# The Classical Music Thread



## Philip Chen (Aug 8, 2010)

*Le Carnaval des Animaux, The Swan: Camille Saint-Saëns*






*The intent of this thread is to entertain and put all of you in a mood to write great works!*


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## RonnellDPorter (Apr 20, 2010)




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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Or,. . . . . .I could move it to Not Quite Kindle where even more people will see it and be inspired in their lives. . . . .


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## RonnellDPorter (Apr 20, 2010)

Whether you move it or not is inconsequential to me; I just like posting things


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## RonnellDPorter (Apr 20, 2010)

A MUST SEE

Sarah Brightman - Chromaggia


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

RonnellDPorter said:


>


Very nice.

The resident Opera Queen
Ed Patterson


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## terryr (Apr 24, 2010)

One of my favorites.  Even before it appeared in this movie.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Here's over an hour of music for y'all: Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" in its entirety. (Like "Also Sprach Zarathustra", unfortunately only known to many for the first few minutes of the entire piece.)


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

I've performed Camina Burana twice. Once with full orchestra and ballet, and once with the original double grand piani.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Edward C. Patterson said:


> I've performed Camina Burana twice. Once with full orchestra and ballet, and once with the original double grand piani.


Only live performance I've attended was the Philadelphia Ballet, which was quite good, though I had fairly lousy seats (balcony toward the side at the old Academy of Music).


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

We had neat nude ballet dancers for the fertility dance in Part III


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)




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## William L.K. (Aug 5, 2010)

If we are going to get in a mood to write, then we have to hear the greatest piece of all time. (In my humble opinion,of course.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq-3B6xfNpY&feature=related


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Nice performance of the Carmina Burana. I listened while applying edits from Peg of the Red Pencil. I am always amazed at the difficulty of the ternor Song of the Swan, and I remember the difficulty of men's chorus in In Taberna. The only clunker in the performance was a very out of tune bassoon in the soprano aria. She was good but was fighting a half-tone off bassoon. That was one musician that would be collecting a paycheck that night as that portion of the work is one of the highlights of piece. It's a wonderful work, espcialy to perform in its bastardized Germanic latin that was found in the Oberweiskirk Monastery - and when translated is some of the most beautiful lascivious poetry ever penned - and my monks, go figure.    Well, as the work states. Oh Fortune, your wheel forever spins us. Turn, turn.

Edward C. Patterson


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

This one has always fascinated me. Might be good inspiration for you horror and suspense writers out there.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Edward C. Patterson said:


> Nice performance of the Carmina Burana. I listened while applying edits from Peg of the Red Pencil. I am always amazed at the difficulty of the ternor Song of the Swan, and I remember the difficulty of men's chorus in In Taberna. The only clunker in the performance was a very out of tune bassoon in the soprano aria. She was good but was fighting a half-tone off bassoon. That was one musician that would be collecting a paycheck that night as that portion of the work is one of the highlights of piece. It's a wonderful work, espcialy to perform in its bastardized Germanic latin that was found in the Oberweiskirk Monastery - and when translated is some of the most beautiful lascivious poetry ever penned - and my monks, go figure.  Well, as the work states. Oh Fortune, your wheel forever spins us. Turn, turn.
> 
> Edward C. Patterson


I always get a chill up the spine near the end when the soprano comes in with her final cadenza leading into "Blanziflor et Helena", and she didn't let me down. 

I don't know how many times I'd listened to Carmina before a friend - more classically educated than I - pointed out the sexuality in the lyrics of "Veni, veni, venias".


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## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

As you all probably know, I am a big fan of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Here is a performance of his opera: Der Zauberflote.


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## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

This is actually one of my favorite piano pieces. Mozart again, of course:


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Brendan Carroll said:


> As you all probably know, I am a big fan of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Here is a performance of his opera: Der Zauberflote.


Brendan:

I know I'll show my age when I say it, but the Borge performance brings back memories. I first saw that on TV (in Black and White) when he made regular appearance back in the late 50's. I also loved the Dutch subtitles on this particular clip.

Ed Patterson


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## Trilby (Jul 26, 2009)

Ernesto Cortazar - Just For You


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

I tend toward large ensemble works, especially if the brass section gets to have some fun.  (Symphony orchestra trumpet players often spend a lot of time waiting.)


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

This has always been one of my favorites...


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

I love Shostokovich. Here's a taste of the 7th Symphony - The Stalingrad.





Edward C. Patterson


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## Carol Hanrahan (Mar 31, 2009)

What a wonderful thread to find!  Now I'll get cultured for sure!
Thanks, you guys!


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

And here's something lighter - the work that inspired me at age 8 to pursue opera as a vocation (until the Army snapped me up). 

The Overture to The Mikado - by Dir Arthur Sullivan and one of my authorial mentors, W.S. Gilbert.






The production featured here with the behind the scenes is a bonus (I have nothing to do with it). However, it give a fun peek at just one of the hundreds of companies that mount The Mikado each year. The work is still the worlds hottest stage property after 130 years.

Edward C. Patterson


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

One of my favorite pieces, performed by one of my favorite musicians. He's brilliant.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

I could spend all day posting stuff here since orchestral music and opera is mostly what I listen to. Shostakovich is amazing. For anyone who thinks he's all symphonic bombast, here's the 2nd movement from his Piano Concerto No. 2. Gorgeous. This performance is conducted by Shostakovich's son and the piano is played by his grandson.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

DYB said:


> I could spend all day posting stuff here since orchestral music and opera is mostly what I listen to. Shostakovich is amazing. For anyone who thinks he's all symphonic bombast, here's the 2nd movement from his Piano Concerto No. 2. Gorgeous. This performance is conducted by Shostakovich's son and the piano is played by his grandson.


Orchestral bombast is one of my favorite genres, though.


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## rcanepa (Jul 1, 2010)

Edward C. Patterson said:


> I've performed Camina Burana twice. Once with full orchestra and ballet, and once with the original double grand piani.


