jmc's classics
On "Exploring the Music with Bill McLaughlin" this week, they are talking about Schubert's string quartets.
He wrote 15 that still survive during his life time. he wrote a sting quintet (D956) for two each violins and cellos and one viola. He also wrote a piano quintet in A Major called "Trout" because it has themes from a song of the same name. I have CDs of the later two works. The song "Trout" or Die Forelle was based on a poem by German poet Christian Shubart (no relation). Forelle is German for trout. Some of Schubert's works have influences of Beethoven, J.S. Bach and Mozart. The final quartets of Schubert are his most popular. The 15th (D887) is described as "mysterious" by Timothy Judd of The Listeners Club thelistenersclub.com. Bruckner's Seventh symphony written roughly 60 years later has some echoes of this quartet. The 15th quartet was written in 10 days in 1826 but was not published until 1851. It was published posthumously as were some of the other pieces by Schubert. It moves in to strange new territory. Another popular quartet is the 14th Quartet (D887) called "Death and the Maiden". it is called that because the second movement has themes from a song of the same name also by Schubert (D531). it was wrttten in 1824 when Schubert's health began to take a turn for the worse and he realized that he would not get better. Schubert lived another four years and died at the age of only 31. It was first played in 1826 and was published in 1831. The song was based on a poem by German poet Matthias Claudius (1740-1815). The 13th called Rosamunde (D804) also dates from 1824. "Rosamunde" was a play in which Schubert wrote the incidental music for (D797), This is an orchestral score. It also dates from 1824. At that time Schubert switched his emphasis from song to orchestral and chamber music.
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Classical music has appeared in another commercial. This time it is music from Mozart's opera the Marriage of Figaro K492) The Nissan Rogue Run Away Bride. In it a bride runs away from her wedding. in it she states that "love is forever but not the savings". She runs away to buy a new Nissan Rogue.
The Rogue is a vehicle made by Nissan. Car companies always have strange commercials. I don't like commercials where the car dealer uses his children in the commercials. Some of the local car dealers have silly commercials. In this opera, it involves most of the same characters from The Barber of Seville. Both are based on plays by French writer Pierre Beaumarchais (1732-1799). Beaumarchais was also a confidant of King Louis xvl and Queen Maria Antoinette. Another recent opera based on these stories is the Ghosts of Versailles by Italian-American composer John Corigliano. I am not familiar with that opera either. I am not as familiar with the Marriage of Figaro as I am with Magic Flute and Don Giovani. This opera is in four acts and lasts about three hours. I have heard excerpts of it but not in its full length. I am more familiar with the Barber of Seville by Rossini. Another composer Giovani Paisiello (1740-1816) also wrote a version of The Barber of Seville. All are comic operas. I am not as much in to operas but I do like some of the comic operas. The Lord's Prayer is one of the most famous Christian prayers. Even Barbara Streisand (who is Jewish) has made a recording of it. Frank Sinatra and Leontine Price have made recordings of it. My favorite versions ar the Walter Schumann and the vocal majority versions.
June 3 was the birthday of Josephine Baker. Her original name is Frieda Josephine McDonald. She was born in 1906 in St. Louis MO. My home town. She was an African American dancer and civil rights activist. She was involved in Vaudville.
Baker was active in Paris France during the 1920's. She refused to perform in the segregated United States. Summer season is beginning. Things are getting back to normal. Hopefully things will be back to normal. There are a lot of summer concerts in the park during summer time. Sunday was the anniversary of British composer Frederick Delius' (1862-1934) first concert in his native England. The name Delius does not sound English. It sounds like a Greek or Lithuanian surname. He wrote a version of Sleigh Ride which premiered in 1888. IT is the second part of three small tone poems. It sounds similar to the version by American composer Leroy Anderson. I did not know about this version until recently. It was not premiered until 1`946-After Delius' death! The to other poems in this series depict spring and summer. Sleigh Ride depicts a sleigh passing through the country during winter. Unlike Anderson's version it does not have works to it. The works to Anderson's version do not speak of Christmas but it is played at Christmas time and Thanksgiving. There are some theories that Delius may have been paying tribute to Edvard Greig (1843-1907) who was Norwegian. I am not sure if Anderson was influenced by this piece or other works of Delius'. I do enjoy both pieces of music. Delius is probably best remembered for his Florida Suite written in the 1880'2 when he was living in Florida managing his family's orange farm. |
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