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| 25 new of 268 responses total. |
md
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response 225 of 268:
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Sep 2 12:45 UTC 1994 |
"Leroy Anderson's Greatest Hits." Erich Kunzel and
Newton Wayland conducting the Rochester Pops.
Seventeen miniatures (the longest is just four minutes
in duration), including The Typewriter Song, The
Syncopated Clock, Bugler's Holiday, Belle of the Ball,
Sleighride, Serenata, Blue Tango, and Fiddle Faddle.
According to the liner notes, Anderson was a Harvard-
educated linguist who knew French, German, Italian,
Swedish, Danish, Norwegian and Icelandic, and was an
Army intelligence officer in WWII and in the Korean
War. He was conductor of the Harvard University Band
from 1931 to 1935 when he joined the Boston Pops
organization as an orchestrator and arranger. He wrote
his first original composition for the Boston Pops in
1938.
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md
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response 226 of 268:
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Oct 4 16:45 UTC 1994 |
CD rerelease of Miles Davis's "Bitches Brew." I put off listening
to it for 25 years and I figured what the hey. I do love Miles
Davis's music. I wore the Davis/Evans "Porgy and Bess" LP's grooves
completely flat when I was a kid. "Bitches Brew" is hypnotic and
surprisingly fresh sounding, considering the flood of derivative
crap that followed it.
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md
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response 227 of 268:
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Nov 1 21:47 UTC 1994 |
Violin concertos by Samuel Barber and Erich Wolfgang
Korngold. Gil Shaham, violin, with Andre Previn conducting
the London Symphony Orchestra.
This recording has been topping the UK charts for a while.
Easy to see why: Wonderfully melodious music by two "late
late Romantics" beautifully performed, presented on a
Deutsche Grammophon "4D" CD. I'm not sure what to make of
the new "4D" technology. (I'm still trying to get my mind
around the fact that Gil Shaham, the violinist, was born in
1971.) Anyway, a wonderful CD if you like this sort of
music, as most people seem to do.
In the September/October issue of "Fanfare" magazine,
musicologist Walter Simmons begins a review of three new
Barber CDs, with the assertion that "The music of Samuel
Barber is more 'beautiful,' as this word is generally
understood by the average music lover, than that of any
other composer." Even I, a big Barber fan and an average
music lover, choked on that one. As if in recognition of
the absurdity of his statement, Simmons adds, hastily but in
grudging-looking parentheses, "O.K., I'll say any *recent*
composer." One of the releases he reviews is the collection
of Barber's songs titled "Secrets of the Old," which has
just won the best vocal music album of the year award from
"Gramophone" magazine. Another is the CD of Barber's choral
music, which I think I describe in one of the above
responses.
So the Barber machine rolls on. And on.
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chelsea
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response 228 of 268:
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Nov 2 02:10 UTC 1994 |
(Insert Energizer Bunny here.)
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md
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response 229 of 268:
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Nov 2 15:02 UTC 1994 |
Heh. "The Barber Machine" is starting to get on my nerves,
truth to tell, not unlike the Energizer Bunny.
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pphilipp
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response 230 of 268:
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Nov 18 21:49 UTC 1994 |
Hmm, in looking through the posts here, I couldn't help but notice that
there are precious few reviews of jazz recordings. Are there people out
there interested in reviews of jazz recordings? Let me know! By the way,
I posted a mini review of a recent Roscoe Mitchell recording under item
122 (jazz). Have a look - maybe we can strike up some conversation on
topics jazz related?
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anne
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response 231 of 268:
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Nov 19 20:26 UTC 1994 |
I do believe there is an item for non-classical music reviews around
here somewhere...
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pphilipp
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response 232 of 268:
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Nov 20 21:29 UTC 1994 |
Ah, yes. I'm afraid I found it only after I posted my message (#230) here.
Thanks! Consider my post above an advertisement for anyone interested in
jazz to join me in the jazz item and in the non-classical music reviews
item. Hope to see you there!
