On Robert Schumann’s birthday, here’s a favorite recording of the Piano Quintet in E-flat major, with Leonard Bernstein and the Juilliard String Quartet:
Category: Daily Dispatch
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Happy Birthday Schumann Symphony No 4
Happy birthday, Robert Schumann!
Here’s a fabulous performance of Schumann’s Symphony No. 4, from perhaps an unexpected source:
I. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-V6qHLCyto
II. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXWHDBcAy0o
III. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22Gr4oS8xAI
IV. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5gyhln2Veg
Nice to hear Sir Adrian excel in something other than Elgar and Vaughan Williams!
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Starcrash John Barry & Bond’s B-Movie Secret
How did John Barry, longtime composer for James Bond and already the recipient of three Academy Awards (two for “Born Free” and one for “The Lion in Winter”), come to write the music for “Starcrash?”
That’s among the topics that Roy Bjellquist and I will address this evening, as we dissect every aspect of this opportunistic B-movie, hastily assembled in Italy to surf the coattails of “Star Wars.”
I’ll be guest co-host on “Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner.” We’ll offer insights into how a movie that features the talents of Barry, Joe Spinell (Willie Cicci from “The Godfather”), and Christopher Plummer could be so blooming bad – and yet so guiltily entertaining.
Even if you don’t know the movie, or think you don’t care, if you’ve got any nostalgia for the pop culture of the ‘60s and ‘70s, you won’t want to miss our commentary, which will be sure to touch on Dario Argento, James Bond, Ray Harryhausen, Lou Ferrigno, Lite-Brite, and “Baby, Baby, Fallin’ in Love.”
It would be a sin to miss our reflections on Sinbad, or Caroline Munro’s space bikini, or David Hasselhoff’s eyeliner. I hope you’ll join us for “Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner,” tonight (Sunday) at 7 p.m. EDT, live-streamed on his Facebook page.
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Persian Polyphony on The Lost Chord
You might say I’m on a Seemorgh diet. I see ‘Morgh, and I play it!
This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” I hope you’ll join me for an hour of Persian polyphonic music – music written by Persian (or Iranian) composers, based on Persian folk and classical melodies, but written specifically for western instruments.
We’ll hear two works by Behzad Ranjbaran, recorded in 1994 for the Delos label. I had heard Ranjbaran’s lyrical Piano Concerto at a concert of the Philadelphia Orchestra some time ago, but it did not prepare me for the beauty and opulence of his “Persian Trilogy.”
Ranjbaran, born in Tehran in 1955, is currently on the faculty of the Juilliard School. Many of his works are influenced by Persian culture and literature. “The Persian Trilogy” was inspired by the “Shahnameh,” the national epic of 11th century poet Ferdowski.
We’ll hear two of the three pieces, including “Seven Passages,” about the hero Rostam, who undergoes seven trials along the path to rescue the Persian king Kavus; and “Seemorgh,” about the mythical bird that raises the abandoned hero Zaal, who is able to summon her in times of crisis.
Ranjbaran proves himself a master orchestrator. If you enjoy the music of Rimsky-Korsakov, Debussy, Paul Dukas, or Ottorino Respighi, I think you’ll really enjoy his “Persian Trilogy.”
We’ll also hear music by Reza Vali, born in Ghazvin in 1952. Vali, currently on the faculty of Carnegie Mellon University, has been called the “Iranian Béla Bartók” for his ability to successfully meld native folk elements with established western classical forms. His “Folk Song (Set No. 9)” is composed for the combination of flute and cello. The flutist switches between various instruments of the flute family, and the cellist plays tuned crystal glass and tom-toms. As you’ll hear, the musicians are also required at various points to sing and whistle.
I hope you’ll join me for “Roses of Persia,” a bouquet of Persian polyphonic music, this Sunday night at 10:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Networkand wwfm.org.
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