Music Monday: Tchaikovsky Symphony 4, Op. 36.

In this installment of Music Monday, we turn to Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 4. The performance embedded here is by the Sydney Youth Orchestra Family Concert, which is composed mostly of high school students.



Tchaikovsky Symphony 4, Full Length, Op. 36. Complete 4th Symphony in HD. Brian Buggy conducting SYO Philharmonic. 

Starting times of movements are:

1. Starts at 00:02 - Andante sostenuto - Moderato con anima (F minor, 424 bars)
2. Starts at 10:05 - Andantino in modo di canzona (B♭ minor, 304 bars)
3. Starts at 28:00 - Scherzo. Pizzicato ostinato. Allegro (F major, 414 bars)
4. Starts at 34:05 - Finale. Allegro con fuoco (F major, 293 bars)

More information about this work can be seen at Wikipedia.

All his life, Tchaikovsky retained a love for this symphony. At the end of 1878 he wrote: "I adore terribly this child of mine; it is one of only a few works with which I have not experienced disappointment". Ten years later, when referring to the symphony, he wrote "it turns out that not only have I not cooled towards it, as I have cooled towards the greater part of my compositions, but on the contrary, I am filled with warm and sympathetic feelings towards it. I don't know what the future may bring, but presently it seems to me that this is my best symphonic work" 

Source: Tchaikovsky Research

Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony was a great success when it premièred in February 1878.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётръ Ильичъ Чайковскій) May 7, 1840 -- November 6, 1893 was a Russian composer of the Romantic era. His wide-ranging output includes symphonies, operas, ballets, instrumental, chamber music and songs. He wrote some of the most popular concert and theatrical music in the classical repertoire, including the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker, the 1812 Overture, his First Piano Concerto, his last three numbered symphonies, and the opera Eugene Onegin.

Famous recordings of Tchaikovsky Symphony 4 include: Herbert von Karajan - Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein - New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT) - San Francisco Symphony, Evgeny Svetlanov - USSR Symphony and Valery Gergiev, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

Pink Floyd's hit song "Wish You Were Here" opens with the finale of Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony being tuned on David Gilmour's car radio. "Wish You Were Here", Pink Floyd's album with the same title, sold an estimated 13 million copies worldwide.
The symphony is scored for piccolo, flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets, trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, violins, violas, cellos and double bases.

Most of the performers here are High School students.

Recorded live at the Sydney Youth Orchestra Family Concert, December 3, 2011 at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

The orchestra's website is http://syo.com.au

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Moonwalk at Cathedral Peak

The ultimate full moon shot. Dean Potter walks a highline at Cathedral Peak as the sun sets and the moon rises. Shot from over 1 mile away with a Canon 800mm and 2X by Mikey Schaefer.

This shot was part of a bigger project for National Geographic called The Man Who Can Fly.

channel.nationalgeographic.com/videos/the-man-who-can-fly/

Directed by Mikey Schaefer...mikeylikesrocks.com
Produced by Bryan Smith
Concept by Dean Potter

Music:
Slate - By Wil Bolton
From the Album: Time Lapse on Hibernate Recordings
Licensed through: Audiomoves - audiomoves.com

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Music Monday: The Vienna Philharmonic 2013 New Year's Concert

Here is the traditional concert celebrating the new year by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.



Conductor: Franz Welser-Möst
Part 1
- Josef Strauss: The Soubrette, Fast Polka, op. 109
- Johann Strauss, Jr.: Kiss Waltz, op. 400
- Josef Strauss: Theater Quadrille, op. 213
- Johann Strauss, Jr.: From the Mountains, Waltz, op. 292
- Franz von Suppé: Overture to the Operetta "Light Cavalry"