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nephi
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response 233 of 268:
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Nov 21 13:07 UTC 1994 |
Well, my favorite CD right now is _Laid_, by James. It kinda has an Irish
sound to it... much emotion... no lemon songs... really pretty music.
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md
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response 234 of 268:
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Dec 27 21:52 UTC 1994 |
_The Secrets of the Old_, which is the title DGG gave their
two-CD collection of Samuel Barber's complete songs. Got it
for Christmas. Cheryl Studer (soprano) and Thomas Hampson
(baritone). Hampson is accompanied by the Emerson String
Quartet on "Dover Beach." John Browning accompanies Studer or
Hampson on the piano on the rest of the songs. This is the CD
set that received all the "Best of" awards in its categories
in the CD mags this year.
I'm happy with my ability to appreciate instrumental music in
general and Barber's instrumental music in particular. Not so
vocal music, especially the lieder or art song genre. I don't
"get" it, which distresses me because I am a fan of Samuel
Barber and he is said to have single-handedly kept this
musical form alive in 20th century America. The most I can
say is that most of these songs are pleasingly shapely, and
the string quartet writing in "Dover Beach" is exquisite.
(Vaughan Williams was a fan of this piece, which isn't
surprising.)
Having just read a bitchy account by Ned Rorem (not the most
credible source, I realize) of how Barber, at a music class
Rorem attended, completely ignored all of the women students
and most of the heterosexual men, it was a pleasure to read
the liner notes by John Browning. Browning gives a
sympathetic portrait of Barber the man - his generosity, his
wit, his self-discipline, the depth of his culture, the
courage with which he flouted convention in launching the
careers of two young black women - Martina Arroyo and Leontyne
Price - in the early 1950s. He once said, "I think that
what's holding composers back a great deal is that they feel
they must have a new style every year. This, in my case,
would be hopeless. I just go on doing, as they say, my thing.
I believe this takes a certain courage." I guess I enjoyed
Browning's liner notes better than the music.
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md
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response 235 of 268:
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Feb 20 15:15 UTC 1995 |
A re-release of Berstein conducting "Candide" Overture, Symphonic
Dances from "West Side Story," "On the Waterfront" symphonic suite,
and three episodes from "On the Town."
I haven't sat down and listened to the "Candide" Overture or "On the
Waterfront" for many years. I'm surprised how Russian the former
sounds to me now. It could have been written by Kabalevsky. But it
also has Offenbachian "French" touches and a vaguely Brahmsoid middle
section. In any case, it's eclectic and not especially Bernsteinian.
It's the perfect background music for latecomers to find their seats to.
The "On the Waterfront" score was a favorite of mine when I was in
college. I loved the big city sound, the urban angst. It's a most
economical piece, in that it makes do with just a few memorable
themes and rhythmic figures. I was surprised to realize that a
couple of snatches of music that have been popping into my head on
their own every once in a while for the past thirty-five years come
from this piece. The love scene music anticipates "West Side Story."
It's a kind of slow-motion "Something's Coming." Bernstein must have
run out of ideas, or time, toward the end: The finale is practically
a note-for-note copy of the finale of Aaron Copland's "Billy the Kid."
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helmke
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response 236 of 268:
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Feb 20 22:33 UTC 1995 |
"Music from the Little Rascals" or something to that effect, by the
Beau Hunks. This is a very intersting CD of 50 musical cues from the
old Little Rascals, Laurel and Hardy, and others, all originally written
by LeRoy Shields back in the 30s. A lot of VERY good instrumental music,
waltzes, some Gershwin type things, etc.
Highly recommended, and not just as nostalgia. Roy Sheilds was a GENIUS.
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spartan
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response 237 of 268:
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Feb 21 02:31 UTC 1995 |
Any Sting fans might want to check out "Fortress," a collection of his music
performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. Some of the arrangements border
on elevator music(Synchronicity 2 just doesn't work), but many of them are
outstanding. For instance, "Russians" is great. (It should be, since the
original sorry, the original - was based on a theme by Sergei Prokofiev.
