Some folks are intimidated by this stuff. Part of the problem is the label: “classical” music. That sounds like something for graduate students. Nonsense. You don’t need to know anything—anything at all—to connect with this. All you need are two ears, a mind, and a heart.
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), String Quartet in F major (1903), first movement; Chiara String Quartet, live, University of Nebraska, 2013
alone
This is something I would never tire of hearing, not even if I were to live a thousand years.
Johann Sebastian Bach, Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor, 2nd movement (fugue)
Henryk Szeryng (1918-1988), violin
**********
lagniappe
musical thoughts
Music offers a respite from the mind’s incessant chatter.
sounds of Chicago
Edward Wilkerson, tenor saxophone (with Kidd Jordan, tenor saxophone; Henry Grimes, bass, violin; Isaiah Spencer, drums, et al.), live, Chicago, 2010
alone
Jürg Frey (1953-), A Memory of Perfection (2010)
Mira Benjamin (violin), live, London, 2013
**********
lagniappe
reading table
Two more words from Seamus Heaney, who died Friday in a Dublin hospital:
noli timere
[don’t be afraid]—text message to his wife minutes before his death
MCOTD mailbag
Dear MCOTD,
I need your advice. I’ve developed this mad crush on a musical instrument—the viola. It’s so dark, so mysterious. I’m obsessed! What should I do?
Sincerely,
Desperate in Denver
***
Dear Desperate,
There’s only one thing you can do—give in.
Yours,
MCOTD
***
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976), Lachrymae (1950; arranged for viola and string orchestra, 1976); New York Classical Players (Dongmin Kim, cond.) with Kim Kashkashian (viola), live, New York (Church of the Heavenly Rest), 2011
**********
lagniappe
musical thoughts
Four things are needed to survive: air to breathe; water to drink; food to eat; music to hear.
sounds of Brazil
Gilberto Gil (1942-; vocals, guitar) with Dominguinhos (1941-2013; accordion), “Lamento Sertanejo,” live, 2010
**********
lagniappe
musical thoughts
What would it be like to live in a world that sounded everywhere the same?
More sounds from the shadows.
György Kurtág (1926-), 12 Microludes for String Quartet (Hommage à Mihály András) (1978), Maxwell Quartet, live, Scotland (Argyllshire), 2012
**********
lagniappe
reading table
“Chartres”
By George Oppen (1908-1984)The bulk of it
In airIs what they wanted. Compassion
Above the doors, the doorwaysMary the woman and the others
The lesserAre dreams on the structure. But that a stone
Supports anotherThat the stones
Stand where the masons locked themAbove the farmland
Above the willBecause a hundred generations
Back of them and to another peopleThe world cried out above the mountain
Claude Debussy (1862-1918), String Quartet in G minor (1893), first movement; Cypress String Quartet, 2006
**********
lagniappe
musical thoughts
I wouldn’t want to listen to the same kind of music every day any more than I’d want to eat the same kind of food.
what’s new
I don’t understand a word of German. No matter. Commitment and passion don’t require translation.
Carolin Widmann (violin), playing and talking; Morton Feldman (1926-1987), Violin and Orchestra (1979); CM, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra (Emilio Pomarico, cond.), ECM Records, 5/13
music clip of the day 