Monday, June 05, 2006

I am back ...

... and not feeling too bad. But I am going to rest up for the time being. In the meantime, here is a great piece about Rachmaninoff by Byron Janis. If you have not heard Janis's recordings of the first three Rachmaninoff concertos, you owe it to yourself to find and play them. Janis in his prime was a true virtuoso in the grand romantic tradition. I have never forgotten seeing him on TV playing the final movement of the Prokofiev Third. Even on TV it was electrifying. Here's the piece: Romantic Virtuosity.

3 comments:

  1. Glad to read you are back, Frank. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
    I too love Rachmaninoff and much other classical music. I also adore Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings music (on 3 CDs); if you have time on your hands it is a wonderful listening experience -- both uplifting and sad.

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  2. It's times like this ... when discussion turns to a topic such as 'classical music,' that I miss living near Philly ...

    As a youngster, some of my first experiences with the genre came from Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra ...

    Thank goodness for radio! ... This week, "Performance Today" on NPR began working through Beethoven's syphonies, performed by Christoph Eschenbach and the Philadelphia Orchestra ... Mendelssohn, Saint-Georges, Chopin, Schumann and Bach are also on today's program ...

    Maxine, I agree, "Lord of the Rings" is a wonderful soundtrack ... I'm a great fan of good film SCORES ... music that is an integral part of the total cinema experience, as opposed to a collection of cuts from pop tunes ...

    Get well soon, Frank!

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  3. Unfortunately classical music radio is turning (or has turned) into what you describe for film snippets, Jeff -- a movement here, an excerpt there. I suppose I really should get into this podcasting lark, but am making the most of my preferred medium I can. When my eyes give up I'll try it.

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