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

Concerts in the Neighborhood – Tristan Pfaff this Friday

One of the great things about being in upper Northwest D.C. is the wealth of cultural events available through the multitude of embassies located in this area.

One such event is happening this Friday at the Hungarian Embassy. They’re partnering with Alliance Francaise to bring in the pianist Tristan Pfaff for a (nearly) all-Liszt program. The concert kicks off at 7pm. Additional program information and tickets are available from the Alliance Francaise event page. The Hungarian Embassy is located on Tilden St. NW as you head down towards Pierce Mill – just a hop, skip, and jump from Howard Law and the Levine School of Music.

For future reference, you can find out what’s going on at the embassies by searching “embassy” over at Cultural Tourism DC.

 

Carley’s Staff Picks!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! Now that you’ve sworn off of turkey and pie (Ha!) and you’re realizing just how much work you have to do in the last few weeks of the semester (a lot), take some much-needed “me-time” and kick back with some staff picks.

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Samuel Barber loves singers. I would argue that he is the most influential American art-song composer.

For Singers

Collected Songs for High Voice – M1620.B3 S33

65 Songs (For Medium/Low Voice) – M1620.B27 S59 2010

For Listening

The Songs. – Cheryl Studer, soprano; Thomas Hampson, baritone; John Browning, piano; Emerson String Quartet – CD 1325/6353

Ligeti is just really cool. I don’t think this would be good study-music during the Finals period…it could be more like a soundtrack to your feelings?

Gyorgy Ligeti: A Capella Choral Works – London Sinfonetta Voices; Terry Edwards, Conductor – CD 9541

‘Tis the season! Oh, and Tchaikovsky’s first piano concerto is outstanding….Martha Argerich is okay, I guess (kidding, she’s magnificent).

Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, No. 1 Op. 23/The Nutcracker: Suite, Op. 71a - Martha Argerich, piano; Berliner Philharmoniker; Claudio Abbado, conductor; Nicholas Economou, piano (2nd work) – CD 7653

Carley’s Staff Picks!

The theme for my staff picks? Music that sings.

 

Folksongs: Dvořák, Grainger, Larsson, Hahn, Kodály, Britten / Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg. CD7893

I have been surrounded by folk-songs lately as the AU Chorus and Chamber Singers are preparing two very nostalgic programs for the fall concert series’ featuring folk music arrangements from all over the place .

 

Beethoven: String Quartet in Bb Major, Op. 130
This is my favorite of Beethoven’s late string quartets. The contrasts, the Cavatina, the Grosse Fugue, what’s not to love?

 

 

 

 

 

Lully: The Tragedy of Armide   CD5031

I was so excited to find  Armide performed by Opera Lafayette with our very own Nancy Snider! If you don’t know about Opera Lafayette, a D.C.-based period instrument ensemble focused on French baroque opera, be sure check out their website & current season!

The King’s Singers: Chanson D’amour  CD 868

These are just fun! Gotta love the great sound and smart arrangements that the King’s Singers present.

Gorecki: Symphonie no. 3, Op. 36 “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs”  CD 6037

In my opinion this is one of the most astonishing and beautiful works of our time. Written in 1976, the “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs” is a wonderful listen, especially in this recording with Dawn Upshaw wailing away.

Wagner’s Ring Cycle at the Met this week!

PBS is airing the Metropolitan Opera’s exciting production of Wagner’s Ring Cycle this week. If you aren’t familiar with this epic, Wagner’s Ring is just that – Epic.

Check out the link for more info here: PBS: Great Performances

The cycle is made of up four operas performed over four nights, adding up to 15 hours of total performance time. Performing, designing, directing and listening to a full production of the Ring is a massive feat for performers and audience-members alike!

The Met’s star-studded cast includes dramatic soprano Deborah Voigt as Brünhilde and tenor Jay Hunter Morris as Siegfried. James Levine and Fabio Luisi conduct.

The production will air on PBS tonight (Tuesday) – Friday, at 9pm.

Deborah Voigt and Jay Hunter Morris in Gotterdamerung

New Scores!

Its a big week for those who like new scores, especially if you like them from the 20th Century. Here is a little dose of the Ligeti to start with:

György Ligeti ~ Le Grand Macabre ~ M1500 .L64 G7 2003

Camille Saint-Saëns ~ Samson et Delila ~ M1500.S18 S2 1992

Antonin Dvorak ~ Piano Trio in F Minor ~ M312 .D98 op.68 1999

Oliver Messiaen ~ Vingt Regards Sur L’enfant-Jèsus (for piano) ~ M25 .M48 V5 2011

Karlheinz Stockhausen ~ Mikrophonie II ~ M1554 .S76 M54 1974

Karlheinz Stockhausen ~ Telemusik ~ M1473 .S8 T4 1969

Staff Picks ~ 7/12

It’s been awhile since the last round of staff picks, so its about time for some more.

