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Wednesday, August 31, 2022

CCP stages 'Special Concert Series' for 2022

THE Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) presents the "Special Concert Series," a series of solo concerts by eminent Filipino musicians on September, October, and November 2022, 7:30 p.m. at the CCP Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez (Black Box Theater).


Stefanie Quintin, a soprano with "a voice with remarkable flexibility and a truly commanding musical presence," starts the series off on September 7. She will perform music from the Renaissance to the present day and includes several world premieres in her repertoire.


Among Quintin's many accomplishments is the premier performance of works by such composers as Dr. Ramon Santos, the Philippine National Artist for Music, and the American composer Eli Marshall. She has given solo performances at the AsiaEurope New Music Festival in Vietnam, the Yilan International Arts Festival in Taiwan, the soundSCAPE Festival in Italy, the Baroque Festival in Singapore, and the International Bamboo Organ Festival in the United States (for the Philippines).


Poonin graduated from the UST in 2009 with a Bachelor of Music, Trombone Performance Major. He won first place in the UST solo competition and the National Music Competition for Young Artists Solo Category C.


Finally, guitarist Ivar Fojas will be featured on November 16. Fojas is a Fulbright scholar who, in 2011, earned a doctorate from the University of Arizona's acclaimed Bolton Guitar Studies Program.


Prior to beginning his Ph.D. studies, Fojas was a busy performer who gave solo recitals and was a featured soloist with orchestras such as the Manila Symphony Orchestra and Peace Philharmonic Philippines. He has participated in master workshops given by classical guitar greats.


Beyond simply performing, each artist will share their skills and knowledge with selected participants in Master Classes. For those who want to be part of the Masterclass, call the CCP Artist Training Division at 8832-1125 loc. 1605 or email artist.training@culturalcenter.gov.ph


For more information about the event, follow the official CCP social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Andrea Bocelli, Katherine Jenkins - I Believe

O Mio Babbino Caro

14 Beautiful Female Classical Pianists


14 Beautiful Female Classical Pianists
3,289,476 views  Nov 11, 2017  Links to the videos I used:
14. Lola Astanova: https://youtu.be/FhcidIUkCbk
13. Khatia Buniatishvili: https://youtu.be/SlTTgJau33Q
12. Dora Deliyska: https://youtu.be/JZfYb6n4ieA
11. Hélène Grimaud: https://youtu.be/Ji-a9zE4IE4
10. Anastasia Huppmann: https://youtu.be/Ej8BZa0Q_74
9. Olga Jegunova: https://youtu.be/vp_h649sZ9A
8. Eloïse Bella Kohn: https://youtu.be/UHMoSwsmdq8
7. Irina Lankova: https://youtu.be/wA0Wmnlo_Mk
6. Valentina Lisitsa: https://youtu.be/KMb_TPrqMZI
5. Olga Scheps: https://youtu.be/Kty89WmxHRA
4. Primavera Shima: https://youtu.be/rUm3dsqzXGY
3. Belle Suwanpotipra: https://youtu.be/Q9YXjUyjL00
2. Katharina Treutler: https://youtu.be/ITTbFV0VKww
1. Yuja Wang: https://youtu.be/Nyfe8y0ywAQ

*No copyright infringement intended*
*This video is purely for entertainment purpose*

Monday, August 29, 2022

Strauss ~ The Blue Danube Waltz



Four Seasons ~ Vivaldi - his life and his music


245,146,692 views Jan 31, 2011 Antonio Vivaldi - Four Seasons Budapest Strings Bela Banfalvi, Conductor You can get the exact album I have here on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1I2dNNu (affiliate). Here are the times for the specific movements: Spring 0:00 Summer 10:31 Autumn 20:59 Winter 32:48 I hope you love this recording! It is my favorite one I've heard yet. Happy Listening!

