Fuck Yeah Classical

steinbolt1:

“Masquerade—Suite - I. Waltz”  Aram Khachaturian

London Symphony Orchestra - Stanley Black - 1977

ofcaesar:

Sweet Honey-Sucking Bees - Wilbye

This was the small honor choir I was in. We learned this in two hours without a conductor. 

I just realized you can totally hear me…

themagiclantern:

Samuel Barber / Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 14 (1939)

• II. Andante

Leonard Bernstein; New York Philharmonic; Isaac Stern, violin
Recorded at Manhattan Center, New York City, April 27, 1964

(Gracias, ihatemusic1943)

musichistory:

“Symphony No. 30 in C Major “Allelujah:” 1. Allegro” by Franz Joseph Haydn [1765] performed by Adrian Shepherd and Cantilena [1987]

Random Music History Song of the Day

Great composers can take music from almost any genre or style and make something new from it, make it their own. This did not just start with hip-hop DJs sampling earlier soul records; the idea goes back certainly as far as medieval church music and no doubt long before that. It is still surprising, however, when one hears the work of a master.

The opening motive of the first movement of Haydn’s Symphony No. 30 (heard twice) is the traditional “Allelujah” plainchant melody, a centuries-old liturgical piece of music heard most often around Easter. Building on the three primary tones from the motive Haydn developed a festival atmosphere for the piece. The style and length were common for symphonies in this era (partly because Haydn was one of the few people working in the form). 

Remember that 1765 was still early in the history of the symphonic form. At the time Hadyn was slowly gaining recognition across Europe. Under his guidance the symphony transitioned from merely an interlude of greater works to the emotive and powerful four-movement variety we know from late-period Mozart, Beethoven, and Haydn’s own later examples.

A final aside: Haydn spent some thirty years, including 1865, at the court of the Esterházy noble family. Much of his work was composed at Eszterháza (map), a family estate in western Hungary. Recall that the last song posted here featured Zoltán Kodály and Eugene Ormandy, both native Hungarians.

musichistory:

“Háry János Suite: 6. Entrance of the Emperor and His Court” by Zoltán Kodály [1926] performed by Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra [1975]

Random Music History Song of the Day

So many connections! Legendary conductor Eugene Ormandy was born Jenő Blau in Budapest, Hungary. During part of his education at the National Hungarian Royal Academy of Music he studied under composer Zoltán Kodály, also a native of Hungary. After moving to the United States, Ormandy’s first significant exposure came when was asked to fill in for Arturo Toscanini in Philadelphia. That helped Ormandy land a full time position as head of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra (now the Minnesota Orchestra).

In 1934, while here in Minneapolis, Ormandy conducted the first recording of his former teacher’s best work, the Háry János Suite, a six movement orchestral suite extracted from Kodály’s 1926 folk opera of the same name. The conductor soon moved on to take the lead baton back in Philadelphia, where he remained for 44 years. Ormandy recorded the suite two more times with the Philadelphia Orchestra (for a total of three times, each roughly 20 years apart). This recording from 1975 was the last, made as Ormandy neared both his 76th birthday and the end of his tenure in Philadelphia. 

This, the regal finale needs little explaining. Its title is quite explicit.

zveneczi:

Jaakko Mäntyjärvi (b. 1963): Four Shakespeare Songs (1984)

1. Come Away, Death (from Twelfth Night)
2. Lullaby (from Fairy Land II)
3. Double, Double Toil and Trouble (from Macbeth)
4. Full Fathom Five (from The Tempest)

Danish National Vocal Ensemble, Peter Dijkstra (2009)

(4 Ida)

zveneczi:

J.S. Bach: Prelude and Fugue for keyboard in A minor, BWV 894

Schiff András, piano (2001, Budapest)

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

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Water Music Suite #2 In D, HWV 349 - Alla Hornpipe by Handel, George Frideric

musichistory:

Water Music: ”Suite #2 In D, HWV 349 - Alla Hornpipe” by George Frideric Handel [1717] performed by John Eliot Gardiner and the English Baroque Soloists [1993]

Random Music History Song of the Day

George Louis, Elector of the Holy Roman Empire from Hanover, hired 25-year-old George Frideric Handel as his Kappelmeister in 1710. Two years later Handel visited London, the city in which his operas were most popular. In spite of his obligations in Hanover, the composer remained in England. In 1714 George Louis succeeded Queen Anne as King of England. It is unclear whether the few years of separation strained the relationship between the two.

Either way the two got on fine after a concert for the King in the heart of the summer of 1717. On July 17, Handel led a large orchestra (on one boat) performing his music for the King (on a second boat) on a cruise up and down the Thames. It is likely but not certain that the three suites we now call Handel’s Water Music were at least part of the music played that day.

The second movement of the second suite, the “alla hornpipe,” has come down to modern listeners as arguably the defining sound of Baroque pomp - more so even than the opening Toccata from Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo or the third movement of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2. I guarantee that even my followers who know very little about Baroque music will recognize all three pieces. The nice thing about the “Alla hornpipe” posted above is that John Eliot Gardiner and the English Baroque Soloists use original instrumentation and play on period instruments. This is something like how King George would have heard the piece 293 years ago while floating down the Thames.