Ed: What do you play?  (I learn something new every day)


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

rcanepa said:


> Ed: What do you play?  (I learn something new every day)


I sing. I'm a tenor and studied Opera at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. I never pursued it as a profession, although I made a nice chunk of change singing for wedding ceremonies (and funerals and here and there an Star-spangled Banner). I pursued a degree (a few of them) in History and then got a Master's in Chinese History (Sinology) and proceeded onto a doctoral tract at Columbia University, but alas - no jobs. It was the late 70's by then. I had been working at Dun & Bradstreet since 1965 (with a 2 year break for the Army), and then continued on there while I went to school in the evenings (and a mishmash of hours when I went to Columbia). I fell back on that job and it blossomed into a career in Marketing and I was a Director of Marketing between 1987 to 2002, when I was downsized - but instead of taking the package, I downsized my life and decided to keep on with the company (or a spinoff thereof, for a pittance' I'm there for 45 years).

It was in the downsize year that I had to give up my singing (I took a night position - days now), and decided to start getting 50 years of novel writing published. Then along came POD and the Kindle and the rest is history. I am still an avid Opera fan and have over 400 full length operas on DVD, so my home is a virtual Opera House. I was active in several great chorus (sang 5 times at Carnegie Hall), and also founded a Gay Men Chorus (of which I cover in one of my novels). And until 2001, I was a full member of the Ridgewood Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company, a venerable group that was founded in 1934. I still do their website. I sometimes regret not going the full bull into music as a profession, but one should never regret choices. The other choice could have me dead and buried already. But I survived the age of AIDS in the gay community, so I guess I'll live to 100. All I need to do it take of 120 pounds. (Sounds like the makings of tomorrow's Extempore thought). 

Nite all

Edward C. Patterson


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

NogDog said:


> Orchestral bombast is one of my favorite genres, though.


Okay then. What do you get when you mix bombast and sensitivity? Answer: Mahler.

Symphony No. 3; Final movement. With London Symphony and Valery Gergiev conducting like the Mad Hatter - without the hat.


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## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

Edward C. Patterson said:


> I sing. I'm a tenor and studied Opera at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. I never pursued it as a profession, although I made a nice chunk of change singing for wedding ceremonies (and funerals and here and there an Star-spangled Banner). I pursued a degree (a few of them) in History and then got a Master's in Chinese History (Sinology) and proceeded onto a doctoral tract at Columbia University, but alas - no jobs. It was the late 70's by then. I had been working at Dun & Bradstreet since 1965 (with a 2 year break for the Army), and then continued on there while I went to school in the evenings (and a mishmash of hours when I went to Columbia). I fell back on that job and it blossomed into a career in Marketing and I was a Director of Marketing between 1987 to 2002, when I was downsized - but instead of taking the package, I downsized my life and decided to keep on with the company (or a spinoff thereof, for a pittance' I'm there for 45 years).
> 
> It was in the downsize year that I had to give up my singing (I took a night position - days now), and decided to start getting 50 years of novel writing published. Then along came POD and the Kindle and the rest is history. I am still an avid Opera fan and have over 400 full length operas on DVD, so my home is a virtual Opera House. I was active in several great chorus (sang 5 times at Carnegie Hall), and also founded a Gay Men Chorus (of which I cover in one of my novels). And until 2001, I was a full member of the Ridgewood Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company, a venerable group that was founded in 1934. I still do their website. I sometimes regret not going the full bull into music as a profession, but one should never regret choices. The other choice could have me dead and buried already. But I survived the age of AIDS in the gay community, so I guess I'll live to 100. All I need to do it take of 120 pounds. (Sounds like the makings of tomorrow's Extempore thought).
> 
> ...


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

DYB said:


> Okay then. What do you get when you mix bombast and sensitivity? Answer: Mahler.
> 
> Symphony No. 3; Final movement. With London Symphony and Valery Gergiev conducting like the Mad Hatter - without the hat.


I have a love/hate relationship with Mahler: sometimes he pushes my buttons, and sometimes I push the "off" button.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

NogDog said:


> I have a love/hate relationship with Mahler: sometimes he pushes my buttons, and sometimes I push the "off" button.


Sacre bleu! I love Mahler in all his moods.

Alright then, how about the riot-causing (although some historians have questioned the size of the riot and whether the music had anything to do with it) "Rite of Spring."


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Wait, where are the animated dinosaurs?



PS: I love the "Firebird" suite. (The French horn solo is to die for.)


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Figured I should at least add this:


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

NogDog said:


> Wait, where are the animated dinosaurs?


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

I fell in love with Ravel's Bolero because of animated dinosaurs. It took me -forever- to find out where it came from, I recorded it on The Movie Channel when I was young and someone recorded over it. Years later I finally found it. _Allegro non Troppo_, which is apparently Spain's answer to Fantasia. I'm not a fan of the entire thing, but I absolutely love the Bolero segment. If you watch it can be slow to start, but it's worth sitting through for the big finale.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

NogDog said:


> Figured I should at least add this:


I kept thinking that it was very daring of them to stay on that wide shot of the orchestra for so long. Until I realized it was a photo! The orchestra and conductor are unknown, unfortunately. It's a nice performance.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

Scheherazade said:


> I fell in love with Ravel's Bolero because of animated dinosaurs. It took me -forever- to find out where it came from, I recorded it on The Movie Channel when I was young and someone recorded over it. Years later I finally found it. _Allegro non Troppo_, which is apparently Spain's answer to Fantasia. I'm not a fan of the entire thing, but I absolutely love the Bolero segment. If you watch it can be slow to start, but it's worth sitting through for the big finale.


"Bolero" is a great piece; in spite of what the "intelligentsia" thinks of it!


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

DYB said:


> "Bolero" is a great piece; in spite of what the "intelligentsia" thinks of it!


Bo Derek didn't help much either.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

DYB said:


> I kept thinking that it was very daring of them to stay on that wide shot of the orchestra for so long. Until I realized it was a photo! The orchestra and conductor are unknown, unfortunately. It's a nice performance.


Yeah, it was the best thing I could find after a quick sampling, though I'm not crazy about that heavy vibrato in the horn solo.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

DYB said:


> "Bolero" is a great piece; in spite of what the "intelligentsia" thinks of it!


