tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83142162484398658412012-01-30T17:15:58.980-06:00TPR ClassicalClassical Music, 24-hours a day, on KPAC 88.3 FM in San Antonio and KTXI 90.1 FM in the Hill Country.Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.comBlogger10311100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-28674899607391191452012-01-30T16:26:00.000-06:002012-01-30T16:45:46.597-06:00Top Ten G/RoundsWe couldn't resist another Top Ten post, and the first for 2012 is "Top Ten Classical Music G/Rounds" for Ground Hog Day!
10.Handel/Halvorsen Passacaglia [listen]
9. Archangelo Corelli La Folia [listen]
8. Igor Stravinsky The Rite of Spring: Spring Rounds [listen]
7. Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 1 Feierlich Und Gemessen, Ohne Zu Schleppen [listen]
6. Orlando Gibbons: Ground [listen]
5. Ottorino Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-9461904818437435262012-01-29T14:15:00.000-06:002012-01-29T14:15:56.480-06:00Quarteto Vivace Brazil on ItinerariosSan Antonio's venerable Tuesday Musical Club has a history of over 100 years. The Club was founded in 1901 by Anna Hertzberg, providing she and a group of her friends the opportunity to perform and discuss classical music. In October, 1923, Tuesday Musical Club presented the first of an annual series of concerts called Musical Teas. These "teas" are now known as the Artist Series Concerts.
The Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-10920354553726797142012-01-27T12:33:00.003-06:002012-01-27T12:33:49.547-06:00What she woreDid you see The Enchanted Island last weekend in HD? It was a stunning performance which will be encored February 8th - a must see/hear if you didn't the first time around, or if you want to relive it again!
The all star, stellar cast included soprano Danielle de Niese, who was just on WNYC's Soundcheck yesterday.
de Niese shared her fashions today in the New York Times:
I was hugely happy with Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-13383240332183602532012-01-27T10:09:00.001-06:002012-01-27T10:09:49.531-06:00Inspiration & Joy turned up to 11
Some artists are so "in the zone" that they seem unaffected by the world around them. Then there are those that feed off of life and transform it into their art. Franz Liszt and Robert Schumann were two of the later. It would seem that Alexander Scriabin's work habits were so ingrained and the world of music he inhabited so consuming that few outside influences could get at him. But one did, aYour Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-69501739509239382432012-01-27T10:01:00.003-06:002012-01-27T10:01:38.658-06:00Tosca, An Unlikely Masterpiece
Looking at the matter from our perspective, that is to say of over a hundred years since the premiere in 1900, it seems impossible to imagine that anyone couldn't like Tosca. In fact there was long contemplation on the "how of it " from the composer, he spent seven years just thinking about it and then four trying to finish it. ArgumentsYour Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-30159376343539126752012-01-27T07:00:00.000-06:002012-01-27T07:00:12.213-06:00The Legacy of Franz Schubert
To mark the birthday of Franz Schubert (1797-1828), born January 31st, we thought we'd close our celebration of his legacy throughout this month with some representative works of his final phase.
Composer Benjamin Britten has remarked that perhaps the most productive eighteen months in the history of Western Music was the period just after the death of Beethoven, and before the appearance Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-75535427527628817822012-01-26T12:50:00.000-06:002012-01-26T13:50:41.045-06:00Classical Spotlight: Concerts!There are lots of Classical Music Concerts to hear and experience this weekend!
TPR Cinema: A Clockwork Orange Tonight, January 26, 2012 7:30 p.m. at Santikos Bijou (Rated R)
San Antonio Symphony
Beethoven 6 and 7 January 27 and 28, 2012
8 p.m., Majestic Theatre Sebastian Lang-Lessing, conductor
Beethoven Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op.68, “Pastorale” Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op.92
Olmos Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-32057795523646926082012-01-25T13:15:00.000-06:002012-01-25T13:16:53.005-06:00The fest continuesWe're looking forward to more Beethoven this weekend, from the SA Symphony, SA Chamber Music Society, Musical Bridges Around the World, SA International Piano Competition and the Olmos Ensemble.
Tomorrow night, TPR Cinema presents A Clockwork Orange! We thought we'd share part of Fantasia as the SA Symphony plays Beethoven's 6th and 7th symphonies on Friday and Saturday night.Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-64069766254950996882012-01-20T11:37:00.001-06:002012-01-20T11:37:39.219-06:00Myer plays Beethoven's TheresaFrom SAIPC, Spencer Myer plays the Sonata #24 by Beethoven
There's more tonight and this weekend with the SA Symphony, YOSA, Musical Bridges Around the World and SOLI Chamber Ensemble!Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-86087742508851728152012-01-20T09:04:00.000-06:002012-01-20T09:06:06.347-06:00Two geniuses - one program…
Nikolai Medtner had it all, winning the Great Gold medal for piano performance at the Moscow Conservatory and a talented composer who had the respect of his peers. So why don't we music lovers hear more about him?
The answer is a combination of events not all under the composer's control. The Russian revolution and flight to the west for safety, added to this was Medtner's determination to Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-57219609928280966102012-01-19T09:59:00.001-06:002012-01-19T10:09:26.415-06:00Submitted for your approval...
