Today all day...
What's Playing In Realtime
WHAT'S PLAYING IN REALTIME
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Monday, February 11, 2013
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Friday, February 8, 2013
All things French...
highlights of the day...
Gounod's Faust
Arizaia, Te Kanawa, Nesteremko under Davis' baton...
Poulenc's Les Dialogues Des Carmelites
From Alla Scala 2004 with Muti conducting a wonderful ensemble cast...
Poulenc's La Voix Humane
Magda Olivero Live from Dallas
Berlioz's Benvenuto Cillini
Cioffi, Di Donato, Kunde Dir: Nelson
Night Music:
Fauré – Complete Songs With Gérard Souzay & Elly Ameling
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Old Vs. New
Lorenz and Domingo...Can they be compared?
The Old - Max Lorenz
The New - Placido Domingo
Two female legends Kristen Flagstad & Zinka Milanov to intermittently accompany these wonderful boys...
Our Back2Back Opera continues the theme and these great artists...
Verdi - Ernani.
Wagner - Tristan Und Isolde
Plus Two interesting works I pemiere today...
Korngold - Der Ring Das Polykrates
Lenngaard -Antikrist
Night Music
The Music of Friedrich Nietzsche
Henry Purcell's Ten Sonatas in Four Parts
The Very Best Of Bottesini
Zemlisky's Lyrische Symphonie
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Today In Pictures
Morning Music
Joseph Kosma - Chansons
Terezin - Theresienstadt
Prokofiev - Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 3
Babk2Back Opera & Interlude
Verdi - I Masnadieri
Massenet - Werther
Strauss - Arabella
Wagner - Wesendonk Lieder
Janácek - Jenufa
Wagner - Tannhäuser
Mussorsky - Boris Godunov
Night Music
Poulenc - The Complete Chamber Music
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Today
Back2Back Opera
In our back2back opera session which starts round noon we have some very interesting and wonderful treats...
Verdi
La Traviata
With: Pilar Lorengar, Giacomo Aragall, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Dir: Lorin Maazel.
Talk about something whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This recording is something of an odd paradox. It has tended to be rather overlooked by distributors, somewhat dismissed by critics - and adored by music lovers. The recording was made while this cast was in the midst of of a run of performances in Berlin - and it shows. Though a studio set, an immediacy and frisson of live performance crackles throughout. Lorengar's fluttery vibrato is not to all tastes, DFD is not, in the eyes of many, a Verdi singer. But somehow, Lord, this all just works, and works beautifully. The baritone's timbre reeks of patrician elegance, which, as contrasted with Lorengar's earthy timbre, makes the class conflict of the second act achingly true. Her Violetta is heartfelt and heartbreaking and Aragall's dark, manly timbre makes for a deeply satisfying Alfredo. The comprimari are delightful. The conducting is propulsive, alive, and dramatically resonant throughout. One can point to all sorts of deficits (with validity) to each vocal and instrumental contribution, however although individual elements are not each in of themselves the best out there the end result here is, oddly, what is possibly the most enjoyable overall of the many recordings of the opera. Certainly one can point to a number of other classic sets, with more idiomatic casts. One can adore Callas, Scotto, Sills, Cotrubas, Zeani (and I do, all of them) or the superior leadership offered by the Serafins, Mutis, Karajans and Kleibers of the world; but if I had to grab one Traviata as I ran from a burning building, it just might be this one. An excellent set and one of my top favorite opera recordings.
Donizetti
Anna Bolena
With: Elena Suliotis, Marilyn Horne, Nicolai Ghiaurov Dir: Silvio Varviso.
I think of Suliotis as of somebody else than "the new Callas" of the years 1965-1971, as she was sort of hailed at that time. Yes, she did sing several famous Callas roles and yes, she shared a good deal of Callas' artistic temperament, but I think that she deserves an independent appraisal, in which her voice and singing should be evaluated for their intrinsic qualities - good and bad. Suliotis was an unusually exciting, energetic and involved singer with a lovely and generally smoothly produced dramatic soprano timbre, most fabulous contralto-like low notes, a certain degree of vocal agility, an often brilliant knife-like attack on high notes, and a most luminous and exquisite pianissimo singing in which notes, superbly linked together and produced with absolute purity, sounded like an aural equivalent of a delicate string of finest pearls exuding a life of their own. Her dynamic shading was no less impressive, and the often noble and touching character she was able to bring to music, the fiery artistic temperament and vivid involvement with text should never be discounted.