Trombone players hate it, though. I think the first trombone sits around for ten minutes or so keeping his slide loose, then has to enter on a high Bb or such. Maybe that's ameliorated by getting to do those over-the-top glissandi, though?  My music history professor told us that Ravel wrote it as an exercise in orchestration, and never really thought anyone would want to hear it.

Darn it, now you've got me reminiscing back to 30 some years ago, the last time I played in a real orchestra (trumpet, senior year of college).


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Rise and shine everyone! To Hector Berlioz - _Marche Troyenne _ from his epic opera _*Les Troyens*_. You can thank me later. 






Edward C. Patterson


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

NogDog said:


> Trombone players hate it, though. I think the first trombone sits around for ten minutes or so keeping his slide loose, then has to enter on a high Bb or such. Maybe that's ameliorated by getting to do those over-the-top glissandi, though?  My music history professor told us that Ravel wrote it as an exercise in orchestration, and never really thought anyone would want to hear it.
> 
> Darn it, now you've got me reminiscing back to 30 some years ago, the last time I played in a real orchestra (trumpet, senior year of college).


There's a story I was once told - who knows if it's true (like the "Rite of Spring" riot) - that at the premiere, after Ravel finished conducting "Bolero, one woman stood up and screamed out "That man is mad!" To which Ravel replied "Yes." If this story is not true, it should be!


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

Edward C. Patterson said:


> Rise and shine everyone! To Hector Berlioz - _Marche Troyenne _ from his epic opera _*Les Troyens*_. You can thank me later.
> 
> Edward C. Patterson


"Les Troyens" is on my desert island list. An astounding work of art.


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## rcanepa (Jul 1, 2010)

Edward C. Patterson said:


> I sing. I'm a tenor and studied Opera at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.


Neat. I've considered going back for a degree in music but have had my fill of the university system for now.


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## Joyce DeBacco (Apr 24, 2010)

There are many classical pieces I like, but I don't know the names of them. I do know that Phillip's choice, The Carnival of Animals, is one of them. And the only reason I know that is because it was a piece I learned on the piano. Of course, it was a beginner's version. But it sounded good to me. 

Another piece that always puts me in a trance is the theme song to the movie "Somewhere in Time". I just wish I knew what it was called. I've watched the movie several times and the music always hypnotizes me.

Joyce


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

I finally saw a production of _*The Rite of Spring * _ and believe me, I could never get it out of my mind - so I bought the DVD to watch and watch over. It also has a complete _*Fire-Bird * _ on it. I'm also a _*Petrouschka * _ fan. Not as fond of _*Noce*_, however, although I know it is amongst the most difficult pieces to perform. But nothing beats _*The Rite of Spring * _ for difficulty - 38 solo dancers managing to create a _corps de ballet_. The man was a genius, even if the piece caused a riot at it's premiere.

Here's the visual (a small snippet), but oh grab the full thing on Amazon.

Here's the whole dang ballet as performed by the Joffrey:









BTW, the solo ballerina number in Part III is by far the most difficult piece in the repertoire, despite the fact that most of it is standing cold stone still or leaping in place a mad-chicken. 

Edward C. Patterson


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

Today's Amazon MP3 Daily Deal @ $1.99:


And my contribution to the classical music videos - I love classical, and NogDog and I seem to have similar tastes - orchestral bombast, Firebird. I love Rachmaninoff, Gershwin, Beethoven and Debussy. I'm a bit partial to the piano, thanks to 10 years of piano lessons.

One of my favorites CDs (and I had it on cassette before the CD) is Horowitz in Moscow. I love this one, missed notes & all...


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Couldn't find any really good versions of this on YouTube sonically, but this is pretty cool to watch.


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

A little more Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 8 In C Minor, Op. 110 - 2. Allegro Molto






The best I could find.


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## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

Scheherazade said:


> Bo Derek didn't help much either.


I love Bolero. I think Ringo Star's version of "Caveman" did it much more justice than Bo Derek.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Here's a Puccini moment from that great treausre, rest her soul, Renata Tebaldi;

_Un bel di Vedremo_, from Madama Butterfly. Remember to close your eyes and listen to it. It's one of the few moments in Opera that allows the audience to visit their own longings and souls.






Edward C. Patterson


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

A warm spot in my heart for this one, having played it in high school, college, and much later in a community band:


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

What do you all think of classical crossover music? Personally I love it when it's done well. Here are two of my favorites: Bond and Escala.


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## Philip Chen (Aug 8, 2010)

When Ann said that she was moving this to "Not Quite Kindle" after my original post, I thought for sure it was being relegated to the dustbin of the board and that I would be sent to detention. I am so glad that it has thrived and taken off; like the new-born found in a dempster dumper. 

The upshot of all this is that I need to get out of the "Writer's Cafe" more. 

One of my favorites: "Mediation" from Thaïs by Jules Massenet, played by Itzhak Perlman.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Scheherazade said:


> What do you all think of classical crossover music? Personally I love it when it's done well. Here are two of my favorites: Bond and Escala.


Generally not something I would listen to other than at a sort of background music level (or watch as eye candy?  ). But if it brings more potential listeners into the world of classical music who otherwise would not, then I'm all for it.


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## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

This is absolutely one of my favorites and they used it in Master and Commander (the movie).


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

Philip Chen said:


> When Ann said that she was moving this to "Not Quite Kindle" after my original post, I thought for sure it was being relegated to the dustbin of the board and that I would be sent to detention. I am so glad that it has thrived and taken off; like the new-born found in a dempster dumper.


LOL! You really need to get out of the Writer's Cafe more! "Not Quite Kindle" is one of our most popular areas here on KB.


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## Philip Chen (Aug 8, 2010)

5th Movement, "Pastoral" Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

For all those people here who like to make fun of this shot from "Zardoz"...










...note that it also uses parts of this haunting music from Beethoven's 7th Symphony, Mvt. 2:


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Now for something popular and light: Light Cavary Overture by Von Suppe: 






Edward C. Patterson


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## Monica of NY (Jun 3, 2009)

Scheherazade said:


>


Of course! This is absolutely one of my favorite pieces of music. Thank you for posting it.

