Click the picture to enjoy a video that accompanies Jeremy’s wonderful essay in a recent issue of The New Yorker.
And be sure to check out his awesome blog here:
Fascinating footage from Van Cliburn’s famous victory at the 1958 Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow. Oistrakh, Gilels, Shostakovich.. lots of classical celebs in this video!
Mahler’s Ruckert Lieder “Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen” (“I’ve become lost to the world”)
Richard Strauss’ “Im abendrot” (“At Twilight”)
Scale Test Shot from Bale Piano on Vimeo.
I was recently shooting some test video footage at the piano and experimenting with some of the editing software. Things got interesting when I stumbled upon the time stretch settings :)
As a new year dawns and we consider the year ahead, it’s also a nice opportunity to consider where we’ve been. When it comes to music, we’ve covered a lot of ground over a lot of time. Here’s a really cool graphic to help put that in perspective, courtesy of flutist and teacher Jennifer Cluff.
To help yourself get in the Halloween spirit, get yourself some candy and sit down to enjoy George Tsontakis‘ virtuosic thrill ride, “Ghost Variations“, played by the incomparable Stephen Hough. From the allmusic description:
George Tsontakis’ Ghost Variations is not a set of variations in the normal sense. Rather, Tsontakis explores a more general idea of variation: the metamorphosis and interaction of various themes as the work progresses. Yet there is a true set of variations within the work, one that uses a theme from the third movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto in E flat, K. 482. Mozart’s theme acts as the titular ghost, appearing in the work without ever quite becoming part of it.
Proceed, if you dare :)
A very happy birthday to studio hero and wonderful weirdo Glenn Gould, who was born 80 years ago today in Toronto.
His unceasingly original interpretations of the piano repertoire and his deep forays into the medium of audio recording leave us with treasures that will last for many years to come.
Cheers to one of the great punk rockers of classical piano!
Behold as one of the most famous jazz recordings of all time comes to ‘notational’ life before your eyes!