What are you listening to now?

[Michael]

Interesting point, Preston.

Do female pianists play male composers' music as well as men? Is classical music inherently a male domain - written by men, and so only fully understood by men? I have Idil Biret playing the complete piano works of Chopin. Does knowing her gender influence my thinking of the performance, and should it? Can I help it? If I didn't know in advance, could I detect the interpretation, gender-wise? Probably not. But then again...

I think I need a lie down.....

While you are lying down, PDG, do you remember the Joyce Hatto scandal of a few years ago? Her husband kept "discovering" recordings of his late wife and issuing them on CD. The fraud was discovered by chance when someone was downloading them onto his iPod, and the online identification showed that the "Hatto" recording was identical to a CD issued by another pianist (male). The husband subsequently admitted that he had been editing in pieces by various pianists - on his minidisc recorder. (That's true!)
A few gender experts might have discovered the fraud sooner .......

[Sorrano]

Do you mean that he kind of pampered the piece? The reason I ask is because it seems, to me, that some, well a pretty good many (it seems), pianists kind of play Beethoven without Beethoven's "punch". Which I imagine is a hard thing to get, the punch. Like when I think of the way the Moonlight is played, I really respect Maria Yudina's approach to it. She has a very realistic approach and plays the heaviness, beauty, etc., and it seems that she has a very real and deep understanding of his music, and a great respect for Beethoven, and Bach, etc.

I do imagine that getting the piano music of Beethoven down would be a very challenging thing for the pianist.

To me, the Sonata sounded more like something Mozart had written by the way it was performed. The forzandos (sorry about the spelling) and other accented notes as well as the dynamic differences between FF and PP were not as marked as I would expect, particularly from this dynamic Sonata. His technical capacity for playing the notes and the clarity of the music was outstanding; I heard things I've not heard before. But overall it was disappointing because, as you say, it lacked overall punch. (No comments about coolaid, PDG!)

[atserriotserri]

After an interesting record of piano pieces from soviet avant-garde composers, I'm listening to Rubinstein playing in Moscow in 1964 and all Chopin programme; to play as encores Schumann, Debussy & Villa-Lobos; that is, no russians!!!
Do you think Rubinstein felt an special excitement playing the Heroique Polonaise in front of those members of the army and of the communist party that composed the vast majority of the audience??? I think so... He sounds wild.

[Preston]

Listening to the Lacrimosa from Mozart's Requiem. I have a question, someone on You Tube talked of how beautiful this piece was, to be precise they said, "the most beautifull Mozart´s Lacrimosa i `heave heard...no words too such beauty".

Perhaps I am wrong, but this piece does not sound beautiful to me, it sounds very serious, deep, dark, terror, sad, very sad, etc. The opening violins actually spark fear into me. I mean, I hear beauty at around 3 minutes into the piece, almost like a break from the sadness, but then the feelings I described above come back in, stongly, because the timpani and the basses, etc., start being somewhat pounded out with the main theme.

Do you (plural) hear beauty, throughout this piece, unimaginable beauty?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYD_2...eature=related

[Sorrano]

This morning the incomparable 23rd Piano Concerto of Mozart was playing when I awakened. Now, that's a nice way to wake up!

[Chris]

Listening to Beethoven's WoO 67 right now - 8 Variations for piano four hands.

[Megan]

Avison, Charles (1709-1770): Concerto grosso No 4 in A minor (after Domenico Scarlatti)
Tafelmusik

A wonderful piece of Baroque music, I haven't heard before.

[PDG]

This morning the incomparable 23rd Piano Concerto of Mozart was playing when I awakened. Now, that's a nice way to wake up!

Sorrano, do you have a concert pianist in your bedroom as opposed to the more usual alarm clock?....

[PDG]

Listening to Beethoven's WoO 67 right now - 8 Variations for piano four hands.

If only I had four hands to play it...

[PDG]

But overall it was disappointing because, as you say, it lacked overall punch. (No comments about coolaid, PDG!)

<Burp!>

[PDG]

Yudina, is special, . I think, that she plays Beethoven far better than many many male pianists.

Good questions, quite complex I think. I don't think that knowing whether a male or a female is playing should influence one, because it is the interpretation that counts, as you said. Therefore, I do think that a person of the opposite sex has the ability to feel and fully understand the music of another. I think that it really depends on the person and their personality, ear for music, understanding of the opposite sex, etc.- hard things to achieve indeed, as is a good interpretation.

I am not saying that I am right though, perhaps I am wrong, . What do you think? I think I need to lie down, !

You may join me on the 'lie down' couch, but strictly NO male bonding!

[PDG]

Avison, Charles (1709-1770): Concerto grosso No 4 in A minor (after Domenico Scarlatti)
Tafelmusik

A wonderful piece of Baroque music, I haven't heard before.

Yes, you have!

[Chris]

Listening to Beethoven's Christ on the Mount of Olives to end Holy Thursday.

[Megan]

Yes, you have!

You wanna bet !

[Sorrano]

Sorrano, do you have a concert pianist in your bedroom as opposed to the more usual alarm clock?....

This morning there were no pianists hid in my bedroom. However, a chamber orchestra woke me this morning () with soloists playing a Telemann concerto. I don't recall all the instruments, but of note were 2 string basses and the effect was quite interesting!