#morninglistening to #Tavener w/@AAMOrchestra &...

#morninglistening to #Tavener w/@AAMOrchestra & @PaulGoodwin123 on @harmoniamundi / @piasclassicsusa

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2FaeYAc

@surprisedbeauty music

#classicalmusic #JohnTavener #classicalmusiccollection #20thCenturyMusic #WilliamBlake #classicalcdcollection #EarlyMusic #choralmusic #historicalinstruments #HIP #surprisedbybeauty #englishmusic #AcademyOfAncientMusic

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#morninglistening to #Bruckner w/@MaestroMaazel & @BRSO on...

#morninglistening to #Bruckner w/@MaestroMaazel & @BRSO on @BR_Klassik:

http://amzn.to/2CrhIbo

in the terrific #Zeroth #Symphony.

#classicalmusic #LorinMaazel #classicalmusiccollection #classicalcdcollection @Symphony0 #germanromanticism #symphonies #orchestralmusic #AntonBruckner #ZerothSymphony #BRKlassik #BRSO

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#morninglistening to @HaensslerMusic & #PhilharmonieFestiva...

#morninglistening to @HaensslerMusic & #PhilharmonieFestiva in #Bruckner -

http://amzn.to/2EVIdYc

namely one of the top recordings of the terrific Zeroth #Symphony.

#classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection #classicalcdcollection #germanromanticism #Symphony #orchestralmusic #AntonBruckner #ZerothSymphony

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#morninglistening to #Rossini #ouvertures w/@asmf_orchestra on...

#morninglistening to #Rossini #ouvertures w/@asmf_orchestra on @deccaclassics as suggested to me by @manuel.brug:

http://amzn.to/2FuRt2z

…for an upcoming essay on #SirNevilleMarriner

#classicalmusic #classicalcdcollection
#classicalmusiccollection
#klassischemusik #NevilleMarriner #Ouverture #WillhelmTell #academyofstmartininthefields #OrchestralMusic #italianmusic

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#morninglistening to #Weinberg #solokeyboard music on #cpo...

#morninglistening to #Weinberg #solokeyboard music on #cpo w#ElisavetaBlumina

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/6C5VyTH

#PianoSonatas Nos.2, 4 + op.49bis

#classicalmusiccollection #classicalmusic #pianomusic #classicalcdcollection #pianomusic #MieczyslawWeinberg #polishcomposers #MieczysławWeinberg

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#morninglistening to #Mozart w/#HagenQuartet on...

#morninglistening to #Mozart w/#HagenQuartet on @myriosclassics

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/323MbDq

KV 387 & 458

Splendid performances; studio recordings

#classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection #classicalcdcollection #ChamberMusic #germanromanticism #MyriosClassics #hagenquartett #haydnquartet #WienerKlassik #StringQuartet #stringquartets

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#morninglistening to #Debussy on @WarnerClassicsUS /...

#morninglistening to #Debussy on @WarnerClassicsUS / @WarnerClassics’ complete #ClaudeDebussy Edition

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/5MRfkj0 ☆♡☆

Continuing with the #choralmusic which is among the most rewarding of the rarities one likely only gets with such a comprehensive collection. Includes the #WorldPremiereRecording of the 1st version of #TroisChansons de Charles d'Orleans

#classicalcdcollection #classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection #liedmelodieartsong #Mélodie #CompleteDebussy #WarnerClassics #DebussyEdition #UtagawaHiroshige #noFilter

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#morninglistening to #Mozart #pianoconcertos w/@asmf_orchestra...

#morninglistening to #Mozart #pianoconcertos w/@asmf_orchestra & #AlfredBrendel & #Marriner:

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/7mqEWY6

#Marrinerlistening

Artless Mozart performances that hold up very nicely indeed. Don’t understand why they are sometimes panned.

#classicalmusic
#classicalmusiccollection #pianoconcerto #Decca #orchestralmusic #pianoconcertos #NevilleMarriner #SirNevilleMarriner #Brendel #academyofstmartininthefields

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City of Munich and Munich Philharmonic Renew Valery Gergiev Amidst Many Critical Overtones

Valery Gergiev Stays In Munich, Extends Contract To 2025

So, Gergiev's contract as chief conductor of the MPhil gets extended until 2025. Big deal, huh?

