Mon, 14 May 2007

Mon, 19 Mar 2007

Mon, 19 Feb 2007

But I also have to make mention of Ms. Cupples' website, which is charmingly primitive, as much a throwback to a simpler (and happier?) time as is her music.

Mon, 22 Jan 2007

Fri, 27 Oct 2006

Mon, 02 Oct 2006

Their behavior sucks. And it would have done more than suck in Bach's time; it would have deprived us of our musical heritage, just as Disney and friends continue to co-opt our storytelling tradition and put that too under lock and key. Maybe some day we'll realize what we're losing and take back our heritage. But probably not.

Wed, 14 Jun 2006

Mon, 05 Jun 2006

But of course the Mormon Tabernacle Choir isn't funny. It's serious stuff. Even when they do the kind of pops material on this collection. Most of these songs were written for the stage or the screen. And at least a few of them must have been lively. Now they're stately and, yes, serious. Guess it's hard to have fun in large groups.

Fri, 05 May 2006

Fri, 21 Apr 2006

As I recall, it was one of my junior high school English teachers who introduced us to the music of Segovia. Having grown up with The Beatles, the idea of classical guitar was anathema. I think I was impressed by what I heard, but not particularly interested. But something must have stuck, if only the idea that there were more kinds of music than got played on Top 40 AM radio. Even guitar music.

I associate Segovia with Spanish guitar, which is probably unfair. Not that there's anything at all wrong with Spanish guitar. It's just that the classical works on display here are more varied and often gentler than what I think of when I hear that term. There is a rare kind of beauty in his playing that I don't hear in rock or folk or country. Definitely worth another listen.

Wed, 04 Jan 2006

As for the album itself, which consists of variations and improvisations on themes by Grandmaster Wolfgang himself, it's certainly pleasant enough. But somehow I expect more from the guys who gave us Don't Worry, Be Happy and Cool Weasel Boogie. It's a sad thing when such accomplished risk takers don't take risks.

Wed, 07 Dec 2005

Mon, 31 Oct 2005

Mon, 17 Oct 2005

A little of both, as it turned out. Ayre, a new work by Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov, combines Jewish, Arab Christian and Palestinian source material into a work for orchestra and Ms. Upshaw's voice. With so many influences, it's hard to characterize: sometimes gentle, sometimes wistful, sometimes soaring. Folksongs is an older but similar work by Luciano Berio, who took traditional songs from the U.S., France, Italy, Armenia and Azerbeidjan and assembled them into a torture test for the vocalist but not, thankfully, for the audience. Both compositions move between strange and familiar almost from moment to moment.

And no, in case you were wondering, I didn't know any of this before I started writing this review. Amazing what you can find with a Google search or two. Or, in this case, twelve...

Fri, 15 Jul 2005

Take some classic hits by The Doors, arrange them for a full orchestra and a solo violinist and try your best to end up with something more interesting than elevator music. Sometimes the original melodies are easy to recognize, as with Hello, I Love You. And sometimes they're just part of the mix, as in the title track and People Are Strange.

My classical friends would turn up their noses at the misuse of all that talent. But if you aren't offended by such sacrilege, if you enjoy hearing an orchestra play something you recognize, you too might find this Concerto up your alley. Or in your elevator. Whatever.

Mon, 04 Jul 2005

What can I say? I love 4th of July concerts. Not just for the Sousa overdose, but for all the other classics we don't hear the rest of the year, especially now that Robert Mitchum isn't around to pitch the Beef Council.

Granted, a 4th concert isn't complete for me unless it includes the not-American 1812 Overture with firework cannons. But today's the one day when I can hear The Stars and Stripes Forever without irony. (Fanfare for the Common Man is good any time.)

Fri, 01 Jul 2005

Mon, 30 May 2005

It was this album's title that caught my attention, even before I recognized the singers. (Or should that be The Singers?) I'll admit to a weakness for puns, and Madrigal History Tour has the virtue of being both accurately descriptive and amusing. As for the music, it makes me long for autumn and the opening of the Renaissance Faire. And we haven't even gotten to summer yet!

Fri, 22 Apr 2005

On rare occasion I feel like a member of that last group, especially when I listen to brilliant music performed brilliantly. Like now, when I listen to Hélène Grimaud at the piano, calling forth sounds of such grace and beauty they don't seem real. The music is mostly new to me, my classical education being limited to Warner Brothers cartoons. Aside from one little bit from Piano Sonata No. 2 in B Flat Minor, Op. 35; every time I hear it, I think of the accompanying couplet from my childhood:

"Pray for the dead and the dead will pray for you.
 Simply because they have nothing else to do..."

Wed, 13 Apr 2005

Not an easy question. I raise it because of this new collection of classic works conducted by the Wilhelm Furtwängler, a man I discovered largely for the chance to make fun of his name but who raises more interesting questions than "why didn't his father change it to something less appalling?"

Furtwängler, you see, was the director of the Berlin Philharmonic during the Nazi era. By staying in Germany and holding on to his high profile position, he became a symbol of the horrors of his time. There are claims that he stood up to the authorities, that he did what he could for Jewish musicians. Perhaps he did; perhaps he was insufficiently heroic. Perhaps he was more; that's a question we can never answer for certain. But knowing a little of the story colors the music, lends it a sadness and a hollowness beyond the notes themselves.