David Boreanaz is lousy in Bones. But he was perfect in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. I wonder why. Is it the writing? The direction? Or did he start believing his press and think he was a better actor than he is? I guess it doesn’t matter. This week, we started watching the Angel […]
Entries Tagged as 'Mozart at 30'
Of Angels One and Figaros Three (Box 15, Late Italian Operas)
May 15th, 2010 · No Comments · Angel, Box 15: Late Italian Operas, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, David Boreanaz, Figaro, K492 (Part III), Le nozze di Figaro, Maynard Solomon, Mozart at 30, Mozart: A Life, Vienna (April 29 1786)
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Of Days Gorgeous and Figaros Two (Box 15, Late Italian Operas)
May 14th, 2010 · No Comments · Box 15: Late Italian Operas, Figaro, K492 (Part II), Le nozze di Figaro (Part II), Mozart at 30, The Marriage of Figaro, Vienna (April 29 1786)
What a delightful day here in West Michigan! Sunny skies. Nice breeze. Temperatures in the low 60s. Gorgeous. There’s not much more I can add to what I wrote yesterday regarding The Marriage of Figaro. Well, except for this: I can’t seem to sustain interest in an opera beyond the first Act. I absolutely love […]
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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 Short and Sweet (Piano Music, Box 9)
March 17th, 2010 · No Comments · Andante with 5 Variations in G for Piano Duet, Box 9: Piano Music, Ingrid Haebler, K357, K497, K501, K521, Ludwig Hoffmann, Mozart at 30, Mozart at 31, Sonata in C for Piano Duet, Sonata in F for Piano Duet, Sonata in G for Piano Duet, Vienna (1786), Vienna (August 1 1786), Vienna (May 29 1787), Vienna (November 11 1786)
Ahh, now this is more like it. These piano duets are truly amazing. Beautiful melodies. Stellar performances by Ingrid Haebler and Ludwig Hoffmann. This is the kind of music I can enjoy as background for writing or for active listening. I was captivated from the first movement (Adagio – Allegro di molto) of the first […]
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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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Of Misty Mornings and Mostly Mozart (Piano Music, Box 9)
March 13th, 2010 · 6 Comments · 10 Variations in G, Allegretto in 12 Variations in B flat, B Schack, Bob Newhart Show, Box 9: Piano Music, CW Gluck, David Helfgott, Dick Van Dyke Show, Eight Variations in F, Ein Weib ist das herrlichste Ding, F Gerl, Ingrid Haebler, JP Duport, K455, K500, K573, K613, Mary Tyler Moore Show, Mozart at 28, Mozart at 30, Mozart at 33, Mozart at 35, Newhart, Nine Variations in D, Panera Bread, Potsdam, Potsdam (April 29 1789), Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shine, Unser dummer Pöbel meint, Vienna (August 25 1784), Vienna (March 1791), Vienna (September 12 1786), X-Files
On the way to get my favorite table at Panera Bread this damp, misty morning, I heard on the radio that people who don’t get seven or eight hours of sleep per night are considered “sleep deprived.” Seven or eight hours? Hell, I haven’t had that much sleep in years! Because I’m not tired at […]
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You can call me Amadeus. But don't expect me to answer to that.