What are you listening to now?

[Quijote]

Inspiration for this must have been the Bartok dances in Bulgarian rhythm (the Ligeti is like an even crazier version!), they're all fine, but I'm particularly fond of no.6.

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPrZkZNS7T4[/YOUTUBE]

Thanks for that, very nice indeed. Yes, I can hear certain parallels between the two works. Another point about the Ligeti piece that I like is the "irony" of the title "Hungarian Rock". You would imagine something using a more "rock" combo but instead get a solo harpsichord!
Then again, didn't certain rock and pop bands also use "archaic" instrumentation? Consider the Beatles' Eleanor Rigby (string quartet) and the Stranglers' Golden Brown (harpischord)...

[Chris]

Thanks for that, very nice indeed. Yes, I can hear certain parallels between the two works. Another point about the Ligeti piece that I like is the "irony" of the title "Hungarian Rock". You would imagine something using a more "rock" combo but instead get a solo harpsichord!
Then again, didn't certain rock and pop bands also use "archaic" instrumentation? Consider the Beatles' Eleanor Rigby (string quartet) and the Stranglers' Golden Brown (harpischord)...

Yes, the harpsichord has been used in a lot of rock and pop. I think it can be very effective there. One song that always stood out to me for its harpsichord was the the Beatles' "Piggies" on the White Album. It's used in a kind of Baroque style there, including a solo, but it's used as a standard part of the rhythm section in other songs.

[Quijote]

Yes, the harpsichord has been used in a lot of rock and pop. I think it can be very effective there. One song that always stood out to me for its harpsichord was the the Beatles' "Piggies" on the White Album. It's used in a kind of Baroque style there, including a solo, but it's used as a standard part of the rhythm section in other songs.

I tried to find this song on YouTube where the harpischord was more "present" so to speak, but I can't find a good example of it!

Concerning the harpsichord in the Stranglers' piece, there it's very evident...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWAsI3U2EaE

What's also of passing interest is the interplay between 3/4 and 4/4 metre...

[Quijote]

Beethoven's A minor string quartet. It's hard to believe that its final movement was originally intended for the Ninth symphony. I can't imagine that sad, haunting waltz becoming the European anthem (let alone being hijacked by the Nazis!)

A sad, haunting waltz as European anthem? Maybe for Brexit !!!

[Quijote]

An idea to be hijacked by BoJo (Boris Johnson)...
Oh dear. Or maybe I should say: Cripes !!!

[Michael]

A sad, haunting waltz as European anthem? Maybe for Brexit !!!

[Chris]

I tried to find this song on YouTube where the harpischord was more "present" so to speak, but I can't find a good example of it!

Yes, whoever owns the Beatles catalog at this point keeps it off YouTube pretty thoroughly. It makes it hard to reference the songs

[Chris]

I caught my favorite recording of Beethoven's "Emperor" piano concerto on the radio on the way to work this morning - Leon Fleisher's with George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra. It's Leon Fleisher's 90th birthday today, so there will be other recordings of his featured throughout the day in celebration.

[Megan]

[YOUTUBE]http://youtube/47D2dFOEHLA[/YOUTUBE]



[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47D2dFOEHLA[/YOUTUBE]

[Chris]

The talk of harpsichord in popular music has made me revisit some music from an English progressive rock band called Gentle Giant. They incorporated a lot of different instruments and styles in their music, including things from medieval and Baroque music.

Here's one called "Wreck," which is a kind of sea shanty, featuring the harpsichord, recorders, and violin:

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bLL9_Zzo2Y[/YOUTUBE]

Here's another good one, the fugal "On Reflection":

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_i8OpOdiyM[/YOUTUBE]

[Michael]

Just listened to Schubert's Unfinished.
I cannot understand why he left it like that and never got to

[Enrique]

It is the first thing I heard, I'm sure, by Schubert and young as I was it couldn't fail to strike me.

[Enrique]

Interesting pieces for Clarinet and piano by Archduke Rudolph - he must surely have shown the music to his teacher Beethoven? It shows that he really had a considerable talent.

The famous archduke Rudolf, remarkable! To him was dedicated the mass in D, if I am not mistaken.

[Zevy]

Symphony #9, Bernstein/VPO
It sounded like a live recording. Wow!

[Michael]

Symphony #9, Bernstein/VPO
It sounded like a live recording. Wow!

I think his Beethoven recordings with the VPO were all live. I have his 4th and 7th and was surprised to find they were live. The audience must have been warned not to clap for a few seconds at the end.