As I sit here at Panera Bread, there’s a baby girl sitting in a high chair staring at me. She’s with her mom, of course. Babies don’t drive. Mom is reading the latest book from Donald Miller (A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life). Since her daughter can’t […]
Entries Tagged as 'Mozart at 35'
Of Staring Tykes and Tarnished Flutes (German Operas, Box 16)
June 3rd, 2010 · No Comments · Box 16: German Operas, Die Zauberflote, Die Zauberflote (Part III), K620, K620 (Part III), Magic Flute, Mozart at 35, Panera Bread, Vienna (September 29 1791)
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Of Glen/Glenda and Magic/Flute (German Operas, Box 16)
June 2nd, 2010 · No Comments · Box 16: German Operas, Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen, Die Zauberflote, Ed Wood, Glen or Glenda?, K620, K620 (Part II), Luciana Serra, Magic Flute, Magic Flute (Part II), Mozart at 35
Today, we watched the Ed Wood movie Glen or Glenda?. I’m speechless. All I can say is that it lives up to its billing as one of the worst movies ever made. I realize director/writer Ed Wood was a transvestite in real life. But if he thought his movie would earn sympathy or empathy for […]
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Of Night Queens and Magic Flutes (German Operas, Box 16)
June 1st, 2010 · No Comments · Ann Murray, Armin Ude, Box 16: German Operas, Die Zauberflote, Dritte Dame, Dritter Knabe, Ein altes Weit, Erste Dame, Erster geharnischter Mann, Erster Knabe, Frank Hoher, Friedemann Klos, Hanna Schwarz, Heinz Reeh, K620, K620 (Part I), Konigin der Nacht, Kurt Moll, Luciana Serra, Magic Flute, Magic Flute (Part I), Margaret Price, Maria Venuti, Marie McLaughlin, Maynard Solomon, Michael Diedrich, Mikael Melbye, Monostatos, Mozart at 35, Mozart: A Life, Pamina, Papageno, Peter Schreier, Queen of the Night, Reiner Goldberg, Robert Tear, Rundfunkchor Leipzig, Sarastro, Singspiel, Sir Colin Davis, Sprecher, Staatskapelle Dresden, Tamino, Theo Adam, Vienna (September 29 1791), Zweite Dame, Zweiter geharnischter Mann, Zweiter Knabe, Zweiter Sprecher
This is one of Mozart’s biggies, one of the operas I’ve been waiting to hear. It’s called Die Zauberflote, K620, also known (especially to those who don’t speak German) as The Magic Flute. This flute definitely is magical. I like it a lot. Even the Overture is memorable. I know enough about operas now to […]
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Of Anticipated Saturdays and Underappreciated Operas (Box 15, Late Italian Operas)
May 22nd, 2010 · No Comments · Annio, Box 15: Late Italian Operas, Charles Taylor, Frederica von Stade, Frederick Lowe, Ian Herbert, Janet Baker, John Constable, K621, K621 (Part I), La clemenza di Tito, Lucia Popp, Mozart at 35, Orchestra & Chorus of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Prague (September 4 1791), Publio, Robert Lloyd, Robin Stapleton, Servilia, Sesto, Sir Colin Davis, Stuart Burrows, Tito Vespaisano, Vitellia, Yvonne Minton
Today’s opera is La clemenza di Tio, K621, written by Mozart when he was 35, just a couple of months before his death. The Overture is compelling. It sets the stage nicely. But what follows doesn’t match the standard set in the Overture. This is a typical opera. Nothing fancy. Nothing different from nearly every […]
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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 Stones Lost and Musics Masonic (Litanies; Vespers; Oratorios, Box 11)
April 8th, 2010 · No Comments · Alexander Commercials, Andreas Schmidt, Box 11: Mozart: Litanies; Vespers; Oratorios; Cantatas; Masonic Music, Embrace Life TV Ad, Hans Peter Blochwitz, K148, K429, K468, K471, K477, K483, K484, K546, K619, K623, K623a, Lapis, Mannerchor des Rundfunkchores Leipzig, Mindfulness, Mozart at 16, Mozart at 17, Mozart at 18, Mozart at 19, Mozart at 20, Mozart at 28, Mozart at 29, Mozart at 32, Mozart at 33, Mozart at 34, Mozart at 35, Peter Schreier, Salzburg (1772-6 or Vienna 1784), Staatskapelle Dresden, Vienna (1785-91), Vienna (April 20 1785), Vienna (date and year unknown), Vienna (December 1785-January 1786), Vienna (July 1791), Vienna (July-November 1785), Vienna (June 26 1788), Vienna (March 26 1785), Vienna (November 1791 origin doubtful), Writing Music
I lost my little blue stone yesterday. For the past year, I carried a small lapis in my pocket. It wasn’t particularly valuable. Lapis is a semi-precious stone. I think it cost me $5 at a local New Age-type store. But I considered it priceless. (Or I thought I did.) I bought it because I […]
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Of Gold and Flutters (Litanies; Vespers; Oratorios, Box 11)
March 31st, 2010 · No Comments · Baden (June 17 1791), Box 11: Mozart: Litanies; Vespers; Oratorios; Cantatas; Masonic Music, Elizabeth Bainbridge, Gwynne Howell, K165, K339, K341, K618, Kiri Te Kanawa, Kyrie, London Symphony Orchestra, Milan (January 1773), Mozart at 17, Mozart at 24, Mozart at 25, Mozart at 31, Mozart at 35, Munich (1780-1 or 1787), Ryland Davies, Salzburg (1780(, Sir Colin Davis, Vesperae solennes de confessore
Yesterday’s music was out of balance. The terrific music came in first and then the vocals, which distracted me. Today’s music is equal parts vocal and instrumental. The music isn’t so good that my mind goes off on a walkabout, only to be yanked back by the vocals. This time – and I don’t mean […]
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Of Fathers and Requiems (Missae, Requiem, Organ Sonatas, Box 10)
March 26th, 2010 · No Comments · Box 10: Missae Requiem Organ Sonatas & Solos, Francisco Araiza, Franz Xaver Süssmayr, K626, Margaret Price, Mozart at 35, Mozart's Requiem, My Dad (1937-2009), Nigel Tufnel, Peter Schreier, Requiem in D minor, Rundfunkchor Lepizig, Saddest Key of All, Salieri, Staatskapelle Dresden, Strep Throat, Theo Adam, Trudeliese Schmidt, Vienna (December 1791)
Talk about coincidence. A year ago today – Friday, March 27, 2009 – my father slipped into a coma-like state from which he never recovered. He died a day and a half later, on March 29th. So here I am, by sheer mind-blowing coincidence, listening to Mozart’s Requiem, his last composition, K626 – the final […]
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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.