Now this is refreshing: Mozart’s operas without the vocals. Since the music was usually my favorite part of Mozart’s operas, I enjoy listening to this CD. However… Don Giovanni (Tracks 1-13) is boring even without the vocals. The music just doesn’t move me. Of much more interest to me is the music from Die Entführung […]
Entries Tagged as 'Mozart at 26'
Of Operas Sans Vocals (Theatre and Ballet Music, Box 17)
June 5th, 2010 · No Comments · Box 17: Theatre and Ballet Music, Die Entfuhrung Aus Dem Serail, Don Giovanni, K384 (instrumentals), K527 (instrumentals), Mozart at 26, Mozart at 31, Netherlands Wind Ensemble, Prague (October 28 1787), Vienna (May 29 1782)
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Of Sherlock Holmes and Il Seraglio (German Operas, Box 16)
May 30th, 2010 · No Comments · Billy Wilder, Box 16: German Operas, Die Entfuhrung Aus Dem Serail, K384, K384 (Part II), Mozart at 26, Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes, Singspiel, Vienna (May 29 1782)
Tonight, we’re watching another Billy Wilder film – The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970). I’ve never seen this particular Wilder film. But I’m hoping it’s as good as some of his other classics, for example: Some Like it Hot, Sunset Boulevard, Stalag 17, Double Indemnity, and The Apartment. As for today’s Mozart opera, it’s […]
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Of Wandering Minds and Rolling Rs (Arias, Vocal Ensembles, Canons, Box 12)
April 17th, 2010 · No Comments · Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Anton Scharinger, Box 12: Arias Vocal Ensembles Canons Lieder Notturni, Bryn Terfel, Dresdner Philharmonie, Eva Lind, Hans Peter Blochwitz, Jörg-Peter Weigle, Julie Kaufmann, K434, K441, K479, K480, K492, K527, K532, K540b, K577, K579, K584, K625, KApp25, KApp5, Mozart at 26, Mozart at 29, Mozart at 30, Mozart at 31, Mozart at 33, Mozart at 34, Muncher RFO, Peter Schreier, Prague (October 28 1787), Rene Pape, Rudolf Jansen, Sir Neville Marriner, Vienna, Vienna (1785-6), Vienna (1786), Vienna (1787), Vienna (April 29 1786), Vienna (August 11 1788), Vienna (August 1789), Vienna (August 1790), Vienna (December 1790), Vienna (January 1790), Vienna (July 1789), Vienna (Late 1782), Vienna (November 21 1785), Vienna (November 5 1785)
Today’s CD is a fest of rolling Rs. It wasn’t compelling enough to stop my mind from wandering (isn’t that a line from a Beatles song?). But it was entertaining. A few selections from the Marriage of Figaro are represented here. And more songs from the superb Eva Lind. (I wonder if she’s related to […]
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Of Cinnamon-Chip Scones and Well-Balanced Music (Arias, Vocal Ensembles, Canons, Box 12)
April 16th, 2010 · No Comments · Box 12: Arias Vocal Ensembles Canons Lieder Notturni, Dresdner Philharmonie, Edith Wiens, Elzbieta Szmytka, Gunnar Gudbjornson, Hans Peter Blochwitz, Iris Vermillion, Jörg-Peter Weigle, K135 (ornamentation from K293e), K366 (with alternate duet K489), K389, K490, K51, K87, Mozart at 12, Mozart at 14, Mozart at 16, Mozart at 25, Mozart at 26, Mozart at 30, Muncher RFO, Panera Bread, Peter Schreier, Robert Tear, Sir Colin Davis, Sir Neville Marriner, Staatskapelle Dresden/Karl Bohm, Stuart Burrows
This CD was a pleasant surprise. With a title like Arias & Duets I wasn’t expecting much. Well, I take that back. I was expecting another nightmare. What I discovered (as I munched my cinnamon-chip scone from Panera Bread) is that these are very nice performances. Although this isn’t a CD I could listen to […]
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Of Plants and Linds (Arias, Vocal Ensembles, Canons, Box 12)
April 15th, 2010 · No Comments · 1783, Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Box 12: Arias Vocal Ensembles Canons Lieder Notturni, Christiane Eda-Pierre, Dresdner Philharmonie, Eva Lind, Hans Peter Blochwitz, Jörg-Peter Weigle, Julie Kaufmann, K119, K178, K293e, K294, K295, K433, K435, K440, K580, K83, Mannheim (February 12 1778), Mannheim (February 24 1778), Mannheim (February 27 1778), Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Mozart at 14, Mozart at 22, Mozart at 26, Mozart at 27, Mozart at 29, Mozart at 30, Mozart at 33, Robert Lloyd, Robert Plant, Rome (April-May 1770), Sir Colin Davis, Stuart Burrows, Vienna (1782), Vienna (early 1782), Vienna (Early 1785-6), Vienna (June 1783), Vienna (September 17 1789)
I wish I could like this music. I know soprano Julie Kaufmann is considered one of the world’s finest. But her singing leaves me cold. There’s something about her timbre that doesn’t sooth me. She has the power I respect. She has the range I like. But her singing just doesn’t do it for me. […]
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Of Highs and Lows (Arias, Vocal Ensembles, Canons, Box 12)
