|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
64.231.71.56
In Reply to: Opinions needed on redesign of my web site. Thanks! posted by Teresa on September 7, 2006 at 20:46:48:
One would expect give the section title a discussion with an inclusive bend yet I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised to find rather hard-nosed opinions, some it quite funny I'll admit:---
"What if Mussorgsky was considered the greatest classical composer rather than Mozart? What if instead every music listener’s first introduction to classical music was "Night on Bald Mountain"? I believe the number of listeners liking classical music would easily increase 10 fold!I find that most orchestral classical music written prior to 1800 is too academic and boring and this is the music that turns the public off of classical music."
---BTW, given you'd be the last person I'd expect to promote a CD I find it rather ironic that your first entry could easily be mistaken to be doing just that. The reason is that the pairing occurs only on a reissue CD and that's what Google locates (first entry returned) when searching "Three Pieces for Blues Band and Orchestra and Street Music"
The blues pieces appeared on LP in 1973 (or perhaps 72) coupled with Leonard Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. Street Music appeared on LP in 1977 coupled with George Gershwin's An American in Paris.
Unfortunately I haven't heard Street Music but I'm a huge fan of the blues pieces ... here's a little something I wrote about it elsewhere:
--
Try William Russo's "Three Pieces for Blues Band and Orchestra" (Seiji Ozawa, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Deutsche Grammophon - 2530 309). This music is not only a hoot and a blast but the third piece is probably the greatest musical *chase scene* ever recorded, the blues harmonica running for dear live with the full orchestra, and the remaining members of the blues band, all bearing down and intent on murder. I've never heard anything to compare with the powerful percussion on display here, kettle and bass drums blasting away with wild abandon, the blues band drummer doing everything in his power to keep up! BTW, this piece demands a pretty darn good turntable else forget about hunting down the LP and just go for the CD (which I can only hope features the same awesome sound).
---
Follow Ups:
RUSSO: Street Music / GERSHWIN: An American In Paris - Corky Siegel, Ozawa, San Francisco Symphony - Deutsche Grammophon 2530 788RUSSO: Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra / BERNSTEIN: Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story" - Siegel-Schwall Band, Ozawa, San Francisco Symphony - Deutsche Grammophon 2530 309
I agree that Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra is great fun and I have owned it since its 1973 release on LP. I have owned it on Reel to Reel, 8 Track Cartridge, LP, and Japanese DGG SACD. For the past 23 years this recording has almost always been in my collection and one of my very favorites musically, sonically it's very good. Street Music is also superb but I have only owned it on LP and Japanese DGG SACD, and there are gaps of many years when I did not own Street Music.
In "Classical Music for Everyone" I am not recommending recordings but written classical pieces. The listener will choose the format and performing artists. Thus there is no pairing as you stated, its just both works are written by William Russo.
"Analog is Music, Digital is mathematics"
Happy listening,
Teresa
...to classical music in high school music appreciation class. I wonder if the Mr. Anderson (the teacher) is still alive; it would be nice to let him know that he succeded in my case.
Dave
Later Gator,
Crank up your talking machine, grab a jar of your favorite "kick-back", sit down, relax, and let the good times roll.The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
I learned to love Johann Strauss thanks to Warner Brothers (they also played a lot of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies). I can still see Elmer Fudd sauntering to those Strauss waltzes. Voices of Spring as well.When my dad bought those records and played them at home I was hooked on classical for life. Our cheap record player used to pop out of the groove on the opening kettle drum of Voices of Spring. When I got older and got a real stereo of my own I couldn't believe how much detail I had missed in those great pieces.
I guess I'd have to say it was the simple but beautiful Andante from Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 ... aka the "Elvira Madigan" movement from its usage in that '67 Swedish film.
Anyway after hearing it on a classical FM station I had to have it and that was one of my first classical LP purchase ... "one of" because I didn't know exactly what it was at the time so my first purchase came to a handful of Mozart concertos. Not a bad start really, somewhat akin to someone interested in 60's rock and roll lucking into a few Beatles LPs. :)
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: