Forbes Classical CD Of The Week: Civilized Mozart-Beauty From Uchida And The Cleveland Orchestra (2018)

...The orchestra, conducted from the keyboard, plays with chamber-like assurance and great sensitivity, adding greatly to this wholesome delight. This is one of the longest-running performance- and recording projects in this increasingly short-lived industry, dating back to 1998 (the first self-conducted Mozart performance of Uchida’s in Cleveland) and 2009 (the first recording of that collaboration) respectively...

-> Classical CD Of The Week: Civilized Mozart-Beauty From Uchida And The Cleveland Orchestra

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#morninglistening to #Gluck’s #OrfeoEdEuridice (1774...

#morninglistening to #Gluck’s #OrfeoEdEuridice (1774 vers.) on @warnerclassicsus / @warnerclassics w/#PhilippeJaroussky et al.

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/7d28eRz

Also: #AmandaForsythe (the “e” makes the difference), #EmőkeBarath & #IBarocchisti w/#DiegoFasolis & #corodellaradiotelevisionesvizzera

#classicalmusic #opera
#classicalmusiccollection #cdcollection @warner_classics #WarnerClassics #ChristophWillibaldGluck

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#morninglistening to #Mozart #StringQuartets on @warnerclassics...

#morninglistening to #Mozart #StringQuartets on @warnerclassics / @warnerclassicsus w/#AlbanBergQuartet

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/5qJQz9f

Set of their cycle of late Mozart quartets, also including a few #StringQuintets & #PianoQuartet #KV493 & #StringQuartet version of #PianoConcerto No.12 both with #AlfredBrendel

#classicalmusic #ChamberMusic #classicalmusiccollection #classicalcdcollection #wienerklassik #WolfgangAmadeusMozart

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Forbes Classical CD Of The Week: Víkingur Heiðar Ólafsson; Through The Piano Glass

...It’s easier to quip about Philip Glass’ music than to write intelligently about it. But Víkingur (Heiðar) Ólafsson, the young and trendy Icelandic pianist, shows how it’s done in the liner notes to his first release on Deutsche Grammophon. I first heard the Juilliard-taught student of Ann Schein and Seymour Lipkin when he was a stiff tween at the Icelandic Ambassador’s residence. His image has changed, since...

-> Classical CD Of The Week: Víkingur Heiðar Ólafsson; Through The Piano Glass

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#morninglistening to @VanHalen’s #Panama - to little avail...

#morninglistening to @VanHalen’s #Panama - to little avail - in honor of #PAN vs. #ENG @FIFAWorldCup:

http://a-fwd.to/79y2DzG

6:1! #ENGPAN

Not #classicalmusic but a classic, certainly.

#VanHalen #cdcollection
Next up: Rock You Like A Harry Kane!

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#morninglistening to #IgnazHolzbauer’s “Tod der...

#morninglistening to #IgnazHolzbauer’s “Tod der Dido” on @CarusVerlag w/#SandrinePiau et al.

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/1SCH08u

#Singspiel in one act in the early Viennese style, a bit like immature Mozart + half a Mannheim Rocket.

#classicalmusic
#classicalmusiccollection #classicalcdcollection Early #WienerKlassik #Opera #vocalmusic #CarusVerlag

#KammerchorStuttgart #BarockorchesterStuttgart #FriederBernius

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#morninglistening to @surprisedbeauty composers on @CapriccioRec...

#morninglistening to @surprisedbeauty composers on @CapriccioRec w/@ORF #RSOWien

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/2bd3rK8

w/#BenjaminSchmid, #ClaireHuangci & #HarrietKrijgh.

Two completely different #SovietComposer, musically & politically.

(My liner notes.)

#MieczysławWeinberg
#DmitryKabalevsky
#classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection #orchestralmusic

#ORFViennaRadioSymphonyOrchestra

#capricciorecords #noFilter #SurprisedByBeauty #20thcenturyclassical #SovietClassicalMusic #RussianClassicalMusic

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#morninglistening to @surprisedbeauty composer Ernő v. #Dohnanyi...

#morninglistening to @surprisedbeauty composer Ernő v. #Dohnanyi w/#MartinRoscoe & #VerbrughQuartet on #ASV:

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/AEPlgos

#PianoQuintet op.1, Suite in the Old Style, #PQ5t op.26

#classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection #classicalcdcollection #ChamberMusic #surprisedbybeauty #pianoquintets #HungarianClassicalMusic

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#morninglistening to the sublime @surprisedbeauty composer...

