“Rumors about the impending exit have swirled for months, reaching a crescendo in recent days.” – Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, July 24, 2013. Awhile back I commented on music critic Scott Cantrell’s non-use of the word “crescendo,” his contention
Shostakovich’s ‘Festive Overture,’ for ocarina septet
Shostakovich composed his Festive Overture for full symphony orchestra, of course, and that’s the version that conductor Carl St.Clair and Pacific Symphony will perform at the annual Tchaikovsky Spectacular on Sept. 8. Meanwhile, here’s another version, amusing but impressive all
Bernstein: ‘Slava! A Political Overture’ (1977)
Another Bernstein rarity, this one written for the inaugural season of Mstislav Rostropovich (Slava) as music director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. There’s a nifty part for electric guitar partway through, and a taped sequence of political
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,
Audio: Klemperer conducts the Overture to ‘Cosi fan tutte’
Since you liked the last one so much, we thought we’d share another. Here’s Otto Klemperer conducting the New Philharmonia Orchestra in Mozart’s Overture to “Cosi fan tutte.” This was recorded in 1971, late in Klemperer’s life. The ensemble is
Audio: Rossini: Overture to ‘L’Italiana in Algeri’
https://ia801203.us.archive.org/30/items/LaItalianaInAlgeri/01.%20Sinfonia.mp3 It’s Friday, time for some Rossini. Here’s the Overture to “L’Italiana in Algeri.” Carlo Maria Giulini conducts the Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala di Milano. From 1954.
Audio: Rossini: Overture to ‘Semiramide’
It’s Friday, time for another Rossini overture. Carlo Maria Giulini conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra in the Overture to “Semiramide.”
Audio: Rossini: Overture to ‘Cenerentola’
Is it just me, or do you hardly ever hear Rossini overtures in concerts anymore? At any rate, here’s a good one, the Overture to “Cenerentola” (“Cinderella), performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra and conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini. The