jmc's classics
There is a lot of classical music used in films. I have seen the recent film "Tesla" about the faomous Serbian inventor of the same name. It uses the third movement of Brahms Second Piano Concerto (Opus#85). THe movie stars Ethan Hawke as Tesla, Kyle MacLeach as Thomas Edison, James Gaffigan as George Westinghouse and Anne Hewson as Anne Morgan the daughter of J.P. Morgan.
I am not going to give a review of the movie. It mainly focuses on Tesla's rivalry with Thomas Edison. It talks about his invention of alternating current. It talks about his relationship with financier J. P. Morgan etc. Anne Morgan narrates parts of this movie. it does not make sense because she is in the hear and now. Nicola Tesla (1856-1943) was born in present day Croatia then part of the Austria-Hungary Empire to SErbian parents. He studied engineering etc. He was the son of a Serbian Orthodox priest who wanted for Nicola to also be a priest. The car company Tesla is named for him. He never married. Brahms wrote two Piano concertos. The Second is in four movements instead of the standard three movements that concertos: Allegro non troppo, Andante and Allegretto appassionato. It lasts about 50 minutes. Frequently it is considered "The greatest Piano concerto along with his First piano concerto(Opus#15). The others oar those of Beethoven, Chopin, Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky. The version I have of the Second is of Vladimir Ashkenazy conducting the London Symphony Orchestra on the London label. This is the same label the the Rolling Stones used. It dates from 1878-81. It is in the B Major key. There are several other excellent recordings of this work. The first is from 1855. it lasts around 50 movements: Maestoso, Adagio and Rondo: Allegro non troppo. It is in the D minor key. The version that I have is with Krystian Zimerman on the piano with Leonard Berbstein conducting the Vienna Philharmonic. This is on the Deutsche Grammophon label. Both concertos are very popular.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
April 2024
Categories |