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md
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response 238 of 268:
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Feb 21 14:25 UTC 1995 |
Re #236: How authentic do the Beau Hunks make this music sound?
I *love* the background music to the old Little Rascals and Laurel
and Hardy movies. I hear those saxophones in my dreams. I had no
idea it was all written by the same composer.
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helmke
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response 239 of 268:
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Feb 22 12:53 UTC 1995 |
The Little Rascals music CD is *extrememly* authentic, with period
instruments (not too hard to do, being only from the 30s), simple recording,
and their arrangements taken from listening to the old films (the original
sheet music is gone). If you like the saxophones you will love this CD.
(helmke's once in a lifetime only rave review)
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cade
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response 240 of 268:
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Mar 3 02:38 UTC 1995 |
Automatic for the People has got to be one of R.E.M.'s best new albums.
Everybody Hurts has helped me through I don't know how many bad days. As for
the rest of the album, just about every otherow. Murmur rules. w
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raven
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response 241 of 268:
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Mar 3 06:25 UTC 1995 |
re # 240 err ummm new albums it came out in late 92 or early 93.
Monster is the new REM album and everything I've heard off it is pretty
bad IMO.
Automatic was pretty good though...
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spartan
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response 242 of 268:
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Mar 14 03:02 UTC 1995 |
I guess if you think of REM as making just the kind of stuff that was on
"Automatic" and "Out of Time," then you might not like "Monster." But, if
you're open to something really different, it's got a lot of good tunes on
it! (this is my opinion. I'm not trying to tell anybody they're wrong if
they don't like "Monster.")
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raven
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response 243 of 268:
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Mar 14 06:49 UTC 1995 |
Actuall I was used to REM making tunes like on Reckoning, then they
got famous & sold out :-)
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spartan
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response 244 of 268:
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Mar 21 20:34 UTC 1995 |
Well, they never actually "sold-out," since they still handle a lot of the
producing chores and they've managaed to do what they wnat on their albums.
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krj
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response 245 of 268:
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Mar 31 07:26 UTC 1995 |
I bought MONSTER the week it came out, and it's still sitting sealed
on the mantelpiece. Actually I'm kind of scared about opening it. :-)
I was a tremendously devoted fan between 1982 and 1988, but when they
took that long break between GREEN and OUT OF TIME, somehow the
emotional connection was severed.
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md
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response 246 of 268:
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May 17 20:33 UTC 1995 |
The Pierre Boulez / Vienna Philharmonic recording of
Mahler's 6th is now on the shelves. I'd promised myself I'd
buy the Boulez Mahler recordings as they were released, and
I still want to. But there was also a new Boulez recording
of some Bartok orchestral pieces - Dance Suite, Two Images,
Hungarian Sketches, and Divertimento - none of which I had
on CD, and one of which - the Dance Suite - is one of my
favorite pieces of music ever. So my Mahler conversion will
have to happen later.
The Bartok recording is wonderful. I don't know if anyone
here listens to Bartok much. If you haven't been exposed to
his music, this CD might be a good place to start. Bartok
has the reputation of being rather grim and cerebral, but if
you start with this music, which is all folk-based and quite
tuneful and rhythmic, and then move on to "difficult" pieces
like the string quartets, you'll realize that his music is
all of a piece. Boulez is his usual awesome self in these
performances.
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md
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response 247 of 268:
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May 24 12:59 UTC 1995 |
[off the subject: I once said, in another time and place, that
Jan Wolter writes the way Pierre Boulez conducts, which expresses
how I feel about janc's writing skills. Actually, what I said
was something like "X writes the way Pierre Boulez conducts," and
Mary Remmers correctly guessed that X equalled janc, which shows
you how *she* feels about janc's writing skills, too.]
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omni
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response 248 of 268:
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May 31 07:52 UTC 1995 |
To revive a really dead item, I have bought some new CDs, and I thought
I'd let y'all know what I thought of them.
To explain the first 3, I'll need to provide you with a little story.