On the other hand, she did lack a proper bel canto technique (inability to trill, uneasy and studied passagework, lack of polish or even precision in melismas, etc.) or a solid vocal training, for that matter. At times, one can clearly hear that notes are not certainly placed or ideally focused, she lacks good breath control and thus tend to "chop" certain long phrases, the tone can sound hollow and glassy, without proper support (especially in the middle register), the top is occasionally wiry and edgy, some of the high notes are unabashedly scooped... and so on. However, in my personal view, these flaws are generally balanced by the many rare qualities Suliotis generously displayed in her all too brief prime. Few singers have had that particular type of sound matched with an unusual artistic temperament - the soprano was a rara avis indeed - so, in retrospect, one should perhaps be more tolerant of the shortcomings.
It is such a pity that she burnt out so quickly. But I guess this was the price to pay, and I am almost convinced that, for her at least, there really was no other way.
Puccini
La Fanciulla Del West
With: Birgit Nilsso, Joao Gibin, Andrea .Mongelli. Dir. Lovro Von Matacic.
In terms of recording and vocal quality, this 1959 Fanciulla is exemplary.The role of Minnie suited Nilsson. This role is very difficult and loaded with high notes. These high notes are child play for Nilsson.For power and vocal gleam Nilsson has no peers. Joao Gibin as Dick Johnson sings with accuracy,style and passion. Sparks between Nilsson and Gibin are great. Andrea Mongelli in the role of Jack Rance is strong. Mongelli has a beautifull voice and is an exellent singing actor. Lovro von Matacic account of the orchestral score is excellent and "Bravo " to the Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scalla. I will be clinging and playing this recording often. EMI is to be congratulated and commended for finally reisuing this superb recording.
Berg
Wozzek
With: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Evelyn Lear, Karl Böhm.
This great, classic studio recording of Berg's first opera. I love the Mahlerian score, especially as presented in such a sympathetic recording. The warmth of both Bohm's conducting and Fischer-Deiskau's wonderful voice, and the chemistry of the two principles still comes through forty years later. True, Fischer-Deiskau is perhaps too sane and vocally balanced for his part,but his performance is still one of the greatest because of the genius of his vocal coloring. Though both Abbado and Barenboim present more of the complex inner voices of the score more successfully in their live recordings, this studio version still holds its own due to the great performers and because the studio mix balances the voices with the orchestra perfectly, allowing us to hear all the vocal parts even in the loudest moments. See Werner Herzog's film of WOYZEK for an interesting presentation of the original play by Georg Buchner.
Night Music
Apart from the complete works for piano of Mompou and Enescu we have a spcial opera treat.
Wagner
Lohengrin
Live from Berlin 1942
With: Fraz Völker, Maria Müller, Margarete Klose, Ludwig Hofmann Dir: Robert Hege.
Enjoy...
Monday, February 4, 2013
Tonight A Twelve Hour Haydn Marathon
The Creation
For Masses
London & Paris Symphonies
Mass
in C, “Mass
in Time of War.”
Mass in d, “Nelsonmesse.”
Mass in B♭, “Theresienmesse.”
Mass in B♭, “Harmoniemesse.”
Symphony No. 88 in G major
Symphonies Nos. 82–87
New York Philharmonic
Camerata Singers
Norman Scribner Choir
Westminster Choir
London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Chorus
Mass in d, “Nelsonmesse.”
Mass in B♭, “Theresienmesse.”
Mass in B♭, “Harmoniemesse.”
