Even though the first of today’s musical selections (Piano Concerto No. 24 in C) is in a minor key – thankfully not D minor, the saddest key of all – it is not ponderous or heavy. It does not drag on my mind, even though it does have a full, meaty sound – like Chopin […]
Entries Tagged as 'Box 4: Piano Concertos'
Of Attentitive Food Sellers and Pristine Live Recordings (Piano Concertos, Box 4)
January 26th, 2010 · No Comments · Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Alfred Brendel, Arthur Rubinstein, Box 4: Piano Concertos, Chopin, Conrad Wilson, K491, K503, Live Recording, Marcia Davenport, Maynard Solomon, Mozart at 30, Mozart: A Life, Notes on Mozart, Panera Bread, Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, Piano Concerto No. 25 in C, Saddest Key of All, Sir Neville Marriner, Vienna (December 4 1786), Vienna (March 24 1786)
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Of Light Movies and Lively Music (Piano Concertos, Box 4)
January 23rd, 2010 · No Comments · Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Alfred Brendel, Box 4: Piano Concertos, Jimmy Page, K456, K459, Marcia Davenport, Mozart at 28, Piano Concert No. 19 in F, Piano Concerto No. 18 in B flat, Sir Neville Marriner, Sostenuto (defined), Vienna (December 11 1784), Vienna (September 30 1784), Vivace (defined), Yngwie Malmsteen
Ahh, now this is more like it. These compositions grabbed me right from the start, from the first three minutes. If Piano Concerto No. 18 in B flat were a heavy-metal song, Alfred Brendel’s piano work would have to be performed by a guitarist insanely fleet-fingered and flamboyant like Yngwie Malmsteen. Or perhaps Led Zeppelin’s […]
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Of This and That (Piano Concertos, Box 4)
January 21st, 2010 · No Comments · Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Alfred Brendel, Box 4: Piano Concertos, K382, K415, K453, Mozart at 26, Mozart at 27, Mozart at 28, Mozart at 29, Piano Concerto No. 13 in C, PIano Concerto No. 17 in G, Rondo in D, Sir Neville Marriner
Yesterday, I received a wonderful letter. Its author has given me permission to begin working on a screenplay about a famous and much-loved Classical musician. Since I am incredibly enamored with this musician, this project will be very near and dear to my heart. Suffice to say, I’m pleased and can’t wait to get started. […]
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Of Sullivan’s Travels and Mozart’s Journeys (Piano Concertos, Box 4)
January 20th, 2010 · No Comments · Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Alfred Brendel, Box 4: Piano Concertos, Jeunehomme (translated), Joel McCrae, K271, K386, K414, Maynard Solomon, Mozart at 21, Mozart at 22, Mozart at 26, Mozart's Letters Mozart's Life, Mozart: A Life, Piano Concerto No. 12 in A, Piano Concerto No. 9 in E flat "Jeunehomme", Preston Sturges, Robert Spaethling, Rondo in A, Sir Neville Marriner, Sullivan's Travels, Veronica Lake
We saw a terrific movie last night, Sullivan’s Travels, the 1941 classic starring Joel McCrae and Veronica Lake. This film was a first for me. It was the first Preston Sturges (writer and director) movie I’ve seen, the first Veronica Lake movie I’ve seen, and the first Joel McCrae movie I’ve seen. I was surprised […]
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Of Bad Movies and Good Music (Piano Concertos, Box 4)
January 19th, 2010 · No Comments · Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Alfred Brendel, Box 4: Piano Concertos, Concert for 3 Pianos and Orchestra No. 7 in F, Golden Globe Awards, Hangover, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Imogen Cooper, Mozart at 20, Mozart at 26, Mozart at 27, Piano Concerto No. 11 in F, Piano Concerto No. 8 in C, Salzburg (February 1776), Salzburg (March 1776), Sir Neville Marriner, Vienna (Winter 1782-83)
I can’t discern the appeal of The Hangover – winner of the Golden Globe for Best Picture of 2009 – or why the Hollywood Foreign Press Association picked it over such gems as (500) Days of Summer and Julie & Julia. But I can tell you this much: You’ll never get back those 100 (108 […]
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Of Bagels – and Concertos – for Two (Piano Concertos, Box 4)
January 18th, 2010 · No Comments · Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Alfred Brendel, Box 4: Piano Concertos, Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra No. 10 in E flat, K175, K238, K365, Mozart at 17, Mozart at 20, Mozart at 23, Piano Concert No. 5 in D, Piano Concert No. 6 in B flat, Sir Neville Marriner
I arrived at Panera Bread at 6:45 this morning. But I spent the first hour and a half composing an e-mail to my screenwriting partner to clarify edits in the latest version of our script. During that time, my wife arrived. She now sits across from me, her own laptop open, her own earbuds in, […]
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“Yeah, Well, Mozart Is No Chopin.” (Piano Concertos, Box 4)
January 16th, 2010 · No Comments · Box 4: Piano Concertos, Camerata Academica Salzburg, Capella Academica Wien, Chopin, Eduard Melkus, Ingrid Haebler, K37, K39, K40, K41, Mozart at 11, Piano Concerto No. 1 in F, Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat, Piano Concerto No. 3 in D, Piano Concerto No. 4 in G, Salzburg (April 1767), Salzburg (July 1767), Salzburg (June 1767)
There’s a line in the Academy Award-winning 1984 film Amadeus in which a character comments that Mozart’s composition contains “too many notes.” While Mozart may have been no stranger to the liberal use of notes, when I think of “too many notes” combined with “piano concertos” it’s not Mozart’s name that springs to mind; it’s […]
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You can call me Amadeus. But don't expect me to answer to that.