To anyone lucky enough to be in or passing through New York City in the early nineties it was a scene worthy of Rod Sterling: Tout Manhattan, dressed nattily or casually and counting such luminaries as Charles Rosen and Susan Sontag (and my modest self) were crowded into subway trains filled to the breaking point on a Sunday afternoon and emptying in of all places, Brooklyn. People who Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-73728324445569856682012-01-18T10:43:00.000-06:002012-01-18T10:43:14.869-06:00SAIPC shines with MyerFrom SAIPC last night, Spencer Myer plays part of the Waldstein Sonata by Beethoven:
Next Tuesday, January 24th, Christopher Guzman plays more of the sonatas, and talks with host John Clare about the concert on this week's Classical Spotlight, Thursday afternoon at 1pm on KPAC & KTXI.Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-40795122562332533932012-01-17T20:41:00.001-06:002012-01-17T20:41:51.788-06:00Spencer Myer playing #BeethovenFestYour Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-46332279809778816052012-01-17T12:06:00.001-06:002012-01-17T12:08:48.158-06:00Enchanting at the Met this weekend!
Joyce DiDonato
The Enchanted Island received its premiere at the Metropolitan Opera (heard Saturdays at noon on KPAC & KTXI) on New Year’s Eve and runs through the end of this month. It is a pastiche: creative use of leftovers, a "Franken-opera" formed from other operas by Vivaldi & Handel. It stars Joyce DiDonato, David Daniels and Plácido Domingo.
The live HD screening of The Enchanted Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-39432868462935162002012-01-16T11:57:00.003-06:002012-01-16T11:57:40.732-06:00Beethoven Festival: Violin Sonatas 1Enjoy this movement from Beethoven's Sonata #8 "Eroica" from San Fernando Cathedral last night with Musical Bridges Around the World:
Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-59951774901727566822012-01-15T15:23:00.001-06:002012-01-16T12:01:35.249-06:00Musical Offerings in the Shadow of Beethoven
An afternoon of chamber music at #BeethovenFest, Musical Offerings presents In the Shadow of Beethoven.Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-6848155499255174022012-01-13T12:42:00.003-06:002012-01-13T12:42:58.340-06:00Beethoven Festival: SonatinaFrom TPR Presents Beethoven! here is Astrid Topletz in the Sonatina in F:
Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-88638305762177283312012-01-13T10:03:00.000-06:002012-01-13T10:03:05.542-06:00Scriabin 101
If Mozart and other Classical composers have their music compared to architecture then the late compositions of Alexander Scriabin relate more to EKGs or seismographs. It is emotional upheavals that are portrayed rather than the calm, predicable terraces of a building.
It wasn't always the case, when Scriabin was young it was Chopin that informed his musical landscape, but with age Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-78644622385678704132012-01-12T17:17:00.000-06:002012-01-13T11:12:01.414-06:00McCormick to retireJust in from CCSA:
The Children’s Chorus of San Antonio announced today that Founder and Artistic Director Marguerite McCormick will retire in May, 2014 after thirty years of dedicated service to the organization. The CCSA will celebrate its 30th Anniversary in 2013-2014 with a series of special events in addition to their full concert season. In preparation for McCormick’s retirement, the CCSAYour Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-34676761586685764392012-01-12T09:21:00.002-06:002012-01-12T09:21:34.029-06:00Dreams of Norma
Joan Sutherland as a young singer still living in Australia believed herself a mezzo-soprano. Her early goal was to dedicate herself to the heroines of Wagner, with a special affinity for Isolde. Among the students that accompanied her in recitals was a very confident young man they all called Ric. He was a few years older and on his way to London for study at the Royal College. In his parting Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-90467432802669323422012-01-11T14:14:00.004-06:002012-01-11T14:14:55.140-06:00Potpourri of Beethoven
Cover for Beethoven's Third
We are looking forward to more Beethoven all this month. This weekend the lead group, the San Antonio Symphony starts with the First and Third Symphonies in the Majestic Theatre.
Musical Offerings plays the Ghost Piano Trio with a program called In the Shadow of Beethoven Sunday afternoon at Christ Episcopal Church.
Musical Bridges Around the World starts their Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-19934739697640486932012-01-11T07:30:00.000-06:002012-01-11T08:43:15.616-06:00Soundtrack Review: "The Artist"
This week, a minor controversy erupted online when Kim Novak, star of the 1958 film “Vertigo,” took out an advertisement in Hollywood trade publications to object to “The Artist,” an utterly charming silent film set during the transition from silents to talkies in the late 1920s and early 1930s. In question was the film’s use of the “Love Theme” from “Vertigo,” a music cue so utterly and Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-49489359150924626952012-01-10T10:54:00.001-06:002012-01-10T10:54:43.175-06:00Beethoven Fest: First Sonata for Piano & CelloHere is Ken Freudigman and Kristin Roach of Camerata San Antonio playing the First Sonata for piano and cello by Ludwig van Beethoven:
The Beethoven Festival continues tonight with SAIPC and pianist Naoko Takao at St. Mark's Episcopal Church.Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-56596007176448125562012-01-09T06:47:00.000-06:002012-01-09T06:47:33.078-06:00Room for cello variationsFrom yesterday's Camerata San Antonio concert, Ken Freudigman and Kristin Roach play 12 Variations on the Magic Flute by Ludwig van Beethoven:
Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-78373977339647026502012-01-08T15:07:00.001-06:002012-01-08T15:07:44.236-06:00Camerata SA continues Cello Sonatas at #BeethovenFestYour Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-86069319247586679502012-01-08T12:23:00.000-06:002012-01-08T12:23:25.280-06:00Beethoven Festival: HammerklavierSAIPC began their complete sonatas for Piano last night at Trinity University:
Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-71250672261109148852012-01-07T20:03:00.000-06:002012-01-07T20:04:01.016-06:00Jeffrey Swann kicks off SAIPC Beethoven Piano SonatasYour Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-19854266560139606552012-01-07T11:24:00.001-06:002012-01-07T11:24:46.179-06:00Beethoven Festival: Cello Handel VariationsEnjoy this first night of the Beethoven Festival with Ken Freudigman and Kristin Roach!
Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-29311748164837333382012-01-06T20:05:00.001-06:002012-01-06T20:05:55.016-06:00Camerata SA kicks off Beethoven FestivalYour Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-91623674823626658652012-01-06T13:51:00.001-06:002012-01-06T13:51:39.871-06:00SA Opera on holdSan Antonio Opera has canceled their performance next month of Mozart's Don Giovanni. Learn more from a news story on KSTX with executive director Terry Frazor.
KPAC's John Clare spoke with the President of SA Opera board Jorge del Alamo about the situation: mp3 fileYour Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-25005416177947628832012-01-06T09:36:00.003-06:002012-01-06T09:36:59.286-06:00More than you bargained for…
There used to be a tradition at the Moscow Conservatory were upper classmen would take a freshman pianist and give them some music of Nikolai Medtner to sight read. The music can look deceptively easy and after a few stumbles the newcomer realizes that there is still much to learn about music in general and Medtner in particular.
Medtner was an intellectual and composed music that pleased Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-72972399602818568262012-01-05T17:00:00.000-06:002012-01-05T17:26:29.809-06:00Best of 2011Here are ten of our favorite interviews from 2011 on Classical Spotlight:
John and Joyce in Houston, TX.
Janine Jansen on Beau Soir
Sharon Isbin on Guitar Passions
Dmitry Sitkovetsky on Haffner
Joyce DiDonato on Divo/Diva
Ruth Moreland on Sacred Tranquility
David Kim on Redeemer Fine Arts
Marguerite McCormick on Spring Song
Sebastian Lang Lessing on Liszt
Angèle Dubeau on Portrait
Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-40079288455096292862012-01-05T10:51:00.000-06:002012-01-05T10:53:57.112-06:00Plump, delicious Children
In Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel everything appears in two's. Heavenly intervention and malicious intent, there is paternal alienation and deepest love with a search for adventure and the desire for domestic safety; the meaning of being lost through a wandering in a dark wood and being found - different and changed by experience, but only after the brush with danger. It is all done Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-5645959004202405882012-01-04T10:32:00.002-06:002012-01-04T10:32:44.274-06:00Gli Unici in concert
Classical Spotlight will feature three tenors, Gli Unici performing this weekend at Trinity University's Laurie Auditorium in a benefit for Haven For Hope. There is more information here.
Tune in Thursday at 1pm on KPAC & KTXI.Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-25830402807588697872012-01-03T07:00:00.000-06:002012-01-03T07:00:00.233-06:00Soundtrack Review: "Shame"
The fifteen-track soundtrack to director Steve McQueen’s harrowing tale of sexual addiction, “Shame,” carries with it a melancholy mood, despite the appearance of party tunes like the Tom Tom Club’s “Genius of Love” and Blondie’s “Rapture.”
Harry Escott’s original music for the film appears on three tracks, opening the album with the main character’s theme, “Brandon.” Escott’s music is Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-54839711156369915072012-01-02T12:20:00.003-06:002012-01-02T12:31:21.513-06:00Borrowing Beethoven?We're looking forward to the Beethoven Festival this month and next...Beethoven was such an incredible figure - no doubt if you catch even just a portion of the concerts, you'll hear how Beethoven has influenced so many composers after him!
We'll be screening A Clockwork Orange and also sharing "TPR Presents...Beethoven." As a great example of how influences can be made, here is Kevin Puts' Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-47702912322855449092011-12-30T09:25:00.000-06:002011-12-30T09:25:48.585-06:00The indignity of it all….
There weren't many things that shocked Lord George Byron, but one of them was the waltz. When in Vienna he saw couples "clasped in each others arms" and he thought that society was tumbling down. Not everyone was so affected; one doctor prescribed the dance as a method of stirring up the blood and providing exercise. At the height of the waltz craze there where huge halls that conveniently Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-11103754081136851082011-12-29T10:45:00.000-06:002011-12-29T10:46:31.381-06:00Die Fledermaus & Viennese Laughter
The story is told of the of the two soldiers one Austrian, one German, each reporting on the progress of a battle.
" Herr General,the situation is serious, but not hopeless.", said the German.
But the Austrian replies, smiling and relieved " Herr General. The situation is impossible, but not serious."
