Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Some 2004 favorites for WFMU:
Charles Ives: Piano Sonata No. 1.; William Masselos, piano (RCA 1967, vinyl LP o/p).
Originally composed between 1904 & 1910, the 1st Sonata had to be reconstructed by Lou Harrison in the late 1940s, & was premiered by Masselos in 1949, the version recorded here. Messier, jazzier & funnier than the more famous 2nd.
Nino Rota: Il Capella di paglia de Firenze (The Italian Straw Hat).
with Federico Davia, Mariella Devia, Magda Olivero, Augusto Pedroni; Orchestre Du Theatre Royal De La Monnaie, conducted by Elio Boncompagni (Gala 1999, recorded live 1976, CD)
Rota's music is of one broad cloth, including this silly opera composed in 1955.
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 7 for soprano, small female chorus, & orchestra with narrator ad lib ("Sinfonia Antartica"); Symphony No. 8 in D minor; Bournemouth Sinfonietta, conducted by Kees Bakels (Naxos CD).
Brrrrr!
Bela Bartok: Works for Orchestra; Minnesota Orchestra, conducted by Stanislaw Skrowaczewski (Vox 3 CDs o/p)
I dig the composer, the conductor, & the band.
Brian Wilson: Smile (Nonesuch 2004 CD)
Always had doubts about the assemblage structure, & never cared for Van Dyke Parks. But this proved it was for real - or could have been. Because unfortunately it's not a Beach Boys album, & so the performances are uncanny rather than authentic. Stylistically, Smile approximates California novelty doo wop more than anything else. I hope Jan Berry is smiling.
Add YOUR comments here
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
Charles Ives: Piano Sonata No. 1.; William Masselos, piano (RCA 1967, vinyl LP o/p).
Originally composed between 1904 & 1910, the 1st Sonata had to be reconstructed by Lou Harrison in the late 1940s, & was premiered by Masselos in 1949, the version recorded here. Messier, jazzier & funnier than the more famous 2nd.
Nino Rota: Il Capella di paglia de Firenze (The Italian Straw Hat).
with Federico Davia, Mariella Devia, Magda Olivero, Augusto Pedroni; Orchestre Du Theatre Royal De La Monnaie, conducted by Elio Boncompagni (Gala 1999, recorded live 1976, CD)
Rota's music is of one broad cloth, including this silly opera composed in 1955.
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 7 for soprano, small female chorus, & orchestra with narrator ad lib ("Sinfonia Antartica"); Symphony No. 8 in D minor; Bournemouth Sinfonietta, conducted by Kees Bakels (Naxos CD).
Brrrrr!
Bela Bartok: Works for Orchestra; Minnesota Orchestra, conducted by Stanislaw Skrowaczewski (Vox 3 CDs o/p)
I dig the composer, the conductor, & the band.
Brian Wilson: Smile (Nonesuch 2004 CD)
Always had doubts about the assemblage structure, & never cared for Van Dyke Parks. But this proved it was for real - or could have been. Because unfortunately it's not a Beach Boys album, & so the performances are uncanny rather than authentic. Stylistically, Smile approximates California novelty doo wop more than anything else. I hope Jan Berry is smiling.
Add YOUR comments here
