Who cares that Hollywood was cluey enough to use it. That doesn’t detract one iota from this Masterpiece. After how many listenings? … does it still raise goosebumbs!
Thus Spake Zarathustra- Einleitung (Introduction)
Composed in 1896 by Richard Strauss (11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949)
Strauss Zarathustra
Here’s what a music reviewer wrote about this late piano piece by Schubert:
I find it hard to account for the intensity of the spiritual response that the slow movements of late Beethoven and late Schubert produce in me…Â the slow movement of D960, one of the last creations of a desperately ill 31-year-old-man who has lost his Catholic faith, is frightened out of his wits by the ordeal that lies ahead, and yet produces music of the most magical serenity.
Piano sonata #21Â D960/ second movement
And this second piece with its ‘inherent weirdness.’ It fascinates me how accu
rate, poetic and articulate some music critics can be!
In the great Andantino movement of the A major, the pianist is alive to its inherent weirdness as Schubert sends a nostalgically beautiful melody off the deep end to fragmentation, then reassembles it into a broken shadow of itself.
Piano sonata #20 in A major second movement
Schubert PS 20 second movement
Here is a comment I just received today.
I recently found your website and have been listening to and enjoying some of your selections. Unlike most other genres of music it seems to be difficult to find classical music on the web without having to pay for the privilege. So your endeavours are much appreciated. It saddened me somewhat to read your “Opera Apology”. Although I’m not an avid fan of opera, it seems to me that you are missing out on so much beautiful music. I put my thinking cap on and thought if “The Evening Prayer” from Humperdink’s opera Hansel and Gretel doesn’t move you then you really must have a very deep phobia.
Here is the uTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6Fr3I4fUAo
No Comment I say! Up to you dear listener. It’s your site!
This website was built and passionately maintained by Jim Migdoll. 1948 – 2018.
Although he has now gone off on to divine adventures, his friends and family are very keen to keep this site up in Jim’s memory, and for the pleasure of others.
Please continue to enjoy the music Jim loved, and was so happy to share.
Select your own favorite composers, genres and individual musical selection: Then listen/download for free. No joining or registration. My hope is that this site will provide a broad introduction to ‘newbies’ – and that real aficionados of Classical music will find plenty of interest too.
One of the best features of the site is the Long Playing selections.
They allow you to listen uninterrupted to 25 – 70 minutes of music. You can find them on the side menu under Blog Titles (Long Playing); or at the top bar in LP’s: But just to be sure… I’ve put the link right here in front of your nose! http://jimsclassicalmusic.com/?page_id=2744
Re: Comments and requests: I love to get them! Simply click on the title of the piece which will take you to the web page where you can leave a comment.
In my ongoing research into composers I hadn’t been exposed to Carl Stamitz (1745 – 1801) http://www.answers.com/topic/carl-stamitz
As I listened to a number of pieces, the phrase “Easy Listening” came to mind. It is easy to listen to! And then I began to wonder: What separates him from his great contemporaries (Mozart, Haydn and Hummel etc.) ? Why is he a “lightweight?” Althought the melodies and musicality are there, what keeps the music from being profound or inspired? Would a few touches of complexity in the midst of his simplistic composition elevate it to greatness? An inspired background counterpoint? Why couldn’t he do it?
(* Sorry … these are just the ramblings of a Classical dilettante!)
3 pieces lasting about 12.5 minutes
Orchestral quartet in G major 2nd movement
Concerto for 2 clarinets #4 in B flat major 3rd movement
Cello concerto no. 1 in G major Romance
Stamitz
In an attempt to broaden the site, I’ve gone searching for those ‘well known’ composers who until now haven’t been on the site. It was a quick and superficial effort to find either their better known works, or those that I felt had a great appeal. Apologies to anyone who knows and appreciates these composers … if my choices were poor ones!
Under the composer name are links to Biographies.