Monica


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## Monica of NY (Jun 3, 2009)

Joyce DeBacco said:


> There are many classical pieces I like, but I don't know the names of them. I do know that Phillip's choice, The Carnival of Animals, is one of them. And the only reason I know that is because it was a piece I learned on the piano. Of course, it was a beginner's version. But it sounded good to me.
> 
> Another piece that always puts me in a trance is the theme song to the movie "Somewhere in Time". I just wish I knew what it was called. I've watched the movie several times and the music always hypnotizes me.
> 
> Joyce


This beautiful love theme,"Somewhere In Time" was composed by John Barry.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Edward C. Patterson said:


> Now for something popular and light: Light Cavary Overture by Von Suppe:


It's always interesting to hear pieces like this where one relatively small part of it is famous and heard a lot. I think the first time I actually heard this (other than the famous cavalry theme) was when we played it in a concert band several years ago. It was a lot of fun to play, too.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

NogDog said:


> It's always interesting to hear pieces like this where one relatively small part of it is famous and heard a lot. I think the first time I actually heard this (other than the famous cavalry theme) was when we played it in a concert band several years ago. It was a lot of fun to play, too.


Von Suppe wrote over 30 operas and the only thing we hear today (except _Bocaccio_) are his overtures. The same could have been said for Rossini, except after the great Rossini revival 40 of his operas have been restored to the opera houses of the world.

Ed Patterson


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

Monica of NY said:


> This beautiful love theme,"Somewhere In Time" was composed by John Barry.


I love the movie and the music.
John Barry wrote the score...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf8C_fkEXqQ

And this was written by Rachmaninoff...one of my favorites...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8j21Xya-sQ&feature=fvst


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## Philip Chen (Aug 8, 2010)

Nogdog,

Great music, but the photo Aargh!!!!


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## Philip Chen (Aug 8, 2010)

Meemo,

Your first video:






Your second:


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

Philip Chen said:


> Meemo,
> 
> Your first video:
> 
> Your second:


DOH! Thanks! Can't believe I forgot to put them in the youtube thingy.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

Another of my favorites made popular by cartoons and whatever else you can imagine them putting this music to. True story... I ran out of Fantasia in the theater screaming during this section of it when I was little.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Scheherazade said:


> Another of my favorites made popular by cartoons and whatever else you can imagine them putting this music to. True story... I ran out of Fantasia in the theater screaming during this section of it when I was little.


Believe it or not, I wrote an arrangement of that (condensed) for a high school marching band when I was student teaching. It was about a year after "Saturday Night Fever" came out, which included "Night on Disco Mountain".


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Scheherazade said:


> Another of my favorites made popular by cartoons and whatever else you can imagine them putting this music to. True story... I ran out of Fantasia in the theater screaming during this section of it when I was little.


An interesting note on _*A Night on Bald Mountain * _ (or_* A Night on Bare Mountain*_). The orchestration is by Rimsky-Korsakov who brought it to its first performance for the concert hall after Mussorgsky's death. Father Nikolai did that for many of the big five (including Borodin), but especially for Mussorgsky because he left many unfinished works (including _*Boris Godonov * _ and _*Khovantschina*_). The music itself comes from an unperformed opera called _*The Fair at Sorochinsk * _ - a folk comedy and during the second act, the hero wanders in the fields and witnesses a witches sabbath (a ballet that includes a shortened version of _*Night on Bald Mountain*_). The adagio melody at the end of the concert version is actually a reprise of the tenor aria, which the hero sings as he staggers back to his farm after the ritual. _*The Fair at Sorochinsk * _ was completed posthumously. I've seen a performance, plus have a recording somewhere in my vast collection in Public Storage. The orchestrations are probably not what Mussorgsky would have created, but Rimsky-Korsakov wrote a number of folk operas himself, so the orchestration reflects more _*May Night * _ and _*Christmas Eve*_, both still popular works performed regularly in Russia. Mussorgsky's most famous work is a piano piece called _*Pictures at an Exhibition*_, which ironically was not orchestrated by father Nikolai (nor Mussorgsky), but by another composer already extant on this thread - Maurice Ravel.

Edward C. Patterson
I should have been writing liner notes.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

I never knew that, that's interesting.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

I believe that if you search hard enough, there are some recordings of a number of Mussorgsky's works in his own orchestrations. The couple I've heard were not as polished as R-K's versions, but in some respects were perhaps more true to the folk roots that Mussorgsky drew from and probably better reflected his intentions. Personally, though, I'd probably go with the R-K versions, since I'm into that "orchestral bombast" genre mentioned earlier.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

NogDog said:


> I believe that if you search hard enough, there are some recordings of a number of Mussorgsky's works in his own orchestrations. The couple I've heard were not as polished as R-K's versions, but in some respects were perhaps more true to the folk roots that Mussorgsky drew from and probably better reflected his intentions. Personally, though, I'd probably go with the R-K versions, since I'm into that "orchestral bombast" genre mentioned earlier.


So would I, but the restoration of_* Boris Godunov * _ is a revelation. R-K was a master orchestrtor who taught the next generation the craft (as Ravel had done for the next - Gershwin stuied under Ravel - that's why strfetches of *Porgy and Bess * could have come straight from _*Mother Goose*_).  Sometimes we can learn about a composer by looking to their teacher. Another such case is Almicare Ponchielli, who taught both Puccini and Mascagni. Fortunately enough Ponchielli survives and is rife to study the connections.

Edward C. Patterson


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Here's a happy weekend piece sure to raise a smile from The Mikado by Sullivan and my mentor, W. S. Gilbert: Enjoy:






Edward C. Patterson


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

Nobody else likes Yo-Yo Ma?


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

luvmy4brats said:


> Nobody else likes Yo-Yo Ma?


Seems like a nice guy and is an excellent cellist, but I'm not especially into strings. If he played trombone or euphonium, it would be a different story.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Strings are one thing, but STRING (singular) is another. Let me share. The erh-hu is the Chinese traditional one stringed instrument. The sound is produced from a horsehair bow through a small cassia wood box covered with stretched snakeskin. The sound is unique. Here's a performance, one of many available on the internet.