#morninglistening to the sublime @surprisedbeauty composer #OthmarSchoeck on #Jecklin. Songs & #ChoralMusic

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/6Eqkc8M

w/wonderful #ErnstHaefliger et al. The #choralworks almost have a Scandinavian ring to them.

#classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection #classicalcdcollection #20thcenturyclassical #surprisedbybeauty #vocalmusic #liedmelodieartsong

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#morninglistening to @GuerzenichOrch w/#DmitriKitayenko in...

#morninglistening to @GuerzenichOrch w/#DmitriKitayenko in #Sibelius + #Grieg:

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/1BV499M

on @OEHMSclassics w/the Second #Symphony

#classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection
#classicalcdcollection #20thCenturyMusic #SurprisedByBeauty music! #orchestralmusic #symphonies #nordicMusic #Gürzenich #EdvardGrieg #DmitrjKitajenko #CologneMusic #MusikInKöln

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Forbes Classical CD Of The Week: Dresden Gems And Storks In Love

...Now Alfredo Bernadini and his Ensemble Zefiro, one of the hottest numbers among original instrument ensembles, have brought out a delicious album that samples some of that goodness by bringing together eight works from this embarrassment of riches associated with the Dresden Court Chapel, featuring seven different composers. The chamber sonatas for two oboes, bassoon and continuo by Fasch, Quantz, Henichen, Vivaldi, Telemann, Lotti – and the much less well known Arcangelo Califano are a baroque delight among the less familiar musical spheres and a great sampler for what else, other than the usual suspects, one might want to explore in music from that period and region. ..

-> Classical CD Of The Week: Dresden Gems And Storks In Love

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#morninglistening to a trio of @surprisedbeauty #PianoTrios by...

#morninglistening to a trio of @surprisedbeauty #PianoTrios by #Debussy, #Fauré & #Roussel! http://a-fwd.to/70fxxZp On @chandosrecords w/@NeaveTrio #ChamberMusic #classicalcdcollection #classicalmusiccollection #classicalmusic #surprisedbybeauty music! #20thcenturyclassical #FrenchRomanticism #ClaudeDebussy #GabrielFaure / #GabrielFauré File under #AlbertRoussel

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#morninglistening to #Haydn’s #Theresienmesse...

#morninglistening to #Haydn’s #Theresienmesse w/@Tafelmusik & #BrunoWeil on @sony_classical

http://a-fwd.to/5zuPmtM

#classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection
#classicalcdcollection #ChoralMusic #vocalmusic

#josephhaydn #wienerklassik #mass #inMemoriam #EvG♡

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"Hamilton" hoopla arrives at the Kennedy Center

Company in Hamilton, Chicago Company (photo by Joan Marcus)
The Hamilton franchise has come to town, as you have likely heard, one of an endless cycle of national tours. People paid to be subscribers to the Kennedy Center for two years just to have first crack at tickets for this summer run at the Opera House. The demand made the Kennedy Cener Web site difficult to access because of long queues more than once, even though the prices are double what you would pay for an actual opera in the same space. And people call opera elitist. We saw the show on Thursday night, and even Mrs. Ionarts, who had been keenly looking forward to seeing the show at last, was a little underwhelmed.

Although Hamilton premiered in 2015, in some ways it is a show tailor-made for the Trump Era. Not least because Hamilton, born in the Leeward Islands, is repeatedly identified as an immigrant. There is a satisfying resonance to seeing the show here in Washington, as the founding of the city is a key point in the story. The book by Lin-Manuel Miranda, based on the recent biography of Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, cracks open American identity by reexamining the Revolutionary War through the lens of African-American experience. Actors of color portray the Revolutionary patriots, speaking and dancing in the vernacular of hip-hop and R&B. Audiences will learn about people like John Laurens, who like Hamilton was in favor of abolishing slavery in the new country they were trying to found. Miranda implies that Hamilton himself was of mixed race, through his mother, but the historical evidence to prove that is lacking.

