W.A. Mozart – Ruhe sanft mein holdes Leben – Dame Emma Kirkby, soprano

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W.A. Mozart (1756-1791)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an Austrian composer, violinist, pianist, organist, and child prodigy.  His talent for music was evident at the age of three.  Mozart composed a wide variety of music ranging from little piano pieces for children to chamber music, symphonies, operas, and sacred choral music.

Ruhe sanft, mein holdes Leben comes from W.A. Mozart’s opera Zaide (originally called Das Serail) which was written by Mozart in 1780.  The opera was never completed.  Only the arias and ensemble numbers from the first two acts were written.  There is no overture or third act.

The opera is interesting because it contains spoken dialogue which means that it can also be classified as a singspiel, or “singing play.”  The plot of the opera is about the rescue of Zaide’s husband, Gomatz.  During Mozart’s time it was popular for operas to be written about Westerners being rescued from enslavement in Muslim courts.  Muslim pirates were going after Mediterranean shipping in order to capture slaves.

 

Dame Emma Kirkby (1949-)

Dame Emma Kirkby is an English soprano and a renowned early music specialist.  The 2008 Grove Book of Opera Singers says:

“Her uncommonly pure, crystalline voice, deployed with minimal vibrato, her natural declamation, agile coloratura and her sensitivity to words have been widely admired by interpreters of early, Renaissance and Baroque music and have served as a model for many specialists in this repertory.”

Here is a recording of Dame Emma Kirkby singing Ruhe sanft, mein holdes Leben from Mozart’s Zaide accompanied by the Academy of Ancient Music conducted by Christopher Hogwood.  I hope that you enjoy it.

 

Swing Gitan – All of Me, Avalon, and That’s A Plenty

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Swing Gitan is a gypsy jazz ensemble based in Chicago.  The group plays 1930s style music of Django Reinhardt on acoustic instruments.  Alfonso Ponticelli is the lead guitarist, Tony Ballog (died in 2013) is the violinist, Jason Miller is the rhythm guitarist, and Beau Sample is the bass player.  Here they are playing “All of Me,” “Avalon,” and “That’s A Plenty” at Midwest Gypsy Swing Fest in 2009.  I hope you enjoy this.

 

Martin Weiss (jazz violinist) Them Their Eyes, After You’ve Gone, I Can’t Give You Anything But Love

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Martin Weiss is a jazz violinist, guitarist, and singer.  He is one of the top jazz violinists in the world.  Here he is playing three jazz standards:  “Them Their Eyes”, “After You’ve Gone”, and “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love.”

“Them Their Eyes” and “After You’ve Gone” are from the album Gipsy Celebration.  Martin Weiss is the violinist, Kussi Weiss is the solo guitarist, Tschabo Franzen is the rhythm guitarist, and Dietmar Osterburg is the bass player.

“I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” is performed live by Martin Weiss and his group, the Martin Weiss World Sinti Jazz Ensemble at Luxembourg in April 2010.

I hope that you enjoy these upbeat performances of three great jazz standards.

Birelli Lagrene – Gypsy Project

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Birelli Lagrene (1966 –

Birelli Lagrene is a French guitarist and bassist.  He first became famous in the 1980s for his Django Reinhardt influenced style of guitar playing.  Birelli is also known for playing fusion jazz and post bebop style jazz on the guitar.

Florin Niculescu (1967 –

Florin Niculescu is a Romanian gypsy violinist.  He is one of the top jazz violinists and is comfortable playing gypsy jazz as well as modern jazz.  Some people have called him the successor to the great French jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli.

In 2001 Niculescu joined Birelli Lagrene and his “Gypsy Project” which takes its inspiration from Django Reinhardt and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France.

Here is a recording of several jazz standards played by Birelli Lagrene and his “Gypsy Project” in 2001.  The musicians are Birelli Lagrene (solo guitar), Florin Niculescu (violin), Rhythm guitars – Hono Winterstein and Holzmano Lagrène, Diego Imbert (double bass), and Richard Galliano (accordion).  I hope you enjoy it.

 

Gustav Mahler – Adagietto from 5th Symphony – Leonard Bernstein

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Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)

Gustav Mahler was a Bohemian-Austrian conductor, pianist, and composer.  He held conducting posts at the Vienna Opera, Royal Opera in Budapest, the Stadttheater in Hamburg, Metropolitan Opera in New York, and the New York Philharmonic.

Mahler is known today as one of the last great symphonists.  He composed 10 symphonies, several songs. and a piano quartet and opera (the opera was lost).

Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)

Leonard Bernstein was an American conductor, composer, and pianist.  He held conducting posts with the Isreal Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and quickly gained an international reputation conducting in Vienna and La Scala. Bernstein was a noted conductor of Mahler’s symphonies.

As a composer, Bernstein is known today for his Candide Overture and Westside Story.

Here is a recording of Leonard Bernstein conducting the Vienna Philharmonic in a performance of the 2nd movement of Mahler’s Symphony no.5.  Enjoy.

 

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

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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)

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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

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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

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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.