Author Archives: Robert Jan Dukarm

Frederic Chopin – Piano Concerto no.1 (2nd movement) -Artur Rubinstein

by

Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)

Frederic Chopin was a Polish composer and pianist.  He is unique as a composer because most of his compositions are for solo piano.  Besides his works for solo piano Chopin also composed 2 piano concertos, 4 works for piano and orchestra, a piano trio, duos, 20 songs for voice and piano, 1 piano duet, and some arrangements and transcriptions.

Chopin composed his two piano concertos when he was 19 years old.  They were composed shortly before he moved to Paris.  He would spend most of his life composing and performing in Paris and die there in 1849.

Artur Rubinstein (1887-1982) is a famous 2oth century Polish-Jewish pianist.  He is known for his fine interpretations of Chopin’s piano music .  His playing has an impeccable sense of style, warm lyricism, and passionate eloquence.  Here is a recording of Artur Rubinstein playing the 2nd movement of Chopin’s piano concerto no.1.  I hope that you enjoy it.

 

Swing Gitan – Angelo Debarre (guitar), Florin Niculescu (violin)

by

Swing Gitan  (Gypsy swing) is a popular “gypsy jazz” tune.  Here is a recording of Swing Gitan played by Angelo Debarre (a French Romani “gypsy jazz” guitarist) and Florin Niculescu (a Romanian gypsy “gypsy jazz” violinist).

Angelo Debarre is one of the top “gypsy jazz” guitarists in the world.  In 1984 Angelo founded the Angelo Debarre Quintet.  In 1985 the group was hired to play in a Parisian cafe and Angelo was discovered by a record producer and guitar player Jon Larsen.

Florin Niculescu is a Romanian gypsy “gypsy jazz” violinist.  He is one of the top “gypsy jazz” violinists.  Many musicians consider him to be the successor to Stephane Grappelli (another great “gypsy jazz” violinist who played with Django Reinhardt and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France).  In 2001, Florin Niculescu teamed up with Birelli Lagrene (a great “gypsy jazz” guitarist).  He has played with many big names including Angelo Debarre, Tchavolo Schmidt, Oscar Peterson, Regina Carter, and Wynton Marsalis.

Enjoy!

 

Edvard Grieg – Lyric Pieces

by

Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)

Edvard Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist.  He is best known among classical music lovers for his Piano Concerto and Peer Gynt suite for orchestra.

Edvard Grieg also composed several sets of pieces for piano called the lyric pieces.  Here is the first set of lyric pieces by Edvard Grieg.  They are played by pianist Eva Knardahl.  Eva has recorded all of Grieg’s piano music.

Edvard Grieg was a fine pianist and he composed his piano concerto for himself when he was a young man.  Grieg made several piano roll recordings.  You can hear two of them on youtube if you search for Grieg piano rolls. Enjoy!

 

Music for Trumpet and Pipe Organ

by

Here is some music for trumpet and pipe organ.  It was written during the baroque period (1600-1750).  Here is a recording of some English Masque dances.  A masque was a form of entertainment developed in England in the 16th and 17th centuries.  A masque involved poetry, music, and elaborate sets.  Here are some tunes from a masque composed in 1600.  The trumpet is played by the Swiss trumpet virtuoso Markus Wursch.  Peter Solomon is the organist.  The performance was recorded at the Catholic church in Stans, Switzerland.  Enjoy.

Here is another recording of the first movement of a Sinfonia by Allessandro Scarlatti for trumpet and organ.  The trumpet is played by Markus Wursch and the organ is played by Peter Solomon.  The performance was recorded in the Catholic church in Stans, Switzerland.  Enjoy.

 

 

 

Borodin String Quartet no.2 – Borodin Quartet

by

Alexander Borodin (1833-1887)

Alexander Borodin was a Russian composer, doctor, and chemist.  Borodin was part of a group of composers called “The Five” who were interested in creating a nationalist school.

Borodin didn’t compose many works, but among his few works he is known for his Opera Prince Igor, the orchestra piece “On The Steppes of Central Asia,” and his two String Quartets.  Borodin’s string quartets are full of beautiful lyrical melodies.  His second quartet is famous because of its beautiful Nocturne.

Here is a recording of Borodin’s String Quartet no.2 performed by the Borodin Quartet.  Enjoy.