Henry Purcell (10 September 1659 (?)– 21 November 1695)
http://www.naxos.com/composerinfo/Henry_Purcell_20995/20995.htm
Slow Air Suite from the Dramatic Music of Purcell
Purcell Slow Air Suite from the Dramatic Music of Purcell
Luigi Boccherini (February 19, 1743 – May 28, 1805)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luigi Boccherini
Cello Concerto in B flat major, G. 482 Andante grazioso
Boccherini cello conc. B flat maj. G482 Andante grazioso
Giuseppe Sammartini (6 January 1695 – November 1750)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Sammartini
Concerto grosso in E minor, Op. 3, No. 3 Allegro
Anton Reicha (February 26, 1770 – May 28, 1836)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Reicha
Wind Quartet In E Flat Major (Andante Grazioso)
Wind Quartet In E Flat Major (Andante Grazioso)
Muzio Clementi 24 January 1752, – 10 March 1832
http://www.naxos.com/composerinfo/Muzio_Clementi/25957.htm
Gradus ad Parnassum op.44 no. 5
Gradus ad Parnassum op.44 no. 5
Cesar Franck (10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A9sar_Franck
Wanting to include composers who weren’t already on the site, or whose music I didn’t know; or those I thought I didn’t like … I searched for something by Franck that I (and you?) could enjoy. I couldn’t find anything! I suppose I must really dislike his music. So I just picked a piece at random to illustrate why (so far) I don’t like his music.
The first 3 minutes of Les Dijnns (there is a slight (5 second) delay on this one playing)
Les Djinns, poeme symphonique
After my last posting “Clara Schumann – the only woman?!” (the next one down the page) my brother sent me an email with a link showing hundreds of female Classical composers. I took this as a sign! I needed to research and listen. How many of these female composers were considered to be very accomplished? On a par with the men? Why weren’t any of them included in that ‘Boy’s Club’ list of “Great Composers”? It was a fantastic journey into territory I knew nothing about.
The two big questions for you dear listener (and for me too; since I haven’t listened really carefully yet after acquiring the pieces – but I will!) 1) Can you hear the same ‘greatness’ in some of the pieces? 2) Can you detect a subtle (or maybe not so subtle) colour/tone/vibe of the Feminine Principle?
Under each composer is a link to Biographical information.
Since a reviewer I used in my research declared: “Madame Farrenc is certainly the greatest woman-composer in the history of classical music.” I’ll save her until last; along with some germain notes on the issue.
Marianne von Martines (Martinez) (May 4, 1744 – December 13, 1812) A student of Haydn. You can certainly hear it!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marianne_von_Martinez
Sonata number 3 in A maj. all 3 movements (approx. 14 minutes)
Fanny Mendelssohn (14 November 1805 – 14 May 1847)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanny_Mendelssohn
Lied no. 3 op. 4 Andante Cantabile
Lied no. 4 op. 5 Lento Apassionatto
Teresa Carreno (December 22, 1853 – June 12, 1917)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teresa_Carre%C3%B1o
String Quartet in B minor – II. Andante
Clara Schumann (13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Schumann
Variacions op. 20
Cecile Chaminade (August 8, 1857 – April 13, 1944)
http://www.classiccat.net/chaminade_c/biography.htm
La Morena (Caprice Espangnole), Op. 67
Amy Beach (September 5, 1867 – December 27, 1944)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Beach
(if this wasn’t composed under a strong Rachmaninoff influence – I’ll eat my hat!)
Piano Concerto in C sharp minor, op. 45 III Largo
Lili Boulanger (21 August 1893–15 March 1918)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lili_Boulanger
Dun vieu jardin
Louise Farrenc (May 31, 1804 – September 15, 1875)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Farrenc
Besides the wikipedia reference above, I found another review of her life and music in which the author declared:Â Madame Farrenc is certainly the greatest woman-composer in the history of classical music. In this review it was pointed out how highly regarded she was at the time, and the great composers she was associated with, or who admired her work. (she studied with Hummell, Anton Reicha and was admired by Schumann and Berlioz) SO? Why didn’t she join the ranks of The Greats? Some of the reasons are in the Wikipedia article, about half way down, titled ‘ Why did Farrenc remain unknown as a composer?’
But what about the elephant in the room?! Male Chauvinist attitudes? “…the best known Paris critic of the 19th Century, François-Joseph Fétis (1784–1871) included her name in his important lexicon “Universal Biography of Musicians” and stressed her “quasi masculine gift for musical organisation”. (*â€quasi masculine giftâ€?!) The same critic who proclaimed her the greatest woman composer, in the next breath states: Notwithstanding her evident extraordinary artistic and technical qualities, Madame Farrenc’s works do not show the presence of this invisible and indefinable spark, which marks the difference between the great talent and the genius.”
Aha .. the invisible and indefinable spark. What’s a woman to do?!
Farrenc Long Play 24 minutes long
Sonata No. 1, Op. 37: II. Poco adagio
Etudes opus 26 – No 18 en re bemol majeur
Nonette pour cordes et vents en mi bemol majeur Adagiol
Variations concertantes sur une mélodie suisse, Op. 20
Improptu en Si Menor
Nonette pour cordes et vents en mi bemol majeur Adagio
Clara Schumann wrote:
“I once believed that I possessed creative talent, but I have given up this idea; a woman must not desire to compose — there has never yet been one able to do it. Should I expect to be the one?”