The cast put together for the Kennedy Center was generally good, although the evening still felt a little tight, with some more seasoning through the run likely to smooth things out later. Austin Scott, tall and with the angry manner reminiscent of Keegan-Michael Key's character Luther, was solid in the title role, as were Nicholas Christopher's conniving Aaron Burr and Julia K. Harriman's angelic Eliza Schuyler. Both halves of the show get bogged down in some longueurs, adding up to a long run time of almost three hours. The most obvious place to cut is the character of Angelica Schuyler, not because of the confident portrayal here by Sabrina Sloan. Hamilton's semi-infidelity with his wife's sister seems superfluous because of the dramatic importance of Hamilton's actual affair with Maria Reynolds. In the current climate more than ever, in any case, the idea of a sex scandal obviating a politician's rise to the presidency is risible.

Miranda's style is wordy and lightning-fast, meaning that it is not always easy to keep up with the pace of the show. Characters and plot developments move by at a breathless pace. As is generally true when musicals come to the Opera House, the amplification made me cover my ears at the loudest moments. Amplification always destroys the natural effect of theater to my ears, since the sound of the characters does not come from their location on the stage. I will never get used to it, but I appear to be in the minority on this issue. The musical numbers with melodies are pleasing and beautiful, with the best one given to America's jilted lover, King George III, heard in three slightly different forms. That is a catchy tune.

Hamilton runs through September 16 at the Kennedy Center Opera House.

#morninglistening through the tears to #bachcantatas in memory...

#morninglistening through the tears to #bachcantatas in memory...

#morninglistening through the tears to #bachcantatas in memory of the deeply cherished, urgently missed #EnochZuGuttenberg

http://a-fwd.to/3WSIv4x

#classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection
#classicalcdcollection #EarlyMusic #baroquemusic #cantatas
#inMemoriam #BachStiftung

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#morninglistening through the tears to #bachcantatas in memory...

#morninglistening through the tears to #bachcantatas in memory of / to help cope with the deeply saddening death of #EnochZuGuttenberg

http://a-fwd.to/4YimXCT

#classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection
#classicalcdcollection #EarlyMusic #baroquemusic #cantatas

#inMemoriam #BachStiftung

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Forbes Classical CD Of The Week: Mahler Most Charming, Made In East Germany

...Something similar happens on this disc, except the nine Mahler-songs included – four from Des Knaben Wunderhorn and the Rückert-Lieder – do steal the show. Also recorded two years before the symphony (1982), but in the same glorious, rich analogue sound, it features the lyric Lied-baritone Siegfried Lorenz. His timbre, his naturalness, his dead-on intonation, and his lyrical quality make his voice knee-bucklingly beautiful. I’d go so far as suggesting he is a proto-Gerhaher. And if the “Songs of a Wayfarer” selection, originally on the LP, wasn’t good enough, the CD adds the bonus of one of the most touching Rückert-Lieder cycles I know on record. Try and not just melt right into Lorenz singing “Es ist mir auch gar nichts daran gelegen…” in Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen...

-> Classical CD Of The Week: Mahler Most Charming, Made In East Germany

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#morninglistening to ♡ @ViktoriaMullova in #Brahms’...

#morninglistening to ♡ @ViktoriaMullova in #Brahms’ #ViolinConcerto et al. on @Deccaclassics w/@BostonSymphony

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

w/#SeijiOzawa

#JohannesBrahms #violinconcertos
#classicalcdcollection
#classicalmusic #Mullova #Ozawa #classicalmusic #BostonSymphony #classicalcdcollection #classicalmusiccollection #orchestralmusic #germanromanticism

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Forbes Review: Oh, Only The Best Schöne Müllerin Ever!

...When GerhaherHuber started out recording for the Munich based upstart Arte Nova label[1], the two major Schubert cycles, Müllerin and Winterreise, were an obvious choice. But the Duo hadn’t quite arrived at its peak mutual artistic maturity yet. Both cycles are very good and easily recommendable, but they are not indicative of what puts that duo into a league of their own. I always recommended them with the caveat that the ‘real deal’ was much more impressive, still. When the two performed Die Schöne Müllerin at the 2013 Salzburg Festival, however, they had clearly arrived:...

-> Review: Oh, Only The Best Schöne Müllerin Ever!

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#morninglistening to #Bach #cantatas in the mountains...

#morninglistening to #Bach #cantatas in the mountains w/@SampsonCarolyn, #PetraMüllejans & @FreiburgBaroque on @harmoniamundi

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/4DJVn88

Specifically #cantata #BWV199 Mein Herze schwimmt in Blut w/the last aria “Wie freudig ist mein Herz”

#classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection #classicalcdcollection #EarlyMusic #baroquemusic #choralmusic #JohannSebastianBach #historicalinstruments #FreiburgBaroqueOrchestra #historicallyinformedperformance #CarusVerlag #Bachedition #bachcantata #weddinganniversary

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#morninglistening to #Buxtehude #organmusic w /#HaraldVogel on...