Symphony No. 88 in G major
Symphonies Nos. 82–87
New York Philharmonic
Camerata Singers
Norman Scribner Choir
Westminster Choir
London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Chorus
Sony has done Haydn and Bernstein aficionados a tremendous favor by reissuing these now-classic recordings of the *Paris* and *London* Symphonies (plus no. 88), *Creation* and four out of the six late Masses, housed in a fairly sturdy space-saving box. Sony's asking price is relatively high for such boxes these days (compare with recent offerings from EMI, such as their "Complete Oistrakh Edition"), especially since the skimpy booklet contains no annotations beyond the usual work-and-track listing. Moreover, within the box the CDs are gathered into laminated and hinged cardboard pockets that make the task of retrieving one more trouble than it should be. The recordings have apparently not been remastered; that fact may account for the mediocre sonics throughout this collection. The *London* Symphonies, in particular, suffer from thin, acidic-sounding strings, unduly recessed woodwinds, blaring brass (not Bernstein's fault), and a fair amount of distortion in the louder tutti passages. Moreover, the latest recording included here (a London-based *Theresienmesse* from 1979), though smoother-sounding, lacks bite and focus, largely due to a distant, mushy-sounding chorus.
With those caveats out of the way (and they are sufficiently serious to cost my evaluation one star), I must affirm the legendary status of these recordings. Bernstein brings enormous gusto to Haydn, and the result is an altogether winsome marriage of intellectual and physical vigor. This is Haydn without the wig. In the Symphonies, Bernstein favors bold, incisive sonata allegros; deeply meditative and just as often bewitchingly mischievous slow movements; steady and stately minuets, with some delightfully humorous touches; and dashing finales. Bernstein's earlier, and finer, account of *Creation* is truly a celebration of Nature in all its rough-and-tumble splendor; and the Masses are just as notable for their operatic as for their religious fervor. The playing of the NYPO in the Symphonies, as well as the singing in the choral works, is quite variable--greater polish would have been welcome. But Lenny's elemental vigor and warm-hearted embrace of Haydn's always-stunning originality carry the day.
What more to add but enjoy this amasing treat...
Starts at 8pm GMT+1
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Better Late Than Never - Franz Schubert
Franz Schubert
Born 31 January 1797.
Today and tonight we dedicate it to his genius...
n a short lifespan of less than 32 years, Schubert was a prolific composer, writing some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies (including the famous "Unfinished Symphony"), liturgical music, operas, some incidental music and a large body of chamber and solo piano music. Appreciation of Schubert's music during his lifetime was limited, but interest in his work increased significantly in the decades following his death. Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms and Felix Mendelssohn, among others, discovered and championed his works in the 19th century. Today, Schubert is seen as one of the leading exponents of the early Romantic era in music and he remains one of the most frequently performed composers.
From 1826 to 1828, Schubert resided continuously in Vienna, except for a brief visit to Graz in 1827. The history of his life during these three years was comparatively uninteresting, and is little more than a record of his compositions. In 1826, he dedicated a symphony (D. 944, that later came to be known as the "Great") to the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde and received an honorarium in return. In the spring of 1828, he gave, for the only time in his career, a public concert of his own works, which was very well received. The compositions themselves are a sufficient biography. The String Quartet in D minor (D. 810), with the variations on "Death and the Maiden", was written during the winter of 1825–1826, and first played on 25 January 1826. Later in the year came the String Quartet in G major, (D. 887, Op. 161), the "Rondeau brillant" for piano and violin (D. 895, Op. 70), and the Piano Sonata in G (D. 894, Op. 78) (first published under the title "Fantasia in G"). To these should be added the three Shakespearian songs, of which "Hark! Hark! the Lark" (D. 889) and "An Sylvia" (D. 891) were allegedly written on the same day, the former at a tavern where he broke his afternoon's walk, the latter on his return to his lodging in the evening.
In 1827, Schubert wrote the song cycle Winterreise (D. 911), a colossal peak in art song ("remarkable" was the way it was described at the Schubertiades), the Fantasia for piano and violin in C (D. 934), the Impromptus for piano, and the two piano trios (the first in B flat (D. 898), and the second in E flat, D. 929); in 1828 the Mirjams Siegesgesang (Song of Miriam, D. 942) on a text by Franz Grillparzer, the Mass in E-flat (D. 950), the Tantum Ergo (D. 962) in the same key, the String Quintet in C (D. 956), the second Benedictus to the Mass in C, the three final piano sonatas (D.958, D.959 and D.960), and the collection of songs published posthumously as Schwanengesang ("Swan-song", D. 957). This collection, while not a true song cycle, retains a unity of style amongst the individual songs, touching depths of tragedy and of the morbidly supernatural which had rarely been plumbed by any composer in the century preceding it.
