For Your Listening Pleasure

“René Leibowitz (1913–1972)” We showcase works composed by René Leibowitz, as well as one of his memorable Beethoven symphony recordings. Many of the works of the Second Viennese School were first heard in France at the International Festival of Chamber Music established by Leibowitz in Paris in 1947. Leibowitz was highly influential in establishing the reputation of the Second Viennese School, both through activity as a teacher in Paris after World War II and through his book Schoenberg et son école, published in 1947. He taught composition and conducting to many pupils, including Pierre Boulez (composition only), Antoine Duhamel, and Vinko Globokar. Details at our archive page @ https://archive.org/details/pcast255 23 jan – 122

“Rostropovich & Shostakovich” Mstislav Rostropovich is internationally acclaimed and acknowledged as one of the world's greatest cellists of his generation. His repertoire includes more than 50 concertos, ranging from the baroque, through the classical and romantic periods, to the avant-garde. As a cellist, Rostropovich is noted for his commanding technique and intense, visionary playing. Rostropovich has also won outstanding acclaim as a conductor, appearing with most of the world's leading orchestras, including his long tenure as Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington. Both on the cello and on the podium, Rostropovich is considered one of the leading interpreters of the music of Shostakovich (with whom he studied composition), Britten, and Prokofiev. Details at our archive page @ https://archive.org/details/pcast260

“Ragtime: Original piano rolls (1896-1917)” Scott Joplin never made an audio recording as a pianist; however his playing is preserved on seven piano rolls. It is highly doubtful hat the performances in the so-called "Original piano rolls (1896-1917)" come from the playing of Joplin. Nonetheless, they are quite insightful and provide am"authentic" tempo and playing style. Details at our archive page @ https://archive.org/details/joplin_ragtime_jop_20_scott_jop [First Time on our Podcasting Channel]

“André Previn (1929 - 2019)” The term “triple threat” comes up from time to time in sports and in performing arts as a very distinct form of praise to somebody who can hit for percentage, hit for power and steal bases in baseball, or act, sing and dance on the Broadway stage or act, write and direct in Hollywood The primary subject for today’s musical share, André Previn, is himself a triple threat – as a composer, conductor and pianist. We could also state his threat status somewhat differently as a man of jazz, film and concert music. Details at our archive page @ https://archive.org/details/pcast257

“Alexandre Guilmant (1837-1911)” A student of his father, then of the Belgian master Jacques-Nicolas Lemmens, Guilmant became an organist and teacher in Boulogne-sur-Mer, a city ion Northern France and his place of birth. In 1871 he was appointed to play the organ regularly at la Trinité church in Paris - the same church and organ Messiaen occupied for 60 years and a position Guilmant himself held for a mere… 30 years. Details at our archive page @ https://archive.org/details/pcast149

“Wolfgang Schneiderhan (1915 –2002)” Schneiderhan was born in Vienna where he primarily studied under Julius Winkler. In the late 1920’s, he moved for a time to England before returning to Vienna to become the first Concertmaster of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra from 1933 to 1937, and from 1937 to 1951 led the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. He nevertheless maintained his career as a soloist in concerts and recordings - He was the soloist in the Viennese premiere of Elgar's Violin Concerto in 1947, and in September 1952 he made his benchmark Deutsche Grammophon recordings of all ten Beethoven violin sonatas with Wilhelm Kempff in the Konzerthaus, Mozartsaal, Vienna. Details at our archive page @ https://archive.org/details/01ConcertoForViolinAndOrchestra [First Time on our Podcasting Channel]

This week, a montage wholly dedicated to Franz Liszt, with performances of two works for piano and orchestra, along with other gems. Read our commentary on January 17 @ https://itywltmt.blogspot.com/, details @ https://archive.org/details/pcast331-Playlist

“Mahler in New York” In a memorable evening at Carnegie Hall on 16 January 1910, Rachmaninov gives the third performance of his Piano Concerto no.3, with the New York Philharmonic under its new music director, Gustav Mahler. Details at our archive page @ https://archive.org/details/pcast237

“Mozart& his horny friends” Two Mozart works for horn and orchestra are featured here, including his posthorn serenade. The post horn (also posthorn, post-horn, or coach horn) is a valveless cylindrical brass or copper instrument with cupped mouthpiece, used to signal the arrival or departure of a post rider or mail coach. It was used especially by postilions (early mailmen) of the 18th and 19th centuries. Details at our archive page @ https://archive.org/details/MozartAndHisHornyFriends

“Violin and Cello” There really isn’t anything uncommon about the format of a concerto for two soloists per se. This formula typically involves two of the same instrument, fewer concertos are set for two different solo instruments. However, the combination of two instruments who play at two different registers (violin and cello in Brahms’ case) are much rarer, and provide a unique opportunity to exploit the orchestra “fighting off” two opponents – one at the hands, the other one at the feet! Details at our archive page @ https://archive.org/details/ViolinAndCello

“Dimitry Markevitch on MP3.COM” Born in Switzerland of Ukrainian parents, Dimirty Markevitch (1923–2002) started cello at age six. He studied with Maurice Eisenberg at the École Normale in Paris and then at Tanglewood with Gregor Piatigorsky, who had first befriended and taught Markevitch at age seven. After playing in the New York Philharmonic for five years, Markevitch returned to Paris, teaching at the École Normale, directing the Conservatoire Rachmaninoff, and even managing a sewing-machine plant. Details at our archive page @ https://archive.org/details/019SonateEnSolMajeurPourViolo [First Time on our Podcasting Channel]

“Tamás Vásáry Plays Chopin” Chopin wrote four Sonatas: three for piano solo and one for piano and cello and today’s vinyl selection comes from the DG Chopin recordings Vásáry made in the mid-sixties, featuring him in the two most heard Chopin piano sonatas, nos. 2 and 3. Details at our archive page @ https://archive.org/details/05PianoSonataNo.3InBMinorOp [First Time on our Podcasting Channel]

“Oboe Concertos” The oboe (and its larger relative, the cor anglais - literally translates from French as English Horn) produces a beautiful, sweet, haunting sound. When used as solo instruments the sound is sometimes described as a 'pastoral' sound. This is because it descended from the type of reed instruments that have been used in folk music and by shepherds the world over for thousands of years. Details at our archive page @ https://archive.org/details/pcast256

[Project 366 Listener Guide #110] Before the piano, there was the harpsichord, the fortepiano and the tangent piano. Listen to concerti featuring these old keyboard instruments. Read our fresh take January 10 @ http://itywltmt.blogspot.com/, details @ https://archive.org/details/pcast242-Playlist (ITYWLTMT Montage #242 - 10 Mar, 2017 )

“Benny Goodman Plays Mozart and Copland” Goodman was a well-established Jazz clarinetist when he answered, shall we say, a late calling to explore the classical clarinet repertoire. In 1949, when he was 40, Goodman decided to study with Reginald Kell, one of the world's leading classical clarinetists. To do so, he had to change his entire technique: instead of holding the mouthpiece between his front teeth and lower lip, as he had done since he first took a clarinet in hand 30 years earlier, Goodman learned to adjust his embouchure to the use of both lips and even to use new fingering techniques. He had his old finger calluses removed and started to learn how to play his clarinet again—almost from scratch. Details at our archive page @ https://archive.org/details/MozartTheClarinet