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Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Top 25 Most Famous Classical Music of All Time


Enjoy this video showing the 25 most famous classical music pieces ranked by views on a single YouTube video! 0:00 25th Place: George Frideric Handel - Hallelujah, 1741 0:32 24th Place: Johann Sebastian Bach - Cello Suite No. 1, I. Prélude, 1717-1723 1:05 23th Place: Franz Liszt - Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, 1847 1:42 22th Place: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Waltz of the Flowers, 1892 2:37 21th Place: Ludwig van Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata, III. Presto agitato, 1801 2:59 20th Place: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 21, II. Andante, 1785 3:47 19th Place: Antonio Vivaldi - The Four Seasons, IV. Winter, 1716-1725 4:38 18th Place: Franz Schubert - Schwanengesang, IV. Ständchen, 1828 5:41 17th Place: Camille Saint-Saëns - Danse macabre, 1874 6:19 16th Place: Maurice Ravel - Boléro, 1928 7:12 15th Place: Franz Schubert - Ave Maria, 1825 7:49 14th Place: Johann Sebastian Bach - Air, 1731 8:45 13th Place: Johannes Brahms - Lullaby, 1867-1868 9:40 12th Place: Ludwig van Beethoven - Für Elise, 1810 10:25 11th Place: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Rondo Alla Turca, 1783 10:58 10th Place: Giacomo Puccini - O Mio Babbino Caro, 1918 12:06 9th Place: Johann Strauss II - The Blue Danube, 1866 12:55 8th Place: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Lacrimosa, 1791 13:51 7th Place: Claude Debussy - Clair de lune, 1890-1905 14:26 6th Place: Ludwig van Beethoven - Ode to Joy, 1822-1824 15:02 5th Place: Ludwig van Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata, I. Adagio sostenuto, 1801 15:46 4th Place: Johann Pachelbel - Canon in D, 1680 16:38 3rd Place: Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony No.5, I. Allegro con brio, 1804-1808 17:04 2nd Place: Giacomo Puccini - Nessun Dorma, 1924 17:55 1st Place: Frédéric Chopin - Nocturne, Op.9, No.2, 1830-1831