 

Chega de Saudade – Jimmy Rosenberg Trio

by

The song “Chega de Saudade” (English translation is “No More Blues”) is a bossa nova.  Bossa Novas are a lyrical fusion of the samba and jazz.  Chega is said to be the first recorded bossa nova song.   The song was composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim, and the lyrics were written by Vinicius de Moraes.

Jimmy Rosenberg is a Dutch gypsy guitarist.  He is known for his playing of Gypsy Jazz and other similar styles of music.  Here is a recording of Chega de Saudade played by Jimmy Rosenberg (lead guitar) and his trio.  Enjoy.

 

“I Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” and “After You’ve Gone” Freddy Taylor (singer), Quintet of the Hot Club of France

by

Freddy Taylor

Freddy Taylor was a jazz singer, trumpet player, band leader, guitarist, and dancer. He came to Paris from New York with the Lucky Millander orchestra on a tour in 1933. He worked with the orchestra for about a decade. During that time he took trumpet lessons from Bill Coleman. While he was in Paris in the 1930s, Freddy met up with Django Reinhardt and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France. They made recordings together. Freddy Taylor also had his own group called Freddy Taylor and His Swing Men from Harlem. In the 1940s Freddy came back to the U.S.A. and continued performing until the late 1960s.

The Quintet of the Hot Club of France

The Quintet of the Hot Club of France was formed by gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stephane Grapelli in 1934. During the period before World War 2 the group was very popular and made hundreds of recordings. In the war years Django and Stephane split up and played with other groups. They met up again briefly after World War 2 and made some more recordings. Django Reinhardt died in 1953 and the group was disbanded. Stephane Grappelli had some difficult times and in the 1970s he became popular again. He performed and recorded with lots of musicians (jazz and classical) and toured around the world until his death in 1996.

“I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” is a popular jazz standard.  Django Reinhardt, the Quintet of the Hot Club of France and jazz singer Freddy Taylor recorded it in 1947.  Here is their recording of “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love.” Enjoy.

“After You’ve Gone” is a popular jazz standard written in 1918 by Turner Layton.  Henry Creamer wrote the lyrics.  Django Reinhardt recorded “After You’ve Gone” three times (in 1934, 1936, and 1949).  Here is a recording of the song by Django Reinhardt, the Quintet of the Hot Club of France and jazz singer Freddy Taylor.  Enjoy.

 

“Blue Drag” and “Shine” with Freddy Taylor (vocals), Swing men from Harlem, Quintette of the Hot Club of France

by

Blue Drag is a famous Django Reinhardt tune.  It was recorded by Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelli, and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France in 1935.  Here is a recording done by Freddy Taylor (vocals) and his group the Swing Men from Harlem.  Freddy Taylor recorded another tune called Shine with Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelli and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France.  He was a very popular jazz singer, tap dancer, trumpet player, and bandleader during the 1930s.  Here is a recording of Blue Drag done by Freddy Taylor and his Swing Men from Harlem.  Enjoy.

Shine was a tune that Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelli, and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France recorded with jazz singer Freddy Taylor in 1936.  Here is the recording of Shine done by Freddy Taylor and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France.  Enjoy.

 

Django Reinhardt, Hot Club of France – “I’ll See You in my Dreams,” “Embraceable You,” and “Rose Room”

by

Here Is “I’ll See You in my Dreams,” a jazz standard played by the gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt and the Hot Club of France, “Embraceable You,” another jazz standard played by Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelli, and the Hot Club of France, and another jazz standard “Rose Room” played by the Hot Club of France.

 

J.C. Bach “Cara, la dolce fiamma”. Philippe Jaroussky

by

J.C. Bach (1735-1782)

J.C. Bach was a German composer, and the youngest son of J.S. Bach.  His music is a blend of German technique with the fluency and grace of the Italian composers.  He wrote symphonies, chamber music for stringed instruments and wind instruments, keyboard music, dramatic music, and sacred and secular music.  W.A. Mozart was influenced by J.C. Bach’s music early in his music career and borrowed several melodies by J.C. Bach and used them in a few of his early piano concertos.

Here is an aria, “Cara la dolce fiamma,” from the opera Adriano in Siria by J.C. Bach.   The aria is sung by the French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky.  It was originally sung by a castrato.  Castrati had very powerful voices (much more powerful than a countertenor).  To get the effect of how powerful a castrato’s voice might have been, imagine what it would be like blending a soprano and countertenor voice together.  For the movie Farinelli about a castrato, a soprano voice and a countertenor voice were simultaneously blended together into one voice.  Philippe Jaroussky sang as the countertenor.  I’m not sure who the soprano was.