Outsiders may think that the renewal of his contract should have been a slam-dunk; in fact, many onlookers had been surprised that Gergiev had chosen to make Munich his main orchestral base in the West. When he signed the contract, I suggested that those who wondered why the world famous wunder-maestro Gergiev had signed on with the widely considered provincial, second-tier Munich Philharmonic, look at a map: Munich is nice and central and has a great airport with excellent connections: It's a perfect base for international operations. Gergiev had been wanting a position with a central European orchestra; it’s where most of the classical music action is and the gig is one of the best-remunerated positions in the business. (See also ionarts: Valery Gergiev Signs Contract With Munich Philharmonic)

Apart from the issue as to why Gergiev signed in Munich, there is also the question of why Munich signed with Gergiev. The reason is the Munich Philharmonic's strange mixture of an inflated sense of self ("one of the greatest orchestras in the world") and a complete lack of self-esteem that expresses itself in the near-desperate way in which it needs to get the biggest possible name -- all other qualities being secondary at best -- out there to reinforce the self-image.

G.Mahler, Sy.2 V.Gergiev / MPhil MPhil

Where the Berlin Philharmonic are perfectly happy going with an internationally rather unknown quantity like Kirill Petrenko (granted an easy choice, when you know that he's as close to a Carlos Kleiber of our days as it gets), where the New York Philharmonic is happy to name someone with relatively little international stature like Jaap van Zweden as their next chief conductor, simply (presumably) because they are convinced of his ability, the Munich Philharmonic has a tendency (as do many orchestras!) to desperately match their perceived fame with the perceived fame of a conductor. It's usually a recipe for disaster or, at best, civilized boredom.

In that sense getting Gergiev was a coup for the orchestra. International attention. Recording projects. Reviews. The whole chalupa! So what if he is notorious unpunctual. He's got a drive to himself, he gets things done, he has connections. True, he is a bit much reliant on soloists in his circle (Matsuev again?!) but that circle also includes sheer blazing talent (Behzod Abduraimov and Denis Kozhukhin anyone? Or Trifonov?). Unfortunately for the Munich authorities, both musical and political, Gergiev attracts unwanted attention for his association with the Russian regime of Putin - a very good acquaintance of his from their St. Petersburg days and someone without whose support, tacit or explicit, Gergiev could never have achieved as much with the rebuilding of the Mariinsky Theater (institution, orchestra, everything). Guilty by association, Gergiev gets blamed for everything we (rightly, usually) don't like about the Russian government.

Och, verlegen sind die sicher. Sie können ja schlecht sagen: "Macht Euch nicht ins Hemd; das Ganze ist ein Kompromiss den wir halt des Ruhmes wegen gern eingehen." (Wenn Gergiev Resultate wie K.Petrenko erzielen würde, wärt Ihr nicht auch 'on board'?)

— Jens F. Laurson (@ClassicalCritic) February 21, 2018

G.Mahler, Sy.4 V.Gergiev / MPhil MPhil

It is expected that he kowtow to journalists that drill him on his alleged or tacit support for the less savory aspects of Russian policy, but of course he won't. He knows that back at home, there's no separation of politics and arts... and while he doesn't get involved in Russian politics in the West, he cannot separate them abroad by distancing himself publically from them, either. It's not impossible that he supports these policies. It's much more likely that he doesn't particularly care; music, his own little art-empire and the people that work for are likely more important. Probably he just thinks that the Western journalists are so ignorant of the situation on the ground in Russia, that it's not worth bothering with them in the first place; they wouldn't understand. Perhaps he doesn't care that much altogether. It doesn't matter: He's made a scapegoat by the righteous set who are offended that Gergiev considers -- to radically reduce the issue to its essence -- Putin afar more important than them a-near.