It never occured to me until today when I began researching Clara’s work; that not a single Classical composer – ranked as a “Great” - was a woman! How very strange. Well Clara Schumann was certainly an accomplished composer, and what a person! She raised 8 children (4 died before her) cared for a husband who became more and more unstable, befriended and grew very close to Brahms and still found time to tour extensively! – acknowledged as a virtuoso pianist.
So here’s to the ‘only woman’ on the site - (so far) Let’s make it a Long Play Selection. (approx. 25 minutes)
(* dig that horn!)
UPDATE: Clara is no longer the only female composer on the site. Go here for a comprehensive look at the female composers. http://jimsclassicalmusic.com/?p=2855
Clara Schumann
Drei Romanzen, Op. 22 (arr. for horn and piano): I. Andante
Drei Romanzen, Op. 22 (arr. for horn and piano): II. Allegre
Piano Trio in G Minor, Op. 17: III. Andante
Piano Trio in G Minor, Op. 17: IV. Allegretto
Romance in B minor
I was put off a bit by Brahms during my initial ‘musical education’ because of some bombastic riffs I’d encountered. Over the past weeks I’ve been obsessing on his music. Listening to a lot and reading commentary/critiques. Learning about his life and musical influences. (*note: there is now a Long Playing Brahms)
In this, the second movement of his third piano sonata, I think Brahms is inviting us to drift away. Perhaps he felt like this when he smoked his cigar and watched the sun set.
02 – Piano Sonata No.3 in F min, Op.5 – Andante espressivo
Afterthought: For those of you who might not know … Brahms was a cigar smoker. I’ll just betcha this was one of his smoking tunes!
Schubert long play (38 minutes)
Arpeggione Sonata in A minor, D821 Allegro moderato
String Quartet no. 14 in D minor D810 Andante con moto
Rosamunde – Entr’acte No. 3
Intermezzo 118 number 2
Brahms intermezzo 118 no. 2
And another
Brahms Intermezzi, op117 Andante moderato
In the post “Trumpet Synaesthesia” I made a half joking attempt to sum up the sound of the trumpet. In this post I’ll admit to being stumped … as to how one could describe the Trumpet’s Beauty in words. (* only an idiot tries to describe music with words!) Anyway here’s the beauty of the trumpet by a few Masters. (the player is darn good too! – Rolf Smedvig)
MergeTrumpet
Haydn: Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major: I.
Haydn: Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major: II.
Haydn: Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major: III. Finale
Hummel: Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major: I.
Hummel: Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major: II.
Hummel: Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major: III. Rondo
Torelli: Trumpet Concerto in D major: I. Allegro
Torelli: Trumpet Concerto in D major: II. Adagio
Torelli: Trumpet Concerto in D major: III. Allegro
It’s a beautiful instrument isn’t it?
Tchaikovsky Clarinet concerto Moderato
Mendelssohn Concert Piece in D minor for Clarinet, Basset-horn and piano Opus 114 Andante
Mendelssohn clarinet
Stravinsky 3 pieces for Solo Clarinet piece no. 1
Stravinsky clarinet
Saint Saens Clarinet sonata in E flat major op. 167 Allegretto
Saint Saens clarinet
Louis Spohr Clarinet concerto no. 4 in E minor Larghetto
Spohr clarinet
Brahms piano trio no. 1 in B major op. 8 / Adagio
03 – Piano Trio No- 1 In B Major Op-008-03 Adagio
Francois Devienne 1759 – 1803
My brother heard some bassoon quartets on the radio and requested that some Devienne be put on the site. I wasn’t familiar with him so I went shopping! Here are a few snippets of what’s said about him:
“the elegant tone of Paris at the time… grace and balance – qualities which are associated with Mozart … explaining why Devienne was called the French Mozart.”
I got a bit carried away, and what was going to be a few pieces has turned into a Long Play selection! (nearly 40 minutes) I also realised there is very little flute on the site so welcome some Devienne flute. (he was a flautist)
Devienne Long Play
Trios for flute РAllegro Con Spirito РTrio En R̩ Majeur
Symphonie Concertante for Flute and Bassoon /Andante
Bassoon sonata I in C major, Op. 24 All three movements
and Oboe sonata in G major opus 71 all three movements