Intermission: Honeymoon

Part 2
- Josef Strauss: Music of the Spheres, Waltz, op. 235
- Josef Strauss: The Spinstress, Polka française, op. 192
- Richard Wagner: Prelude to Act III of the Romantic Opera "Lohengrin", WWV 75
- Joseph Hellmesberger, Jr.: In Confidence, Polka mazur, op. 15
- Josef Strauss: Hesperus' Paths, Waltz, op. 279 Josef Strauss: The Runners, Fast Polka, op. 237
- Joseph Lanner: Styrian Dances, op. 165
- Johann Strauss, Jr.: Melodies Quadrille, op.112
- Giuseppe Verdi: Prestissimo from the Ballet Music in Act III of the Opera "Don Carlo"
- Johann Strauss, Jr.: Where the Lemon Trees Bloom, Waltz, op. 364
- Johann Strauss, Sr.: Memories of Ernst or The Carnival of Venice, Fantasy, op. 126
- Johann Strauss Jr.: Beautiful Blue Danube, Waltz op.314
- Johann Strauss Father: Radetzky-March, op.228

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The Old Man and The Sea

Here is a classic piece of literature that has made the transition to film very well. If you've never read the original, you can read the full text at Classic English Literature Notes. For a gloss of the story and background on the author, check out Wikipedia.


The Old Man and the Sea is a 1999 paint-on-glass-animated short film directed by Aleksandr Petrov, based on the novel of the same name by Ernest Hemingway. The film won many awards, including the Academy Award for Animated Short Film. Work on the film took place in Montreal over a period of two and a half years and was funded by an assortment of Canadian, Russian and Japanese companies. French and English-language soundtracks to the film were released concurrently. It was the first animated film to be released in IMAX.

Awards

1999 - Cinanima: "Grand Prize"
1999 - Japan Media Arts Festival: "Grand Prize" (Animation)
1999 - Montréal World Film Festival: Nominated for "First Prize (Short Films)"
2000 - Academy Award for Animated Short Film
2000 - Annecy International Animated Film Festival: "Audience Award", "Grand Prix for Best Animated Short Film"
2000 - BAFTA Awards: Nominated for "Best Animated Short Film"
2000 - Buster International Children's Film Festival: "Politiken's Short Film Award"
2000 - Genie Awards: Nominated for "Best Animated Short Film"
2000 - Jutra Awards: "Jutra" in the category "Best Animated Film"
2000 - Mainichi Film Concours: "Ofuji Noburo Award"
2000 - Saint Petersburg Message to Man International Film Festival: "Special Jury Prize" in the category "International Competition"
2000 - Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films: "First Prize" in "Category C - 15 Min. to 30 Min."
2001 - Burbank International Children's Film Festival: "Director's Gold Award"
2001 - San Diego International Film Festival: "Festival Award" in the category "Best Animation"

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Music Monday: A Three Tenors Christmas Concert

The Christmas Season is a lovely time of year for lovers of music. In this week's installment of Music Monday, I'm sharing a recording of a Christmas Concert that took place in Vienna Austria in 1999. I hope you enjoy it.


Recorded live at the Konzerthaus in Vienna, on December 23, 1999, the three most popular male vocalists in contemporary opera - Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, and Jose Carreras.

Track Listing:

1. White Christmas
2. Let It Snow
3. Oh Tannenbaum
4. Ay! Para Navidad
5. Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle
6. Carol Of The Drum (The Little Drummer Boy)
7. Ave Maria, Dolce Maria
8. Wiegenlied I
9. Jingle Bells
10. Children Of Christmas
11. La Virgen La Panales
12. I'll Be Home For Christmas
13. Adeste Fideles
14. Cantique De Noel (O Holy Night)
15. Amazing Grace
16. Feliz Navidad
17. Silent Night
18. Paregaria (El Can de L'Anima a La Verge)
19. Winter Wonderland
20. Wiegenlied II
21. Sleigh Ride
22. Susani
23. Un Nuevo Siglo
24. Dormi O Bambino
25. Happy Christmas/War Is Over

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Music Monday: Richard Arnell Symphony No. 3 "The New Age"

Here is a piece of music that I haven't heard in a long time, Richard Arnell's "Sympnony No 3 The New Age."




Composer: Website  Wikipedia Works CD Universe  Works on Amazon

The Conductor: Website  Wikipedia

The Orchestra: Facebook  Youtube Wikipedia

From the video description:

Conducted by Martin Yates with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

Painting Info - "Emperor at Dusk" by ~ChaoyuanXu on deviantart.
I. Andante - 00:00
II. Allegro Assai - 7:02
III. Andante - 21:27
IV. Presto - 36:50
V. Andante Maestoso - 42:25
VI. Allegro - 44:06

Richard Anthony Sayer ("Tony") Arnell was an English composer of classical music. Arnell composed in all the established genres for the concert stage, and his list of works includes six completed symphonie and six string quartets.