Other, more sensitive and sensible journalists don't hone in as much on the political aspect - even if they are bothered by Gergiev's refusal to outright condemn Russian laws like the one that banned 'propagation of non-traditional forms of lifestyle', which hits close to home to many classical music journalists in Munich and beyond. (Not that it is in the least his job to comment on Russian policy, even if he's perceived a friend of some of Russia's powerful political leaders.) They are worried that Gergiev simply isn't all that great for the orchestra or the orchestra not that great with him; that his mastery of the Germanic core repertoire is not nearly at the level of the music he excels in. That the concerts are boring, thick-textured, under-rehearsed. That his leadership style, while it can be inspiring in the short run, is exhausting in the medium- and long-term. That's a good point; it's a point I tend to agree with. If Gergiev produced musical results akin to those of K.Petrenko, I don't think we would be having this discussion, even if he were Putin's backrub-buddy or if they played bridge with Bashar al-Assad and Recep Erdoğan. Still, for the Munich Philharmonic it is -- even for all the cynical and psychologically unhealthy aspects that are part of it -- probably a net benefit to have Gergiev at the head of the orchestra. And that's the point, apart from sharing the news, I am making in this piece for Forbes on which I hope you might click and better yet: enjoy.

Follow @ClassicalCritic

Forbes: Valery Gergiev Stays In Munich, Extends Contract To 2025

#morninglistening to #Gershwin w/@sslso & @kirillgerstein on...

#morninglistening to #Gershwin w/@sslso & @kirillgerstein on @myriosclassics

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/74lJBSs

includes a fantastic essay by #JosephHorowitz!

#RhapsodyInBlue in Grofé’s 1924 “Whiteman band” orchestration.

#ConcertoInF et al.

#classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection #classicalcdcollection #ChamberMusic #MyriosClassics #20stcenturyclassical #20stCenturyMusic #KirillGerstein #StLouisSymphony #orchestralmusic #pianoconcertos #pianoconcerto #americanclassicalmusic #JazzConcerto

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#morninglistening to @Munich_Phil in #Bruckner’s 4th...

#morninglistening to @Munich_Phil in #Bruckner’s 4th #Symphony:

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/6jfXgvw

under @ValeryGergiev who extended his contract with the orchestra until 2025 today - a move that has been accompanied by some critical noises for political and artistic reasons.

#classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection
#classicalcdcollection #germanromanticism #orchestralmusic #MünchnerPhilharmoniker #ValeryGergiev

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#morninglistening to one of the classic #Debussy recordings on...

#morninglistening to one of the classic #Debussy recordings on @dgclassics

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/4SbixL8

The #Preludes w/#ClaudioArrau

Darn, this is still terrific, too! Regal and nobly warm.

comparing it to the complete #ClaudeDebussy Edition’s contents, feat. #PierreLaurentAimard.

#classicalcdcollection #classicalmusic #Préludes #classicalmusiccollection #solokeyboard #pianomusic #CompleteDebussy #DeutscheGrammophon #DebussyEdition

This set brings together the 1979 Preludes & Imahes w/the 1980 Estampes and the 1991 sessions.

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#morninglistening to #Schumann w/#Widmann, #TabeaZimmermann...

#morninglistening to #Schumann w/#Widmann, #TabeaZimmermann & #DenesVarjon on @myriosclassics

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/5cEgE4j

in the #FairyTales op.132, #Fantasiestücke op.73 & #Märchenbilder op.113 + #JörgWidmann’s #OnceUponATime riff on Schumann.

Stupendous performances whether you specifically want that #WorldPremiereRecording on it or not

#classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection #classicalcdcollection #ChamberMusic #germanromanticism #MyriosClassics #contemporarymusic #21stcenturyclassical #21stCenturyMusic

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#morninglistening to one of the classic #Debussy recordings on...

#morninglistening to one of the classic #Debussy recordings on @dgclassics

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/7y3sILa

The #Preludes w/#KrystianZimerman

comparing it to the complete #ClaudeDebussy Edition’s contents, feat. #PierreLaurentAimard.

#classicalcdcollection #classicalmusic #Préludes #classicalmusiccollection #solokeyboard #pianomusic #CompleteDebussy #DeutscheGrammophon #DebussyEdition

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#morninglistening to terrific #Froberger release on @aeolusianer...

