The Last of the Romantic. 2 a.m.
December 17, 2006 at 9:27 am
…
a meld quivers close to you, a lyric steam
of cold-pressed algae and dreaming driftwood.
From your throat, a voice unties, mythic bulbs
and whirlpool fingers, that beat in a wave
from some radio, resonating this scene
to one hundreds of years since, allusive
and having just begun your unseen
elements. Soon, a love song will outweigh
you, and split between your surrounding streams.
- Jessica Schneider , Sister Ophelia.
“The Last of the Romantic. 2 a.m.”
01. Frederic Chopin - Prelude in E minor op.28 no.4
02. Maurice Ravel - Gespart de la nuit (scarbo) (web)
03. J.S. Bach - Concerto No.5 for Piano and Orchestra in A Major
04. Krzysztof Penderecki - Miniatury No.3 (web)
05. Sergei Prokofiev - Sonata for Violin and Piano No.1 F Minor Op.80 (Andante) (web)
06. Alfred Schnittke - Piano Quintet (Moderato Pastolare) (web)
07. Osvaldo Golijov - K’varat
08. Scarlatti - Sonata in B Minor
09. Sergei Prokoviev - Visions Fugitives Op.22
note: An end of the year list with moderns I like, my continuing project trying to figure out the magic of pieces from turn of the century. One thing attracks me the most is how each pieces being interpreted as such with absolute control of timing to create tone and sound texture. Martha Argerich (Gespart de la nuit, Scarlatti’s Sonata) is still my hero in this regard. I also have to admit I still can’t forgo lyrical melodies. They makes music sweet. Prokofiev has some of the sweetest lyrics every laid on paper for Piano work. (Visions Fugitives) It’s a practical 2.m. list, part of traveling series. I hope it works. Cheers.
image credit: “the garden of my dreams… ” by strange_me
btw,
if anybody wants the list for panists, jsut drop me a note. I am too lazy.
there are martha argerich, glenn gould, gidon kramer (violin)
Damn!!! you’ve won me squashed. Jessica Schneider, Prokofiev twice, Golijov and Bach and two pieces performed by Martha Argerich (who I’ve just been introduced to with this post but I already love her).
It’s a misty cold morning in here- dont know if they sound good at 2 am but theyre sounding perfect at 2 pm. Thank you!
This could be my most expensive list yet. heh.
btw. the bach track, is Glenn gould. Very odd and daring interpretation. The orchestra is reduced to another piano counter point. Incredible. I love it..
update…hmm, the scarlatti is Horowitz, the Chopin is Argerich. (I should fix it later.) I can’t stop mareveling how utterly precise Argerich timing is. She can control the tone and saturation like nobody else…. whew…
Hi,
Great post ! Love your blog, by the way.
For once, I thought I might contribute something. (It’s almost Christmas, after all)
If you like “Gaspard (not sure about Gespart ; ) de la nuit”, interpreted by Argerich you might like her rendition of Ravel’s Jeux d’eau, featured on “Debut Recital” published by DG I think.
If you haven’t seen this, here is a video of her performing it live (!) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWeAbgA5tS4
Also, one more piece you might like : El Cant dels Ocells (Song of the birds), Pablo Casal’s solo arrangement of a Catalan folk song,
And there is also a (deeply moving) vid for this (Isserlis playing) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k50emadHTJ4
Enjoy !
(One last quick suggestion : Nico Muhly’s Speaks Volume, on Bedroom Community)
Happy holidays and keep up the good work !
Nico
Montreal (Canada)
http://www.last.fm/user/TheOutsideView/
What an enchanting playlist. I am salivating to feast my ears, but track four (Penderecki) has a broken link (?). I want to listen to the mix in its entirety, so I will check back later for track four. Thanks so much for your creativity and taste. Lovely tracks.
oopps. It’s not in upload directory. lemme fixt that . It will take Half hour.
Wow, this is an amazing playlist squashed, I’m impressed!
I’m still a bit of a noob when it comes to classical music so these kind of playlists are highly appreciated!
As for the 2 a.m.: it’s always 2 a.m. somewhere you know, this music is timeless.
Quick clarification concerning my comment : Nico Muhly (the last recommendation), isn’t me. Just so nobody thinks he’s shamelessly self advertising his album on your blog.
Cheers,
Nico
great stuff squashed!
beautiful image…
and music selection :)
Fantastic list. I know virtually nothing about classical music and I love this. Thanks for sharing!
its great work squashed ! keep it up
i m getting addicted to moka my dear
An interview with Martha Argerich in spanish:
http://www.letraslibres.com/index.php?art=11001
uff great post Squashed, I actually downloaded the songs at about 1am jaajaja and they truly blend in together marvelously!
Love it!
Well this is surprising, a lot of people seems to like it. Maybe I should same list if I run out of idea what to post.
Moka “An interview..”
She is an extremely shy person. pretty enigmatic most of the time, unlike Glenn Gould who can talk and talk. But she is a true genius, very expressive.
[...] see also: The Last of the Romantic. Image: Rome, Study Mode, Zaha Hadid [...]
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