Arnell was born in Hampstead, London. He studied at the Royal College of Music in London from 1935 to 1939, and was taught there by John Ireland (composition) and St John Dykes (piano). He was awarded the Farrar Prize for composition during his final year at the college. At the outset of the Second World War, attending the New York World Fair, Arnell (along with other English composers, e.g. Arthur Bliss) was stranded in New York, and stayed on until 1947, thereby finding himself in the position of having an established reputation in the U.S., but remaining relatively little known in his homeland. During his American soujourn, Arnell was the Music Supervisor for the BBC in North America, and was commissioned to compose (to a text by Stephen Spender) a cantata, The War God, in celebration of the opening of the United Nations, as well as a fanfare to greet Winston Churchill's arrival in New York. His music has been championed by Thomas Beecham, Leopold Stokowski and Bernard Herrmann, among others and most recently by Martin Yates (one of his composition students at Trinity). Between 1947 and 1987 he taught at Trinity College of Music in London, where his students included Peter Tahourdin (1949-52).

Arnell composed the music for The Land (1942), a 45-minute documentary film directed by Robert J. Flaherty for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He was also commissioned by the Ford Motor Company to compose a symphonic suite inspired by the workers in the factory at Dagenham. The resulting work accompanies a film entitled Opus 65. Arnell established and headed the Music Department at the London International Film School until his retirement in the late 1980s. He established a reputation as a major composer for the ballet stage through collaborations with choreographers of the stature of George Balanchine, John Cranko and Frederick Ashton. His many ballets have been successfully staged in both New York and London. His score for Punch and the Child was recorded by Sir Thomas Beecham with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, a recording which has seldom been out of the catalogue.

Arnell is acknowledged as being one of the most masterful orchestrators of the twentieth century, Sir Thomas Beecham describing him as the best orchestrator since Berlioz.

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Music Monday on a Friday: The Top 100 Masterpieces of Classical Music 1685-1928

Here is a video by Old Music Library of what they've called "The Top 100 Masterpieces of Classical Music 1685-1928" and it is over ten hours long...so sit back and enjoy!!!

I've added a playlist of the first 80 pieces below the video. The uploader did not post 81-100 in their playlist information.