I am an avid crosswod maven, and being tired of running across "George's
sitar teacher" for the nth time, I decided to investigate what all the
fuss was about Ravi Shankar. I borrowed "The Sounds of India" first,
and listened intently to the ragas that were presented. I was amazed that
music could sound so wonderful, and so full- but without having harmony
or any western influence. I was left loving Indian music, so I decided that
I would keep my eyes peeled for any more of Ravi's CD's; but I remembered
the Woodstock reunion, and the authors mentioning that Ravi was not able to
be located, as were a few others. I then thought of his age, he was born in
1920, which makes him 75, anI thought that he might have passed on.
I was wrong. I found his latest CD, "Ravi Shankar in San Francisco" and
Ravi Shankar at the Kremlin to be recent releases. I bought them, and
I found them to be as wonderful as "The Sounds of India" was. The Kremlin CD
is really great, because Ravi combined Indian music with Russian music, and
blended it with a master's hand. If you have the means, get it.
.
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md
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response 249 of 268:
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Jul 13 15:42 UTC 1995 |
Samuel Barber: Horizon. This Koch CD has the San Diego Chamber
Orchestra and the Arioso Wind Quintet performing various Barber
pieces.
"Summer Music," composed in 1956, is Barber's only work for
woodwind quintet. It's a twelve-and-a-half minute catalog of
characteristic sounds and mannerisms from Barber's middle period.
(For the whole encyclopedia, listen to his opera "Vanessa," which
he was composing at the same time.) This is the specific sound
that I find so attractive in Barber's music. "Summer Music" has
it in such concentrated form that, for me, it's addictive.
"Knoxville: Summer of 1915," regarded by many critics as Barber's
masterpiece, is a setting for soprano and orchestra of the prose-
poem at the beginning of James Agee's novel, _A Death in the
Family_. It's presumably a monologue by a small child, but
written from the perspective of the adult he will become. It
deals with innocence, nostalgia, and death. Barber's music is
perfect for the text, and extremely moving. The soprano, Ruth
Golden, has a lovely voice, and this is the first time I've heard
Barber's setting of it for chamber orchestra. I like it. But I
still like the old Leontyne Price/Thomas Schippers/ New York
Philharmonic version best.
"Capricorn Concerto" is a neo-baroque piece modeled after the
Second Brandenburg Concerto. It's often accused of being
Stravinskyan (and no wonder), but the effortless chromaticism
(eg, the beginning of the second movement - how does he *do*
that?), and the sculptured perfection of the shapes of the
three movements, are pure Barber. This recording has a minor
balance problem (soloists in your face at a couple of points).
Otherwise very nice. (Barber trivia: the oboe soloist at the
premiere performance of this piece was Mitch Miller.)
"Serenade for String Orchestra" has the distinction of being
Samuel Barber's Opus 1. It's a fairly straight transcription for
string orchestra of a string quartet piece Barber wrote when he
was eighteen years old. Very pretty, vaguely Germanic sounding,
not very Barberesque.
"Adagio for Strings" also started life as a string quartet
movement. When Barber finished it, he wrote to his uncle that
"it's a knockout." He later transcribed it for full string
orchestra and sent the score, along with his "First Essay for
Orchestra," to the legendary conductor Arturo Toscanini.
Toscanini returned both scores to Barber without comment.
Miffed, Barber refused to accompany Gian Carlo Menotti on a visit
to Toscanini a few months later. Toscanini: "Well, where's your
friend Barber?" Menotti: "Well, he's not feeling very well."
Toscanini: "I don't believe that. He's mad at me. Tell him not
to be mad. I'm not going to play one of his pieces, I'm going to
play both." Toscanini premiered them both in a radio broadcast
concert on November 5, 1938. It was a stunning, unprecendented
success for Barber, from which, as more than one critic has
observed, he never fully recovered.
The title piece, "Horizon," is a brief orchestral piece which
Barber composed for a radio program in 1945. It was performed
once, remained (and remains) unpublished, and this, as the CD
cover proclaims, is the "World Premiere Recording." It's a very
slight, rather moody and atmospheric composition. Barber later
self-plagiarized the opening theme for Summer Music.
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