Edward C. Patterson


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

NogDog said:


> ...If he played trombone or euphonium, it would be a different story.


Speaking of trombone (and, of course, sneaking a trumpet in there, too)...






If you're into either of those instruments and this sort of music:


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## Philip Chen (Aug 8, 2010)

This is one of those days that I particularly enjoy this piece.

Symphony No. 9 "From the New World" - II (part 1): Antonín Dvořák


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

Here is some quick J. S. Bach:


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

NogDog said:


> A warm spot in my heart for this one, having played it in high school, college, and much later in a community band:


Me too!


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

A little Debussy -- The Little Shepherd for some Muppets:


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)




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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

A little _Libiamo_.






Edward C. Patterson


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## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

Here is a suitable piece for this day of Remembrance of the 9/11 Victims by my favorite composer:


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## Philip Chen (Aug 8, 2010)

Thank you Brendan


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

A traditional British remembrance piece in a traditional British instrumentation:


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## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

Mozart again. One word songs should be easier to remember and sing, right? Maybe not so much.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

Philip Chen said:


> This is one of those days that I particularly enjoy this piece.
> 
> Symphony No. 9 "From the New World" - II (part 1): Antonín Dvořák


One of my favorites - I'd never heard all of it until my daughter dance to it with the marching band in high school. Bought the CD and I love the entire piece.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

Brendan, the Mozart you posted is beautiful.  I've heard so much beautiful, sad music on classical radio today.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I always loved singing Ave Verum . . . (Mozart) in church choir.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Here's the ultimate sad video accompanied by the ultimate sad piece - Barber's Adagio for Strings. Watch at your own risk - disturbing images included.






Edward C. Patterson


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Edward C. Patterson said:


> Here's the ultimate sad video accompanied by the ultimate sad piece - Barber's Adagio for Strings. Watch at your own risk - disturbing images included.
> 
> ...
> 
> Edward C. Patterson


Difficult to imagine the film "Platoon" could have been as good as it was without that piece of music.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

NogDog said:


> Generally not something I would listen to other than at a sort of background music level (or watch as eye candy?  ). But if it brings more potential listeners into the world of classical music who otherwise would not, then I'm all for it.


The problem is that I don't think it ever does.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

Edward C. Patterson said:


> An interesting note on _*A Night on Bald Mountain * _ (or_* A Night on Bare Mountain*_). The orchestration is by Rimsky-Korsakov who brought it to its first performance for the concert hall after Mussorgsky's death. Father Nikolai did that for many of the big five (including Borodin), but especially for Mussorgsky because he left many unfinished works (including _*Boris Godonov * _ and _*Khovantschina*_). The music itself comes from an unperformed opera called _*The Fair at Sorochinsk * _ - a folk comedy and during the second act, the hero wanders in the fields and witnesses a witches sabbath (a ballet that includes a shortened version of _*Night on Bald Mountain*_). The adagio melody at the end of the concert version is actually a reprise of the tenor aria, which the hero sings as he staggers back to his farm after the ritual. _*The Fair at Sorochinsk * _ was completed posthumously. I've seen a performance, plus have a recording somewhere in my vast collection in Public Storage. The orchestrations are probably not what Mussorgsky would have created, but Rimsky-Korsakov wrote a number of folk operas himself, so the orchestration reflects more _*May Night * _ and _*Christmas Eve*_, both still popular works performed regularly in Russia. Mussorgsky's most famous work is a piano piece called _*Pictures at an Exhibition*_, which ironically was not orchestrated by father Nikolai (nor Mussorgsky), but by another composer already extant on this thread - Maurice Ravel.
> 
> Edward C. Patterson
> I should have been writing liner notes.


Just one correction: Mussorgsky did finish "Boris Godunov." But everyone considered his orchestration to be inferior, so Rimsky-Korsakov (with good intentions, no doubt) reorchestrated the entire opera. It's a thrilling version, but Mussorgsky's is perfectly valid, too, and - because it is the composer's own - should probably be considered definitive. Most opera houses today tend to perform Mussorgsky's own orchestration.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

Edward C. Patterson said:


> So would I, but the restoration of_* Boris Godunov * _ is a revelation. R-K was a master orchestrtor who taught the next generation the craft (as Ravel had done for the next - Gershwin stuied under Ravel - that's why strfetches of *Porgy and Bess * could have come straight from _*Mother Goose*_).  Sometimes we can learn about a composer by looking to their teacher. Another such case is Almicare Ponchielli, who taught both Puccini and Mascagni. Fortunately enough Ponchielli survives and is rife to study the connections.
> 
> Edward C. Patterson


I've always been really fascinated by the various great composers and their relationships to one another. Mozart heard a young Beethoven playing the piano and declared that one day this Beethoven might become famous. Haydn and the much-maligned Salieri were Beethoven's teachers. (And both great admirers of Mozart; Haydn was actually a good friend of Mozart's.) Beethoven was once shown scores for some Schubert's piano pieces and said "There is something divine about this Schubert." That's where the phrase "divine Schubert" comes from. There is Arrigo Boito (composer of "Mephistopheles") - who dragged Verdi out of retirement by writing masterful librettos for "Otello" and "Falstaff." (And for Ponchielli's "La Gioconda!") Brahms was in love with Schumann's wife Clara - herself a noted composer. Speaking of Brahms - he was in Russia when Tchaikovsky was rehearsing his 5th Symphony and delayed his departure to be able to attend a rehearsal. After the rehearsal Brahms and Tchaikovsky had dinner together. Tchaikovsky was an early admirer of Rachmaninov. Tchaikovsky was present at the premiere of Bizet's "Carmen," which was something of a fiasco. But Tchaikovsky attended several performances and wrote to his brother that one day "Carmen" would become the most popular opera in the world. Tchaikovsky also attended Wagner's "Ring" cycle in Bayreuth its first year - and was really puzzled by what he heard. Franz Liszt was Wagner's father-in-law. Wagner loved Bizet's "Carmen." Maurice Ravel - a master orchestrator - once declared that anyone who wanted to know how to orchestrate should study every bar of "Carmen."

