Today is the second to the last CD from my six-month journey through Mozart’s music. In all honesty, I’m going to be glad to see it end. These posts occupied 2-4 hours of my life every morning. Sometimes less. Sometimes more. But always there, every day. Rain or shine. Yet, another part of me will […]
Entries Tagged as 'Mozart at 25'
Of Ends Approaching and Musics Unliked (Theatre and Ballet Music, Box 17)
June 7th, 2010 · No Comments · Ballet music from Idomeneo, Bernhard Klee, Box 17: Theatre and Ballet Music, David Zinman, Eberhard Buchner, Gisela Pohl, Hermann Christian Polster, K345, K367, Karin Eickstaedt, Mozart at 17, Mozart at 21, Mozart at 23, Mozart at 25, Munich (January 1781), Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Rundfunk-Solistenvereinigung Berlin, Staatskapelle Berlin, Thamos King of Egypt, Thamos Konig in Agypten, Theo Adam
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Of Trips Prepared and Parts Three (Box 14, Middle Italian Operas)
May 11th, 2010 · No Comments · Arjia Rinpoche, Box 14: Middle Italian Operas, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Dalai Lama, Francisco Araiza, Harry Peeters, Heart Sutra, Idomeneo, K366, K366 (Part III), Mozart at 25, Munich (1781), Roberta Alexander, Surviving the Dragon, Susanne Mentzer, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Tibet, Uwe Heilmann
Hello Dalai! Today, we leave for Indiana to see the Dalai Lama give a series of teachings on the Heart Sutra on May 12th and 13th. His appearance in Bloomington is sponsored by The Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center (TMBCC). The TMBCC is directed by Arjia Rinpoche, whose book Surviving the Dragon: A Tibetan Lama’s […]
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Of Bagels Asiago and Parts Two (Box 14, Middle Italian Operas)
May 10th, 2010 · No Comments · Box 14: Middle Italian Operas, Idomeneo, Idomeneo re di Creta, K366, K366 (Part II), Mozart at 25, Munich (1781), Panera Bread
Another day of listening to this incredibly mediocre opera has not improved my opinion of it. It’s a good thing the Asiago bagel today was extra tasty. Thank heavens for Panera Bread! I’m not going to waste a lot of time explaining what this is, other than to say it’s called (according to Wikipedia) Idomeneo, […]
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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 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 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 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 Tasty Sandwiches and Twinkling Stars (Piano Music, Box 9)
March 12th, 2010 · No Comments · 12 Variations in C, 12 Variations in E flat, A.E. Grétry, A.L. Baudron, Ah vous dirai-je Maman, Antoine-Laurent Baudron, Box 9: Piano Music, Eight Variations in F, Giovanni Paisiello, Ingrid Haebler, K265, K352, K353, K354, K398, Mozart at 22, Mozart at 25, Mozart at 26, Panera Bread, Paris (1778), Six Variations in F, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Vienna (1781-2), Vienna (June 1781), Vienna (March 1782)
Imagine my surprise when the first song I listened to this morning was “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” And a whole lotta twinkling at that. Because it wasn’t just the one version of the world-famous nursery rhyme. It was 12. I didn’t know the tune had been around since Mozart’s time. So I let my fingers […]
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You can call me Amadeus. But don't expect me to answer to that.