Written in 1890 by Claude Debussy for solo piano. The harpist here, Valeria Kurbatova, arranges the work for solo harp. Simply beautiful. Gratitude. Peace.
* rev·er·ie : a state of being pleasantly lost in one’s thoughts; a daydream.
Category Archives: music (classical)
Very clever pianist improvises in the style of famous classical composers !
Bill Murray, Jan Vogler & Friends: “West Side Story” Medley
I was truly moved the other night on Stephen Colbert! The combination of Bill Murray at his ironic best and the absolute top notch classical musicians headed by cellist Jan Vogler make magic! Puerto Rico !!!
Chopin’s sublime Prelude in C Sharp Minor Opus 45
Young Polish pianist Krzysztof Książek performs the work with great delicacy. From a performance at the 2015 International Chopin Competition. Prepare to be mesmerized.
Gould, Bernstein & Bach
Here’s a great little gem of a video featuring famously eccentric Canadian pianist Glenn Gould performing Bach’s Keyboard Concerto #1 in D minor along with Leonard Bernstein conducting the orchestra. Bernstein introduces the performance with a brief talk about interpretation in musical performance, quite instructive and fascinating in itself. Gould performs with precision and clarity in this 1960 television broadcast.
Operatic Audi commercial
A highlight of watching the Emmy Awards show last night for me was this Audi commercial, depicting the birth and death of a tear drop. Bravo!
Lang Lang and dancer Marquese Scott team up for Chopin’s “Ocean” etude
Here’s a wonderful pairing of the great Lang Lang performing Chopin’s “Ocean” etude along with dancer Marquese Scott’s inspired moves. A refreshing idea: taking the music out of the Concert Hall. Works for me!
Lang Lang tackles Prokofiev’s 7th Piano Sonata
I guess there are those purists who are put off by Lang Lang’s theatrics, but no one would deny that this is a supremely talented & gifted musician. While I have always admired Maurizio Pollini’s take on this work which has been considered the “Gold Standard” since he recorded it in 1971, there is much to admire here with Lang Lang’s interpretation (AND the wonderful photography of a live recital).
Here’s the slow but beautiful middle section:
And finally, the cacophonous finale:
Béla Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances
It’s only 5 minutes long! These folk classics will lift your spirits and bring a smile to your face. Performed live with gusto by Zoltán Kocsis (piano) and Barnabás Kelemen (violin), as good as it gets! Bravo.
Maurizio Pollini wins the 1960 Chopin Competition
A young Maurizio Pollini (age 18) takes home 1st prize in the prestigious Chopin Piano Competition held every 5 years in Warsaw, Poland. The competition is devoted to the works of a single composer, Frédéric Chopin (duh). The great Arthur Rubinstein, who led the jury, declared Pollini the winner of the competition, allegedly saying: “that boy can play the piano better than any of us”.
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