#morninglistening to terrific #Froberger release on @aeolusianer w/ #BobvanAsperen

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to.1HEXS1o

on #organ & #harpsichord. #Toccatas interspersed with #motets. Perhaps the ideal entry point for #JohannJakobFroberger

#classicalmusic
#classicalmusiccollection #EarlyMusic #baroquemusic #solokeyboard #choralmusic

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#morninglistening to #NielsGade on #mDG w/#TrioParnassus in the...

#morninglistening to #NielsGade on #mDG w/#TrioParnassus in the #PianoTrio et al.

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/2o6rhAc

#classicalcdcollection #PianoTrios #classicalmusiccollection
#classicalmusic #baroquemusic #chambermusic #danishmusic

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#morninglistening to #Vivaldi on @Alpha_classics (@outheremusic)...

#morninglistening to #Vivaldi on @Alpha_classics (@outheremusic) w/@mussaintjulien

#ListenAgain pile!

http://amzn.to/2Cpd621

#AntonioVivaldi with that WTF-twist; still utterly enjoyable and bound to be a #CDoftheWeek

#classicalcdcollection
#classicalmusiccollection
#classicalmusic #EarlyMusic #baroquemusic #chambermusic #italianbaroque #FourSeasons #bagpipe #noFilter

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Washington Ballet's new-classic 'Romeo and Juliet'

Gian Carlo Perez (Romeo), Rinat Imaev (Friar Lawrence), EunWon Lee (Juliet) in Romeo and Juliet, Washington Ballet
(photo by Gene Schiavone)
If Julie Kent's first season leading Washington Ballet reached its apogee with a poetic Giselle, this season has surpassed it with a revival of John Cranko's choreography of Romeo and Juliet. Kent addressed the audience just before the curtain went up, recalling her own performances as a young dancer in this work with the Joffrey Ballet. Made in 1962 for Stuttgart Ballet, this version hews close to Prokofiev's music, without the changes to that gorgeous score and the anti-aristocratic distortions of the Soviet version by Leonid Lavrovsky, still being performed by the Mariinsky Ballet.

Thursday night's title pairing was led by EunWon Lee, the brilliant young dancer who came from Korea to dance for Julie Kent. She was flighty and headstrong, defying her domineering parents, putting the proud Paris of Tamás Krizsa in his place, and just beautiful to watch, becoming air-borne en pointe and in lifts in the presence of Romeo, as if on cloud nine. The latter, danced by Gian Carlo Perez, did not quite measure up in grace and beauty, although he was physically an affecting partner. In the supporting cast, the fiery Tybalt of Rolando Sarabia and especially the flippant Mercutio of Andile Ndlovu made the tragic end of the second act one of the highlights of the evening.

Other Reviews: Sarah L. Kaufman, In “Romeo and Juliet,” the Washington Ballet unleashes a star (Washington Post, February 16)

Cranko's choreography, staged here by Jane Bourne and supervised by Reid Anderson, is less rigid and classically oriented than the more familiar Lavrovsky version, but each gesture, movement, and facial expression perfectly aligned the music with emotional and dramatic points. The crowd scenes are particularly fun, as the Act I clash between the two families spread through the entire town, with people throwing brightly colored fruits and vegetables across the stage at each other.

The scenery -- moss-covered stone structures, a moonlit night vista -- and costumes, particularly lavish for the masques in the ball scene, were designed by Susan Benson. Beatrice Affron, music director of Pennsylvania Ballet, led firmly and capably in the pit. The contributions from the renascent Washington Ballet Orchestra varied widely, from strong solos by concertmaster Oleg Rylatko and trumpeter Chris Gekker to less secure examples. The score's exotic sounds were a mix, too, with canned electronic organ, fine tenor saxophone playing, and something rustic and clanging for the numbers with the two mandolins. Although most of the woodwind and brass parts were present, the smallish string sound fell short in the fuller parts of the score. Little matter -- this is the way ballet is supposed to be, with the flexibility of live music unfolding in response to the dancers.

This production runs through February 18 at the Kennedy Center Opera House, with various casts.

#morninglistening to #Bruckner on @hyperionrecords...

#morninglistening to #Bruckner on @hyperionrecords w/#CorydonSingers & #MatthewBest

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/2hE7xE7

Terrific performance of the E-minor #Mass, #LiberaMe (!) & #Aquealis 1 & 2 on #HyperionRecords ♡♡♡

#classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection #Masses #classicalcdcollection #choralmusic #vocalmusic #OrchestralMusic #Aqueale for three #trombones #secularmusic #Corydon’s claim to fame.

