Classical Music

Ahhh. I'm listening to these beautiful Classical Masterpieces all warm and cozy while wild sheets of wind and rain race by the trees outside my windows...and lightning over the ocean is ominous in the distance. A feast for the senses.

 

Tish said:
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Tartini was a Baroque era composer, which means the general style in stringed instrument playing used gut strings and no vibrato. I note the accompanying string players do not use vibrato, but the soloist - Chen - certainly does. He's an impassioned player and certainly knows the piece, but I'm wondering if there is a new "approach" to Baroque music that eschews the old and puts more "heart" into the soloist. I'm certainly OK with that -- he's a fine player, and the accompaniment does not overwhelm.

As @ChiroDoc mentions, this is a great music hall with wonderful acoustics.
 
Eupher said:
Tartini was a Baroque era composer, which means the general style in stringed instrument playing used gut strings and no vibrato. I note the accompanying string players do not use vibrato, but the soloist - Chen - certainly does. He's an impassioned player and certainly knows the piece, but I'm wondering if there is a new "approach" to Baroque music that eschews the old and puts more "heart" into the soloist. I'm certainly OK with that -- he's a fine player, and the accompaniment does not overwhelm.

As @ChiroDoc mentions, this is a great music hall with wonderful acoustics.
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Thank you both, @ChiroDoc and @Eupher, for that brilliant information.
I absolutely love Ray Chan, the man plays with so much passion.
 
This short excerpt from Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Georg Solti, reveals the incredible power, balance, intonation, and sheer guts of the low brass section. I've never heard a finer performance of "Catacombs."

 
Yeah, I know I'm late to the party, but I recently completed binge-watching "Game of Thrones" on some streaming service and stumbled on this version of "The Rains of Castamere".

It's refreshing because it's acoustic (though heavily mixed) and luscious in its treatment of period instruments, layered in its repeat of the central melody. I especially like the sound of the harp.

 
Siegfried Karg-Elert's composition, "Praise the Lord with Drums and Cymbals", performed by E. Power Biggs - organ - and the Columbia Brass and Percussion Ensemble.

Karg-Elert lived from 1877-1933.

Intonation is a bit spotty in the high trumpets, but this is a stirring performance, guaranteed to get your heart started.

 
If you don't listen to anything else in this thread, please listen to this. Solo violin, accompanied by English horn and orchestra to John Williams' score to the film Schindler's List. The English horn is such a plaintive, emotional instrument and the player is profoundly affected by the music -- but stays the consummate professional and plays her heart out.

If you don't have a tear coursing down your cheek at the end of this short clip, you are not alive.


P.S. -- the camera work is so good you can see the rosin coming off the violinist's bow.

P.P.S. -- Much information about the English horn (cor anglais) player at the YT page.
 
David Oistrakh's violin performance (with piano accompaniment) of Debusssy's "Claire de lune" is one of the most beautiful I've ever heard. The Russian Oistrakh was up there with Isaac Stern. He came to play 2 concerts with us in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in the mid 1960s. He was something else.

 
Eupher said:
If you don't listen to anything else in this thread, please listen to this. Solo violin, accompanied by English horn and orchestra to John Williams' score to the film Schindler's List. The English horn is such a plaintive, emotional instrument and the player is profoundly affected by the music -- but stays the consummate professional and plays her heart out.

If you don't have a tear coursing down your cheek at the end of this short clip, you are not alive.


P.S. -- the camera work is so good you can see the rosin coming off the violinist's bow.

P.P.S. -- Much information about the English horn (cor anglais) player at the YT page.
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Simply beautiful and spirit-moving, it gave me goosebumps and brought a few tears.
The passion was Incredible!
 
OldFeller said:
Beethoven 9th Finale: Ode To Joy - Riccardo Muti Conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
(Video is cued up to start the finale)
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His 9th Symphony is one of the greatest pieces of music ever written. And it's astonishing to realize that he wrote it while completely deaf, including when he conducted the premier.

He was totally deaf for the last 8-10 years of his life, and his compositions during that late period not only included the magnificent 9th Symphony, but also his late string quartets, as well as his last several piano sonatas, among others. It's astounding that he could hear all that in his head!
 
ChiroDoc said:
His 9th Symphony is one of the greatest pieces of music ever written. And it's astonishing to realize that he wrote it while completely deaf, including when he conducted the premier.

He was totally deaf for the last 8-10 years of his life, and his compositions during that late period not only included the magnificent 9th Symphony, but also his late string quartets, as well as his last several piano sonatas, among others. It's astounding that he could hear all that in his head!
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Completely agree. I was privileged to play the bass trombone part in the Columbia (MO) Symphony in 2012. A glorious experience, and I never get tired of hearing this piece.
 

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