NormanH Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 I haven't heard either for over 10 years. (Until now [:)]) I accompanied the Elégie for an ex girl-friend of my son's, and used to accompany a good viola player who played an arrangement of the Bruch, and also the 'Arpeggione' Sonata by Schuberthttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN6XCbu7Sj8&feature=watch_response_rev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted February 18, 2012 Author Share Posted February 18, 2012 Yes, got that recording. Beautifully played as you would expect from two such performers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted February 21, 2012 Author Share Posted February 21, 2012 Norman, about that concert by the Britten Sinfonia that I asked you about last week, here are the details if you are interested in listening....BBC Radio 3 live from QEH on Mon 27 feb at 19.30; Couperin, Ades, Ravel, Stravinsky...Same concert over the next couple of weeks in New York, Norwich, Cambridge.Don't know if I'd like the Ades; could be too modern and incomprehensible to me but I intend to listen and see if I learn anything new![:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Thanks for the information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 I watched this today (fast forwarding a bit through the things I didn't fancy)http://www.pluzz.fr/victoires-de-la-musique-classique.htmlI groaned a bit when it started with Ravel's Bolero and it is a bit of a curate's egg with a few pot-boilers, but there are a few nice surprises in the more than two and a half hours of classical music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 A French TV programme about William Christiehttp://www.pluzz.fr/empreintes--2012-03-02-21h30.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iNHC1c5koQ&feature=relatedI remember him singing 'ad-hoc' in a Cambridgeshire village pub one evening over 40 years ago when we were both students... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Is this near you?http://lechoeurvoyageur.fr/files/AfficheBacch-r%C3%A9duit.jpghttp://lechoeurvoyageur.fr/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted March 14, 2012 Author Share Posted March 14, 2012 [quote user="NormanH"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iNHC1c5koQ&feature=relatedI remember him singing 'ad-hoc' in a Cambridgeshire village pub one evening over 40 years ago when we were both students...[/quote]Ah, yes, always good to remember from BEFORE they are famous!I remember Terfel in the Bristol Hipodrome and, next thing I knew, I heard him in New York! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted March 14, 2012 Author Share Posted March 14, 2012 [quote user="NormanH"]Is this near you?http://lechoeurvoyageur.fr/files/AfficheBacch-r%C3%A9duit.jpghttp://lechoeurvoyageur.fr/[/quote]Alas nowhere near.There is an Easter concert near us; Haydn, Bach and Handel but I know the people involved so I shall be giving it a wide berth. Don't get me wrong, I am all for encouraging amateurs and enjoy live music and have sat through many a youth orchestra, school, village hall, etc concert but somehow, now that I am no longer under any obligation to attend, I'd rather stick to my CDs! BTW, you probably won't think much of this but I hope others might enjoy it.It's just that last night, I read L'Arlèsienne from Daudet's short story and I was so impressed that, from such a little scrap, Bizet managed to write such catchy tunes.So.............here's the Farondole:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y09pD1r-QsIncidentally, I might be a bit snooty about books but not at all too proud to enjoy even the most popular pieces of music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 You know that it is used as an Epiphany carol?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHaZ8MpECDY&feature=relatedThere they sing in modern French with a (Polish?) accent, but I know it better as De - matin, Ai rescountra lou trinDe tres grand Rei qu'anavoun envoiagi ; De - matin, Ai rescountra lou trinDe tres grand Rei dessu lougrand camin :There is a discussion as to the original of the tune, sometimes attributed to Lully herehttp://www.nemausensis.com/Gard/ImageMois/MarcheDesRois/LesRoisMages.htmI have sung and played it, and I love it too [:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted March 14, 2012 Author Share Posted March 14, 2012 The moment I listened to your clip, I realised that it indeed works very well as a carol.Then, I got to thinking about carols; advent ones, ephiphany ones (as your clip shows) and easter ones. So, here is something that might be of interest:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_(music)"Dance-like", so no wonder l'Arlésienne is so appropriate.I was most interested in your following link as well. Learnt a new French word, "mages" [:D]I associate Lully with ballet music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted April 28, 2012 Author Share Posted April 28, 2012 Norman, I hope you are catching Young Musicians on iplayer?Last night's string section was won by an enchanting 14 year old cellist.When the Forum was "down", I didn't bother using it for ages (and I still don't like how it works these days) but I did miss being able to tell you about a couple of very good TV programmes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 Thanks...I would have missed it if you hadn't told me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted May 13, 2012 Author Share Posted May 13, 2012 Norman, just watched the final. I'd better not tell you the winner as you won't get it for a couple of days, will you?OH and I both picked the winner! A first as we don't always agree.Let me know what you think when you have watched and listened.[:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 Thanks for reminding me.One of my best friends and ex-colleagues teaches composition and general keyboard skills to the Korean boy who didn't win the keyboard finale.Apparently he has a brilliant keyboard technique (as was obvious) but has no idea of either improvising or harmonising at the keyboard.This is a dichotomy I have observed before. It seems that the hours spent acquiring the ability to play extremely difficult pieces by heart can also lead to a sort of paralysis of the more intuitive side of music making.In a related point I feel that the competition is becoming a contest between a few well-known teachers who supervise their students so closely they are almost puppets. Fortunately there are a few with enough character to escape their Svengalis.