Joseph Joachim: Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major


Joseph Joachim (1831-1907) Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major (1875) I. Allegro non troppo 0:00 II. Andante 16:36 III. Allegro giocoso ed energico, ma non troppo vivace 25:18 Takako Nishizaki, violin Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra Meir Minsky, conductor Joseph Joachim (28 June 1831 – 15 August 1907) was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, composer and violin teacher. Joachim was born in Kittsee, near Bratislava and Eisenstadt, in what is today's Burgenland area of Austria. In 1833 his family moved to Pest, where he studied violin with Stanisław Serwaczyński, the concertmaster of the opera in Pest. In 1839, Joachim continued his studies at the Vienna Conservatory. He was taken by his cousin, Fanny Wittgenstein to live and study in Leipzig, where he became a protégé of Felix Mendelssohn. On 27 May 1844 Joachim, at age not quite 13, in his London Philharmonic debut with Mendelssohn conducting, played the solo part in Beethoven's violin concerto. This was a triumph in several respects. Despite Beethoven's recognition as one of the greatest composers, and the ranking nowadays of his violin concerto as among the greatest few, it was far from being so ranked before Joachim's performance. But Joachim was very well prepared to play Beethoven's concerto, having written his own cadenzas for it and memorized the piece. Joachim's performance helped establish the Beethoven concerto as a pinnacle of the literature and made him popular in England for the rest of his long career. Following Mendelssohn's death in 1847, Joachim stayed briefly in Leipzig, teaching at the Conservatorium and playing on the first desk of the Gewandhaus Orchestra with Ferdinand David. In 1848, Franz Liszt took up residence in Weimar, determined to re-establish the town's reputation as the Athens of Germany. There, he gathered a circle of young avant-garde disciples, vocally opposed to the conservatism of the Leipzig circle. Joachim was amongst the first of these. He served Liszt as concertmaster, and for several years enthusiastically embraced the new "psychological music," as he called it. In 1852 he moved to Hanover, at the same time dissociating himself from the musical ideals of the 'New German School' (Liszt, Richard Wagner, Hector Berlioz, and their followers, as defined by journalist Franz Brendel). In 1853, Joachim met the then publicly unknown 20-year-old Brahms, was highly impressed by him, and gave him a letter of recommendation to Robert Schumann. Brahms was received by Schumann and his wife Clara with great enthusiasm. After Robert's mental breakdown in 1854 and death in 1856, Joachim, Clara, and Brahms remained lifelong friends and shared musical views. Joachim's time in Hanover was his most prolific period of composition. Then and during the rest of his career, he frequently performed with Clara Schumann. On 10 May 1863 Joachim married the contralto Amalie Schneeweiss (stage name: Amalie Weiss) (1839–99). In 1866, Joachim moved to Berlin, where he was invited to help found a new department of the Royal Academy of Music. There he became the director of the Hochschule für ausübende Tonkunst, or High School for Musical Performance. In 1884, Joachim and his wife separated after he became convinced that she was having an affair with the publisher Fritz Simrock. Brahms, certain that Joachim's suspicions were groundless, wrote a sympathetic letter to Amalie, which she later produced as evidence in Joachim's divorce proceeding against her. This led to a cooling of Brahms and Joachim's friendship, which was not restored until some years later, when Brahms composed the Double Concerto in A minor for violin and cello, Op. 102, as a peace offering to his old friend. It was co-dedicated to the first performers, Joachim and cellist Robert Hausmann. In late 1895 both Brahms and Joachim were present at the opening of the new Tonhalle at Zurich, Switzerland; Brahms conducted and Joachim was assistant conductor. But in April, two years later, Joachim was to lose forever this revered friend, as Johannes Brahms died at the age of 64 at Vienna. At Meiningen, in December 1899, it was Joachim who made the speech when a statue to Brahms was unveiled. Joachim remained in Berlin until his death in 1907.

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Charles Aznavour - his music and his life


 

Struggle, hard times and heartbreak are often regarded as key components in artistic success stories. Paying the dues, so to speak, which suggests hardship, helps mold the artist, according to the old adage. And so it was with Charles Aznavour, a wisp of a man, of hoarse voice, and what ultimately proved to be immense songwriting skills.


The writer of a major catalog of songs, many with a flavor of "A sadness and melancholy, was a child of humble beginnings. He was born Varenegh Aznavourian in May 1924 in Paris, while his parents awaited a visa to the United States. His legacy was strictly musical. His father was an opera singer, and his mother an operetta "Soubrette," both of them Armenian, who were in France having fled massacres in Turkey.


While Charles and his sister Aida were raised in what was described as "an atmosphere bathed in music and poetry," grinding poverty in the immediate post-war world in France was a daily fact of life. The brother and sister were forced to abandon schooling to accept paying jobs playing children's roles in neighborhood theaters and singing in cafes. During one of these assignments, Charles first heard a recording by the immortal Maurice Chevalier, which made him think to himself, "I too will be a singer."


During World War II, as nominal head of the family (his father had joined the French army), Charles worked as a news vendor and later, as sales fell off, a black market operator. During the War too, Charles teamed up with Pierre Roche as a performing duo and finally, faced with a severe shortage of songs, he began writing them himself. Later offered a writing contract by Charles Trenet's music publisher, Raoul Breton, his new and unique style was to produce great demand for his work from such artists as Gilbert Becaud, Juliette Greco and Edith Piaf, among others.


While a following developed for his songs, his efforts at a solo performing career were riddled with failure. Critics greeted him with derision, but he was encouraged by Trenet and later by the great Piaf herself, who had told him, "You will make it."


