In Brief: Palio Independence Edition

Here is your regular Sunday selection of links to good things in Blogville and Beyond.

• Scarlatti, Sonatas, A. Tharaud

  For your online listening this week, we recommend a recital by pianist Alexandre Tharaud from the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, including some Scarlatti sonatas; a performance of Weber's Oberon, from the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse with Klaus Florian Vogt (streaming for only a few more days); an eclectic program of contemporary music and Monteverdi from the vocal group Ensemble 2e2m; songs from mezzo-soprano Christianne Stotijn and pianist Emanuel Ax, plus the Berlin Philharmonic playing Stravinsky's Firebird; violinist Renaud Capuçon and the Orchestre National de France from the Festival de Saint-Denis; Magnus Lindberg's Kraft from the Festival Agora; a delightful program by baritone Christopher Maltman and the Nash Ensemble from the Musée d'Orsay; the Schola Heidelberg singing early Renaissance works and Xenakis; pianist Nicholas Angelich from the Wigmore Hall; and Leif Ove Andsnes with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra from Copenhagen. [France Musique]


• We have enjoyed (and envied) following Alex Ross's Italian sojourn, particularly the survey of musical sites of Venice, research for his next book, to be called Wagnerism. [The Rest Is Noise]


• Thanks to Brian for drawing our attention to the plans to make an Internet stream of the Bavarian State Opera's Calixto Bieito-directed production of Fidelio starring Jonas Kaufmann and Anja Kampe on July 8. You don't want to miss that. Or maybe you do, if you have a problem with bodily fluids. [Out West Arts]


• This sounds very promising indeed: an app for displaying IMSLP scores on your iPad. [Chant Cafe]


• In online video, try Rossini's Stabat Mater from the Festival de Saint-Denis, with soprano Patrizia Ciofi and mezzo-soprano Vivica Genaux, by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France conducted by Myung-Whun Chung. [ARTE Liveweb]


• The early odds on who will win the Nobel Prize for Literature: will it be Cormac McCarthy's year? [The Literary Saloon]


• Pope Benedict XVI sent his first Tweet this week. On his iPad. Worlds collide. [Whispers in the Loggia]


• Bravo to the contrada of Oca (the Goose), whose horse, named Mississippi, won the Palio per la Madonna di Provenzano yesterday in Siena. Giovanni Atzeni, known as Tittia, was the jockey, and after some spectacular falls on the first lap (video embedded below) he led for most of the race. Lupa had a horse in the race but continues to reign as Nonna, or Grandma, the contrada to have gone the longest time without winning the Palio. The horse from Bruco, which lost its rider in a spectacular fall at the primo casato, came in second -- the worst possible outcome in the Palio. [Il Palio]