Carley’s Staff Picks!

In recent months I have been fueled by Beethoven. Piano sonatas, string quartets, symphonies, concertos, everything. So, my first staff pick is the excellent documentary In Search of Beethoven. There are too many prominent ensembles, conductors and pianists featured in the film to count. The documentary truly takes the viewer on a journey. It catalogs his works and gives us some insight into Beethoven’s remarkable personality and his empathy for humanity.

In Search of Beethoven: A film by Phil Grabsky  ~  DVD 202

Chamber music. There’s so much of it! I think Mendelssohn is a good place to start. His piano trios are remarkable (the man DID write “Songs without Words”).

Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio in D minor was written in 1839, the year before Schumann experienced his most prolific year of songwriting. I love that Schumann viewed Mendelssohn as the Mozart of the 19th century, saying that he was the “most of illuminating of musicians”. High praise.

The Piano Trios of Felix Mendelssohn  ~  CD 9069

2013 is the bicentennial of Verdi and Wagner! Orchestras and Opera companies all over the world are celebrating with seasons dedicated to performing great works, from the most famous to the lesser-known. The AUSO began the celebration in March with the overture from  Die Meistersinger von Nurmberg and they will be joined by the AU Chorus in a couple of weeks to keep the party going with Verdi’s Four Sacre Pezzi.

Simon Boccanegra  ~  CD 8802

Birgit Nilsson Sings Wagner Arias with Hans Hotter and Leopold Ludwig  ~  CD 8173

This one’s for Robert:

Meredith Monk: Turtle Dreams  ~  CD 9697

More New Stuff!

These scores have just arrived from the bindery!

Brahms  -  Quintet and Quartets for Piano and Strings  -  M178.B73 G35 1985

Schubert  -  Lieder, Volume II for High Voice  -  M1620.S38 L54 1974 v.2

Tchaikovsky  -  Eugene Onegin (full score)  -  M1500.T34 E94 1997

Also, some new CDs and a DVD for your use:

Ruckblick Moderne: 20th Century Orchestral Music  -  CD10064

Michael Daugherty/Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra: Route 66, Ghost Ranch, Sunset Strip, Time Machine  -  CD 10065

Mahler: Autopsy of a Genius  -  DVD 352

A Special Blog Post: Music and Multimedia!

Recently, the Music Library has acquired a collection of Sixto Rodriguez’s CDs — check them out by clicking on the links below:

• Coming From Reality
• Cold Fact

Don’t know much about Sixto Rodriguez? Well perhaps it’s about time you should, and the AU Library is here to help. In fact, Sixto Rodriguez has a fascinating story we believe should be shared! He is an American musician whose music never really became popular in the United States, but became extremely famous in South Africa. What is astonishing about his story is that he did not even know he had become famous in South Africa. Searching for Sugar Man is a documentary (available at the AU media services section of the library) that details the story of two of his Cape Town, South Africa fans who go on a quest to discover what had become of Sixto Rodriguez. Haven’t convinced you yet? Perhaps this fact will — this documentary just won the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary as well as the Academy Award for Best Documentary.

 

Speaking of films and music, how about checking out The Buddy Holly Story and Thunder Soul? Both are films that feature the stories of musicians who have truly shaped American music today. And the best part? Both are available at the AU music library!

Last but not least — if these aforementioned musical tastes are not your style, why don’t you check out Wagner’s Der Ring Des Nibelungen, which is also conveniently available at the AU Music Library!

 

So many things to listen and watch, so little time! Hope you enjoyed the blog post and come in to enjoy our selections sometime!

 

 

Robert’s Staff Picks

CD 3538 -  At Folsom Prison – Johnny Cash

In honor of Johnny Cash’s birthday (2/26), I’m picking one a Johnny Cash CD from the Music Library’s collection.  Here’s the transcription of part of Cash’s handwritten notes about “Folsom Prison Blues” that can be found in the liner notes:”The culture of a thousand years is shattered with the clanging of the cell door behind you.  Life outside, behind you immediately becomes unreal.  You begin to not care that it exists.  All you have with you in the cell is your bare animal instincts.”

CD 10051 – True Bluegrass Banjo

Bluegrass music exploded with a bang in the mid 1940s, and the instrument most responsible for the growing popularity of the music was the 5-string banjo as played by the masterful Earl Scruggs.  Scruggs inspired literally thousands of musicians to learn a new way of picking the banjo, and many of these artists went on to inspire countless others with this fascinating new style.  This is a CD that the Music Library recently acquired. I’m obsessed with it.  If you hear banjo music in Katzen–Wednesday mornings from 9:00-11:30–don’t be alarmed…I’m just jamming in the Music Library.