And for our musical intermission I give you "Isolde's Narrative and Curse" from Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde." This performance by Waltraud Meier - in concert - is one of the most incredible moments in opera history, I think.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Having been a guitar player for 50+ years, I'll post this one:






I've seen this young lady (Ana Vidovic) twice in concert here in Austin, and she is a great player. Here she plays two of my favorite pieces... Antonio Lauro's Waltzes 2 & 3.

Mike


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

A little trivia for you: no googling! Who conducted at the opening night of Carnegie Hall in NYC on May 5, 1891?

If you don't know - the answer will surprise you.



Spoiler



Tchaikovsky.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

DYB said:


> Just one correction: Mussorgsky did finish "Boris Godunov." But everyone considered his orchestration to be inferior, so Rimsky-Korsakov (with good intentions, no doubt) reorchestrated the entire opera. It's a thrilling version, but Mussorgsky's is perfectly valid, too, and - because it is the composer's own - should probably be considered definitive. Most opera houses today tend to perform Mussorgsky's own orchestration.


I stand adjusted. I realize that it was complete, but deemed unsatisfactory. Until the revamping of the orchestration in . . . was it the 70's?? . . . the R-K version prevailed. Now it's the original. The onfusion lies in the Polish ACT, which Mussorgsky failed to compose, but R-K (and other managed). When the Mussorgsky version is performed, the Polish is omitted, which is a shame, because it adds to the work overall IMHO. The other guessing game is the operas ending. R-K had a better sense of theatre by ending the work NOT with the murder and death scene, but with the woodland uprising and the idiot singing the woes of Russia, a chilling and lingering touch.

Ed Patterson


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

Actually...I hate to do this but! Mussorgsky did finish the Polish Act. It was demanded because the Mariinsky would not stage an opera without a significant female role. So Mussorgsky wrote the Polish Act for Marina Mnishek, as well as a couple of other new scenes (and removed one scene.) The work premiered at the Mariinsky with great success. I don't know why it was withdrawn after the composer's death, but it disappeared from the repertory. Rimsky-Korsakov, hoping to spearhead its return to the theater after Mussorgsky's death, reorchestrated it and it was his version that took hold for decades. The problem that comes with reviving Mussorgsky's versions is: if you want to include all of Mussorgsky's music, which scenes do you use? The original is very streamlined to be about Boris and his descent into madness. But the revised has so much more scope and is so much grander. Because Mussorgsky deleted one scene (while adding another with some of the same music from the deleted scene) it becomes tricky to create a performing version that contains _all_ of his music without quite literally repeating some of it.

The Valery Gergiev recording with the Mariinsky/Kirov on Philips includes two different recordings of the opera: the original and the revised. The Claudio Abbado edition on Sony includes all the scenes that you can program to play the version you want.





And here is the Coronation Scene from the Mariinsky with Robert Lloyd as Boris (the first time a non-Russian has performed the part in that theater) in a production staged by Andrei Tarkovsky.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

It's nice to bump into an opera afficianado. I'm an Opera Queen. Just can't wait to discuss Rossini and Janacek with you. I have the Marinsky production on Phillips on DVD in my collections. (Bragging rights: I have just over 400 complete operas on DVD). On vinyl I have the Christoff recording with the Bulgarian (Sofia Opera). The only Russian Opera that I've performed was with Eve Queller at Carnegie Hall (The Opera Orchestra of New York) in the Chorus (Princeton Pro Musica). It was Tschaikovsky's _*Mazeppa*_, and it has to be the most difficult opera I've performed, and I thought Wagner's Riezi was a doosey. 

Ed P


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

Ahhh, Janacek. I'm not one of those who laments the past golden age. And there are very few singers I am sorry I never got to see live in the theater. Leonie Rysanek is one of those few. (The subtitles are in Spanish, alas. For those who don't know what she's about to do with the baby...


Spoiler



she's going to kill it by drowning it. Its body will be discovered in the Spring (Act 3) when the ice melts.


)


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Her Daughter-in-law is a wonderful opera . (Jenufa). My favorite is From the House of the Dead. Just got a new dvd of it last month. I grew up on the Supraphon recordings of Janacek. I would kill to see Resnick play Kastelnichka.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

Edward C. Patterson said:


> It's nice to bump into an opera afficianado. I'm an Opera Queen. Just can't wait to discuss Rossini and Janacek with you. I have the Marinsky production on Phillips on DVD in my collections. (Bragging rights: I have just over 400 complete operas on DVD). On vinyl I have the Christoff recording with the Bulgarian (Sofia Opera). The only Russian Opera that I've performed was with Eve Queller at Carnegie Hall (The Opera Orchestra of New York) in the Chorus (Princeton Pro Musica). It was Tschaikovsky's _*Mazeppa*_, and it has to be the most difficult opera I've performed, and I thought Wagner's Riezi was a doosey.
> 
> Ed P


I love "Mazeppa!" I mostly have CDs. I just never sit down to watch videos of operas anymore.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Rysanek (blackberry thumbs).

And now that I've popped on the computer, I can see the clip (can;t see graphics from this site on the Blakberry), so I thnak you for it. Magnificent. Margnificent.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Here's a commentary with visuals from the Mets production of _*From the House of the Dead * _ by Janacek.






Edward C. Patterson


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

Edward C. Patterson said:


> Here's a commentary with visuals from the Mets production of _*From the House of the Dead * _ by Janacek.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Unfortunately I wasn't able to catch it at the Met. I regret it. This production, directed by Patrice Chereau, is available on DVD, though, conducted by Pierre Boulez.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

DYB said:


> Unfortunately I wasn't able to catch it at the Met. I regret it. This production, directed by Patrice Chereau, is available on DVD, though, conducted by Pierre Boulez.


Yes, that's the one I have. I also have an older production, but I forget by who (also excellent), but with the revised ending which ends with the Eagle and the Freedom chorus as it does on the Supraphon recording. However, again we have a posthumus work with a few hands creating aperforming version. I really like the definitive version from the Met, whhich ends with the boy dead on the floor and the imbecile dancing around on the bed. And I prefer the lad being sung by a tenor than by a soprano as a trousser role.

