On this rainy, muggy Thursday morning in July, I’m at my usual spot at the local eatery – the one that features god-awful music, Light Roast coffee, and an Asiago Bagel (toasted twice!) with plain cream cheese – this time listening to Antonín Dvořák New World Symphony. It’s not bad. All of it. Even the … [Read more…]
My dad used to say, “I don’t care for that” whenever he’d encounter something with which he wasn’t fond. Like, “I don’t care for frozen peas” or “I don’t care for Monday mornings.” Not, “I don’t like frozen peas” or “I don’t like Monday mornings,” mind you. “I don’t care for that.” After listening to … [Read more…]
Brahms has never been one of my favorites, even though I have his complete works on the Brilliant Classics label – which is one of my favorites. Brilliant Classics offers very high quality Classical recordings at very inexpensive prices. Other labels – DG, Warner Classics, RCA Victor, the former EMI and Phillips, etc. – may … [Read more…]
Here’s another example of what appears to be a misspelling on the album cover. On Day 24, I had to look up the word “pavan” as it was used in the liner notes on the back of the album. Turns out, there’s no such word. It was supposed to be “parvane,” which is – according … [Read more…]
The first thing that came to my mind when I saw the title of today’s CD was, “The Reiner Sound? Probably an orchestra full of musicians crying because of the verbal flogging he gives them.” But then I thought that would be mean of me. So I didn’t say it. As for today’s album, I … [Read more…]
As I might have mentioned before, I’m not really a fan of Brahms. I realize his one of the big B composers (Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms). But I’m not that fond of Bach, either. So there. For a Living Stereo recording, this sounds unusually flat. Maybe my ears are getting old (and why not? since … [Read more…]
It’s a beautiful morning here in West Michigan. Temperature is a delightful 70 degrees under sunny skies and a relatively low humidity of 77%. By all accounts, it’s perfect. So, I decided to make the screened-in porch my office this morning. (Who wouldn’t?) My Sands Hotel Casino mug is beside me, as is the unmistakable … [Read more…]
I’m surprised and pleased! This morning’s CD is much more enjoyable than yesterday’s. The performances sound better to me. At least, they’re more robust than what I heard yesterday. Woo-hoo! There are a couple of items from Kenneth Morgan’s book Fritz Reiner Maestro & Martinet that I’d like to mention. First, this from page 214: … [Read more…]
Now this is more like it. Whenever I think of Classical music, I think of composers from the Classical period – Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, et al. Also, I think of Anton Bruckner, who straddled Classical and Romantic, but whose symphonies (to me) seem more Classical than Romantic in their construction. Essentially, I think of composers … [Read more…]
I’m not sure I can express how little I cared for this performance. I was bored from the first five minutes, and I didn’t hear an exciting note thereafter. Whatever this piece of music is (another one of Strauss’ “Tone Poems,” from that I gather), I didn’t get it. Some composers resonate with me. Deeply. … [Read more…]