No matter what she’s playing, she seems never to touch the ground.
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), Piano Concerto in G (1929-31); RAI National Symphony Orchestra (Claudio Abbado, cond.) with Martha Argerich (piano), live, Rome, 1969
1st movt.
2nd & 3rd movts.
passings
Claudio Abbado, conductor, June 26, 1933-January 20, 2014
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911), Symphony No. 5 (4th Movt.); Lucerne Festival Orchestra (Claudio Abbado, cond.), live, 2004
I love watching him conduct: his hands and arms embody the music, moving with the grace, and the precision, of a ballet dancer.
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lagniappe
reading table
[T]he time of death is every moment . . .
—T. S. Eliot, “The Dry Salvages”
music clip of the day 