Antonio Vivaldi was born 1678 in Venice (the exact date is unknown) and passed away on July 28, 1741 in Vienna/Austria. He was an Italian composer and violinist and became a violinist pupil of the great Giovanni Legrenzi (1626-1690). In 1703, Vivaldi was ordained as priest and has been nick-named as the "red haired priest" (Il prete rosso). 1716, he became principal of the music school for girls in Venice. He loved to travel extensively and became one of the first composers of his time. He was one of the first composers, using clarinets and composed fantastic chamber music, secular cantatas, church music, oratorio, and operas. Despite tremendous output, he was by no means a conventional composer, and much of instrumental works show a lively and fertile imagination. As with Bach, Vivaldi's music was unfashionable and unpopular or many years; however, since the 1950s, there has been enormous revival of interest in Vivaldi's music especially in Europe, and later followed also in the USA. Especially his cincerts, among which four works for violin, collectively known as "The Four Seasons", have become particularly popular. Appreciating Vivaldi's originality and diversity is to get beyond the form, and to listen to his fresh and melodic writings. Vivaldi invented a a structure for his conciertos that served him very we. No two pieces are exactly the same, and the combination of structural discipline and melody freedom is the hallmark of musical greatness from any period. Vivaldi composed 49 operas, 22 pieces only for the town of Venice. Johann Sebastian Bach admired Vivaldi so much, that he rearranged some compositions of Vivaldi and felt very much inspired for more wonderful compositions. Vivaldi died in Vienna in totally poverty.

Antonio Vivaldi - Seine Musik und sein Leben Vivaldi wurde 1678 in Venedig geboren. Sein Vater war Barbier und spielte im Orchester der Kathedrale von San Marco Violine. Sein Leben lang hatte Vivaldi gesundheitliche Probleme. Er litt an einer chronischen Krankheit, wahrscheinlich Herzschwäche oder einer Form von Asthma. Sein musikalisches Talent trat früh hervor. Schon als Kind sprang er gelegentlich im Orchester von San Marco für seinen Vater ein. Hier geriet er auch in den Zauberbann venezianischer Musik, die ihn später bei seinen eigenen Kompositionen so sehr beeinflussen sollte. Im Alter von 14 Jahren trat Vivaldi in die Priesterlaufbahn ein, für die ihn der Vater bestimmt hatte. Mit 25 wurde er zum Priester geweiht. Zu seinen Hauptpflichten gehörte das Zelebrieren der Messe, wobei er jedesmal fast eine Stunde lang singen musste. Wegen seiner Erkrankung gab er diese Tätigkeit nach einem Jahr wieder auf. Von weitaus größerem Interesse war für ihn seine Tätigkeit als Violin-Lehrer am Ospedale della Pietà in Venedig, in dem verwaiste und unehelich geborene Mädchen erzogen wurden. Vivaldi brachte ihnen das Geigenspiel bei. Er komponierte auch neue Stücke, die die Mädchen einmal die Woche bei ihren Konzerten vortrugen. Wahrscheinlich sicherte ihm seine Priesterwürde diese Tätigkeit, da man von einem Priester erwartete, dass er die Grenzen der Schicklichkeit wahrte. Vivaldi verbrachte 12 glückliche Jahre am Ospedale. Den jungen Mädchen gefiel seine galante, charmante Art, und da von Natur aus extrovertiert, genoss Vivaldi seinerseits die Aufmerksamkeit, die ihm entgegengebracht wurde. Der Spitzname "Roter Priester" passte nicht nur zu seiner Haarfarbe, sondern auch zu seinem sprühenden Temperament. Die Konzerte, bei denen er seine Kompositionen dirigierte, waren musikalische Höhepunkte im venezianischen Kulturleben. Kaum ein Besucher der Stadt ließ sich ein Vivaldi-Konzert entgehen. Während dieser Zeit wurde Vivaldi sich seines steigenden Ansehens bewusst und beschloss, daraus Kapital zu schlagen. Als erstes suchte er sich einen Verleger in Amsterdam, der über bessere Druckmöglichkeiten von Noten verfügte als die Venezianer. Das bedeutete: Er konnte seine Werke besser verkaufen und mehr Geld verdienen. Außerdem begann er, Opern zu schreiben. Seine erste Oper "Ottone in Villa" führte er 1713 auf. Schon bald komponierte er Opern für Theater-Direktoren im ganzen Nordosten Italiens. Die langen Abwesenheiten verärgerten seine Arbeitgeber am Ospedale. 1723 wurde ein Abkommen getroffen: Es gab Vivaldi die Freiheit, an Opern zu arbeiten, vorausgesetzt, er liefere in Venedig zwei Konzerte im Monat ab und überwache ihre Aufführungen. Vivaldi arbeitete schnell. Für ein Concerto brauchte er einen Tag, eine Oper schaffte er in einer Woche. Er verdiente viel Geld und gab viel aus. Deshalb sah er sich nach weiteren Verdienstquellen um und beschloss, dass es lukrativer sei, Abschriften der Noten direkt zu verkaufen, als über seinen Verleger. Als Preis berechnete er eine Guinee pro Concerto, umgerechnet etwa 150 Euro. Den Kirchenvätern wurde die allzu weltliche Einstellung Vivaldis bald suspekt. Als Priester wurde von ihm erwartet, in einem reinen Männerhaushalt zu leben. Seine Krankheit bot ihm den idealen Vorwand, eine Schwester zu seiner Pflege einzustellen. Außerdem machte er Anna Giraud, eine bekannte Sopranistin, und ihre Schwester zu seinen Begleiterinnen. Es gab Gerüchte, aber ein Verhältnis konnte ihm nicht nachgewiesen werden. 1737, im Zuge einer Kampagne gegen den Sittenverfall im Klerus, verbot ihm der Erzbischof von Ferrara, die Stadt zu betreten. Hier sollte er die musikalische Leitung während der Opernsaison innehaben. Als Gründe wurden Vivaldis Weigerung, die Messe zu zelebrieren, und seine Beziehung zu Anna Giraud angeführt. Der 59jährige bestritt jegliches unziemliche Verhalten und brachte zur Verteidigung seine Krankheit vor, ohne Erfolg. Von nun an nahm sein Ansehen rasch ab. Bis 1740 hatte sich der venezianische Geschmack geändert. Vivaldis Musik war aus der Mode gekommen. Er ging nach Wien in der Hoffnung, den österreichischen Kaiser für neue Aufträge zu gewinnen, erhielt aber kaum Beachtung. Alt und krank starb er am 28. Juli 1741 in Wien. Er hatte zuletzt in sehr ärmlichen Verhältnissen gelebt und wurde mit einem Armenbegräbnis beigesetzt. Trotz der überragenden Qualität seines Werkes - das über 450 Concerti und 45 Opern umfasst - und Vivaldis Bestrebungen, es zu verbreiten, wurde nur ein Bruchteil zu seinen Lebzeiten veröffentlicht. Die meisten Kompositionen wurden nach seinem Tod entdeckt, viele erst in den zwanziger Jahren dieses Jahrhunderts bekannt. Seine neue Herangehensweise an die Musik des Barock hat Vivaldi in einer Reihe glanzvoller Kompositionen bewiesen. Die heitere Lebhaftigkeit seiner Musik lässt das prächtige und schillernde Venedig des 18. Jahrhunderts wieder aufleben.

