Monthly Archives: September 2022

James Sanders (Violin) and Conjunto perform Tres Palabras by Osvaldo Farres

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James Sanders is a classically trained violinist who developed an interest in jazz and Latin music after graduating from Yale University with a Masters Degree in violin performance. He has a Latin jazz group called Conjunto which is based in Chicago. The group has been performing for a long time (nearly two decades) in clubs, festivals, and concert halls. They perform a wide variety of music: classic Cuban tunes, Latin arrangements of jazz standards, fusion, the Great American Songbook, and original material by James Sanders and members of his group.

Here is a classic Cuban tune called Tres Palabras performed by James Sanders and Conjunto. It was written by Osvaldo Farres (who wrote several hit tunes including Quizás, Quizás, Quizás (Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps). I hope that you enjoy it.

Stephen Heller: Etude in E Major, Op. 45, No. 9 (Gerald Moore, Piano)

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Stephen Heller (1814-1888)

Stephen Heller was a Hungarian pianist and composer. He showed musical talent at an early age. When he was 10 years old his father took him to Vienna, Austria where he studied piano with the noted pianist Anton Halm. He toured Germany and lived there from 1830-1838. Composer Robert Schumann heard about him and wrote about him in his music journal (Schumann was a music critic for a time). Heller then went to Paris, France which was a major hot spot for artists, writers, and musicians. He met Chopin, Liszt, Berlioz, and other important figures of the time and in a short period of time built up a reputation as a pianist and piano teacher. Stephen Heller wrote mostly for the piano. He had a gift for writing beautiful melodies. In many pieces there is a grace and sunny character.

Gerald Moore (1899-1987)

Gerald Moore was a famous British piano accompanist. He accompanied many of the great singers and instrumentalists of the 20th Century including: Victoria de Los Angeles, Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, Dietrich Fisher-Dieskau, Yehudi Menuhin, Josef Hassid, Jacqueline Du-Pre, and others. Here is a rare recording of Gerald Moore playing Stephen Heller’s Etude in E Major, Op. 45, No. 9. It was recorded in 1949. Gerald Moore is his best recordings played with a singing tone, fluidity, and natural timing. I hope that you enjoy this simple but nice little piano piece.