We enjoyed the San Antonio Symphony's performance of Dvorak Seventh Symphony at the restored old Majestic Theater theater downtown. Featuring Nancy Zhou as soloist on Dvorak's Violin Concerto, under the direction of Music Director Sebastian Lang-Lessing.
[image: Inline image 1] Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70, B. 141 III. Scherzo Bernard Haitink, Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam http://youtu.be/jVzpGcF5PSs The movement starts with intense calm and peace, but also includes turmoil and unsettled weather. He told his publisher that "there is not one superfluous note". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._7<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._7_%28Dvo%C5%99%C3%A1k%29> Read more: 'S.A. Symphony delivers glowing Dvorák Seventh Symphony' San Antonio Express-News: http://www.mysanantonio.com/Dvor-k-Seventh<http://www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/S-A-Symphony-delivers-glowing-Dvor-k-Seventh-5158227.php> On Wed, Jan 8, 2014 at 7:29 PM, Richard Williams <pundits...@gmail.com>wrote: > Antonin Dvorak > > [image: Inline image 1] > > Carnaval Op 92 Ouverture Zubin Mehta > http://youtu.be/KREp0VTtKMk > > Symphony No.9 - New York Philharmonic 4/4 (HD) Lorin Maazel, conductor > New York Philharmonic, 2004 > http://youtu.be/DlMPh3AtBZY > > Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, B. 191 Allegro (B minor then B major) > Mstislav Rostropovich, Cello; Seiji Ozawa conductor > http://youtu.be/kVkjWftBZcs > > Slavonic Dance Number One Opus 46 In C Major Furiant - George Szell with > the Cleveland Orchestra 1975 > http://youtu.be/aKyf9CSHpAc > > "Antonín Leopold Dvorak was a Czech composer. Following the nationalist > example of Bedrich Smetana, Dvorak frequently employed features of the folk > music of Moravia and his native Bohemia (then parts of the Austrian Empire > and now constituting the Czech Republic). Among Dvorak's best known works > are his New World Symphony." > > Read more: > > Antonin Dvorak: > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton%C3%ADn_Dvo%C5%99%C3%A1k > > > > > On Sat, Dec 28, 2013 at 6:55 AM, Richard Williams <pundits...@gmail.com>wrote: > >> Johann Sebastian Bach >> >> [image: Inline image 1] >> >> Toccata And Fugue In D Minor - Kurt Ison, Sydney Town Hall >> http://youtu.be/ipzR9bhei_o >> >> "Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, >> violist, and violinist of the Baroque period. He enriched established >> German styles through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic >> organisation, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from >> abroad, particularly from Italy and France. He is now generally regarded as >> one of the main composers of the Baroque period, and as one of the greatest >> composers of all time. His most famous work is the Toccata And Fugue In D >> Minor." >> >> Read more: >> >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Sebastian_Bach >> >> >> >> >> On Thu, Dec 26, 2013 at 7:54 PM, Richard Williams >> <pundits...@gmail.com>wrote: >> >>> Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky >>> >>> [image: Inline image 1] >>> >>> 1812 Overture - Leningrad Phil. Itzhak Perlman >>> http://youtu.be/cEkTZ5zlGRw >>> >>> "Peterr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was a Russian composer whose works included >>> symphonies, concertos, operas, ballets, chamber music, and a choral setting >>> of the Russian Orthodox Divine Liturgy. Some of these are among the most >>> popular theatrical music in the classical repertoire. Tchaikovsky wrote >>> many works which are popular with the classical music public, including his >>> Romeo and Juliet, the 1812 Overture, his three ballets, The Nutcracker, >>> Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and Marche Slave." >>> >>> Read more: >>> >>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Ilyich_Tchaikovsky >>> >>> >>> On Thu, Dec 26, 2013 at 12:31 PM, Richard Williams <pundits...@gmail.com >>> > wrote: >>> >>>> Johann Strauss II >>>> >>>> [image: Inline image 1] >>>> >>>> The Blue Danube Waltz - Vienna Philharmonic - Vals del Danubio Azul >>>> http://youtu.be/_CTYymbbEL4 >>>> >>>> Tales from the Vienna Woods - Brazil Orquestra Filarmônica, Belo >>>> Horizonte >>>> http://youtu.be/MaOVp8FfGRo >>>> >>>> "Johann Strauss II was an Austrian composer of light music, >>>> particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 400 waltzes, >>>> polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several >>>> operettas and a ballet. In his lifetime, he was known as "The Waltz King", >>>> and was largely then responsible for the popularity of the waltz in Vienna >>>> during the 19th century. Some of Johann Strauss's most famous works include >>>> The Blue Danube, and Tales from the Vienna Woods." >>>> >>>> Read more: >>>> >>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Strauss_II >>>> >>>> >>>> On Thu, Dec 26, 2013 at 7:14 AM, Richard Williams <pundits...