00:00:00 [1] - R. Strauss / Also Sprach Zarathustra - Fanfare
00:01:37 [2] - Mahler / Symphony No. 5 - Adagietto
00:11:26 [3] - Sibelius / Finlandia
00:20:30 [4] - Rimsky-Korsakov / Dance Of The Bumble Bee
00:22:20 [5] - Massenet / Meditation, From 'Thais'
00:27:30 [6] - Elgar / Pomp And Circumstance - March No. 1
00:33:41 [7] - Dvorak / Humoresque
00:37:04 [8] - Sibelius / Valse Triste
00:41:52 [9] - J. Strauss II / Vienna Blood - Waltz
00:51:24 [10] - Ravel / Bolero
01:06:51 [11] - Tchaikovsky / Polonaise, From 'Eugene Onegin'
01:11:39 [12] - Dvorak / Symphony No. 9, 'From The New World', 2Nd Movement
01:24:26 [13] - Tchaikovsky / Waltz Of The Flowers, From 'The Nutcracker'
01:31:08 [14] - Rimsky-Korsakov / Alborado, From 'Capriccio Espagnol'
01:32:32 [15] - Grieg / The Last Spring
01:38:40 [16] - Dvorak / Slavonic Dance No. 2
01:44:11 [17] - Tchaikovsky / The Sleeping Beauty - Introduction
01:47:00 [18] - Wagner / Siegfried's Death And Funeral March; From 'Twilight Of The Gods'
01:54:00 [19] - Dvorak / Songs My Mother Taught Me
01:56:18 [20] - J. Strauss II / Emperor Waltz
02:08:10 [21] - Tchaikovsky / Piano Concerto No. 1 In B Flat Minor, 1St Movement (Excerpt)
02:17:10 [22] - Brahms / Cradle Song
02:19:00 [23] - Smetana / The Moldau
02:31:59 [24] - Wagner / Ride Of The Valkyries; From 'The Valkyrie'
02:37:25 [25] - Grieg / Morning, From 'Peer Gynt'
02:41:00 [26] - Bizet / Les Toreadors, From 'Carmen'
02:43:19 [27] - Delibes / Notturno, From 'Coppelia'
02:45:49 [28] - Tchaikovsky / Marche Slave, Op. 31
02:55:40 [29] - Bizet / L'arlesienne - Intermezzo
02:59:48 [30] - J. Strauss II / The Blue Danube - Waltz
03:10:41 [31] - Offenbach / Orpheus In The Underworld
03:20:15 [32] - Rubinstein / Melody In F
03:23:27 [33] - Liszt / Les Preludes
03:39:57 [34] - Brahms / Waltz
03:42:24 [35] - Verdi / The Force Of Destiny-Overture
03:50:33 [36] - Grieg / I Love You
03:52:07 [37] - Smetna / The Bartered Bride - Overture
03:58:45 [38] - Offenbach / Barcarolle, From 'The Tales Of Hoffmann'
04:02:19 [39] - J. Strauss II / Tritsch Tratsch Polka
04:05:02 [40] - Suppe / Light Cavalry-Overture
04:11:50 [41] - Mendelssohn / Wedding March, From 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
04:16:51 [42] - Liszt / Liebestraum No.3 In A Flat
04:21:08 [43] - Verdi / Nabucco - Overture
04:29:01 [44] - Schumann / The Merry Peasant
04:29:55 [45] - Liszt / Hungarian Rhapsody No.2
04:40:15 [46] - Wagner / Lohengin - Prelude To Act 3
04:43:27 [47] - Verdi / La Traviata - Prelude To Act 1
04:47:14 [48] - Wagner / Tannhauser - Arrival Of The Guests At Wartburg
04:53:51 [49] - Mendelssohn / Violin Concerto In E Minor, 2Nd Movement
05:02:07 [50] - Suppe / Poet And Peasant - Overture
05:12:04 [51] - Rossini / The Barber Of Seville - Overture
05:19:51 [52] - Schubert / Symphony No.8 In B Minor, 'Unfinished'
05:30:17 [53] - Mendelssohn / 1841 Mendelssohn - Spring Song
05:33:03 [54] - Chopin / Polonaise In A, Op.40 No.3, 'Military'
05:38:19 [55] - Schubert / Ballet Music In G, From 'Rosamunde'
05:44:55 [56] - Weber / Der Freischutz - Overture
05:55:03 [57] - Schubert / Ave Maria
05:59:55 [58] - Mendelssohn / Symphony No.4 In A, 'Italian', 1St Movement
06:08:16 [59] - Schumann / Traumerei
06:11:26 [60] - Schubert / German Dance No.1
06:15:14 [61] - Mozart / Symphony No. 40, 1St Movement
06:22:53 [62] - Beethoven / 'Moonlight' Sonata, 1St Movement
06:28:20 [63] - Haydn / Symphony No. 94, 'Surprise', 2Nd Movement
06:34:54 [64] - Mozart / The Magic Flute - Overture
06:42:08 [65] - Beethoven / Fur Elise
06:45:01 [66] - Haydn / Emporor's Hymn, From String Quartet In C
06:52:18 [67] - Beethoven / Symphony No. 5, 1St Movement
06:59:37 [68] - Mozart / Clarinet Concerto In A, 2Nd Movement
07:06:40 [69] - Beethoven / Minuet In G
07:09:15 [70] - Haydn / Trumpet Concerto In E Flat, 3Rd Movement
07:14:20 [71] - Mozart / Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, 1St Movement
07:20:05 [72] - Mozart / Piano Concerto No. 21 In C, 2Nd Movement ('Elvira Madigan')
07:25:44 [73] - Mozart / The Marriage Of Figaro - Overture
07:30:04 [74] - Mozart / Flute Concerto No. 2 In D, 2Nd Movement
07:35:33 [75] - Mozart / Rondo Alla Turca, From Piano Sonata In A
07:39:15 [76] - Mozart / Don Giovanni - Overture
07:45:26 [77] - Mozart / Horn Concerto No. 3 In E Flat, 2Nd Movement
07:49:50 [78] - Mozart / Piano Concerto No. 23 In A, 1St Movement
08:00:41 [79] - Mozart / The Marriage Of Figaro - March
08:02:49 [80] - Mozart / Serenata Notturna

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ISS Startrails - TRONized by Christoph Malin

Here is a creative video using photos taken from the International Space Station in style of the old Science Fiction movie Tron. A movie, believe it or not, that I have never seen.