Richard Clayderman - Titanic Symphony (Live in Egypt 2016)


Richard Clayderman - Titanic Symphony (Live in Egypt 2016)
2,831,507 views  Jun 6, 2016  Richard Clayderman - Titanic Symphony | Chinese Garden (1998)
Composer: James Horner
Recorded at The Marquee, El Cairo Egypt
March 11 2016


Ennio Morricone - Cinema Paradiso (In Concerto - Venezia 10.11.07)

André Rieu - You'll Never Walk Alone

Sunday, August 28, 2022

Santana & Clapton - Jingo

Pianist in tears!!!. Most moving piano performance.

Julio Iglesias - Caruso

Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet - Joslin - Henri Mancini, Nino Rota

Very sad beautiful music! When angels cry! DJ Lava-Calling angel


Very sad beautiful music! When angels cry! DJ Lava-Calling angel
66,082,765 views  Jan 25, 2020  Looking at people, angels cry, because they are not available to what is available to us: a sense of the moment. Carlos Santana
.........................................................................
FROM the AUTHOR: Best Music Relax
I know that the world is complex and infinite... And when I get sad... anxiety creeps into my soul-I prefer beautiful sad music, because I know that when the heart cries, the soul is cleansed.
My friends, listen to this amazing melody from the composer DJ Lava - "Calling angel". This music is like an ocean that strikes us with its immense depth. At the hour of the rising sun, she sings an ode to the Earth, and at sunset-the sad music of separation. It is able to Wade into the most remote corners of our consciousness to awaken in it all the best, light and noble, thereby healing the wounded soul and dispelling all the pain and despair.