#morninglistening to #Buxtehude #organmusic w /#HaraldVogel on #mDG:

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

♡ Really the most terrific cycle of this music I’ve heard so far. Listened through the whole set in one go. ♡

#classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection #classicalcdcollection #organworks #solokeyboard #EarlyMusic #baroquemusic #noFilter #danishmusic #originalinstruments

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#morninglistening to ♡ #Janacek #SQ4ts on...

#morninglistening to ♡ #Janacek #SQ4ts on @GramolaKlassik:

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

w/the #AciesQuartet

Prime @surprisedbeauty music

#classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection #classicalcdcollection #chambermusic #20thCenturyMusic #SurprisedByBeauty #StringQuartets #StringQuartet #CzechMusic #LeošJanáček #LeosJanacek #Janáček #Gramola

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#morninglistening to the #Bach #ViolinSonatas w/@JVinikour &...

#morninglistening to the #Bach #ViolinSonatas w/@JVinikour & @RBPviolinist on @cedilleRecords

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/5BAfb9u

#BWV114 - 119

#classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection
#classicalcdcollection #chambermusic #EarlyMusic #baroquemusic #harpsichord #JohannSebastianBach

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Forbes Classical CD Of The Week: Gemmulae Evangeliorum Musicae, The Greatest Hits (Melchior Franck Motets)

...The 1620s weren’t good years; instead of singing in church, most young men were dying in battle or from the plague. What was left were a few undernourished choristers, and these works are written for thus depleted, untrained vocal forces. Historically incorrect, the North German Chamber Chorus does a very considerably better job than the original performers would have done. Simplicity reigns, as does humble beauty. An unassuming minor gem...

-> Classical CD Of The Week: Gemmulae Evangeliorum Musicae, The Greatest Hits (Melchior Franck Motets)

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#morninglistening to the #BudapestStringQuartet’s 1950s...

#morninglistening to the #BudapestStringQuartet’s 1950s #Beethoven #SQ4ts w/@TimPageWriter

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/73DQfln

(see also the @ionarts #beethovenstringquartets survey)

#chambermusic over lunch w/#TimPage 😍

#classicalcdcollection #classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection #chambermusic #StringQuartets #StringQuartet #WienerKlassik #Ludwigvan #ludwigvanbeethoven #LvB

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#morninglistening to #Mysliveček #symphonies Amazon:...

#morninglistening to #Mysliveček #symphonies

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/76CVxbW

w/#PragueChamberOrchestra on @SupraphonCZ

over lunch w/#TimPage 😍

tip-top charming works by this #Mozart-contemporary

#classicalmusic
#classicalmusiccollection
#classicalcdcollection #Symphony #czechclassicalmusic #18thcenturyclassical #18thCenturyMusic #Chandos #LondonMozartPlayers #Myslivecek #MozartContemporary

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#morninglistening to #Schoenberg & #Berg...

#morninglistening to #Schoenberg & #Berg w/@berlinphil: http://a-fwd.to/757Aoec on @dgclassics under @KarajanMusic. #PelleasEtMelisande & 3 Pieces from the #LyricSuite One of his most glorious albums. In the mountains amid wild blueberries. #classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection #classicalcdcollection #orchestralmusic #20thCenturyMusic #arnoldschoenberg #AlbanBerg #WhosAfraidofSchoenberg #2ndvienneseschool

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#morninglistening to #Dohnanyi on @_Hungaroton - in the...

#morninglistening to #Dohnanyi on @_Hungaroton - in the mountains

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/67kkKdf

#TamasVasary conducting the #budapestsymphonyorchestra

#Suite #symphonic minutes #konzertstück #ErnőDohnányi #ErnstvonDohnányi #HungarianComposer #HungarianClassicalMusic #SurprisedByBeauty #orchestralmusic

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#morninglistening to #Monteverdi #madrigals on #GlossaMusic...

#morninglistening to
#Monteverdi #madrigals on #GlossaMusic w/@La_Venexiana

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/hjudujq

In the mountains w/#snowRose & a view.

#classicalmusic #classicalmusiccollection #QuintoLibro #ChoralMusic
#madrigali #ClaudioMonteverdi

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