This morning’s listening fare is a composer of whom I’d never heard until now: Hovhaness, which I discovered to be Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000). His official web site can be found here. I wish I could contain my enthusiasm about Mysterious Mountain, Symphony No. 2, Op. 132, and save it for “The Subjective Stuff” section below. … [Read more…]
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…]
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 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…]
I’m listening to a pianist today that I hadn’t heard of before: Byron Janis (1928 – ). Mr. Janis recently celebrated his 93rd birthday! He’s considered one of the great pianists of the 20th century. At one point, according to his entry on Wikipedia, he was even a student of famed Russian pianist Vladimir Horowitz. … [Read more…]
Arthur Rubinstein could play chopsticks and I’d sit up and take notice. I’ve developed a keen interest in Rachmaninoff thanks to this set of Fritz Reiner CDs. I never gave the Russian composer a second thought prior to this. But now I’m intrigued, hooked by Rachmaninoff’s ability to write multi-layered music, usually featuring complex piano … [Read more…]
The first thing I thought when I heard the second movement (Adagio Sostenuto) of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 was, “Gee, this sounds an awful lot like Eric Carmen‘s 1975 song “All By Myself.” So I looked up Carmen’s hit song and, sure enough, discovered Carmen lifted the melody from Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concert No. 2 … [Read more…]