And at age 30, it indeed began to happen. After several fruitful appearances abroad, a performance at the Moulin Rouge in Paris brought the house down. "Aznavour has changed," heralded his one-time detractors. "It isn't Aznavour who has changed," said the music publisher, Raoul Breton, "It's YOU."


Following a 1955 appearance at Bruno Coquatrix's famed Olympia in Paris, he scored his very first major song hit, "Sur ma vie," and at last the name Aznavour and his songs became recognizable entities on the radio.


From there, Aznavour never looked back. The hollow cheeks, slight build and rasping voice, were seen at last, not as a handicap, but as an indispensable trademark, and his songs with their gritty descriptions of everyday emotional drama and trauma, really hit home. And the list is legend..."Yesterday When I Was Young," "It Will Be My Day," "The Wine of Youth," "You've Got To Learn," "And I In My Chair," "You've Let Yourself Go," "Happy Anniversary" and "The Old Fashioned Way" are just a few.


Later, as his popularity began to reach beyond the borders of France, he took the trouble of learning many new languages before going on tour in their respective countries, on the theory that audiences would be far more receptive if they could actually understand the lyrics. In the years since, he has taken his shows successfully to Spain, Portugal, Angola, The West Indies, Morocco, South America and ultimately to Canada and the United States, as well as the United Kingdom. In 1993, he toured with Liza Minnelli throughout Europe and the United States, including a legendary performance at New York's Carnegie Hall.


Along the way, he has also been acclaimed for his acting in more than 60 motion pictures. First and foremost, however, Aznavour, will always be regarded as one of France's great songwriters and musical performers, taking his rightful place with Chevalier and Piaf as one of the most acclaimed French artists in the United States, and yes, the entire world as well.



Charles Aznavour-Yesterday When I was Young (lyrics)



Bizet - L'Arlésienne Suite No. 1 & Suite No. 2 / Nathalie Stutzmann


Georges Bizet: L'Arlésienne Suite No. 1 & Suite No. 2 / Nathalie Stutzmann, conductor · @RoyalStockholmPhil / Recorded at Stockholm Concert Hall, October 2014.

Renée Fleming: Casta Diva (Bellini)


Renée Fleming - America's Queen of Opera performs in the Palaces of the Czars in Saint Petersburg.

OPERA PLANET Anna Netrebko Elīna Garanča Mira O Norma 4K ULTRA HD


===🔥🌎Opera Planet🌍🔥===
Anna Netrebko Elīna Garanča Анна Нетребко 
Remastered in 4K ULTRA HD Hi-Resolution
"Mira O Norma Si, Fino All'ore Estreme"
Opera : " Norma " by Vincenzo Bellini 

Monday, February 19, 2024

Luigi Arditi - his music and his life


Luigi Arditi (16 July 1822 – 1 May 1903) was an Italian violinist, composer and conductor.


Life

Arditi was born in Crescentino, Piemonte (Italy). He began his musical career as a violinist, and studied music at the Milan Conservatory under Bernardo Ferrara (violin) and Nicola Vaccai (composition). He made his debut in 1843 as a director at Vercelli, and it was there that he was made an honorary member of the Philharmonic Academy. Arditi conducted opera throughout Italy and in 1846 found himself conducting as far afield as Havana, Cuba. (This was where he first met Giovanni Bottesini.) He visited America, where he remained for a while, conducting operas in New York, Philadelphia and other cities with the Max Maretzek Italian Opera Company until 1856. Then, following a visit to Constantinople, he decided to settle in London, but made several trips again to America with the Royal Italian Opera Company. He also conducted in Germany, and in other major European cities such as St. Petersburg, Vienna and Madrid. After 1885, he was in England, conducting at Covent Garden and in various prestigious theatres and promenade concerts in London's parks.


He died at Hove, near Brighton (England); he is buried in Hove Cemetery.