Six of these are set to words by Heinrich Heine, whose Buch der Lieder appeared in the autumn. The Symphony No. 9 (D. 944) is dated 1828, but Schubert scholars believe that this symphony was largely written in 1825–1826 (being referred to while he was on holiday at Gastein in 1825 – that work, once considered lost, now is generally seen as an early stage of his C major symphony) and was revised for prospective performance in 1828. This huge, Beethovenian work was declared "unplayable" by a Viennese orchestra. This was a fairly unusual practice for Schubert, for whom publication, let alone performance, was rarely contemplated for most of his larger-scale works during his lifetime. In the last weeks of his life, he began to sketch three movements for a new Symphony in D.
In the midst of this creative activity, his health deteriorated. The cause of his death was officially diagnosed as typhoid fever, though other theories have been proposed, including the tertiary stage of syphilis. By the late 1820s, Schubert's health was failing and he confided to some friends that he feared that he was near death. In the late summer of 1828, the composer saw court physician Ernst Rinna, who may have confirmed Schubert's suspicions that he was ill beyond cure and likely to die soon.
Some of his symptoms matched those of mercury poisoning (mercury was then a common treatment for syphilis, again suggesting that Schubert suffered from it). At the beginning of November, he again fell ill, experiencing headaches, fever, swollen joints, and vomiting. He was generally unable to retain solid food and his condition worsened. Schubert died in Vienna, at age 31, on 19 November 1828, at the apartment of his brother Ferdinand. The last musical work he had wished to hear was Beethoven's String Quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 131; his friend, violinist Karl Holz, who was present at the gathering, 5 days before Schubert's death, commented: "The King of Harmony has sent the King of Song a friendly bidding to the crossing". It was next to Beethoven, whom he had admired all his life, that Schubert was buried by his own request, in the village cemetery of Währing.
In 1872, a memorial to Franz Schubert was erected in Vienna's Stadtpark. In 1888, both Schubert's and Beethoven's graves were moved to the Zentralfriedhof, where they can now be found next to those of Johann Strauss II and Johannes Brahms. The cemetery in Währing was converted into a park in 1925, called the Schubert Park, and his former grave site was marked by a bust.
Born 31 January 1797.
Today and tonight we dedicate it to his genius...
n a short lifespan of less than 32 years, Schubert was a prolific composer, writing some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies (including the famous "Unfinished Symphony"), liturgical music, operas, some incidental music and a large body of chamber and solo piano music. Appreciation of Schubert's music during his lifetime was limited, but interest in his work increased significantly in the decades following his death. Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms and Felix Mendelssohn, among others, discovered and championed his works in the 19th century. Today, Schubert is seen as one of the leading exponents of the early Romantic era in music and he remains one of the most frequently performed composers.
From 1826 to 1828, Schubert resided continuously in Vienna, except for a brief visit to Graz in 1827. The history of his life during these three years was comparatively uninteresting, and is little more than a record of his compositions. In 1826, he dedicated a symphony (D. 944, that later came to be known as the "Great") to the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde and received an honorarium in return. In the spring of 1828, he gave, for the only time in his career, a public concert of his own works, which was very well received. The compositions themselves are a sufficient biography. The String Quartet in D minor (D. 810), with the variations on "Death and the Maiden", was written during the winter of 1825–1826, and first played on 25 January 1826. Later in the year came the String Quartet in G major, (D. 887, Op. 161), the "Rondeau brillant" for piano and violin (D. 895, Op. 70), and the Piano Sonata in G (D. 894, Op. 78) (first published under the title "Fantasia in G"). To these should be added the three Shakespearian songs, of which "Hark! Hark! the Lark" (D. 889) and "An Sylvia" (D. 891) were allegedly written on the same day, the former at a tavern where he broke his afternoon's walk, the latter on his return to his lodging in the evening.