This laughter in tears, the self irony and deprecation;Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-90623824073540177342011-12-27T23:31:00.000-06:002011-12-28T00:04:56.186-06:00Four Corners! Review
If your perception of the musicians of the venerable Berlin Philharmonic is of a bunch of staid, conservative individuals who just happen to play classical music in an exceptional way, you're only partly right. Granted, not everyone in the orchestra would be willing to sit in the back seat of Sarah Willis' Mini Cooper and goof around making a YouTube video, but for the most part there is a Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-41873208195715194102011-12-23T09:41:00.000-06:002011-12-23T09:41:00.580-06:00The Holly & the Steinway
Think back to how families used to celebrate the Holidays, for some of us it was sitting in front of the TV watching a Charlie Brown special. Go back another twenty years and Dad would play disc jockey keeping the records spinning on the Hi-Fi. Back even further, another generation before that and it was the family grouped around the piano with someone, who hopefully spent some time Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-80574277576642352892011-12-22T12:10:00.000-06:002011-12-22T12:10:01.542-06:00Around the netWith apologies to AOTS, we have seen some fun stuff posted from different sources, and wanted to share with you!
NPR breaks the London Philharmonic playing the Angry Birds theme!
Performance Today has Christmas Around the Country:
http://performancetoday.publicradio.org/playlist.php
Frank Oteri impersonates some famous composers.
It's Rob Kapilow's birthday:
For all those music theory Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-41436945228360376462011-12-22T09:31:00.002-06:002011-12-22T09:32:54.195-06:00Donizetti for the Holidays
For something truly light and sweet for your holiday musical feasting the Metropolitan Opera offers Donizetti's bel canto comedy La Fille Du Regiment as the penultimate opera of the year.
It's plot centers on the diverting and the virtuosic. During a military skirmish a noblewoman complains of being delayed in her travels. The Duchess of Krakenthorp Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-12659943770351573712011-12-21T07:30:00.000-06:002011-12-21T07:30:00.211-06:00Soundtrack Review: "War Horse" and "Tintin"
Steven Spielberg has asked John Williams to score almost every single movie he’s ever directed since “Jaws,” which won Mr. Williams his second Oscar, and his first for Best Original Score. It’s a working relationship that has lasted nearly 40 years, and given us some of the most memorable melodies of our time.
This holiday season, Spielberg is back with an unprecedented feat. He’s releasingYour Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-79823729892687388602011-12-20T09:43:00.001-06:002011-12-20T09:43:18.794-06:00Smart piano playingTurns out Siri can do more than just tell you where the nearest coffee shop is, or if your flight will be on time! Siri can play piano!
Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-7395851745180948392011-12-19T09:57:00.000-06:002011-12-19T11:12:38.704-06:00Live from NY, it's Ludwig van Beethoven!This weekend put Beethoven in the pop culture spotlight on Saturday Night Live:
We're looking forward to the Beethoven Festival next month, no word about Triangle Sally appearance in SA yet.Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-73193652505344043882011-12-18T10:23:00.001-06:002011-12-18T10:23:25.578-06:00Holiday surpriseThe San Antonio Symphony has been busy lately, Holiday Pops and Family concerts, Beethoven Festival coverage on KLRN, Food Bank benefit concerts and Saturday afternoon, the San Antonio Symphony Players Association gave shoppers a gift of their own at the La Cantera Food Court:
Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-66787415437709189632011-12-16T13:11:00.001-06:002011-12-16T13:11:30.320-06:00Happy birthday Ludwig!All of San Antonio is celebrating Ludwig van Beethoven next month, and we're happy to honor the Bonn master as well!
This is the Cypress Quartet in the finale of Beethoven's last string quartet:
Tonight, KLRN will air a special with the San Antonio Symphony about the Beethoven Festival:
Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-30370546489709703472011-12-16T09:49:00.000-06:002011-12-16T09:49:03.055-06:00Travel impressions and the Heart
It was a German thing to travel to Italy. The artist Albrecht Dürer was the first during the renaissance and the changes in his art and the stories he told when he returned made an Italian Pilgramage a part of any serious artist's young life. Goethe did it as well as Richard Strauss centuries later.
While Franz Liszt wasn't German, he was a great reader and eager to see the sights Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-11592323803393545212011-12-15T09:42:00.001-06:002011-12-15T09:43:43.294-06:00The Evolution of Butterfly
It is difficult to believe that anything as warm, (apparently) cohesive and beloved as Puccini's Madama Butterfly grew in fact from sources as the diverse and seemingly incoherent and unrelated as the fragments of Frankenstein's monster and just as miraculously that at the distance of over a hundred years audiences all over the earth still cry, "It's alive!"
Always looking for the "next Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-30080680201620330422011-12-14T14:13:00.003-06:002011-12-14T14:18:45.468-06:00Straight from the diva?Host John Clare was just in NYC, and caught up with his classmate Joyce DiDonato...who shared this rehearsal moment:
You can see Joyce at the Met in HD this next month, on January 21st!Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-70270327922129348412011-12-13T11:00:00.000-06:002011-12-14T14:29:45.697-06:00What Would Tchaikovsky Do?Do you think Peter Illich would approve?
Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-54886653817109059762011-12-09T13:18:00.003-06:002011-12-09T13:25:22.622-06:00Genghis Barbie HolidazeIf you liked their Grinch last year, you'll love Genghis Barbie's newest video:They have a new holiday album out now.Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-39039075758857041952011-12-09T09:34:00.002-06:002011-12-09T09:38:36.821-06:00Better than Aunt Tillie's slides of HawaiiIt's natural to bring back knick-knacks and souvenirs from our travels but recording these new impressions into music that would last for centuries was an unheard of concept when Franz Liszt started composing his different versions of his musical impressions of Switzerland in the 1830's.This was a great period for the composer, through massive amounts of talent and hard work Liszt was becoming a Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-64475996915254321772011-12-06T08:00:00.003-06:002011-12-06T08:50:46.153-06:00An Inside Look at Carnegie HallThis Saturday, American Public Media’s special “Carnegie Hall Live” series continues on KPAC with a vocal recital featuring soprano Karita Mattila, accompanied by Martin Katz. Mattila dazzled audiences at the Metropolitan Opera in the title role of “Salome,” and she’ll be bringing that same intensity to works by Poulenc, Debussy, Marx, and Aulis Sallinen live from the stage of Carnegie Hall, Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-66935529028431094782011-12-05T15:39:00.002-06:002011-12-05T15:42:49.729-06:00Soundtrack Review: My Week With Marilyn“My Week With Marilyn” is drawn from the memoirs of a lowly assistant that shepherded the actress around Britain while she was filming “The Prince and the Showgirl.” The film features a soundtrack largely written by Conrad Pope, but incorporating a main theme written by Alexandre Desplat. Desplat’s music, called “Marilyn’s Theme” on the soundtrack, is built on a rising, then falling five note Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-28569043477531882842011-12-05T10:03:00.000-06:002011-12-05T10:04:07.560-06:00USAF Band of the West Sax Quartet in the TPR StudiosYour Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-70463991002498582722011-12-02T13:37:00.001-06:002011-12-02T13:37:58.916-06:00Cypress String Quartet live in the TPR Studios, playing GriffesYour Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-46506955394059419642011-12-02T12:39:00.000-06:002011-12-02T12:40:05.775-06:00Cypress Quartet is live at 1pm today!Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-14692094501985843842011-12-02T12:37:00.001-06:002011-12-02T12:37:11.130-06:00Cypress Quartet warming up in our studiosYour Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-75302041694550215342011-12-02T09:31:00.002-06:002011-12-02T09:35:29.680-06:00And you thought cooking was hard…Don't tell a French food addict that you've enjoyed "authentic" Bouillabaisse because that will start a fight. It seems that even in Marseilles everyone has a different idea as to how the recipe should go. When it comes to music, at least as far as pop music is concerned, we know how the performance should go because we all heard the same recording with the original artist. That doesn't work too Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-12533870646676024582011-12-01T09:34:00.004-06:002011-12-01T09:38:49.512-06:00Looking at LudwigAs we get closer to Ludwig van Beethoven's birthday this month and the Beethoven Festival next month, we thought it would be fun to focus on the Bonn master. Here is maestro Riccardo Chailly discussing Beethoven's first three symphonies:Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-59155746304931682542011-11-30T16:20:00.003-06:002011-11-30T16:28:16.994-06:00Holiday Concert at San Fernando CathedralAnnual event offers somthing for everyoneby Valerie CowanThursday evening’s (12/1/11) Holiday Concert at San Fernando Cathedral in the San Fernando Cathedral (115 Main Plaza) is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. With the ambiance of the downtown area and Riverwalk during the Christmas season, the chilly weather, and the beautiful acoustics of the San Fernando Cathedral filled with familiar holiday Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-31004487612288989432011-11-29T12:56:00.005-06:002011-11-29T13:01:59.053-06:00Hall o FamerThe Grammys have announced albums for 2012 that will enter the Hall of Fame. Highlighting diversity and musical excellence, the collection acknowledges both singles and album recordings of all genres at least 25 years old that exhibit qualitative or historical significance. Through a tradition established nearly 40 years ago, recordings are reviewed annually by a special member committee Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-6803919140659961652011-11-28T09:24:00.009-06:002011-11-28T09:51:42.555-06:00RIP Ken RussellSad news about film maker Ken Russell. He was known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his controversial style. Russell was criticised as being over-obsessed with sexuality and the church. His subject matter was often about famous composers, or based on other works of art which he adapts loosely. Russell began directing for the BBC, where he did creative adaptations of Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-89446067044417691292011-11-27T21:00:00.010-06:002011-11-27T21:06:46.208-06:00EPS wins Grawemeyer!With all the musical controversies in Louisville, it's great to have some good news come from Kentucky - the 2012 Grawemeyer Awards are announced this week!The Grawemeyer Awards are five annual prizes given in the fields of music, political science, psychology, education and religion. They were founded by H. Charles Grawemeyer to help make the world a better place.The Prize for Music Composition Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-56324746995729270452011-11-25T10:04:00.002-06:002011-11-23T12:14:43.182-06:00French Connections…Your friends are the literary glitterati of Paris and you know the piano and little else - so what do you do? Self improvement is an important part of becoming a well rounded individual and if you were Franz