ISS Startrails - TRONized from Christoph Malin on Vimeo.

Do you remember 1982's "TRON" movie? The plot: A computer programmer (epic: Jeff Bridges) is digitized inside the software world of a mainframe computer, where he interacts with various programs in his attempt to get back out. Including light cycle races and strange solar wind ships...

Back in the real word the ISS is in a way one of these solar ships, constantly rotating around us. A tiny white spot, as it can be seen racing over the sky from time to time, when illuminated by the sunset (and sunrise ;).

This Video was achived by "stacking" image sequences provided by NASA from the Crew at International Space Station, see also http://www.fragileoasis.org/blog/2012/3/on-the-trails-of-stars/. These "stacks" create the Star Trails, but furthermore make interesting patterns visible. For example lightning corridors within clouds, but they also show occasional satellite tracks (or Iridium Flashes) as well as meteors - patterns that interrupt the main Star Trails, and thus are immediately visible.

The many oversaturated hot pixels in some of the scenes are the inevitable result of high ISO settings the Nikon D3s in ISS-use are pushed to for keeping exposure times short (owed to the dramatic speed the ISS travels). As there are no dark frames or RAW data currently available, hot pixels are not easy to remove.

After the initial stacking, all images have been sequenced with Apple Motion and the Video cut and edited with Final Cut Pro X. Stacked with the StarStaX app, get it here: markus-enzweiler.de/software/software.html

All sequences and images courtesy "The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth", Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center, eol.jsc.nasa.gov/Videos/CrewEarthObservationsVideos/

Closing sequence © Christoph Malin / ESO.org / filmed at Cerro Paranal.

Thanks a lot to my favourite bad Astronomer, Phil at BadAstronomy for first posting the film (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2012/10/16/my-god-its-full-of-star-trails/) and many many thanks to Vimeo for the Staff Pick!

Great minimal soundtrack "Eileen" by Lee Rosevere (http://members.shaw.ca/happypuppyrecords/index.html), and a short clip of "Window #3" by Two Bicycles (http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Two_Bicycles/Beko_Crash_Symbols_1/07_Window_3). VIMEO MUSIC STORE ROCKS!

A truckload of thanks go out to NASA astronaut Don Pettit (http://www.petapixel.com/2012/06/25/astronaut-don-pettit-floating-with-his-huge-camera-collection-on-the-iss/) and his colleagues for taking these images, and making films like this one reality!

Finally, please also be aware of Light Pollution (http://www.plightwithlight.org/index.php?id=49&L=1) one can see in many of these scenes! In the US join http://www.darksky.org/ for preserving the night skies for our children!!

Always believe in your dreams and make it possible!

All the best,
Christoph Malin
christophmalin.com

PS: At about 1:42 you see Comet "Lovejoy" rising...

facebook.com/christoph.malin
twitter.com/#!/christophmalin
twanight.org/cmalin

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Music Monday on a Friday Kurt Atterberg - Symphony No. 3

Even though it is Friday, I am posting a Music Monday piece.
This one is by Kurt Atterburg and it has a nautical theme. I hope you enjoy it.



Read more about this symphony at Unsung Symphonies.

Composer Kurt Atterberg
Conductor - Ari Rasilainen
Performance - Hannover Radio Symphony Orchestra

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Atterberg
Naxos: http://www.naxos.com/person/Kurt_Atterberg/17640.htm

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Music Monday: Mozart Serenade No. 10 for 13 Winds in B flat major

This is another piece of music by Mozart that I like very much.

Besides Youtube, there are many places where you can find music composed by Mozart available for free. Radio Mozart is one of my favorite places and you can listen on your Android device as well. You can also listen on Last FM.