In 1827, Schubert wrote the song cycle Winterreise (D. 911), a colossal peak in art song ("remarkable" was the way it was described at the Schubertiades), the Fantasia for piano and violin in C (D. 934), the Impromptus for piano, and the two piano trios (the first in B flat (D. 898), and the second in E flat, D. 929); in 1828 the Mirjams Siegesgesang (Song of Miriam, D. 942) on a text by Franz Grillparzer, the Mass in E-flat (D. 950), the Tantum Ergo (D. 962) in the same key, the String Quintet in C (D. 956), the second Benedictus to the Mass in C, the three final piano sonatas (D.958, D.959 and D.960), and the collection of songs published posthumously as Schwanengesang ("Swan-song", D. 957). This collection, while not a true song cycle, retains a unity of style amongst the individual songs, touching depths of tragedy and of the morbidly supernatural which had rarely been plumbed by any composer in the century preceding it.
Six of these are set to words by Heinrich Heine, whose Buch der Lieder appeared in the autumn. The Symphony No. 9 (D. 944) is dated 1828, but Schubert scholars believe that this symphony was largely written in 1825–1826 (being referred to while he was on holiday at Gastein in 1825 – that work, once considered lost, now is generally seen as an early stage of his C major symphony) and was revised for prospective performance in 1828. This huge, Beethovenian work was declared "unplayable" by a Viennese orchestra. This was a fairly unusual practice for Schubert, for whom publication, let alone performance, was rarely contemplated for most of his larger-scale works during his lifetime. In the last weeks of his life, he began to sketch three movements for a new Symphony in D.
In the midst of this creative activity, his health deteriorated. The cause of his death was officially diagnosed as typhoid fever, though other theories have been proposed, including the tertiary stage of syphilis. By the late 1820s, Schubert's health was failing and he confided to some friends that he feared that he was near death. In the late summer of 1828, the composer saw court physician Ernst Rinna, who may have confirmed Schubert's suspicions that he was ill beyond cure and likely to die soon.
Some of his symptoms matched those of mercury poisoning (mercury was then a common treatment for syphilis, again suggesting that Schubert suffered from it). At the beginning of November, he again fell ill, experiencing headaches, fever, swollen joints, and vomiting. He was generally unable to retain solid food and his condition worsened. Schubert died in Vienna, at age 31, on 19 November 1828, at the apartment of his brother Ferdinand. The last musical work he had wished to hear was Beethoven's String Quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 131; his friend, violinist Karl Holz, who was present at the gathering, 5 days before Schubert's death, commented: "The King of Harmony has sent the King of Song a friendly bidding to the crossing". It was next to Beethoven, whom he had admired all his life, that Schubert was buried by his own request, in the village cemetery of Währing.
In 1872, a memorial to Franz Schubert was erected in Vienna's Stadtpark. In 1888, both Schubert's and Beethoven's graves were moved to the Zentralfriedhof, where they can now be found next to those of Johann Strauss II and Johannes Brahms. The cemetery in Währing was converted into a park in 1925, called the Schubert Park, and his former grave site was marked by a bust.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Today Two Live Treats and much more...
Two live performances to put your hairs on end...
Maria Stuarda
Donizetti- Sung in English.
With: Janet Baker. Pauline Tinsley Dir: Charles Mackerras
English National Opera Orchestra & Chorus.
English National Opera 1982.
This production could not be dearer to me as I saw it in 1982, my second time to the opera at just 18 years old. Janet Baker blew me away with her majestic artistry. I came out of the ENO flying!!
In 1982, Dame Janet Baker made a highly regarded studio recording of Donizetti?s Maria Stuarda , sung in English. Featuring Rosalind Plowright and David Rendall, and also conducted by Mackerras, that EMI set has always garnered praise, and deservedly so. The English language makes it, of course, sui generis , and many listeners have found the English more of a distraction than a benefit. The diction of the singers, particularly the women, was not always clear?given the stress that Donizetti?s florid writing already put on them. When the words were clear, more bel canto opera in their comedies). But Baker?s compelling performance of the title role received almost unanimous praise. In Fanfare 13:1,
Robert Levine wrote: She handles the fioriture beautifully, gives each word and phrase (those which can be understood) proper weight, and she makes us understand this proud, bruised, complicated woman as no other singer does on discs, save, perhaps, Beverly Sills. There is a warmth to her tone . . . which is unmatchable, and she rises to the vitriol of the confrontation scene with surprising strength (although no one can touch Leyla Gencer here).