Liszt in the 1820's he started a massive campaign of self education, reading every book he could find and it worked too, not only in educating a young man, but providing a wealth of new Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-39300383062129849932011-11-24T09:57:00.000-06:002011-11-23T12:15:10.489-06:00Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, One From the HeartMusicologist point out that the works of Beethoven's last period are a final reckoning in the aftermath of a time of crisis. Besides dealing with the question of supporting his nephew there was the reality of his increasing deafness. This meant he could neither competently conduct nor play the piano, in fact he was now a page turner at many of his own concerts; associates informed musicians to Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-44844909117102397892011-11-23T23:51:00.002-06:002011-11-24T00:54:07.594-06:00Daniel Catan's Il Postino on Great PerformancesIt was early 2011 when John Clare first asked me about contact information for the Mexican born composer Daniel Catan. John wanted to approach Daniel about writing a short piece for San Antonio based Soli Chamber Ensemble. Fast forward a few months, to April, and I saw the opportunity to introduce John to Daniel, face to face. Daniel had been in Austin on a special project at UT, doing some Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-65712311451696123962011-11-23T11:40:00.005-06:002011-11-23T12:16:04.336-06:00Top Ten Thankful Classical SongsWe love Top Ten lists just as much as the next guy, so here goes our Thanksgiving Edition! (click on the title to hear an example!)#10. Leonard Bernstein: Turkey Trot (Divertimento)#9. Trad, arr Carmen: Turkey in the Straw#8. The Cranberries: Zombie (performed by the Poteet Orchestra)#7. Ludwig van Beethoven: Heiliger Dankgesang eines Genesenen an die Gottheit, in der lydischen Tonart (String Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-80183729147705102882011-11-21T09:31:00.003-06:002011-11-21T09:42:47.264-06:00Check out CharlesYou might have heard him on From the Top (or seen him on the first TV show of FTT!) or heard Charles Yang last year play the Four Seasons with the Mid Texas Symphony.He's recently recorded a video of Queen:and previously covered Michael Jackson:Now see CHARLES YANG - “classical violinist with the charisma of a rock star” - playing in a unique, one-time performance, at KIDS' CLUB – New Braunfels, Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-49832102161617840782011-11-21T09:12:00.003-06:002011-11-21T09:24:16.336-06:00Cello remainsMusic is magical. Besides artists studying music, scientists actually study how music changes the world. There are accounts of it making us smarter, healing and then there are mysteries:But when it came to playing previous concertos, and learning new pieces of music, he had such no problem leaving doctors stunned.Discussed at the Society for Neuroscience conference for the first time this past Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-1205127912991282532011-11-18T10:57:00.000-06:002011-11-18T10:55:55.159-06:00What Mahler was that?Our friends at Tone Deaf Comics have done it again, this time with a funny but accurate Mahler Map!Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-56559223363970950162011-11-18T10:40:00.005-06:002011-11-18T10:56:36.164-06:00Éljen a Magyar!It is hard to believe that Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, long associated with lighthearted entertainment like children's cartoons could be thought of as an act of defiance.Franz Liszt lost touch with his homeland in his youth, but when he heard of the disastrous floods of 1838 he made sure to help as best as he could and in doing so he reestablished a connection to Hungary that would last theYour Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-14944899119791439682011-11-17T10:24:00.003-06:002011-11-17T10:42:03.149-06:00Verdi's Don Carlo , Power and PassionThere are essentially two Don Carlo's (if you'll allow me) of Giuseppe Verdi. I don't mean that one is in French and the other Italian. Historians and musicologist are manic about the fact that this is untrue, there is a work," Don Carlos " (francophone's are insistent on this) originally written in French for the Paris Opera that was so vast (5hrs and change, they say) it's richness so prodigal Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-17803341387417008552011-11-15T11:11:00.004-06:002011-11-15T11:16:13.259-06:00Ft Worth Taxi Drivers take note!Another Stradivari violin is in Fort Worth, to be played by the Associate Concertmaster of the Ft. Worth Symphony - read more here. Here's to it not being left in a cab, smashed by accident or left outside to be made into a cd cabinet!Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-48261415318024435072011-11-14T11:43:00.003-06:002011-11-14T11:48:56.255-06:00Twelve tone commercialThere's nothing to be afraid of this weekend at the San Antonio Symphony...don't be frightened by the name Alban Berg. Here's a video to watch about the Second Viennese School to set your mind at ease:Just a few years ago, Hilary Hahn recorded Schoenberg's Violin Concerto, that really did become an iTunes hit. She made this video:She also did a whole series on Schoenberg: http://www.youtube.comYour Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-63929445188484706052011-11-14T09:44:00.008-06:002011-11-14T09:57:32.770-06:00To the Memory of an AngelWhen Berg received a commission for a concerto from the violinist Louis Krasner in January 1935, he was busy working on Lulu and set the commission aside. On April 22 of that year, the beloved daughter of his friend Alma Mahler, Manon Gropius, died at the age of 18, and Berg ceased work on the opera to compose his Violin Concerto as a memorial. Working at an unusually fast pace, Berg completed Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-48451800197065644552011-11-11T09:51:00.004-06:002011-11-11T09:58:54.072-06:00The Worst News Imaginable…What would that be for you? For Ludwig van Beethoven it was confirmation that his hearing, "the one sense which should have been more perfect in me than in