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#morninglistening to #Bach transcriptions on @hyperionrecords...

#morninglistening to #Bach transcriptions on @hyperionrecords w/@ConcertPianist #JonathanPlowright

http://amzn.to/2HosY7I

A terrific, underrated series from #hyperion to which I return very fondly over and again. Even the unevenness of some of these transcriptions doesn’t really lessen my enjoyment much.

#classicalmusic #EarlyMusic #classicalmusiccollection #classicalcdcollection #baroquemusic #solokeyboard #pianomusic #transcription #transcriptions #Plowright

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#morninglistening to #Debussy on LSOLive: @ValeryGergiev...

#morninglistening to #Debussy on LSOLive: @ValeryGergiev w/@LondonSymphony

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/3F4kMu9

A surprisingly (?) superb performance of #LaMer!

+ #PréludeÀlAprésMidiDunFaune | #Jeux

#ClaudeDebussy 100th Deathiversary #orchestralworks #classicalcdcollection #classicalmusic #LSOLive #classicalmusiccollection #OrchestralMusic #CompleteDebussy #DeutscheGrammophon #DebussyEdition

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#morninglistening to #LudwigVan w/#RonaldBrautigam on...

#morninglistening to #LudwigVan w/#RonaldBrautigam on #BISrecords

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/79kZxkc

Some of the most refreshing #DiabelliVariations I have heard since #JuliusKatchen

#classicalcdcollection #classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection #pianomusic #solokeyboard #Beethoven #Variations #ludwigvanbeethoven #WienerKlassik

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#morninglistening to @erkkisven w/@helsinkiPhil under @OlariElts...

#morninglistening to @erkkisven w/@helsinkiPhil under @OlariElts on @ondineRecords

http://a-fwd.to/6fxBsfm

#Symphony No.5 for #BigBand, #ElectricGuitar & #SymphonyOrchestra +
#AccordionConcerto “Prophecy”

Here are two works I love and which are much more effective (at least on record) than the Eighth Symphony. That experience notwithstanding, Tüür is clearly on his way - or more likely: already there - of becoming one the most important symphonists of our time.

#Tüür #classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection #classicalcdcollection #contemporarymusic #21stCenturyMusic #concertos #symphonies #AccordionMusic #Estonianmusic

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#morninglistening to one of the classic #Debussy recordings on...

#morninglistening to one of the classic #Debussy recordings on @dgclassics: #PierreBoulez w/@CleveOrchestra

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/2NpQveO

#Nocturnes | #Jeux | #LaMer | #PremièreRhapsodie

comparing it to the complete #ClaudeDebussy Edition’s contents.

#orchestral works #classicalcdcollection #classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection #OrchestralMusic #CompleteDebussy #DeutscheGrammophon #DebussyEdition

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#morninglistening to #DSCH on @sony_classical w/@nyphil under...

#morninglistening to #DSCH on @sony_classical w/@nyphil under @Mitropoulos:

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/29Zi7Zc

A hair-raising account of the Tenth #Symphony coupled with a fine Ninth under #EfremKurtz

@SurprisedBeauty music. ☆☆☆(☆☆) #Shostakovich

#classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection #classicalcdcollection #symphonies #RussianMusic #SovietMusic #orchestralmusic #20thCenturyMusic #SurprisedByBeauty @sony.classical #dimitrimitropoulos @nyphilharmonic

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#morninglistening on @dgclassics ’ complete #ClaudeDebussy...

#morninglistening on @dgclassics ’ complete #ClaudeDebussy Edition

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/5MRfkj0 ☆♡☆

Starting w/the #orchestral works interestingly taken by #leonardbernstein

#Images #LaMer #PréludeÀlAprésMidiDunFaune

#classicalcdcollection #classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection #OrchestralMusic #CompleteDebussy #DeutscheGrammophon #DebussyEdition

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#morninglistening to Bjørn Bolstad Skjelbred & #NordicVoices...