What this has, however, is the smell of the theater about it. Baker?s inflections, outbursts, tenderness, tragic utterances, all have that extra intensity that happens in live performance, and the singing, captured almost a decade earlier, is vocally more secure, more even. This is a truly magnificent performance, by one of the greatest singers of the second half of the 20th century, captured in her prime. Baker fans, and those interested in great Donizetti singing, should snap this up.
Der Rosenkavalier
Strauss
With: Montserrat Caballé, Otto Edelmann, Teresa Zylis-Gara, Edith Matthis Dir: John Pritchard, London Philharmonic Orchestra, The Glyndebourne Chorus
Live from Glynebourne 1965
Recorded in the 1965 Festival, this production of Der Rosenkavalier was the last directed by Carl Ebert and was hailed as one of his finest achievements. Conducted by John Pritchard this recording features a notable Glyndebourne debut by Montserrat Caballé as the Marschallin with Edith Matthis as Sophie, Teresa Żylis-Gara as Octavian and Otto Edelmann as Baron Ochs.
Maria Stuarda
Donizetti- Sung in English.
With: Janet Baker. Pauline Tinsley Dir: Charles Mackerras
English National Opera Orchestra & Chorus.
English National Opera 1982.
This production could not be dearer to me as I saw it in 1982, my second time to the opera at just 18 years old. Janet Baker blew me away with her majestic artistry. I came out of the ENO flying!!
In 1982, Dame Janet Baker made a highly regarded studio recording of Donizetti?s Maria Stuarda , sung in English. Featuring Rosalind Plowright and David Rendall, and also conducted by Mackerras, that EMI set has always garnered praise, and deservedly so. The English language makes it, of course, sui generis , and many listeners have found the English more of a distraction than a benefit. The diction of the singers, particularly the women, was not always clear?given the stress that Donizetti?s florid writing already put on them. When the words were clear, more bel canto opera in their comedies). But Baker?s compelling performance of the title role received almost unanimous praise. In Fanfare 13:1,
Robert Levine wrote: She handles the fioriture beautifully, gives each word and phrase (those which can be understood) proper weight, and she makes us understand this proud, bruised, complicated woman as no other singer does on discs, save, perhaps, Beverly Sills. There is a warmth to her tone . . . which is unmatchable, and she rises to the vitriol of the confrontation scene with surprising strength (although no one can touch Leyla Gencer here).
What this has, however, is the smell of the theater about it. Baker?s inflections, outbursts, tenderness, tragic utterances, all have that extra intensity that happens in live performance, and the singing, captured almost a decade earlier, is vocally more secure, more even. This is a truly magnificent performance, by one of the greatest singers of the second half of the 20th century, captured in her prime. Baker fans, and those interested in great Donizetti singing, should snap this up.
Der Rosenkavalier
Strauss
With: Montserrat Caballé, Otto Edelmann, Teresa Zylis-Gara, Edith Matthis Dir: John Pritchard, London Philharmonic Orchestra, The Glyndebourne Chorus
Live from Glynebourne 1965
Recorded in the 1965 Festival, this production of Der Rosenkavalier was the last directed by Carl Ebert and was hailed as one of his finest achievements. Conducted by John Pritchard this recording features a notable Glyndebourne debut by Montserrat Caballé as the Marschallin with Edith Matthis as Sophie, Teresa Żylis-Gara as Octavian and Otto Edelmann as Baron Ochs.
“The performance provides the kind of enchanted evening which Glyndebourne exists for - when the opera, however familiar, is experienced with a new intensity; when all one’s senses are alive and alert; when it seems that the work can never have been better done. In short, the Glyndebourne miracle - produced by the intimacy of the house, sensitive casting, dedicated loving rehearsal, and brilliant direction in every department.”
- Financial Times, 1965
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