Author Archives: Robert Jan Dukarm

Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang play “Freeze and Melt,” and “Pink Elephants”

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Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang were pioneers in violin/guitar jazz in the 1920s and 1930s. They went to school together and played violin together in an orchestra. Eddie Lang later switched from violin to guitar and Joe Venuti stayed with the violin. They teamed up and formed a duo and made their first recording together in 1926. They quickly became popular and were in great demand. They were part of various jazz ensembles including Jean Goldkette’s Orchestra, and Paul Whiteman’s Orchestra. They played with many of the major jazz musicians of their day incuding: Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, the Dorsey Brothers, and Bix Beiderbecke.

Here are two recordings featuring Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang. The First recording is a piece called “Freeze and Melt.” It is played by Ed Lang and his orchestra: Joe Venuti, Eddie Lang · Bix Beiderbecke, Red McKenzie, Frankie Trumbauer, Louis Armstrong, and Tommy Dorsey. The second recording is a piece called “Pink Elephants” and it is played by Joe Venuti and his Orchestra and features Joe VEnuti and Eddie Lang. I hope that you enjoy these tunes.

Jean Sibelius- Romance op.24 no.9, Impromptu op.5 no.5

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Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)

Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer and violinist.  He is said to be the greatest Finnish composer.  Sibelius is credited with helping Finland develop its own national identity.  He is best known for his seven symphonies.  Other well known works include: Finlandia, Valse triste, his Violin Concerto, and Swan of Tuonela.

 

Sibelius loved the violin but didn’t like the piano.  He composed several collections of piano pieces for money. The pieces vary in quality.  His piano music is beginning to get some recognition from amateur pianists as well as professional pianists.

Sibelius was known to drink excessively, eat excessively, smoke cigars, and party hard.  Despite living a wild lifestyle, Sibelius lived to the ripe old age of 92.

 

Havard Gimse – pianist (1966 – )

Havard Gimse is a Norwegian classical pianist who has an affinity for the Scandinavian piano repertoire, in particular Norwegian music.  He has performed on many of the world’s great concert stages including: Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

Here are a couple of piano pieces by Sibelius played by Havard Gimse: his Romance op.24, no.9 in D Flat Major, and his Impromptu op.5, no.5 in b minor. Enjoy!

Beethoven Romance in F Major op.50 (recorded in 1889)

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On September 13, 1889 violinist Herr Krahmer and pianist Herr Schmalfuss recorded Beethoven’s Romance in F Major, op.50. Here is that recording.) First you will hear an extract from the piece played by Louise Chisson (recorded in 2010). Then you will hear the 1889 recording which will be followed by a recording of the whole piece played by Jascha Heifetz with the RCA Victor Orchestra.

The 1889 recording is in very bad shape and it is hard to make out the violin and piano. If you listen carefully you can hear the instruments. In December of 1889 Johannes Brahms was recorded playing the piano. A historic year indeed! Enjoy.

Louis Vierne plays the Notre Dame Organ in Paris in 1929

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Louis Vierne (1870-1937)

Louis Vierne was a French organist and teacher. He was born nearly blind due to congenital cataracts. Vierne’s music was idiomatic for his instrument and the harmonies in his music were rich. He was an inspiration to the many Parisian organist-composers that came after him. Vierne was also a great improviser on the organ. He gave many recitals during his life and toured widely. In 1937 while giving his 1750th recital at Notre Dame in Paris Vierne died at the organ console.

Here are two rare recordings froom 1929 of Louis Vierne playing the organ at Notre Dame in Paris. 1929 was the first year that sound was recorded electronically. The first recording is a soft improvisation that Vierne made up on the spot. The second recording is a Bach Prelude and Fugue. The second recording is a piece by Vierne.

I can’t imagine what it must have been like carrying all that heavy recording equipment up the narrow stairway to Notre Dame’s balcony to record the organ.
An organ with more than 7000 pipes! Enjoy.

Handel’s “Moses and the Children of Israel” at the Crystal Palace, June 29, 1888

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Here is a recording of the earliest surviving wax cylinder of Thomas Edison. This performance of G.F. Handel’s “Moses and the Children of Israel” was recorded on June 29, 1888 at the Crystal Palace in London, England. There were 500 musicians in the orchestra, around 4000 voices in the choir, and 23,722 people in the audience. You can just make out some of the choir singing. After the 1888 recording is played, you can hear a modern recording done in 2014 of the same chorus by G.F. Handel.

