If someone were to say that no instrument is more beautiful, more deeply expressive, than the cello, I wouldn’t argue.
Alban Gerhardt (cello), live, London (Wigmore Hall), 2014: Johann Sebastian Bach, Suite No. 4 in E-flat Major; Zoltan Kodály, Solosonata op. 8
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Illinois
timeless
Josef Hofmann (1876-1957, piano), live, 1938; Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major (“Waldstein”)
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lagniappe
reading table
You lie in our bed as if an orchard were over us.
You are what’s fallen from those fatal boughs.
Where will we go when they send us away from here?—David Ferry (1924-2023), “In Memory of Anne Ferry” (Bewilderment: New Poems and Translations [2012], dedication)
Last night, after entering this sound world, I didn’t want to leave.
Christian Wolff (1934-), Mountain Messengers (for piano and orchestra, 2020), live (Nicolas Hodges, piano; Basel Sinfonietta [Ilan Volkov, conductor]), Switzerland (Basel), 1/24/21 (world premiere)
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Chicago (Columbus Park)
what’s new
George Enescu (1881-1955), Octet in C major (Op. 7), 1900: Hannah Tam, Himari-chan, Boha Moon, Sameer Agrawal (Violins); Emad Zolfaghari, Sam Tatsuki (Violas); Carson Ling-Efird, Laura Navarsardian (Cellos), live, Philadelphia (Curtis Institute of Music), 4/20/26 (published 5/18/26)
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Illinois
never enough
Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), 24 Preludes (Op. 28): Maria João Pires (piano), live, Portugal (Évora), 1987
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Illinois
Yesterday, after stumbling upon this sound-world, I didn’t want to leave.
Stefan Wolpe (1902-1972), String Quartet (1969): Curtis Macomber (violin), Theodore Arm (violin), Toby Appel (viola), Fred Sherry (cello), rec. 2006 (published yesterday)
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Illinois
Want to be swept away?
Alexander Scriabin (1871-1915), Etude in D-sharp minor, Op. 8, No. 12 (1894); Daniil Trifonov (1991-, piano), live, Berlin, 2019
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Illinois
spellbinding
Dinu Lipatti ([1917-1950], piano), live, Zurich, 1950; Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), Nocturne No. 8 in D-Flat Major, Op. 27, No. 2; Etude in E Minor, Op. 25, No. 5; Etude in G-Flat Major, Op. 10, No. 5 (“Black Keys”)
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lagniappe
random sights
this afternoon, Oak Park, Illinois
never enough
Morton Feldman (1926-1987, MCOTD Hall of Fame), Palais de Mari (1986): Sabine Liebner (piano), 2007
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Illinois
sounds of Chicago
Ramon Lazkano (1968-), A Glitch at the Edge (2023); Grossman Ensemble, live, Chicago, 2023 (premiere)
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Illinois