others, a sense which I once possessed in highest perfection" was now eroding. How could this supreme master of sound be reduced to shouting "speak louder for I am deaf" and still have the respect of those around him?In his Heiligenstadt Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-35742566676796407552011-11-10T09:36:00.005-06:002011-11-10T09:41:46.673-06:00Classical Spotlight: Peter LieuwenThis next week SOLI Chamber Ensemble presents Quantum Change at Gallery Nord and Trinity University. On the program is Peter Lieuwen's Overland Dream.John Clare had a chance to speak with Peter about the new work in his studio outside College Station:Clare was also on hand this summer at the world premiere this summer in Arlington:Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-17015871889021473142011-11-10T09:33:00.004-06:002011-11-10T09:51:13.498-06:00The Perils of Young Goethe--- the Story ---The German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe had recently finished his law studies and was committed to visit a relative in the small town of Wetzlar. Previous to his travels he fell in with a circle of like minded young men of great promise, but no particular direction, among them a K.W. Jerusalem, destined to be for a while,secretary to a nobleman. Arriving in the town Goethe wasYour Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-44665950566275244712011-11-09T14:47:00.005-06:002011-11-09T14:54:06.202-06:00NewMusicUSAOn Tuesday, November 8, the American Music Center and Meet The Composer officially completed their merger to become New Music USA.Though the opportunities and challenges of 2011 could not have been imagined in 1939 at the time of AMC’s founding, nor even in 1974 when Meet The Composer first appeared on the scene, the core principles of both great organizations still ring clear and true. AMC was Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-59501761059392899212011-11-08T14:16:00.002-06:002011-11-08T14:19:56.466-06:00From Mark RichterIt was announced yesterday that Mark Richter is retiring. Today he has sent this note:Dear Friends of the San Antonio Opera,Effective, November 15, 2011, I will be stepping down as General/Artistic Director of San Antonio Opera. My life has been rich these past 16 years. Helping to build San Antonio Opera from an idea into a major regional opera in the country has been the most gratifying Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-29556622587206338052011-11-08T11:20:00.004-06:002011-11-08T11:26:52.357-06:00Big SingReady, set, sing! The season’s first Conspirare Big Sing (where the audience is the choir) is coming up next week! Vocalists should start warming up those pipes now - sing in the shower, the car, on the trail. Clear your schedule for 6pm on Thursday, November 17 and go to downtown Austin and join the ensemble. Remember, no experience is needed for this FREE opportunity to make truly beautiful Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-92138522102553977722011-11-07T09:42:00.003-06:002011-11-07T09:48:11.434-06:00O'Riley Radiohead tour conspiracyCoincidence? We think not!Radiohead March 1 Atlanta, GA Philips ArenaChristopher O’Riley 2 March, 2012 -- Out Of My Hands recital, Emory University, Atlanta, GAHere's SOLI in one of O'Riley's arrangements of Radiohead - SOLI Chamber Ensemble performs next Monday and Tuesday!Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-84869834329183672772011-11-04T09:14:00.005-05:002011-11-04T09:22:42.296-05:00The pianist behind the curtain…There are extroverts and then there are the rest of us. Adolph Henselt was a great pianist in a time of great performers and yet we know little about him because of an unfortunate accident, he had a memory slip. This happens to pianists and when it happened in Henselt's debut recital he tried to find his way, could not and fled the stage and this traumatized the artist. It is unfortunate because Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-51006770997426426292011-11-03T09:10:00.004-05:002011-11-03T09:19:12.583-05:00Donizetti & Mary Stuart's Great DramaWhether you believe that Mary Stuart was the most amoral, conniving and ruthless female of Elizabethan England or the most tragic victim of overwhelming and relentless circumstances and doomed to tragic grandeur, her life is one of the great historical dramas. It was the kind of life that was perhaps made even more interesting because of the contradictions and controversies that rage to this day.Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-55068784592071662232011-11-02T11:40:00.004-05:002011-11-02T11:53:46.800-05:00Paul MoravecToday composer Paul Moravec turns 54 years young. He'll have a world premiere this January in San Antonio with SOLI Chamber Ensemble, basing a quartet on Beethoven's Grosse Fuge - part of the Beethoven Festival.Moravec is also the commissioned composer for the San Antonio International Piano Competition in October 2012 and will be in town to judge.Host John Clare has interviewed Moravec numerous Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-78828189991447501392011-11-01T10:56:00.007-05:002011-11-01T16:27:04.969-05:00Cadenzas at ten pacesWe thought we'd put the cadenzas to Mozart's Piano Concerto #23 through the paces as it has been in the news lately with Hélène Grimaud and Claudio Abbado.First, you can see the musical scores in question...here is the musical score of Mozart's cadenza (the one Abbado preferred) [pdf]The one Hélène preferred, by Busoni [pdf]An alternate cadenza by Muller [pdf]Next, take a listen to the passages Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-85922314078478451542011-10-31T09:49:00.002-05:002011-10-31T09:51:54.784-05:00The Don a hit!Did you go see it this weekend? What other productions do you plan on catching? Let us know in the comments!The Met: Live in HD continued its sixth season Saturday with a live transmission of its new production of Don Giovanni, starring Mariusz Kwiecien, with an estimated attendance of 107,000 in North America earning a gross of $2.3 million. It was seen live on more than 850 screens. An Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-64292148152706053972011-10-29T14:00:00.009-05:002011-10-29T14:20:42.558-05:00In Memory of Eugenio Toussaint and Daniel CatanIn remembrance of several important Mexican musicians who passed away during the year past, the Orquesta Filarmonica de la Ciudad de Mexico has erected a Dia de los Muertos altar in the lobby of their hall, the Sala Ollin Yolitzli, honoring Daniel Catan (1949-2011) and Eugenio Toussaint (1954-2011). May they Rest in Peace.Listen to their music on the October 30, 2011 edition of Itinerarios.Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-22613569237004827742011-10-28T14:59:00.007-05:002011-10-29T16:39:22.498-05:00Dia de los Muertos on Sunday's IntinerariosI do miss Mexico this time of the year. During my 6-plus years as a working musician in Mexico, I came to at least an informal understanding of the holiday Dia de los Muertos. In truth, it is today mashed up with Halloween. In some neighborhoods children "trick-or-treat", even alongside visits to light candles at a loved one's gravesite. Nevertheless, Dia de los Muertos is a cultural experience Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-6593889030816039512011-10-28T00:01:00.013-05:002011-10-29T15:53:23.089-05:00New ConductorFrom the San Antonio Symphony:Music Director Sebastian Lang-Lessing announced that Akiko Fujimoto will be the new Assistant Conductor of the San Antonio Symphony. She begins her appointment in the beginning of January 2012. Her initial appointment is for the second half of the 2011-2012 season and the entire 2012-2013 season.Fujimoto was engaged after a process which began in the late spring. Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-42371780897030229412011-10-27T11:29:00.002-05:002011-10-27T11:36:38.599-05:00Young Masters Grant supports “rising stars of Texas”Valerie CowanSince 2002, the Young Masters Grant Program has generously given funds to students from 8th to 11th grades. This year’s application deadline is quickly approaching; applications and audiovisual materials must be postmarked by November 15.The Young Masters Grant Program is created and funded through the Texas Cultural Trust in order to help young Texas artists pursue opportunities Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-81888144699713656962011-10-27T10:00:00.003-05:002011-10-27T10:07:56.480-05:00Fierrabras or Schubert Goes to the OperaLike almost every other major romantic composer Schubert was an opera goer and dreamed of success in that world himself. He had had lessons with Salieri and was particularly fond it seems of Gluck, Mozart's Magic Flute and the stage works of both Cherubini and Spontini and Beethoven's Fidelio.Unlike almost any other romantic composer Schubert had a natural affinity for writing for the voice.ThereYour Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-31124922910256355112011-10-21T10:14:00.005-05:002011-10-21T10:21:33.301-05:00Piano Sonata in bThere are many opinions of Franz Liszt from the greatest pianist of all time to him a being a charlatan. But this 200th anniversary year has seen quite a number of fine recordings celebrating the accomplishments of this true romantic.There is one work that will even gain the grudging respect of Liszt's detractors; a masterwork that truly is the "music of the future" as Liszt claimed - the Piano Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-28344524022569109392011-10-20T10:42:00.007-05:002011-10-20T11:15:30.829-05:00Britten's Post-War Glory : Peter GrimesBenjamin Britten had been a child prodigy. It has been said that he wrote over 800 compositions among his juvenilia; by 10 he was proficient on both the piano and viola He began composition lessons with Frank Bridge at age 14 and already was composing for the voice; his Quatre Chansons Françaises is remarkably advanced for a teenaged composer. He also completed a course of studies at the Royal Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-44334774336528279242011-10-18T12:40:00.009-05:002011-10-18T13:15:19.688-05:00The Tree of Life: Alterna-Soundtrackby Nathan ConeProbably my favorite movie I’ve seen so far this year, “The Tree of Life” approaches for me a kind of magical or spiritual experience. It was recently released on Blu-ray/DVD, and you can read my full review online at TPR.ORG, but I wanted to devote this post to the music included in the film.“The Tree of Life” was scored by Alexandre Desplat, the Oscar-nominated composer of “The Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-15022431769424611052011-10-14T10:09:00.000-05:002011-10-14T10:09:00.449-05:00That's more like it….The sun is down and the sky is colored an intense violet and every now and again you smell wood smoke in the chilled night air. This is autumn, a brief season to be savored in South Texas.On the Piano this Sunday music that evokes that special and short time when it isn't too hot or cold - the skies are an intense blue and even some of our trees change their leaves to match our growing Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-25178672236612009452011-10-13T14:23:00.004-05:002011-10-13T14:36:36.709-05:00LisztomaniaThis weekend the San Antonio Symphony plays Liszt, in honor of this 200th birthday, coming up on October 22nd. We thought we would share some facts, fun and trivia about the great composer and pianist.The only child of Adam and Anna Liszt, Franz was born in Raiding, Hungary. The small town came under the administrative aegis of the Esterházy family who employed Adam as a steward. Franz showed Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8314216248439865841.post-1371797684426746502011-10-13T09:53:00.004-05:002011-10-13T10:08:38.830-05:00NEW BAYREUTH : LET THERE BE SPACE & LIGHTIn the aftermath of World War II Wagner's home, Wahnfried , lay partially in ruins from allied bombing . Winifred Wagner, wife of the dead Siegfried (Wagner's only son) through her war time connection with Hitler was forbidden from running the festival. The Bayreuth Festival had been co-opted by German wartime politics and Hitler's enthusiastic support ; thoughts ranged from divesting the family Your Classical Oasishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17823992957330120336noreply@blogger.com0