ECP


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## rcanepa (Jul 1, 2010)

I found this a couple weeks ago while researching Paganini pieces for a WIP under revision.






I was like: 

Bonus points if you see the pianist's face at around 0:34. Makes me wonder what he's thinking.

But yikes. Almost reminds me of metal genres today: blasting notes as fast as possible.

And in _Amadeus_ when the duke responded, "... too many notes."


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Since Ponchielli has been mentioned (by me) as a mentor for other composers (Puccini and Mascagni) and we have a great deal of the Fantasia music on the thread, I thought I'd add _The Dance of the Hours_ as it is performed in the opera *La Gioconda*:






Edward C. Patterson


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

From Charles Ives's 2nd Symphony, possibly his most "traditional" piece in terms of structure and tonality, yet the final chord sort of repudiates it all. If I recall correctly, it was written as a university project, and his professors had complained about his modernism without first proving he could write in the classical style, so he wrote this, then thumbed his nose at them with the final note.


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## Andra (Nov 19, 2008)

Edward C. Patterson said:


> And while we're on Ballets in Opera - here's the King of them all - _*The Polovetsian Dances * _ from Act II of Aleksandr Borodin's _*Knaz Igor * _ (_Prince Igor_). I went through several You tube clips, and although I have on DVD perhaps the best performace of the set from the Bolshoi, this one from Japan is mighty good.  Enjoy! (and yes, if you know _*Kismet*_, you'll recognize the tunes).


Y'all have posted a lot of my favorite pieces, but this is one of the best. I love the oboe part in it... but in the video clip, you can't hear it very well over the voices


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Andra said:


> Y'all have posted a lot of my favorite pieces, but this is one of the best. I love the oboe part in it... but in the video clip, you can't hear it very well over the voices


That's true enough, but I wanted to post something that gave the flavor of the original. If you can believe it, the Bolshoi performance that I have on DVD of the complete opera (I looked all over for it on YouTube) is even more vigorous.

Ed Patterson


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Here's something nice to start everyone's weekend, from the Opera _*Thais * _ by Jules Massenet. Sit back, close your eyes and sigh:






Edward C. Patterson


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## Monica of NY (Jun 3, 2009)

One of my favorites.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Love it. Here's the visual version - the Ballet (I beleive in the Nijinsky version - correct me someone if I'm wrong)


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Final movement of Brahms's 1st Symphony, which was part of possibly the best concert I ever performed in (senior year of college orchestra). The original concert date got snowed out, so we had an extra month or so of rehearsals to really nail this one down. 

Unfortunately all YT versions appear to be in two parts. Part 1:


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

NogDog said:


> Final movement of Brahms's 1st Symphony, which was part of possibly the best concert I ever performed in (senior year of college orchestra). The original concert date got snowed out, so we had an extra month or so of rehearsals to really nail this one down.
> 
> Unfortunately all YT versions appear to be in two parts. Part 1:


I once set words to the entire Brahams Symphony # 1 (that is I wrote a libretto) as an opera call Rachely of Babylon, in one act (4 scenes duh). I was 13 years old and it was atrocious. (The music was good - especially the Hymn to Baal - you know La-de-dah-dah-de-dah La-de-dah-dee-dah de-dah-dah). It had its premeire in my bedroom. I sang all the part. Alas, the libretto is lost wth much of my juvalia (I wrote some 25 libtretti before I went into the Army, when I abandonned the form for poetry, short fiction and novels).


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Edward C. Patterson said:


> I once set words to the entire Brahams Symphony # 1 (that is I wrote a libretto) as an opera call Rachely of Babylon, in one act (4 scenes duh). I was 13 years old and it was atrocious. (The music was good - especially the Hymn to Baal - you know La-de-dah-dah-de-dah La-de-dah-dee-dah de-dah-dah). It had its premeire in my bedroom. I sang all the part. Alas, the libretto is lost wth much of my juvalia (I wrote some 25 libtretti before I went into the Army, when I abandonned the form for poetry, short fiction and novels).


Yeah, it's easy for me to imagine a choral aspect to that music, possibly something a lot like "Fidelio".


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## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

This is one of my favorite arias wherein this poor boy is being told that he is being sent off to war as a soldier and he obviously doesn't want to go.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Brendan Carroll said:


> This is one of my favorite arias wherein this poor boy is being told that he is being sent off to war as a soldier and he obviously doesn't want to go.


It's funny, Brendan. I loaded an DVD into my player and have been watching _Il Nozze _ for the last few days between final editing. I hadn't watched it in a long time and it seemed that every radio station has been airing performances, so I popped it in. It amazes me and I stand in awe of such genius.

Edward C. Patterson


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

Brendan Carroll said:


> This is one of my favorite arias wherein this poor boy is being told that he is being sent off to war as a soldier and he obviously doesn't want to go.


I wouldn't call him a "poor boy!" Cherubino is quite the upstart. At one point during the opera when someone calls him innocent the Count pointedly replies "Less so than you think." Consider how many women he tries to seduce in "Le Nozze di Figaro!" And actually manages to seduce the Countess and have a child with her in the third "Figaro" play by Beaumarchais. (Before, sadly, being killed in battle. Which might place Mozart/Da Ponte's "Non piu andra" into a whole new light.)


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

On the subject of Cherubino, let's have him/her sing - _Voi che sapete_, and this one from the Glyndbourne Festival with Frederika von Stade (which just so happens to be from my aforementioned DVD ) - enjoy. The whole lead in is included.






Edward C. Patterson


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

Edward C. Patterson said:


> On the subject of Cherubino, let's have him/her sing - _Voi che sapete_, and this one from the Glyndbourne Festival with Frederika von Stade (which just so happens to be from my aforementioned DVD ) - enjoy. The whole lead in is included.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Divine Flicka and Kiri! (I never did like Cotrubas... Sorry!)