CD 9834 – Harmonium The Klinghoffer Choruses – John Adams

This CD is a great introduction to contemporary opera.  John Adams is also the composer of my favorite contemporary opera–Dr. Atomic.  The Death of Klinghoffer tells the story of the 1984 hijacking of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro by four Palestinian commandos and the subsequent killing of Leon Klinghoffer, a Jewish American passenger, whose body was thrown overboard in the wheelchair to which he had been confined.  Sounds like a pretty interesting opera to me.

CD 6753 – Ruffo

Ruffo Titta, (he reversed his names for the stage) was born in Pisa.  Coming from a large and poor family, Ruffo had an unhappy childhood and received no education.  From an early age he assisted his father as a blacksmith, but because of continued friction between them, Ruffo left home.  By the age of eighteen he had discovered his fine baritone voice and was admitted to the Santa Cecilia in Rome, becoming a pupil of the celebrated teacher, Persichini.  He’s a very interesting musician.

CD 6771 – Legendary Tenors & CD 6772 – Legendary Baritones

These two CDs are fantastic if you want to listen to the progression of styles of singing.  If you’re a baritone looking for new repertoire, I recommend listening to “Legendary Baritones.”  If you’re a tenor looking for new repertoire, I recommend you listen to “Legendary Tenors.”  Both CDs can be very informative.

Medici.tv – Virtual Classical Concert Hall

If you haven’t had a chance to check out Medici TV, you should take some time out of your busy schedule and go watch an opera…or a symphonic concert.

 

 

 

MORE New Arrivals!

The Opera America Song-Book  ~  M1507.O64 2012

The G. Schirmer Piano Collection: 33 Works by 25 Composers from 20th and 21st Centuries  ~  M21.G25 2012

Michael Daugherty  ~  Trail of Tears for flute and chamber orchestra (2010)  ~  M1020.D38 T73 2012

Gyorgy Ligeti  ~  Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1985-88)  ~  M1010.L54 C66 2005

Gyorgy Ligeti  ~  Concerto for Violin and Orchestra  ~  M1013.L54 C66 2002

Franz Liszt  ~  Etudes D’Execution Transcendante  ~  M25.L25 E88 2004

Matthias Pintscher  ~  Funf Orchesterstucke (1997)  ~  M1045.P56 S78 1997

Matthais Pintscher  ~  tenebrae for viola, small ensemble and live electronics  ~  M1014.P56 T46 2001

Matthias Pintscher  ~  Thomas Chatterton, opera (1994-8)  ~  M1500.P56 T56 1998

Steve Reich: Music for 18 Musicians  ~  M1528.R45 M87 2000

Heitor Villa-Lobos  ~  Douze Etudes pour guitare seule  ~  M127.V55 E88 2011

Paul Chihara: Viola Concerto and Music for Viola, Vol. 2  ~  CD 10054

Advent at Ephesus: Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles ~  CD 10050

Kurtag 80, conducted by Zoltan Kocsis  ~  CD 10052

Gabrieli: Sacred Symphonies  ~  CD 10049

Starfucker  ~  CD 10055

True Blugrass Banjo  ~  CD 10051

Austin Peralta: Endless Planets  ~  CD 10056

The Complete Atomic Basie  ~  CD 10057

Carley’s Staff Picks, for your enjoyment

To me, ’tis the season for Opera. For some reason I feel like I’m being bombarded with it. Are all of the HD Live-from-the-Met broadcasts contributing to a sort of comeback for the art? This live 1955 recording of Lucia di Lammermoor features Maria Callas in the role that she was born to perform. From its thematic depiction of the Scottish highlands in the overture through its perfect mad scene and finale, this is an unforgettable recording.

Lucia di Lammermoor – Donizetti -  CD 8254

No plot could be more devastating and tragic than Lucia’s, right? Wrong. Enter Susannah. If you’re not familiar with this mid-20th century American masterpiece you’re in for a wild ride.

Ready the Kleenex.

Susannah – Carlisle Floyd – CD 8401

The World So Wide – Dawn Upshaw – CD 7897

I was looking for a recording of Copland’s The Tenderland and I came across Dawn Upshaw, which doesn’t surprise me at all. Upshaw is a controversial artist. Her distinct and lyrical voice is especially light for the repertoire in which she specializes yet she is unarguably a defining voice of her generation.