Unfortunately I don’t know the name of the choir and orchestra in the 1888 recording. I also don’t know who was performing in the 2014 recording. The amazing thing about the 1888 recording is that it exists. That was recorded at a time before airplanes and there were few cars at the time. Life was a lot more primitive then it is now. I hope that you enjoy this very old recording.

Eric Whitacre – The Seal Lullaby

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Eric Whitacre (1970 – )

Eric Whitacre is a Grammy award winning American composer and conductor who is known for his choral, orchestral, and wind music. He is also well known for his “Virtual Choir” projects which bring together people from around the world into a big online choir. in 2016 he became The Los Angeles Master Chorale’s first artist-in-residence at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Here is a beautiful choral piece Eric Whitacre wrote called the Seal Lullaby. It is performed by Eric Whitacre and the Eric Whitacre Singers. I hope that you enjoy this music.

Sir Anthony Hopkins “And The Waltz Goes On” performed by Andre Rieu and the Johann Strauss Orchestra

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Sir Anthony Hopkins (1937 – )

Sir Anthony Hopkins is a Welsh actor, director, producer and a composer. He started taking piano lessons when he was six years old. Hopkins worked hard at the piano. When he was 12 years old he began improvising on the piano with dissonant chords and began working on developing melodic lines which he would then write down on manuscript paper. In 1964 Hopkins was working as an actor at the Playhouse Theatre in Liverpool. He would often arrive early before everyone else in the morning when the cleaning ladies were there. There was an old piano in the theatre and he would sit down and improvise melodies. One day he came up with a waltz tune. Someone heard him and asked who wrote the tune. Hopkins said that he made it up. For years the piece was never premiered because Anthony Hopkins didn’t think the piece was good enough. In 2008 he scored the piece entitled “And The Waltz Goes On” for full orchestra. Hopkin’s wife Stella contacted violinist André Rieu and sent him the score. On July, 3rd, 2011 it got its premiere (50 years after its composition).

André Rieu and the Johann Strauss Orchestra

André Rieu is a Dutch violinist and conductor from Maastricht who is well known for his famous Johann Strauss Orchestra. He graduated from the Brussels Conservatory with a first prize in violin. While he was studying music at University, he performed Franz Lehár’s Gold and Silver Waltz. The audience reaction was wonderful and he decided to play more waltz music. in 1978 he created the Maastricht Salon Orchestra and played with the Limburg Symphony Orchestra. in 1987 he formed the now famous Johann Strauss Orchestra as well as his own publishing company. The orchestra and Andre Rieu are very popular and regularly give sold out performances. André Rieu sets up the stage and the lighting before each concert and spends a lot of money making sure everything looks perfect. At some of his concerts they even serve real champagne in wine glasses to the audience members.

Here is a performance of André Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra performing Anthony Hopkin’s “And the Waltz Goes On”.

live footage of the Quintet of the Hot Club of France – J’attendrai (1939)

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The Quintet of the Hot Cub of France

The Quintet of the Hot Club of France was an acoustic string band formed by violinist Stéphane Grappelli and gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. The group made hundreds of recordings before World War II. The group split up when the war started and got back together after the war in 1946. They played together until Django Reinhardt’s untimely death in 1953.

Here is a rare video of the quintet performing the tune J’attendrai a popular French song first recorded by Rina Ketty in 1938. It became a big hit during World War II. Listen to Grappell’s smooth lyrical style of playing and watch Reinhardt’s impressive finger work with his two working fingers of his left hand. The remaining three fingers were bent and unusable because of burns he suffered in a caravan fire when he was 18. Django Reinhardt had to re-learn how to play the guitar.

piano malfunction during piano recital

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Elaine Rodrigues – pianist

Pianist Eliane Rodrigues was born in Rio de Janeiro. She was a child prodigy who began composing music when she was 3 years old, played her first recital when she was 5 years old, and performed concertos with an orchestra when she was 6 and 7 years old. She won prizes at many regional and national piano competitions and won the special prize at the Van Cliburn Competition when she was 18. She has performed in many major cities including Antwerp, Brussels, The Hague, Moscow, New York, and St. Petersburg. For over 20 years Eliane has been invited to De Doelen in Rotterdam to perform a Chopin recital on Boxing Day.

Here is a video of an unusual recital she gave at De Doelen in Rotterdam. It is unusual because the pedal on the piano wasn’t working. She handled the situation very well and what happened was quite humorous. I hope that you enjoy watching this.