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

I am also a big Ralph Vaughan-Williams fan (I usually plan V-W when I write, especially the more emotional moments). So let me share my favorite Vaugan-William's piece, The Lark Ascending. Enjoy and keep your eyes closed and your minds wandering:


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## Philip Chen (Aug 8, 2010)

Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky - Swan Theme


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

Well, it's Giuseppe Verdi's birthday. Let's celebrate with a few selections! This is from the "Requiem" with as starry a quartet as you will ever have: Leontyne Price, Fiorenza Cossotto, Luciano Pavarotti, Nicolai Ghiaurov, with the forces of La Scala, conducted by Herbert von Karajan.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

I roomed with a guy named Joe Green for a semester in college (a trombonist), so of course we called him Giuseppe Verdi.  In Joe's honor (both of them):


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

In honor of the unsurpassable Giuseppe Verdi's birthday, I give you the unsurpassable moment in his canon - from the Council Chamber Scene of the revised version of Simon Boccanegra - a slice of heaven come to earth.






Edward C. Patterson


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

"Simon Boccanegra" is a magnificent piece!

Here is the "Otello" duet with Franco Corelli and Teresa Zylis-Gara. (Dorothy Kirsten in the brief introduction.)


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

And, since it was a beautiful autumn day here:


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## Philip Chen (Aug 8, 2010)




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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

Philip Chen said:


> O mio babbino caro


That's Puccini, not Verdi! 

In the meantime, we learn that Dame Joan Sutherland (aka "La Stupenda") has died. One of the giants of opera. RIP.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

DYB said:


> That's Puccini, not Verdi!
> 
> In the meantime, we learn that Dame Joan Sutherland (aka "La Stupenda") has died. One of the giants of opera. RIP.


It's OK to post Puccini -- he didn't say it was Verdi.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

mlewis78 said:


> It's OK to post Puccini -- he didn't say it was Verdi.


It was a joke (see the  face?) because we were all posting Verdi titles in honor of his birthday.


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## Philip Chen (Aug 8, 2010)

Sorry I didn't realize that it was Verdi's birthday. We were never that close.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

And now for something completely different, one of the pieces I played for my senior recital in college, Vincent Persichetti's "Parable XIV" for solo trumpet. (I didn't play it quite that well, but it's one of those pieces that nobody can tell if they don't happen to know it already.  )


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

NogDog said:


> And now for something completely different, one of the pieces I played for my senior recital in college, Vincent Persichetti's "Parable XIV" for solo trumpet. (I didn't play it quite that well, but it's one of those pieces that nobody can tell if they don't happen to know it already.  )


When I was in band in grade school/junior high, I was 2nd flute. . .the 1st flute was a boy named Steve Persichetti. . .Vincent's nephew.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Ann in Arlington said:


> When I was in band in grade school/junior high, I was 2nd flute. . .the 1st flute was a buy named Steve Persechetti. . .Vincent's nephew.


I attended a lecture and met Vincent Perzichetti at Julliard prior to him conducting one of his Symphonies (2nd I believe - the one based on hymns).

Edward C. Patterson


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Gee!  We're practically related!  

As I recall, he was a really good flute player, given that he was not more than 13 or 14 at the time and I was even younger. . . .I did become 1st flute finally -- when he graduated and headed to high school. 


(and Ed having kindly quoted my post, I have now fixed my mispellings. . . .it's Saturday . . .it's early. . . what can I say.  )


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## Cochise (Sep 26, 2010)

Being relatively new here I have been discovering threads and have enjoyed this one immensely and thought I might chip in.

My Hobby is playing Classical guitar and here are three of my hero's. For starters Williams and Bream 
(not a great clip as far as sound quality goes but the best one I could find on Youtube)






And while I'm taking up your valuable time I'll waste some of it with this British comedy classic. 
This is for those who enjoyed the Victor Borge clip, Morecambe and Wise with Andre Previn.






I was introduced to Borge by friends from the U.S. he is mostly unknown here in the U.K.


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## Elk (Oct 4, 2010)

NogDog said:


> Symphony orchestra trumpet players often spend a lot of time waiting.


And I am convinced that many audience members hope we then make a mistake - like a NASCAR crowd waiting for a crash.

Unfortunately the smallest deviation from perfect is readily apparent to all. The trumpet is a demanding mistress.


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## Elk (Oct 4, 2010)

Luvmy4brats said:


> Nobody else likes Yo-Yo Ma?


I have always found his interpretations overwrought and a bit over the top. I put James Galway (Irish flautist) in the same camp.

Just not for me.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Elk said:


> And I am convinced that many audience members hope we then make a mistake - like a NASCAR crowd.
> ...


Like "Bobby Corno" in the P.D.Q. Bach "concert cast" of Beethoven's 5th?


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

Elk said:


> I have always found his interpretations overwrought and a bit over the top. I put James Galway (Irish flautist) in the same camp.
> 
> Just not for me.


I know what you mean, although Ma - when he's good - he's very good. Maybe I should say "when he _was_ good, he was very good." The persona at some point takes over the artist. Although our _perception_ of the persona also plays a role in that. And Galway had serious musical background before launching his solo career (he was principal flautist of the Berlin Philharmonic under Karajan for 6 years), but his solo career has definitely inspired a whole lot of "camp."


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## Elk (Oct 4, 2010)

NogDog said:


> Like "Bobby Corno" in the P.D.Q. Bach "concert cast" of Beethoven's 5th?


Precisely. Excellent reference.

Fortunately many of the crowd pleasing trumpet parts are not that hard. For example, many wait for the descending run in the Hallelujah Chorus. The biggest fear is that I'll somehow get distracted and will miss playing it.


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## Elk (Oct 4, 2010)

Wonderful observations on Ma and Galway - well-though out and, in my opinion, accurate.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Elk said:


> Precisely. Excellent reference.
> 
> Fortunately many of the crowd pleasing trumpet parts are not that hard. For example, many wait for the descending run in the Hallelujah Chorus. The biggest fear is that I'll somehow get distracted and will miss playing it.


The plus side was, unlike jazz band rehearsals/concerts, in the orchestra I didn't have to worry about conserving my chops.


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## mattposner (Oct 28, 2010)




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## libbyfh (Feb 11, 2010)

Just found this thread... how cool! Last weekend I went to a piano concert on a Bosendorfer piano: Schumann, Chopin, Brahms, and Beethoven. It was heaven!


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