Performed by members of the Orchestra of St. Luke's under the direction of Sir Charles Mackerras. Recorded by Telarc in 1994.

"The Serenade in B-flat major for 13 wind-instruments, K. 361, is far from an arrangement. Mozart had begun it in Munich at the beginning of 1781, at the time of the performance of Idomeneo, and completed it in Vienna, at the time of his most strenuous efforts to escape from the bonds of Salzburg. In composing it he probably had in mind the excellent wind-players of Munich, as well as the intention of once more trying to insinuate himself into the favor of Carl Theodor by means of an extraordinary piece. We have no evidence that the 13 players ever actually came together in Vienna; there exists an arrangement of this work for the four customary pairs of winds (K. Anh. 182), which may very well have been Mozart's own idea. The contra-bassoon is not named in the autograph: Mozart calls for a double bass. But this in no way contradicts the 'open-air' character of the extraordinary work, which, in any case, rises above any question of purpose into ideal regions. Whether the title Gran Partita, which perhaps hints at performance in the open, was affixed by Mozart himself, is uncertain—the authenticity of the handwriting of this title in the autograph is doubtful.

"The fascination of the work emanates from its sheer sound. There is a continuous alternation between tutti and soli, in which the part of the soli is usually allotted to the two clarinets; a constant reveling in new combinations: a quartet of clarinets and basset horns, a sextet of oboes, basset horns, and bassoons over the supporting double bass; oboe, basset horn, and bassoon in unison, with accompaniment—a mixture of timbres and transparent clarity at the same time; an 'overlapping' of all the tone-colors, especially in the development section of the first movement. No instrument is treated in true concertante fashion, but each one can, and strives to, distinguish itself; and just as in a buffo finale by Mozart each person is true to his own character, so each instrument here is true to its own character—the oboe to its aptness for cantabile melodies, the bassoon likewise and also, in chattering triplets, to its comic properties. The two pairs of horns furnish the basic tone-color; but the fact that Mozart uses only the first pair in the first slow movement, a Notturno, is an indication of his supreme taste and skill: this is a scene from Romeo under starry skies, a scene in which longing, grief, and love are wrung like a distillation from the beating hearts of the lovers. The counterpart to this lyricism is found in a 'Romance' whose sentimentality is carried towards the point of absurdity by means of an oddly burlesque Allegretto, an 'alternativo.' A third slow movement, an Andantino with variations, has an episodic effect, each variation, however, offering new evidence of mastery. The same is true of the two Minuets, the second Trio of the one being in G minor, and the first Trio of the other in B-flat minor, and all the sections differing in character. A somewhat noisy Rondo forms the conclusion; one might call it a Rondo alla turca, for the theme of which Mozart seems to have recalled the Finale of his youthful four-hand clavier sonata. The Theme and Variations are taken from the Mannheim Flute Quartet K. Anh. 171—if this movement is authentic. But it probably is; very possibly, after the exertion and outpouring of invention of the first five movements, Mozart was willing to permit himself a little relaxation." - Alfred Einstein

 The Composer 

 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart [Wikipedia] 

 The Perfomers

 Conductor: Sir Charles Mackerras [Wikipedia] [All Music]

 Orchestra: Orchestra of St. Luke's [Wikipedia] [Website] 

Other Links of Interest:


Mostly Mozart (a Lincoln Center website of concerts that are mostly Mozart in nature)
Mozart Forum a comprehensive list of Mozart Links
Follow the Mozart Trail (for children...but fun for adults, too)

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Music Monday: Franz Lachner Symphony No. 5 in C Minor "Preis Symphony" Op. 52

Franz Lachner is one of the composers of the Romantic Period of classical music that should have more exposure.


The 5th symphony that I have chosen to introduce you to him is a giant one, lasting an hour. It takes its time to develop, in a Schubertian manner. I consider him a transitional period between Beethoven/Schubert and Bruckner/Brahms and hope you enjoy it as much as I do.





Franz Lachner - Symphony No. 5 in C Minor "Preis Symphony" Op. 52 (1835)


I. Andante - Allegro - 20:46
II. Andante Con Moto - 15:58
III. Menuetto - 10:48
IV. Finale - Allegro - 12:48






Franz Paul Lachner (2 April 1803 – 20 January 1890) was a German composer and conductor.