#morninglistening to Bjørn Bolstad Skjelbred & #NordicVoices in the #BeeMadrigals 🐝

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/4Nt38ap

#contemporaryclassical #contemporarymusic #21stCenturyMusic #21stcenturyclassical #NorwegianMusic #classicalcdcollection #classicalmusiccollection #classicalmusic

Strange stuff, music faux-nouveau, text wannabe-enlightened dogoodery masquerading as hip and high-brow. Limited appeal even to Bee-lovers.

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#morninglistening to #ThomasKoppel, #pellegudmundsenholmgreen...

#morninglistening to #ThomasKoppel, #pellegudmundsenholmgreen & #SunleilRasmussen w/@AalborgSymf

on #OURrecords.

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2EEbHZu

in #Danish & #Faroese Recorder Concertos of all things.

#classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection #classicalcdcollection #20thCenturyMusic #choralmusic #färöer music #noFilter #DanishMusic #21stCenturyMusic #SACD #21stcenturyclassical

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#morninglistening to ♡ #Janacek on @supraphonCZ: Amazon:...

#morninglistening to ♡ #Janacek on @supraphonCZ:

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/1lgRPX4

w/@FolharmonieBrno + @CzechPhil w/#GlagoliticMass under #FrantišekJílek & #Amarus under #CharlesMackerras

@surprisedbeauty music

#classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection #classicalcdcollection #Cantata #20thCenturyMusic #SurprisedByBeauty #choralmusic #kennenlernmusik #noFilter #CzechMusic #FrantisekJilek #LeošJanáček #LeosJanacek #Janáček

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#morninglistening to #erkkisventüür w/@YLE_RSO under...

#morninglistening to #erkkisventüür w/@YLE_RSO under @hlintu:

http://a-fwd.to/7iFGabo

#ClarinetConcerto “Peregrinus Ecstaticus”
#DoubleConcerto “Noēsis” et.al

#Tüür #classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection #classicalcdcollection #contemporarymusic #21stCenturyMusic #choralmusic #symphonies #Estonianmusic

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#morninglistening to #SebastianoMeloni on...

#morninglistening to #SebastianoMeloni on #BigRoundRecords

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/6Tb91Yf

“Moods and Sketches”

to my ears this amounts to fairly negligible stuff and little more.

#contemporarymusic #cdcollection #improvisations #muzak #solokeyboard #pianomusic #21stcenturyclassical #classicalcdcollection #classicalmusic

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#morninglistening to a real #21stcenturyclassical...

#morninglistening to a real #21stcenturyclassical #ElectroAcoustic opera of @RogerDoyle1 ’s on @Heresy_Records

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/4r12Zzz

“Heresy” - an electronic #Opera

#electroacousticmusic #cdcollection #ireland #RogerDoyle #HeresyRecords #classicalcdcollection #classicalmusic

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#morninglistening to #LudwigVan w/#AnatolUgorsky on...

#morninglistening to #LudwigVan w/#AnatolUgorsky on @dgclassics

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/6JLoIPy

in his #IreneDische - instigated #DiabelliVariations

#classicalcdcollection #classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection #pianomusic #solokeyboard #Beethoven #olympics #ludwigvanbeethoven #WienerKlassik

Also: Happy #olympicgames everyone and Koreans especially!

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#morninglistening to #Porpora on @DeccaClassics:...

#morninglistening to #Porpora on @DeccaClassics: “Germanico in Germania”

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/7rJsS1X

w/@capella_krk, Max Cencic, @JanTomaszAdamus et al.

Some truly sublime moments, arias, singing in this opera and on this recording.

There’s a theme to the operas #Cencic is performing in… 😊

#baroquemusic
#Italianbaroque #vocalmusic
#classicalmusic #opera #classicalmusiccollection #classicalcdcollection #historicalinstruments #NicolaPorpora #MaxEmanuelCencic #capellacracoviensis #DECCA #gutstrings #periodinstruments

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#morninglistening to Liszt/Bach on @NaxosRecords...

#morninglistening to Liszt/Bach on @NaxosRecords w/#SuzanneHusson

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/60RjoZ7

in an excellent recital of organ transcriptions that begs the question whether to file it under #Bach or #Liszt.

