Of Trainwrecks and Heartaches - soundtrack from episode 207

By -

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hilary Hahn Continues to tour Jennifer Higdon's new Violin Concerto

By -
Image
Since Hilary Hahn premiered Jennifer Higdon 's Violin Concerto in February, she has performed the new work in a variety of different settings. At the end of May she will appear with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic with Vasily Petrenko as conductor, her second performance of Higdon's Concerto in Europe. Hilary then returns to Baltimore to work with Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony for a spate of concerts in the Maryland area. After her concerts in Baltimore Hilary rejoins with Valentina Lisitsa on piano for a tour of South America. May 28 Liverpool, UK - Philharmonic Hall Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Vasily Petrenko, conductor Higdon: Violin Concerto June 4 Baltimore, MD - Meyerhoff Symphony Hall Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Marin Alsop, conductor Higdon: Violin Concerto June 5 Baltimore, MD - Meyerhoff Symphony Hall Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Marin Alsop, conductor Higdon: Violin Concerto June 6 North Bethesda, MD - Strathmor...
Read more

Comparing Violinists

By -
Image
I'm not sure such a comparison by a composer is a wise decision (because performers are the people who ultimately perform our music and comparing performers means one tends to be favored and so the other may feel slighted and 'less inclined' to perform comparing composer's works). But that said, this blog is all about discussing what comes to mind - and reviewing the various violin music I've heard recently it only seems natural a comparison of the performers styles would happen. So, here I go.... Hilary Hahn has several glowing comments from me about her playing. I've listened to most of what she has recorded and find her style fresh and energetic. She likes to attack pieces and plays some of the fast sections faster than her contemporaries. This is not done at the sake of clarity, because during the Szymanowski the clarity of notes is always present, and yet the notes seems to fly at inhuman speed. Although, I think her rendition of Korngold's Violin Co...
Read more

What Sort of Classical Music Should I Write? - Part 2

By -
Should be it be Innovative (or avant-garde) or Accessible a follow up for What Sort of Classical Music Should I Write? An on going series of posts into what sort of composition is "good" classical music As I mentioned in the previous post , there are numerous styles of Classical music, and camps of people who favor one over another. In this week's post I want to talk about innovative music vs accessible music, or music that pushes the bounds of what music is as opposed to music "joe blow" on the street might be willing to listen to - more than once. There are plenty of quotes from major composers of the 20th century who take the camp of "I don't care what the audience thinks" or "It's better if they don't like my music at first. It means I'm really doing something new." (both paraphrased, but you get the idea.) The attitude of these avant-garde composers implies the audience has no real value to them. Music is the hi...
Read more