February 28
February 26
February 25
February 24
I’m still working through a delightful backlog of baroque and Renaissance thrift-shop finds.
February 23
Some of the very interesting music of the very interesting Catalan composer Roberto Gerhard.
February 22
A few days off from listening to music, due to other commitments — like playing music! I finished up a training class this afternoon, so I’ll spin this recent arrival.
February 19
February 18
Two by Rossini.
February 17
A break from the Baroque. Funny how after 10 consecutive LPs of baroque music, the romantics sound so advanced and almost futuristic.
February 16
A small “Bacchanale” today, with four recent thrift-shop pickups. Someone had donated a nice collection of baroque music, most of it in really pristine shape, all of it of a scholarly bent. The Schutzes from yesterday were part of this haul. As great as Schutz was, Bach’s music sounds to my ears so much more lively and interesting. I imagine I’m not alone in that evaluation. There’s lots more where this came from.
February 15
Let’s explore the German early baroque composers today.
February 14
It’s Valentine’s Day! Let’s see, what do we have that’s relevant?
February 13
Sunday travelogues. I mentioned above that I dislike the Grand Canyon Suite. I wrote that before I listened to it; my opinion hasn’t changed. It’s a big piece of cheese.
February 11
An operetta to start the day. Groucho Marx was supposed to be a big fan. Followed by Goethe’s tragic romantic hero. Though I’ve never understood him.
February 10
February 9
Catching up on a few CDs I haven’t listened to yet.
February 8
A bit more from George Crumb.
February 7
George Crumb died over the weekend. His music affected me very strongly when I was in school.
February 6
Just a low-key high-drama kind of day.
February 4
Bad weather is threatening. Look for an afternoon and evening with a coating of ice on everything outside. I’ll just warm up with this big box o’ Strauss. You can find the full track listing here.
February 3
There’s not a lot of listening on tap today. The morning was me working from the actual office, and then right after lunch wrapping up the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto set.
But here’s one, the Christmas Oratorio by Schütz.
February 2
It’s homework day. I’m listening to pieces I’m going to be rehearsing the rest of this week. The first up is a nice late ’70s Cleveland Orchestra release with a bat-out-of-hell Russlan and Ludmilla, and a colorful La Forza del Destino. The brass section in the latter is nicely warm and lyrical.
Creatures of Prometheus is a little bit dulled-down. Not the playing, just the timbre of the recording. But Roman Carnival is just what you would hope for. Brilliant and dynamic.
Besides La Forza, PACS is doing Tchaikovsky’s 4th on their next program, and since I’m subbing this week I’ll give this one a listen. I’m a little surprised at the staccato eights in the opening fanfare, but whatever.
Also on the PACS agenda is the Rachmaninoff Second Piano Concerto. I’ve got this box set, which includes the Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini.
February 1
We kicked off the month with Arthur Grumiaux and Clara Haskil’s sublime recordings of three Beethoven Violin Sonatas. Listening to this was like listening in on a private conversation between two old friends. Fun fact: Beethoven’s Op. 18 Sonatas were dedicated to Salieri. That guy got too much trash talk after “Amadeus,” undeservedly. The author should have made up some fictional composer instead.
Next up, three operas with a linkage
These three are usually, or at least have been, partners in opera double-features over the years. Cav/Pag is the most well-known, but the infrequently heard La Navarraise used to be the regular lead-in to the Cavalleria Rusticana. The Mascagni disk includes a side of choruses and other music by him, and it’s really pretty good stuff. He wrote other operas after Cav, but they never caught on in the same way.
These were all finds from a local thrift shop, and despite their age (a heavy maroon-label RCA, and a light-blue Angel) they sounded great. The drawing that is catching the attention of La Navarraise is a pastel sketch by Elyse. The harlequin next to I Pagliacci is not a clown but the best I could come up with on short notice.