Domenico Scarlatti Six Sonatas K 491 – K 454 – K 239 – K 466 – K 342 – K 146 The 550-odd sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti are perhaps the most successful works to migrate from the harpsichord to the modern grand piano. Their transparent texture … Continue reading
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In this week's e-news we talk about fundraising in these strange Covid times, and we share a moving testimonial about legacy giving from VRS subscriber and donor Rick Carswell. Plus, pianist Stephen Hough is advocating for the end of intermission at concerts (which is sure to be a little bit controversial). Read it all here: bit.ly/3lyXBu3
We have a new Beyond the Concert Hall video to share... this week Leila chats with trombonist Peter Moore, who was supposed to make his Canadian debut on our series earlier this month. Plus, Yo-Yo Ma has a new album coming out, appropriately titled 'Songs of Comfort and Hope'. And, as always, we're sharing the music we're listening to right now. All in this week's e-news: bit.ly/2J6F1Md
In this week's e-news, we're sharing a video of Paul Lewis playing Beethoven’s 4th Piano Concerto with the Oslo Philharmonic under the baton of Spanish conductor Juanjo Mena. Balm for the soul. bit.ly/3fe9SCl
PROGRAM NOTES: IGOR LEVIT
Posted onJohann Sebastian Bach Chaconne in D minor BWV 1004 (arr. Brahms) The Bach revival of the 19th century began with a performance of the St. Matthew Passion in Berlin in 1829, conducted by the 20-year-old Felix Mendelssohn. It reached its stride … Continue reading
PROGRAM NOTES: JULIA BULLOCK & JOHN ARIDA
Posted onFRANZ SCHUBERT (1797–1828) Four Lieder About the Composer Franz Schubert established the German lied as an important art form and then set a standard of excellence that no one since has quite matched. Schubert created more than 600 songs in … Continue reading
PROGRAM NOTES: Jerusalem Quartet with Pinchas Zukerman and Amanda Forsyth
Posted onRichard Strauss String Sextet from Capriccio Capriccio (1942), Richard Strauss’ last stage work, is an opera about opera, constructed as a series of elegant salon conversations dealing with a question that has bedevilled opera lovers for centuries: which is more … Continue reading
PROGRAM NOTES: EVGENY KISSIN
Posted onFrédéric Chopin and Robert Schumann “…calling it a sonata is a caprice if not a jest for Chopin seems to have taken four of his most unruly children and put them together possibly thinking to smuggle them, as a sonata, … Continue reading
PROGRAM NOTES: CASTALIAN STRING QUARTET
Posted onFranz Joseph Haydn String Quartet in D, Op. 76 No. 5 Having recently returned from his hugely successful visits to England and been liberated from financial woes, Haydn composed a set of six String Quartets, Op. 76 which were commissioned … Continue reading
PROGRAM NOTES: PAUL LEWIS
Posted onLudwig van Beethoven 11 Bagatelles Op. 119 Beethoven’s Op. 119 is a catch-all collection of pieces written without any preconceived formal plan for the enjoyment of amateur piano enthusiasts. The last five were published first as a contribution to a … Continue reading
PROGRAM NOTES: INON BARNATAN
Posted onGeorge Frederick Handel Chaconne in G Major While Handel is principally remembered as a composer of operas and oratorios, it was well known to his contemporaries that he possessed major moxy as a keyboard performer, as well. In witness thereof, … Continue reading
PROGRAM NOTES: EDGAR MOREAU & JESSICA XYLINA OSBORNE
Posted onFrancis Poulenc Sonata for Cello and Piano Op. 143 Mozart meets Stravinsky – in a Paris cabaret. As unlikely as such a meeting might be in historical terms, it is about as good a description as you can find for … Continue reading
PROGRAM NOTES: SIR ANDRÁS SCHIFF
Posted onRobert Schumann Variations on an Original Theme in E at major (“Ghost Variations”) WoO 24 In February of 1854, Robert Schumann was in a state of delirium, but a very musical one. He was surrounded by ghosts, he told his … Continue reading