The aforementioned video of Retta doing standup on Comedy Central, circa 2000. She’s been awesome for awhile, y’all.
Thank you, Internet!
Adagio, for keyboard in G major, BWV 968, by Johann Sebastian Bach
Clara Rockmore —Theremin
(via blacknanny)
Impressive.
Source: last.fm
The only 50 Shades of Grey-related item I will ever post (I’m pretty sure). These compilation albums really do nothing for me, but if it gets more people listening to Tallis, it can’t be that bad. Via vintageanchor:
EMI CLASSICS TO RELEASE “FIFTY SHADES OF GREY – THE CLASSICAL ALBUM”
An official release curated by author E L James, featuring the fifteen classical music pieces found in the Fifty Shades book trilogy
New York – July 31, 2012 – EMI Classics will release Fifty Shades of Grey – The Classical Album, a 15-track album featuring classical music personally selected by author E L James herself and referenced in her bestselling Fifty Shades book trilogy. The album will be available in the U.S. and Canada digitally on August 21st and in CD format on September 18th. The album will be released internationally in both formats on September 17th.
Says James of the new album: “I am thrilled that the classical pieces that inspired me while I wrote the Fifty Shades Trilogy are being brought together in one collection for all lovers of the books to enjoy.”
………………….
“We are delighted to be partnering with E L James and Random House on this project,” said Wendy Ong, VP of EMI Classics. “The Fifty Shades books are a bona fide cultural phenomenon, and they offer an exciting new way to present this timeless music to audiences who might not otherwise be exposed to it.”
TRACK LISTING
1. Lakmé (Act I): Flower Duet (Mady Mesplé, Danielle Millet)
2. Bach: Adagio from Concerto #3 BWV 974 (Alexandre Tharaud)
3. Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasilerias #5 – Cantilena (Barbara Hendricks)
4, Verdi: La Traviata Prelude (Riccardo Muti / Philharmonia Orchestra)
5, Pachelbel: Canon in D (Sir Neville Marriner/ Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields)
6. Tallis: Spem in Alium (The Tallis Scholars)
7. Chopin: Prelude #4 in E minor, Largo (Samson François)
8, Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto #2 - Adagio Sostenuto (Cecile Ousset, Sir Simon Rattle / CBSO)
9. Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (Sir Adrian Boult / LPO)
10. Canteloube: Chants d’auvergne, Bailero (Arleen Auger)
11. Chopin: Nocturne #1 in B-flat minor (Samson François)
12. Faure: Requiem - In Paradisum (Choir of King’s College, Cambridge / Stephen Cleobury)
13. Bach: Goldberg Variation - Aria (Maria Tipo)
14. Debussy: La Fille Aux Cheveux de Lin (Moura Lympany)
15. Bach: Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring (Alexis Weissenberg)
For more info, visit:
WWW.GREATESTCLASSICAL.COM/FIFTYSHADES
Are we at a point that labels, even among the most historically important and admired labels, are saying that what they produce is essentially valueless? And not that labels are necessarily concerned with this, but what would then move classical music fans to go out and spend their hard-earned money on live concerts that last just a couple of hours, when they can nab full recorded cycles for the same price as one drink at intermission?
German 'Lieder' singer Fischer-Dieskau dies, age 86 | News | DW.DE | 18.05.2012
Sad news. In college, I would listen to his “Du bist wie eine blume” on repeat. It’s still one of my favorites.
The Partita No. 2 in d minor (BWV 1004) composed between 1717 and 1723 by Johann Sebastian Bach (born 31 March, 1685; died 28 July, 1750); performed here in 2004 by Gidon Kremer, in the St. Nikolaus Church in Vienna, for a 2006 film by Alexander Lück and Daniel Finkernagel for medici.tv
It has been proposed that this partita was composed by Bach in memory of his first wife, Maria Barbara Bach (1684-1720)
Boccherini - La Musica Notturna della Strade di Madrid - YouTube
According to a commenter on the WSJ, this is the music used in last night’s episode of The Good Wife. It sounds right to me!
Visualizing Bach: Alexander Chen’s Impossible Harp
fascinating! I couldn’t get the tune to play correctly for me, but I like the idea.
Virtuosos Becoming a Dime a Dozen - NYTimes.com
What long-term effect this trend will have on the field is not clear. Classical music is facing its share of challenges, including declining appreciation of the art form among the general public, and not all segments of the audience are noticing the breakthrough in technical accomplishment that is apparent to insiders: pianists, concert presenters and pianophiles.
Guest DJ: Simone Dinnerstein : Deceptive Cadence : NPR
Dinnerstein admits to playing Bach close to her own personality: “inward-looking, meditative and rhythmically free.” She says the way people play music is a lot like they are themselves as people.
“I tend to be introspective,” she says. “I tend to like music that is sensitive, slow and I like stuff that’s kind of dreamy.”
Page 1 of 3
