In the run-up to Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday, I’ve been highlighting some of his lesser known music. Here’s his jazz/classical fusion piece “Prelude, Fugue and Riffs,” originally written, like Stravinsky’s “Ebony Concerto,” which it resembles, for Woody Herman’s big band.
GSOplay at the Gothenburg Symphony
GSOplay is the Gothenburg Symphony’s online series of high definition performance videos. “We release approximately two to three videos per month and normally the performances are available for viewing up to 30 days after the release date,” the website says. Currently, the
Anton Urspruch: Symphony in E-flat (1882)
Anton Urspruch (1850-1907), a name new to me, was a German composer, pedagogue and pianist who studied with Lachner, Raff and Liszt. He was said to be one of the latter’s favorite pupils. He composed many works, but, like Franck
Luciano Berio: Quattro versioni originali della ‘Ritirata notturna di Madrid’
The full title of this 1975 piece explains what it is: “Quattro versioni originali della ‘Ritirata notturna di Madrid’ di Luigi Boccherini, sovrapposte e transcritte per orchestra.” In English that would be: “Four Original Versions of the ‘Withdrawal by Night
William Grant Still: Symphony No. 5, ‘Western Hemisphere’
Written in 1945, Still’s Fifth is an attractive, easy to listen to and evocative American Symphony. The movements are described thusly: 1. “The vigorous, life-sustaining forces of the Hemisphere” (briskly) 2. “The natural beauties of the Hemisphere” (slower, and with
Sousa: ‘Hands Across the Sea’
As is custom, music director Carl St.Clair will once again hold a conducting clinic for children before the orchestra’s Symphony in the Cities events in Mission Viejo and Irvine this month, and then have them come to stage en masse
Happy 4th
As you will probably hear “Star and Stripes Forever,” or “Semper Fidelis” or “The Washington Post” or some other famous Sousa march today, I thought I’d share one of his lesser known gems, the “George Washington Bicentennial” March. Rudolf Urbanec
Kleiber 88
The brilliant conductor Carlos Kleiber would have been 88 years old today. One never needs an excuse to watch or listen to this great musician, but here’s one anyway. He leads the Bavarian State Orchestra in the “Thunder and Lightning”
A Chabrier playlist
Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-1894) is pretty much forgotten today, a one-hit wonder to most audiences, his “España” the only piece of his they’ve ever heard. There’s much more to the French composer though. He left a rich supply of orchestral music,
Haydn: Symphony No. 1 in D
Christopher Hogwood conducts the Academy of Ancient Music. This piece would make a good concert opener.