For almost thirty years I repeatedly saw one and the same dream: I would arrive in Vienna at long last. I would feel really happy, for I was returning to my serene childhood.
Category: November
“Fidelio”: Politics, Eternal Theme and Beethoven’s Musical Genius
“Of all my children, this is the one that cost me the worst birth-pangs and brought me the most sorrow; and for that reason it is the one most dear to me.”
GIUSEPPE VERDI – Don Carlo
Serie di arie da concerto, e cori. Su sfondo scenico meraviglioso. E costumi, bellissmi. Sgargianti. Peraltro cantato benissimo, nonostante i seri problemi in orchestra. Un cast pressoché omogeneo e di alto livello. Autentiche ovazioni per Pertusi, in piena recita. Non da meno Teresa Romano e la grande Anna Pirozzi. Le due straordinarie donne di Verdi,…
Thomas Quasthoff: “You reach your audience at the moment when you really have something to say – that is, when you’re not just delivering a performance”
Thomas Quasthoff’s brilliant career on stage lasted four decades. The powerful German bass baritone went down in history as one of the best vocal musicians of the German composers, along with Dietrich Fischer-Diskau (he called Quasthoff his direct heir in music). His career took off after he was awarded an Edinburgh International Festival prize and…
Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo, world cinema diamond
November 2 is the birthday of Luchino Visconti. We review the filmography of one of the most controversial directors—film classics. Visconti is now regarded as a classic of the world culture of the twentieth century, which has done a lot not only for the cinema, but also for the drama theater, and the opera stage,…
Copland’s Quiet City
Inspiration may be a form of super-consciousness, or perhaps of subconsciousness I wouldn’t know. But I am sure it is the antithesis of self-consciousness.
Buck Clayton’s Jazz World
On this day 1911 (Wilbur) “Buck” Clayton, American jazz trumpet player (Count Basie; Billie Holiday; Lester Young), and bandleader, best known for his role in the classic early Count Basie orchestra, born in Parsons, Kansas (d. 1991). Buck Clayton played in Los Angeles dance halls before joining Earl Dancer’s 14 Piece orchestra in Harlem, leading…
Concerto for Guillermo
The Harold Farberman’s (1929-2018) Double Concerto for Violin and Percussion was born of affection and admiration for Guillermo Figueroa. It was composed in 2005-2006. It is a work I wanted to create. We became close friends when Guillermo became interested in learning to conduct. A measure of his musical abilities is that while his skills…
Ernest Ansermet – A Portrait – 1963
Historic footage of the great Swiss conductor Ernest Ansermet (1883-1969) rehearsing Haydn and De Falla with members of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and sharing some of his views on conducting and music (in French). Filmed in 1963. The Swiss conductor, Ernest Ansermet successively studied the clarinet, violin and brass instruments. Besides Music, he…
A Time for Love. THE OSCAR PETERSON QUARTET – LIVE IN HELSINKI, 1987
Fans of the incredible jazz giant Oscar Peterson got lucky with the release THE OSCAR PETERSON QUARTET – LIVE IN HELSINKI, 1987. “In 1987, jazz immortal Oscar Peterson led his quartet—featuring Joe Pass, Dave Young, and Martin Drew—through the final engagement of their 14-concert European fall tour at Helsinki’s famed Kulttuuritalo. A Time for Love captures Peterson’s focus on performing original compositions on…