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 Well now I have watched the final and picked the winner[:)]The poor recorder player was badly served by the space which wasn't suited to Baroque Music.Of the ones who didn't make it to the final my great favourite was Martin Bartlett, the last to play in the keyboard final.I loved the wonderfully intense sound and the range of colour, coupled with a great understatement.A musician's musician.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted May 15, 2012 Author Share Posted May 15, 2012 [quote user="NormanH"]Thanks for reminding me.One of my best friends and ex-colleagues teaches composition and general keyboard skills to the Korean boy who didn't win the keyboard finale.Apparently he has a brilliant keyboard technique (as was obvious) but has no idea of either improvising or harmonising at the keyboard.This is a dichotomy I have observed before. It seems that the hours spent acquiring the ability to play extremely difficult pieces by heart can also lead to a sort of paralysis of the more intuitive side of music making.In a related point I feel that the competition is becoming a contest between a few well-known teachers who supervise their students so closely they are almost puppets. Fortunately there are a few with enough character to escape their Svengalis..[/quote]Reading your remarks about the Korean boy has reminded me of a conversation I had only last week with one of the professors in the Guildhall.He said he'd noticed that there are many, many very technically brilliant youngsters from the Far East who don't however seem to have a clear understanding of the music. Their technique is faultless and yet their music-making lacks what I suppose you might call soul?Apparently many of these youngsters have been "hot-housed" from a very young age.I know that this boy actually lives in the UK and I don't know whether my friend's observations in his professional capacity as teacher, examiner and performer would apply to him.It could be that Western music do not have the same ressonance for someone from such a different culture.Though I always think that music is the ultimate international language. I remember making this statement at a civil service interview (I DIDN'T get the job!) and going on to show how a "c" sounds like a "c" in any language in the world and that no translation is necessary. Won't tell you how I enthusiastically went on to demonstrate the "grammar" and structures that are inherently built into music and how the notation lends itself to nuances of meaning and blah, blah, blah as I got more and more carried away and the interviewers got less and less impressed [:$] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allanb Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 [quote user="sweet 17"]I am all for encouraging amateurs and enjoy live music and have sat through many a youth orchestra, school, village hall, etc concert but somehow, now that I am no longer under any obligation to attend, I'd rather stick to my CDs![/quote]I feel the same way, and I would add another reason for preferring recorded music: I don't have to listen to coughing and foot-shuffling, and there's no risk that somebody's mobile phone will spoil the pleasure.I live in the boondocks, with very few opportunities to listen to live classical music, and I can imagine some people muttering "sour grapes." But I'm glad I live in the CD era. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 And DVDs of Opera which have clear subtitles...I have seen some marvellous concerts since I have lived here, since I am within striking range of Montpellier, Toulouse, and have even been to Marseille and Barcelona, but like you allanb as I get less mobile I am tremendously glad of CDs, and even YouTube, which works well for me since I have a reasonable sound system as part of my computer set-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted May 16, 2012 Author Share Posted May 16, 2012 Hello, allanb and hello, NormanCouldn't agree more about CDs and DVDs. I do envy your nearness to musical events, Norman. In fact, if I were to be unhappy about anything regarding our lives here in France, it would be access to live music. In the UK, we lived near Cardiff, and so a concert or an opera would just be a short drive away.BTW, we now have a Bose system and the quality of the sound is so magnificent that you could close your eyes and imagine your room filled with musicians[:D]We used to have a HUGE sound system with massive Goodman speakers which took up half of our sitting-room, yes, I know, totally ridiculous and then we'd have to keep the volume down as it was a semi-detached.Now, I could just open the windows and have music in the garden as well[:D]Other thing about the Bose is that it's so compact and light you could carry it from room to room if you wanted to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted May 18, 2012 Author Share Posted May 18, 2012 Came in earlier than usual from Keep-Fit this evening and was in time to catch a lovely programme about Kathleen Ferrier on BBC4. Would be 9 o'clock our time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 Was that TV or Radio? I will try to find it on iPlayer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted May 19, 2012 Author Share Posted May 19, 2012 [quote user="NormanH"]Was that TV or Radio? I will try to find it on iPlayer[/quote]Sorry, Norman, got carried away. I meant TV. She had such a "warm" voice; full of expression. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 There are a number of lovely clips of her on YouTubehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_IS6sg_0Nw&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHZhkvu1ojk&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLUyY8m3dPA&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh_1CKyZVSc&feature=relatedThose are all great pieces of music, but she could even infuse a spurious potboiler with warmth and feeling:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF5eKVTzubc&feature=relatedor a simple folksonghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjvHg9cBriw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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