Steve Reich Works 1965 – 1995

I like Steve Reich’s music. This box set is a collection of Reich’s music spanning a 30 year period featuring the Steve Reich Ensemble among many other esteemed groups. Its a great collection.

The cover art is pretty cool too.

Bruckner: Symphonies 1-9

This nifty little box set off the the RCA label is a really well put together compilation of what are arguably some of the biggest, longest and most complex symphonies in the major Western repertoire. The cycle was recorded in the 70′s by the Gewandhausorchester of Leipzig under the baton of Kurt Masur. Its powerful where it needs to be powerful, which is important with Bruckner. Even the slower tempos don’t seem as drawn out as other recordings of Bruckner, although I would not say Masur zips through them. Overall, if you like Bruckner, this is a good box to look at.

Copland: Third Symphony ~ Music for the Theater

I like Copland. I especially like his Third Symphony. It represents a culmination of his Americana-esque sound now associated with Western Soundtracks. I also like it because the orchestration is incredibly well done. Chief among this, in my opinion is the way he handles the Brass. I know I am a bit biased towards Brass (was the Bruckner a clue at all?), but this is one of those pieces that is made for the brass section, taking advantage of everything it does well. But enough about the piece, lets talk about this recording.

Usually when people talk about a recording of Copland’s Third Symphony, they talk about the New York Philharmonic recording from 1986 under Bernstein’s Baton. Actually, with so much attention on that recording, people tend to forget that there are other great recordings out there. This is one of them. Yoel Levi conducts the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in a great performance that reminds you that you can find a nice recording outside of the Big Five.

Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky, Lieutenant Kije, Scythian Suite

Sporting more than just a cool picture, this collection of Prokofiev conducted by Abbado is seriously heavy. Alexander Nevsky and Lieutenant Kije is as big as anything gets these days. However, Scythian Suite is something that just takes that extra excessive step. This was my first recording of the piece and as a brass player, the second movement holds a special place in my heart. Take a listen and see why.

Prokofiev: The 5 Piano concertos

If you asked me which Pianist I would want to hear play something Russian, it would be Alexander Toradze. Then if you asked me who I would want to conduct, it would be Valery Gergiev. So it only makes sense that this recording be in my list of recommendations. Toradze is powerful on the keys, yet sensitive to the frenetic changes in mood common in Prokofiev. Add to this the long years of collaboration between him and Gergiev and you have a match made in heaven.

Cheers

A lot of Noise — Staff Picks by Alex

So here we are. With all the CD’s to pick from its hard to choose only 5 to recommend. Oh well, here we go…

Symphony No. 5 — Petyr Illych Tchaikovsky: performed by Kurt Masur and the Gewandhausorchester – CD 9333

As a major work of Orchestral literature, Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony has been recorded more times than I care to count. So what does this recording have that makes it stand out? Ill let you take a look at the cover.

I know you shouldn’t judge a book (or CD?) by its cover, but this immediately got my attention. As a brass player, I love playing Tchaikosvky because he writes so well for brass. The parts are written in a way that is satisfying to the sound of the instrument. This recording, apart from having a great cover, reflects that sound as Masur knows how to handle a brass section in this very Brassy symphony.

Alina — Arvo Pärt — CD 9432

This recording was a collaboration between the the composer and several different musicians. It consists of several interpretations of two of Pärt’s seminal works. The music is very relaxing and a reminder that the best music does not have to be the most intricate.

Ahknaten — Phillip Glass — CD 8384

I’ve always had a hard time getting into opera. I don’t really enjoy lighter opera, while the bigger, more romantic stuff has always been too dense and impenetrable for me to enjoy. Ahknaten on the other hand is just light enough that I do not feel overwhelmed while keeping my interest. Besides, as you can probably tell, I am a bit of a fan of minimalism.

Mingus Big Band 93 — CD 4467

A bunch of really great musicians get together and make a really great band. Then they play some really great music by Charles Mingus.

Dark Full Ride — Julia Wolfe CD 9549

Do you ever wonder what 9 bagpipes bending pitches sound like? If the answer is yes, look no further. This, in my opinion is one of the coolest CD’s we’ve acquired in recent memory. Julia Wolfe, formerly of Bang on a Can, decided to put together four pieces where the focus was on exploring the sounds possible by combining large numbers of the same instrument. If you want more information, you should check out this review by Jay Batzner over at Sequenza21.

Cheers

Check out some NEW music!

Stillness and Change – John Aylward (CD 9482)

Heartsongs & Audubon – Carver Blanchard (CD 9483)

Snell Sessions – Christopher Creviston (CD 9484)

Symphony No. 5: The Tempest – Tchaikovsky (CD 9485)

Piano Concertos nos. 1-4 – Beethoven (CD 9486)

Have a great Halloween weekend!