Lachner was born in Rain am Lech to a musical family (his brothers Ignaz, Theodor and Vinzenz also became musicians). He studied music with Simon Sechter and Maximilian, the Abbé Stadler. He conducted at the Theater am Kärntnertor in Vienna. In 1834, he became Kapellmeister at Mannheim. In 1835 he received the first prize for symphonic composition at Vienna with his Sinfonia passionata, and became royal Kapellmeister at Munich, becoming a major figure in its musical life, conducting at the opera and various concerts and festivals. His career there came to a sudden end in 1864 after Richard Wagner's disciple Hans von Bülow took over Lachner's duties. Lachner remained officially in his post on extended leave for a few years until his contract expired.


Lachner was a well-known and prolific composer in his day, though he is not now considered a major composer. His work, influenced by Ludwig van Beethoven and his friend Franz Schubert is regarded as competent and craftsman-like, but is now generally little known. Among his greatest successes were his opera Caterina Cornaro (1841), his Requiem and his seventh orchestral suite (1881). In the present day it may be his organ sonatas (Opp. 175, 176, 177) as well as chamber music, in particular his music for wind instruments, that receives the most attention, though his string quartets and some of his eight symphonies have been performed and recorded. His songs, some of which are set to the same texts that Schubert used in his songs, contributed to the development of the German Lied.
For performances of Luigi Cherubini's Médée in Frankfurt in 1855, Lachner composed recitatives to replace the original spoken dialogue, and it was this version, translated into Italian, which was used in many twentieth-century revivals and recordings of that opera.


Source: Wikipedia 


Conductor: Paul Robinson Website 


Orchestra: The Slovak State Philharmonic, Košice (ŠfK) 




Music:


Wikipedia partial list of compositions 


Classical Archives 


Naxos Discography 


Amazon


Amazon MP3's

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Music Monday The Marriage of Figaro

I skipped last week in this series, and to make up for it, I'm posting an extra long piece of music...not once, but twice. (That's assuming you have over five hours free today to listen to both versions) ʘ‿ʘ


This week's music is the Opera composed by Mozart, "The Marriage of Figaro". 

Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata (The Marriage of Figaro, or The Day of Madness), K. 492, is an opera buffa (comic opera) composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro (1784).
Although the play by Beaumarchais was at first banned in Vienna because of its satire of the aristocracy, considered dangerous in the decade before the French Revolution, the opera became one of Mozart's most successful works. The overture is especially famous and is often played as a concert piece. The musical material of the overture is not used later in the work, aside from two brief phrases during the Count's part in the terzetto Cosa sento! in act 1.

Source: Wikipedia




Musical presentation in Italian








Video presentation in English

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Off Book: Visual Culture Online

What follows is a promo for an interesting PBS miniseries, which I won't see unless they post the full thing online, due to not being to get PBS over the air where I live.







For decades now, people have joined together online to communicate and collaborate around interesting imagery. In recent years, the pace and intensity of this activity has reached a fever pitch. With countless communities engaging in a constant exchange, building on each others' work, and producing a prodigious flow of material, we may be experiencing the early stages of a new type of artistic and cultural collaboration. In this episode of Off Book, we'll speak with a number of Internet experts and artists who'll give us an introductory look into this intriguing new world.


Featuring:


Chris Menning, Viral Trends Researcher, Buzzfeed
MemeFactory, Internet Researchers
Olivia Gulin, Visual Reporter, Know Your Meme
Ryder Ripps, Artist and Co-Creator, Dump.fm
John Kelly, PH.D., Founder and Chief Scientist, Morningside Analytics


Music by:


VLOOPER: http://vlooper.bandcamp.com/album/copycat-a-dilla-tribute
Hinariku216: http://soundcloud.com/hinariku216
Reno Project: http://soundcloud.com/renoproject


Follow Off Book:


Twitter: @pbsoffbook
Tumblr: http://pbsarts.tumblr.com/


Produced by Kornhaber Brown: http://www.kornhaberbrown.com
Story Development with Chris Menning, Viral Trends Researcher, Buzzfeed




Source: PBS Arts (video description lifted from Youtube)
Hat Tip to Scott Beale on G+

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