#classicalmusic #naxosrecords #classicalmusiccollection #classicalcdcollection #JohannSebastianBach #FranzLiszt #transcriptions #solokeyboard #pianomusic #organmusic

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#morninglistening to #Debussy on @WarnerClassicsUS /...

#morninglistening to #Debussy on @WarnerClassicsUS / @WarnerClassics’ complete #ClaudeDebussy Edition

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/5MRfkj0 ☆♡☆

Continuing with the #orchestral works such as the Premiere Suite d'orchestra & the Fantisie pour piano et Orchestra

#classicalcdcollection #classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection #pianomusic #solokeyboard #CompleteDebussy #WarnerClassics #DebussyEdition #UtagawaHiroshige

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#morninglistening to #BorisBlacher #OrchestralMusic...

#morninglistening to #BorisBlacher #OrchestralMusic w/#DresdnerPhilharmonic on @BerlinClassics under #HerbertKegel

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/6FzmdwU

incl. #PaganiniVariations

#classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection #classicalcdcollection #20thCenturyMusic #repertoireexplorer #Blacher - Superb composer but for the Variations I like Solti & Fricsay better.

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#morninglistening to #Bach #cantatas w/@AmstBaroque &...

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American Ballet Theater's surreal 'Whipped Cream' at the Kennedy Center

Whipped Cream (Act I), American Ballet Theater (photo by Gene Schiavone)
American Ballet Theater's visit to the Kennedy Center this week put a spotlight on new works by its most promising choreographers. After a mixed program of short works, it was time for the local premiere of Alexei Ratmansky's revival of Richard Strauss's lost ballet score, Schlagobers, seen on Friday night at the Kennedy Center Opera House. Ratmansky has dubbed the work by the English translation of Whipped Cream, and like that confection it floats light and fluffy on the tongue, quickly melts away to nothing, and may rot your teeth and upset your stomach.

Strauss apparently had plans for a third phase of his career, after symphonic tone poems and operas, as a ballet composer. The extravagant expense of Schlagobers, so soon in the wake of World War I, led to the end of his brief tenure at the Vienna State Opera's ballet company. The score is a frothy delight of decadent waltzes and phantasmagorical effects, worth studying for both balletomanes and Strauss lovers, a work that deserves to be heard again. Ratmansky did everyone a favor by resurrecting it, but he has likely not made the best version of the work possible.

Other Reviews: Sarah L. Kaufman, American Ballet Theatre’s ‘Whipped Cream’: A fleeting sugar high (Washington Post, February 2, 2018) Alastair Macaulay, Review: Alexei Ratmansky’s Ballet ‘Whipped Cream’ Is a Candyland Triumph (New York Times, May 23, 2017) ---, Review: Ratmansky’s Confectionery Shop Also Serves Ballet Poetry (New York Times, March 16, 2017)

The staging goes big, full frilly and pink, with a panoply of hallucinogenic costumes for the sweets that come to life in the indigestion nightmares of a Boy who overindulges in the candy shop while celebrating his first communion. Dancers playing the children are normal-sized, while the dancers playing adults wear large heads, some even seeming lifted up higher by their footwear (sets and costumes by Mark Ryden). After a series of dessert divertissements, Act I ends with a scene for the corps de ballet in veiled white bodysuits fluttering through a surreal whipped cream landscape, many of them entering humorously on a slide -- in what seems like a spoof of the Kingdom of the Shades scene in La Bayadère.

Ratmansky's choreography is antic and jam-packed with cutesy action and movement, to a fault. Precious few delectable moments for dance materialize. In the first act there was a lovely pairing for the Princess Tea Flower of Hee Seo and Prince Coffee of Cory Stearns, accompanied by flute and violin solos as light as a feather, including a tender pas de deux. The two other solos in the divertissment, for Prince Cocoa and Don Zucchero (sugar), were more comic and not as memorable. The many crazy costumes -- from Dr. Seuss-like long-necked giraffalopes to delightful miniature bouncing cupcakes -- are an endless source of hilarity.