I WISH YOU ALL A WARM HEART,
ENJOY WATCHING AND RELAXING!

Friday, August 26, 2022

Pianists and Their Composers

Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas – Scaling the Pianistic Everest

Manuscript of Beethoven's Piano Sonata Op. 110

Manuscript of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata Op. 110

Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas are often referred to as the ‘New Testament’ of the pianist’s repertoire, and for many pianists they offer a remarkable, quasi-religious journey – physical, metaphorical and spiritual – through Beethoven’s creative life. This is truly “great” music, that which is endlessly fascinating and challenging, intriguing and enriching, and such is the popularity of this repertoire that you can guarantee that somewhere in the world right now there is a concert featuring these remarkable sonatas.

“There is something about the personality of Beethoven that is so overwhelming, and I think that the sonatas are the pieces that go the deepest, that show him at his most exploratory, his most inventive, and at his most spiritual.” –Jonathan Biss

Artur Schnabel

recordings of Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas

Artur Schnabel listening to a playback at a recording session

The first pianist to record the complete Beethoven piano sonatas in the 1930s, just a few years after electrical recording was invented, Schnabel set the standard by which all subsequent recordings was set, and his playing is acclaimed for its intelligence and insight, emotional depth and spiritual understanding of this music. So fine were his recordings that one critic described him as ‘the man who invented Beethoven’.


Daniel Barenboim

Daniel Barenboim

Daniel Barenboim © Peter Adamik

“I’ve known these works for many years….but whenever I go back to this music I find something new.”

Beethoven’s piano sonatas have followed Daniel Barenboim throughout his career, and such is his affection for this music he has recorded the complete piano sonatas five times, most recently during lockdown when, during this period of enforced isolation, he decided to approach the sonatas anew. His first recording was made in 1950s when he was a young man. It is perhaps an indication of the reverence with which this music is held, and its distinctive challenges, that Barenboim has made so many recordings of the sonatas. For him, this is music which has an infinite appeal, to be taken up by other pianists who follow him. 

Annie Fischer

Annie Fischer

Annie Fischer

It is interesting to note that few women pianists have recorded the complete Beethoven piano sonatas, Annie Fischer being an exception. The music of Beethoven was central to Fischer’s career and her recordings are still much admired, nearly 30 years after her death. Her style is unaffected and self-effacing, letting the music, and composer, speak, and her playing displays great nobility, elegance and humanity. Her recording of the complete piano sonatas is regarded as her greatest legacy. 

Igor Levit

Igor Levit

Igor Levit

“Beethoven’s music kind of creates this link between the player, the music, the audience. This triangle is enormously intense.” –Igor Levit in an interview with Jon Wertheim

Igor Levit released his first recording of Beethoven piano sonatas when he was just 26, an album which received huge acclaim for its intense expressivity and Levit’s mature approach balanced with a youthful ardour. He released his recording of the complete Beethoven sonatas in 2019.

In his performances of Beethoven, Levit produces a clear, lively and well-balanced sound, but he’s not afraid to roughen the edges of the music to create a more visceral impact. His concerts can be intense, almost uncompromising, but his Beethoven playing is some of the most exhilarating and adventurous to be enjoyed today.

Jonathan Biss

Jonathan Biss

Jonathan Biss

For American pianist Jonathan Biss, Beethoven has been a close companion throughout most of his life, and during the past 10 years he has fully immersed himself in Beethoven: he has recorded the complete piano sonatas, performed complete cycles around the world, and also teaches an in-depth online course about the sonatas which has attracted over 150,000 students globally.

“As individual works, each is endlessly compelling on its own merits; as a cycle, it moves from transcendence to transcendence, the basic concerns always the same, but the language impossibly varied”

Biss is a “thinking pianist”, with an acute intellectual curiosity and an ability to articulate the exigencies of learning, maintaining and performing this music. His Beethoven playing has long-spun melodic lines, well-balanced harmonies, taut, driving rhythms, rumbling tremolandos, dramatic fermatas, carefully-considered voicing, subito dynamic swerves, and colourful orchestration. It is not to everyone’s taste, but his performances can be vivid, edge-of-the-seat experiences which reveal how Beethoven took the genre to the furthest reaches of what was possible, compositionally and emotionally.