La Traviata – Giuseppe Verdi – CD 3576

Anna Netrebko is another of our contemporaries who is constantly criticized for her timbre and overtly sexualized performances and I really love her gusto. I’m going to propose that La Traviata is perhaps the best we have heard from this powerful singer yet.

Just Keep on Doin’ It! ~ New CD’s ~

Well hello there! You came just in time, we have some new CDs to show you

Look! There they are:

The History of New Orleans Rhythm & Blues Vol. 1 ~ CD 10027

The History of New Orleans Rhythm & Blues Vol. 2 ~ CD 10028

Santa’s got Mojo 2 ~ CD 10029

Jeff Holmes Quartet ~ Of One’s Own ~ CD 10030

Michael Feinberg ~ The Elvin Jones Project ~ CD 10031

Dream Girls ~ Original Broadway Cast Album ~ CD 10032

Benny Andersson ~ Kristina ~ CD 10033

Herbie Hancock ~ Secrets ~ CD 10034

Dan Visconti ~ Lonesome Roads ~ CD 10035

Black Manhattan Vol. 2 ~ CD 10036

New Arrivals!

New CDs!

Benjamin Broening – Eighth Blackbird – Trembling Air – CD 9978

Victor Herbert – Eileen: A romantic comic opera – CD 9976

Joel Hoffman – Three Paths: 9 Pieces for Piano…the first time and the last         CD 9977

George Walker – Great American Concert Music – CD 9979

CanAm Piano Duo – This is the World – CD 9980

Charles Bestor – Eric Berlin, trumpet – The Sound of Time – CD 9981

Ragtime Concert feat. Bob Becker, Xylophone – CD 9975

New Sheet Music!

Karlheinz Stockhausen – Stimmung for six vocalists, Nr. 24                                M1529.5.S76 S75 1969

Karlheinz Stockhausen – Kurzwellen for six players,  Nr. 25                                M1470.S76 K8 1969

Louis Andriessen – Disco for Violin and Piano – M221.A63 D5 1995

Philip Glass – Four Movements for Two Pianos – M214.G48 M68 2011

Mario Davidovsky – Capricio for Two Pianos – M214.D250 C2 1965

John Cage – Music Walk – M25.C34 M875 1960

Some New CDs and DVDs

CDs

Christian Atunde Adjuah ~ CD 9960

John Luther Adams ~ Four Thousand Holes ~ CD 9961

Chic ~ Risque ~  CD 9962

Mumford and Sons ~ Babel ~ CD 9963

Mohammed Fairouz ~ Sumeida’s Song ~ CD 9964

A Christmas Story: The Musical ~ CD 9965

Nice Work If You Can Get It ~ Original Broadway Cast ~ CD 9966

Vision Quartet ~ Conicality ~ CD 9967

Sherban Lupu ~ Inner Visions ~ CD 9968

Berio ~ Recital 1 for Cathy ~ CD 9969

Orlando Jacinto Garcia ~ Celestial Voices ~ CD 9970

Pierre Boulez ~ Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite ~ CD 9972

DVDs

Jumbo ~ DVD 332

Love Me or Leave Me ~ DVD 334

Lullaby of Broadway ~ DVD 335

Young Man with a Horn ~ DVD 337

Calamity Jane ~ DVD 338

Robert’s Staff Picks!

 

My staff picks are all over the place this week.

DVD 327 - The Audition:  This is a great DVD for those who enjoy opera or are training to be opera singers.  The documentary offers a look at the Metropolitan Opera’s National Council Auditions, where each year thousands of hopefuls face their fears and compete for a cash prize, the chance to sing on the Met stage–and the opportunity to launch a major operatic career.

CD 9808- Intuitivo:  The music on this CD was composed by AU’s own Fernando Benadon.  Professor Benadon describes this CD as “A collage of free improvisations.  My goal was to shape the players’ raw individual ideas into a spontaneously ‘coherent’ whole, all the while preserving and highlighting their unique subtleties of time and timbre.”

DVD 166 – Def Leppard/Hysteria – I really enjoy listening to Def Leppard when I’m not listening to classical music.  This is a really great track-by-track review of Def Leppard’s Hysteria album.

CD 5138 – Elvis at Sun (Studios) -  I’m pretty sure this has been on my staff picks before, but I can’t get enough Elvis. Take this CD home and listen to it over the weekend!

I also encourage everyone to check out Medici TV so you can watch Dr. Atomic!!! Use our databases!!!