Act II takes a turn for the humorously nightmarish, as the Boy (an energetic Jonathan Klein) awakens in a hospital room, watched over by sinister eyes, right out of a Salvador Dalí painting. The appropriately carnival-time lesson on gluttony switches from sweets to liquor, as the alcoholic doctor takes nips from the bottle in his pocket. In his own set of hallucinations, three liquor bottles come to life for another series of comic dances. Rising dancer Cassandra Trenary's Princess Praline was pert and adorable as she welcomed the still-delusional Boy into her kingdom of sweets. Some more space in the choreography, some room to breathe, would have been welcome, and the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra should probably have had a couple more rehearsal slots to pull this complex score together with more polish. Conductor Ormsby Wilkins's frantic gestures did not help at times, seeming to create more confusion among the musicians.

The next dance event at the Kennedy Center Opera House is the Washington Ballet's presentation of Romeo and Juliet, in the choreography of John Cranko made for Stuttgart Ballet, February 14 to 18.

#morninglistening to #Debussy on @WarnerClassicsUS /...

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American Ballet Theater: New Choreography at Kennedy Center

Blain Hoven and Daniil Simkin, Serenade after Plato's Symposium, American Ballet Theater (photo by Rosalie Connor)
American Ballet Theater has taken over the Kennedy Center Opera House this week, offering a smorgasbord of new ballets. The first program, seen on Wednesday night, was a combination of three choreographies from the last decade, plus a Jerome Robbins classic from 1976. The second night cast included some of the company's best dancers -- meaning that the usual vocal group of Misty Copeland followers was in the audience -- and some new discoveries.

The best part of the Leonard Bernstein anniversary celebrations, otherwise a seemingly endless sequence of celebrated mediocrities, arrived unexpectedly with Serenade after Plato's Symposium, perhaps Alexei Ratmansky's most important work to date, premiered by ABT in 2016. The music is Bernstein's, a rather gorgeous five-movement violin concerto premiered in Venice in 1954, setting to music the seven speakers of Plato's Symposium, invited to extol the virtues of love. Seven men, mostly from the group of rising soloists, brought this evening of conversation and intense philosophical argument to life, with Hee Seo taking the startling single female role, entering in a starkly lit rectangular opening in the rear curtain. Violin soloist Kobi Malkin struggled with intonation on the numerous double-stops of the solo part, but the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra supported him ably.

The Robbins piece, Other Dances, was originally a vehicle for Mikhail Baryshnikov, but it was the woman of the pairing, Sarah Lane, who most stood out for the grace and buoyancy of her movements. Emily Wong played the selection of Chopin pieces, four mazurkas and a concluding, spirited waltz, at a piano on stage.

Other Reviews: Alastair Macaulay, Review: In Gala, American Ballet Theater Is Open to Debate (New York Times, May 17, 2016) ---, A Big House, Big Names, New Twists (New York Times, May 25, 2011) Gia Kourlas, Review: At American Ballet Theater, Mostly Millepied (New York Times, October 26, 2017)

The most recent piece, premiered just last fall, was the spirited I Feel the Earth Move, with choreography by Benjamin Millepied set to music by Philip Glass. Stage hands cleared away all of the curtains and scrims from the stage, revealing the catwalks and bare walls, as well as the lighting instruments above. Danced to a rather loud recording, this ballet was hyperactive, seemingly in constant motion, perhaps an expression of individual freedom against repression, represented by the female corps, which appeared marching in step, bandannas over some of their faces.

Christopher Wheeldon's story ballets have not been my cup of tea for the most part, but this more abstract short choreography had greater appeal. Barbara Bilach took the solo part of Benjamin Britten's Diversions for Piano (left hand) and Orchestra, again conducted with abundant energy by Ormsby Wilkins. It was another beautiful score to discover, brought to life by dance, made better by it as the Bernstein had been earlier. The variations form worked elegantly for dance, as Wheeldon has crafted pairs, solos, and group numbers for each brief movement. Misty Copeland finally appeared on stage, for a time-stopping solo in the fourth variation ("Rubato"). Her pairing in the exquisite pas de deux for the tenth variation ("Adagio"), with Cory Stearns stepping in for Gray Davis, was the highlight of the evening, muscularity merged with poetry.

American Ballet Theater performs Whipped Cream, with a forgotten ballet score by Richard Strauss, tonight through February 4.