Last month the Classics a Day team chose vintage recordings as the theme. Specifically, recordings made before the LP era. This month, the focus moves forward in time a little, to the early LP era. This runs from 1948 to about 1958, with the advent of stereo recording. In that era (as with other eras […]
Ludwig van Beethoven
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#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalTimeMachine Week 2
For the month of October, the Classics a Day team turned nostalgic. Classical musicians have been making recordings since the 1890s. So we all have over 130 years of documented performance practices. And we can judge first-hand the artistry of legendary performers. The challenge is to post classical recordings made before 1949 (pre-LP era). Here […]
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#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalTimeMachine Week 1
For the month of October, the Classics a Day team turned nostalgic. Classical musicians have been making recordings since the 1890s. So we all have over 130 years of documented performance practices. And we can judge first-hand the artistry of legendary performers. The challenge is to post classical recordings made before 1949 (pre-LP era). Here […]
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Beethoven Cantatas Show Early Promise
Leif Segerstam’s cycle of Beethoven choral works continues with some of his earliest compositions. In 1790, the nineteen-year-old Beethoven was a court musician in Bonn. He was commissioned to write two cantatas. Basically, it was “the king is dead, long live the king.” The first cantata was to mourn the death of the recently deceased […]
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Beethoven remasters reveals the genius of Wilhelm Kempff
Had Beethoven composed nothing other than the 32 piano sonatas, his genius would have been acknowledged. These works are at the summit of the piano repertoire, and many of them are still represented in the core repertoire on the concert stage today. Beethoven intended them as studies, and there is a reference to a concert […]
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Leif Segerstam begins Beethoven choral series
Ludwig van Beethoven’s oratorio was premiered at a marathon concert in 1803. And I mean marathon. The all-Beethoven program (conducted by the composer) included his first and second symphonies, plus his third piano concerto. Some of the shorter pieces scheduled were dropped due to time constraints (!). “Christ on the Mount of Olives” originally received […]
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#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalDistancing Week 4
Normally the Classics a Day theme for May involved May Day (#SovietaDay). Having a theme centered around social distancing/self-quarantine seemed more appropriate. The challenge for May is post works for unusual solo instruments or works about solitude. Here are my selections for the final week of #ClassicalDistancing 05/25/20 Krzysztof Penderecki (1933-2020) – Cadenza for solo […]
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Early Beethoven cantatas hint at greatness
The Emporer is dead, long live the Emporer. In 1790 a nineteen-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven was commissioned to write two cantatas. The first was an elegy for Emperor Joseph II. The second for Leopold II, who inherited the throne. Maestro Leif Segerstam presents both works. It continues Naxos’s series of Beethoven choral works. Apparently, the […]
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#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalEleven Week 1
Numbers have meaning. But meaning can depend on context. The Classics a Day team made “eleven” the theme for November, the eleventh month. The challenge is to post performances of classical music that involve the number. I chose a mix. Some pieces involve eleven players. Some are the eleventh type of piece by a composer. […]