Hila Pltimann. The final piece was Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony also known as "Pathetic" It was also his final work. I have a copy of this work with Charles Munch conducting the Boston Symphony orchestra. Which is coupled with Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet overture. Tchaikovsky died a few days after the world premier of this work. He originally entitled it as "Passionate" It is one of a gloomy nature. It is in four movements" Adagio: Allegro non troppo, Allegeo con grazia, Allegro molto vivace and Adagio lametoso. The final movement is somewhat gloomy in nature. The cause of Tchaikovsky's Death is still unknown. There was a song in the 1940's by Mann Curtis and All Hoffman called "The Story of a Starry Night" which was popularized by Glenn Miller which has themes form the Sixth Symphony. This work also plays a role in British writer (E. M. Forster's(1879-1970) novel "Maurice".. It is also on the video Game Pandora's Tower. Overall I liked the concert. I am not familiar with the first two composers but am with Tchaikovsky. I like Sixth Symphony. However I like the Fourth and Fifth Symphonies (Oppuses 36 and 46) better. That is just my opinion. |
Archives
April 2024
Categories |