April 14th, 2010 · No Comments · Box 12: Arias Vocal Ensembles Canons Lieder Notturni, Edita Gruberova, Edith Mathis, Francisco Araiza, K431, K505, K512, K513, K528, K538, K539, K541, K578, K582, K583, K612, Kapp245, Leopold Hager, Lilian Sukis, Lucia Popp, Mozart at 22, Mozart at 23, Mozart at 24, Mozart at 25, Mozart at 26, Mozart at 27, Mozart at 30, Mozart at 31, Mozart at 32, Mozart at 33, Mozart at 35, Mozarteum-Orchester Salzburg, Munich (1778) - Vienna (March 4 1788), Prague (November 3 1787), Prague (September 1791), Robert Lloyd, Vienna (1783), Vienna (August 1789), Vienna (December 26 1786), Vienna (March 19 1787), Vienna (March 23 1787), Vienna (March 5 1788), Vienna (March 8 1791), Vienna (May 1788), Vienna (October 1789), Walter Berry
Ugh. After the high note (literally) that was yesterday’s CD, this is quite a let down. When I told my wife how I felt about this morning’s music, she said she noticed something about my Mozart blog. She said that I either love or hate the vocal performances. For example, yesterday I raved to the […]
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Of Edita Gruberova. Period. (Arias, Vocal Ensembles, Canons, Box 12)
April 13th, 2010 · No Comments · Box 12: Arias Vocal Ensembles Canons Lieder Notturni, Double Wow, Edita Gruberova, Edith Mathis, Leopold Hager, Lucia Popp, Mannheim (February 27 1778), Mozart at 22, Mozart at 23, Mozart at 25, Mozart at 26, Mozart at 27, Mozarteum-Orchester Salzburg, Munich, Munich (March 8 1781), Paris (1778) or Munich (1779), Quadruple Wow, Robert Lloyd, Thomas Moser, Triple Wow, Vienna (April 2 1781), Vienna (January 8 1783), Vienna (May 29 1782)
Sopranos to the rescue! Wow. No. Let’s be honest. This music rates a Double Wow in my book. If you want to hear some outstanding voices, listen to this CD. Track 2, for example: Popoli di Tessaglia… Io non chiedo, K.316, performed by Edita Gruberova. She hits a few of those only-dogs-can-hear notes that I […]
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Of Rare March Mornings and Reconstructed Mozart Music (Piano Music, Box 9)
March 16th, 2010 · No Comments · Box 9: Piano Music, deest, deest (definition), Fugue in C minor for 2 Pianos, Ingrid Haebler, Jörg Demus, K deest, K19d, K358, K381, K426, K448, Larghetto & Allegro in E flat for 2 Pianos, Ludwig Hoffmann, Mozart at 16, Mozart at 17, Mozart at 18, Mozart at 25, Mozart at 26, Mozart at 27, Panera Bread, Paul Badura-Skoda, Sonata in B flat for Piano Duet, Sonata in C for Piano Duet, Sonata in D for 2 Pianos, Sonata in D for Piano Duet
It’s hard to believe this weather. Once again, we have sunshine and temperatures near 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15.6 Celsius) predicted for today. That’s just about as rare as it gets for Michigan at this time of year. So here I am once more (the famous first line of a classic prog-rock album), sitting at Panera […]
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Of Small Thoughts and Whole Lives (Piano Music, Box 9)
March 15th, 2010 · No Comments · Allegro in B flat, Allegro in C, Allegro in F, Allegro in G minor, Andante in C, Box 9: Piano Music, Capriccio in C, Fugue in G minor, Harpsichord, How small a thought it takes to fill a whole life!, K1/1e, K1a, K1b, K1c, K1d, K1f, K2, K3, K312, K33B, K394, K395, K399, K4, K400, K401, K408 No 1, K453a, K460, K5, K5a, K94, Kleiner Trauermarsch in C minor, Ludwig Wittgenstein, March in C, Marcia Davenport, Minuet in C, Minuet in D, Minuet in F, Minuet in G, Movement in F, Mozart at 10, Mozart at 13, Mozart at 14, Mozart at 21, Mozart at 26, Mozart at 27, Mozart at 28, Mozart at 34, Mozart at 35, Mozart at 5, Mozart at 6, Mozart at 8, Prelude & Fugue in C, Rabbit hole, Steve Reich, Strangeness of the Ordinary, Suite in C, Theme & 2 Variations in A, Tini Mathot, Ton Koopman, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
I’ve always wondered what music composed by a five year old sounds like. Now I know. Mozart was five when he composed some of the music on this CD. In other words, a few of the selections today start at K1. K1! All of the music on this CD was composed for and played by […]
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Of X-Files and Unfinished Gigues (Piano Music, Box 9)
March 14th, 2010 · No Comments · Adagio in B minor, Box 9: Piano Music, Eine kleine Gigue in G, Fantasia in D minor, Gigue (definition), K355, K397, K485, K511, K540, K574, Minuet in D, Mitsuko Uchida, Mozart at 26, Mozart at 30, Mozart at 31, Mozart at 32, Mozart at 33, Mozart at 34, Mozart at 35, Rondo in A minor, Rondo in D major, Saddest Key of All, Veipzig (May 16 1789), Vienna (1789-91), Vienna (early 1782), Vienna (January 10 1786), Vienna (March 19 1788), Vienna (March 3 1787)
Pianist Mitsuko Uchida is back. And I don’t know if it’s a coincidence or if her playing is truly magical. But these compositions are gorgeous. I’m enjoying all of them. Most of these pieces were written in Vienna in the latter part of Mozart’s life (ages 26-35). One was written in Leipzig. All of them […]
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You can call me Amadeus. But don't expect me to answer to that.