@gmail.com >>>> > wrote: >>>> >>>>> Richard Wagner >>>>> >>>>> [image: Inline image 1] >>>>> >>>>> Rienzi Overture (Full) - The Symphony Orchestra of the LISZT School of >>>>> Music, Weimar >>>>> http://youtu.be/URIwWtwn6qA >>>>> >>>>> "Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, theater director, >>>>> polemicist, and conductor who is primarily known for his operas. Wagner >>>>> revolutionized opera through his concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk ("total >>>>> work of art"), by which he sought to synthesis the poetic, visual, musical >>>>> and dramatic arts, with music subsidiary to drama, and which was announced >>>>> in a series of essays between 1849 and 1852. Wagner realized these ideas >>>>> most fully in the first half of the four-opera cycle Der Ring des >>>>> Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung)." >>>>> >>>>> Read more: >>>>> >>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Wagner >>>>> >>>>> A note on Wagner: >>>>> >>>>> Apparently Wagner wore pink underwear, climbed trees, and liked to >>>>> stand on his head. To match his pink pink underwear he often wore satin >>>>> breeches, a pink eiderdown-padded house robe and pink slippers with the >>>>> rose bouquets. In spite of this, some people think he wrote some nice >>>>> music. Go figure. >>>>> >>>>> As a young college student I listened to several of his operas (works) >>>>> in two courses of music appreciation. I attended this course twice so that >>>>> I could get the perspective from two different professors of music. We >>>>> would sit here for hours listening to the arias,which were >>>>> translated,probably because nobody in the class could understand all those >>>>> complicated German words. >>>>> >>>>> You can always tell a genuine Wagner opera because they last for hours >>>>> on end when performed on the stage. One critic at the time wrote about a >>>>> Wagner opera: >>>>> >>>>> "Of all the clumsy,lumbering, boggling, baboon-blooded stuff I ever >>>>> saw on a human stage; of all the affected, sapless, soul-less, >>>>> beginingless, endless, topless, bottomless, topsy-turviest doggerel of >>>>> sound I ever endured the deadliness of,that eternity of nothing was the >>>>> deadliest." >>>>> >>>>> Work cited: >>>>> >>>>> 'Lives of the Musical Greats' >>>>> by Victor Borge >>>>> Doubleday-Tarcher, 1971 >>>>> p. 119 >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On Wed, Dec 25, 2013 at 9:19 PM, Richard Williams < >>>>> pundits...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Igor Stravinsky >>>>>> >>>>>> [image: Inline image 2] >>>>>> >>>>>> The Firebird - Gergiev · Vienna Philarmonic >>>>>> http://youtu.be/RZkIAVGlfWk >>>>>> >>>>>> Petrushka - Boston Symphony Orchestra >>>>>> http://youtu.be/ZZIEKCN-rIU >>>>>> >>>>>> The Rite of Spring (Le Sacre du printemps) - Leonard Bernstein >>>>>> http://youtu.be/5Kyso5VmZ6g >>>>>> >>>>>> "Igor Stravinsky is considered to be one of the most important and >>>>>> influential composers of the 20th century. Stravinsky's compositional >>>>>> career was notable for its stylistic diversity. He first achieved >>>>>> international fame with three ballets commissioned by the impresario >>>>>> Sergei >>>>>> Diaghilev and first performed in Paris by Diaghilev's Ballets Russes: The >>>>>> Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911) and The Rite of Spring (1913). >>>>>> Stravinsky >>>>>> was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of >>>>>> the >>>>>> century." >>>>>> >>>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Stravinsky >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> On Mon, Dec 23, 2013 at 10:41 PM, Richard Williams < >>>>>> pundits...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> [image: Inline image 1] >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Aram Khachaturian - Sabre Dance, Seiji Ozawa >>>>>>> http://youtu.be/ejIk_Za-q4Y >>>>>>> >>>>>>> "Sabre Dance" is a movement in the final act of the ballet Gayane >>>>>>> (1942) by Aram Khachaturian. It is considered Khachaturian's most famous >>>>>>> work. It is based on Armenian folk music, especially its middle >>>>>>> section." >>>>>>> >>>>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabre_Dance >>>>>>> >>>>>>> [image: Inline image 2] >>>>>>> >>>>>>> "Aram Khachaturian was a Soviet Armenian composer. Alongside Sergei >>>>>>> Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich, Khachaturian is sometimes called one >>>>>>> of >>>>>>> the three 'titans' of Soviet music. He is also considered 'one of the >>>>>>> major >>>>>>> musicians' of the 20th century." >>>>>>> >>>>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aram_Khachaturian >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> On Mon, Dec 23, 2013 at 10:08 PM, Richard Williams < >>>>>>> pundits...