Works

Arditi's best-known operas are: I Briganti, II Corsaro, and La Spia, ("The Spy"). In addition he wrote numerous songs and vocal waltzes, the most popular of which are "Il Bacio" ("The Kiss", dedicated to Marietta Piccolomini, to a text specially written by baritone Gottardo Aldighieri), "Le Tortorelle" ("The Doves", dedicated to Etelka Gerster), "Se Saran Rose" ("Rosebuds", also titled in English "Love in Springtime", dedicated to Adelina Patti), and "Parla" ("Speak!").


His Inno Turco (1856) for Sultan Abdülmecid I set to a Turkish text was later sung in London during the state visit of Sultan Abdülaziz at Crystal Palace by a British choir of 1600 in July 1867. The world premiere recording of Inno Turco, by Turkish music historian Dr Emre Araci with the Prague Symphony Orchestra and Philharmonic Choir, was released in 2005 by the Brilliant Classics label.

Olga Peretyatko✮♫ "Il bacio"/The Kiss Waltz von Luigi Arditi


Olga Peretyatko singt "Il bacio"/Der Kusswaltzer von Luigi Arditi. Neujahrskonzert Baden Baden, SWR Orchester, Conductor: François-Xavier Roth.

Sunday, February 18, 2024

If you think that Classical Music is boring, listen to this


Piece Name: Liszt's Trascendental Etude no 8 "Wilde Jadg" Pianist Name: Yunchan Lim

Vienna Opera Ball 2024 - Full performance



The Best of Haydn



THE BEST OF HAYDN 1. Symphony no. 45 in F# min (Farewell) - I. Allegro Assai 2. Symphony no. 45 in F# min (Farewell) - II. Adagio 5:51 3. Symphony no. 45 in F# min (Farewell) - III. Minuetto 14:34 4. Symphony no. 45 in F# min (Farewell) - IV. Finale 18:40 5. Symphony no. 46 in B major - I. Vivace 26:21 6. Symphony no. 46 in B major - II. Poco Adagio 35:12 7. Symphony no. 46 in B major - III. Allegretto 40:59 8. Symphony no. 46 in B major - IV. Presto e scherzando 43:54 9. Symphony no. 48 in C major (Maria Theresia) - I. Allegro 48:13 10. Symphony no. 48 in C major (Maria Theresia) - II. Adagio 54:29 11. Symphony no. 48 in C major (Maria Theresia) - III. Minuetto 1:06:07 12. Symphony no. 48 in C major (Maria Theresia) - IV. Allegro 1:11:16 13. Symphony no. 49 in F minor (La Passione) - I. Adagio 1:14:35 14. Symphony no. 49 in F minor (La Passione) - II. Adagio 1:22:50 15. Symphony no. 49 in F minor (La Passione) - III. Minuetto 1:28:00 16. Symphony no. 49 in F Minor (La Passione) - IV. Presto 1:32:26 17. String Quartet No. 3 in C, Op. 76 (Emperor) - I. Allegro 1:35:57 18. String Quartet No. 3 in C, Op. 76 (Emperor) - II. Poco adagio 1:41:24 19. String Quartet No. 3 in C, Op. 76 (Emperor) - III. Minuetto 1:49:40 20. String Quartet No. 3 in C, Op. 76 (Emperor) - IV. Finale 1:54:37 21. Minuetto I Trio 1:59:03 22. Minuetto II 2:00:56

Saturday, February 17, 2024

Max Fiedler and the Berlin State Opera Orchestra play Brahms's Symphony ...


Johannes Brahms. Symphony no. 4 in E minor, op. 98. Orchester der Berliner Staatsoper; Max Fiedler, conductor. Recorded in 1930. I. Allegro non troppo (0:00) II. Andante moderato (12:32) III. Allegro giocoso - Poco meno presto (24:33) IV Allegro energico e passionato (30:52)

Friday, February 16, 2024

Yuja Wang performs Michael Tilson Thomas's "You Come Here Often?"