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> [image: Inline image 3] >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Andante (2nd >>>>>>>> Movement) - Daniel Barenboim >>>>>>>> http://youtu.be/DRCEwy5XQSs >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> The second movement was featured in the 1967 Swedish film Elvira >>>>>>>> Madigan. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> "Elvira Madigan is a 1967 Swedish film directed by Bo Widerberg, >>>>>>>> based on the tragedy of the Danish tightrope dancer Hedvig Jensen (born >>>>>>>> 1867), working under the stage name of Elvira Madigan at her >>>>>>>> stepfather's >>>>>>>> travelling circus, who runs away with the deserter Swedish lieutenant >>>>>>>> Sixten Sparre (born 1854)" >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> [image: Inline image 4] >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Elvira Madigan: >>>>>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvira_Madigan<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvira_Madigan_%28film%29> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a prolific and influential composer of >>>>>>>> the Classical era. Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest >>>>>>>> childhood. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from >>>>>>>> the >>>>>>>> age of five and performed before European royalty." >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: >>>>>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> On Mon, Dec 23, 2013 at 8:15 PM, Richard Williams < >>>>>>>> pundits...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> [image: Inline image 1] >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> Beethoven Symphony No. 9, 'Choral' - Daniel Barenboim, Royal >>>>>>>>> Albert Hall, 27 July 2012 >>>>>>>>> http://youtu.be/sJQ32q2k8Uo >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> Beethoven - Symphony No. 5 - Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra >>>>>>>>> http://youtu.be/POVjeuef0RY >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> Ludwig van Beethoven: >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> "A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and >>>>>>>>> Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous >>>>>>>>> and >>>>>>>>> influential of all composers. His best known compositions include 9 >>>>>>>>> symphonies, 5 concertos for piano, 32 piano sonatas, and 16 string >>>>>>>>> quartets." >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> Read more: >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_van_Beethoven >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> On Mon, Dec 23, 2013 at 6:10 PM, Richard Williams < >>>>>>>>> pundits...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> [image: Inline image 1] >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> Night on Bald Mountain - Ludwig Symphony Orchestra >>>>>>>>>> http://youtu.be/XyR-poMsSWI >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> Pictures at an Exhibition - Vienna Philharmonic, Valery Gergiev, >>>>>>>>>> http://youtu.be/fiv2i-25wZ8 >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> Modest Mussorgsky: >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> "Russian composer, one of the group known as "The Five". He was >>>>>>>>>> an innovator of Russian music in the romantic period. He strove to >>>>>>>>>> achieve >>>>>>>>>> a uniquely Russian musical identity, often in deliberate defiance of >>>>>>>>>> the >>>>>>>>>> established conventions of Western music. >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> Many of his works were inspired by Russian history, Russian >>>>>>>>>> folklore, and other nationalist themes. Such works include the opera >>>>>>>>>> Boris >>>>>>>>>> Godunov, the orchestral tone poem Night on Bald Mountain, and the >>>>>>>>>> piano >>>>>>>>>> suite Pictures at an Exhibition." >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> Read more: >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modest_Mussorgsky >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>> >> >
