Classical Essentials

Gergiev and Vienna Philarmonic play The Firebird by Stravinsky

YouTube Video: http://youtu.be/IDod49LLhD8

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/debussy-nature-myth-legend/id716186796
http://cdbaby.com/halfreedman4
   This is No.1 from the suite of pieces for piano entitled 'Children's  Corner' by Claude Debussy. Debussy wrote them for his little daughter, nicknamed 'Chouchou' (little pet in French.)According to Debussy's friend and biographer, E. Robert Schmitz, the pieces are about the joy the the little girl received from the toys her Father bought her. This first piece of the suite, 'Gradus ad Parnassum' is a reference to Debussy's own childhood. It is a parody of an execise from the famous and monumental piano exercise method book by Clementi, 'Gradus ad Parnassum"(translation: 'steps to Parnassus') which Debussy was no doubt forced to practice as a child!











Debussy-Nature Myth Legend

Children's Corner, L. 113: I. Gradus ad Parnassum

'Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum' from "Children's Corner" by Debussy

Jean Sibelius. Valse Triste From Kuolema. Op.44 No.1

Released 4th May - Preorder 'Live in Riga' http://thomasgould.bandcamp.com/

THOMAS GOULD Live in Riga
Sinfonietta Riga

1-3 VIOLIN CONCERTO IN D, OP. 61 - LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN 
I. Allegro ma non troppo 
II. Larghetto 
III. Rondo (Allegro)

4 THE LARK ASCENDING - RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

‘Violinist Thomas Gould is one of a new generation of classical musicians who refuses to be defined by a single genre’. GUARDIAN

‘One of the most talented and charismatic British violinists of the younger generation’. LONDON EVENING STANDARD

‘The young British violinist Thomas Gould seems intent on becoming the Nigel Kennedy of his generation… Scythingly scintillating playing from a young virtuoso with a magpie mind’. THE TIMES

‘Live in Riga’ is the major new album from the celebrated 31 year old British violinist Thomas Gould.  Recorded live in concert with Sinfonietta Riga on April 11th 2014 at the Great Guild Hall in Riga, Latvia, it confirms Gould’s enormous potential as one of the most inventive and colourful instrumentalists of his generation.  Gould is no ordinary classical musician but one of a new generation who refuse to be defined by a single genre.  He has developed impressive jazz credentials, but it is in this environment as soloist/director of classical repertoire where he really excels.  The Times recently described Gould as “intent on becoming the Nigel Kennedy of his generation”.  Gould, however, is incomparably his own musician.  Bold and courageous enough to forge his own path and follow his singular vision, he steps outside the footsteps of the greats.

‘Live in Riga’ is a defining album for Gould, his first disc of a three-album deal with forward-thinking British jazz and classical record label Edition Classics.  Over the last decade he has been in demand as a soloist with major orchestras worldwide, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra and LA Phil New Music Group.  He is also much in demand as a leader/director, working with Britten Sinfonia, Aurora Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s ACO2, but it’s when he brings these disciplines together that the magic happens.  As Gould explains, “It means that everyone plays in a more engaged way. There is a group commitment to making it work, so the process is much more collaborative than when working with conductor.”

Sinfonietta Riga is an orchestra with a story to tell.  Formed in 2006, their vision is as bold as Gould’s.  Equally happy to play in concert dress or T-shirts they are intent on building new audiences for the music while reaching for the highest artistic standards.  Their collaboration is a perfect match and a unique experience for both the orchestra and for Gould.  This live concert recording bears witness to this special musical symbiosis.

To release an album featuring Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending is a bold decision.  As two cornerstones of the violin repertoire, there are plenty of performances to compare, but Gould’s versions demonstrate a brilliance of tone and colour that demands attention.  His flexibility and breadth of musical interests is fully evident.  Gould’s playing has the clarity you would expect from any major performer but radiates a freedom in its expression as though improvised with an immediate elegance and poise.

For Gould it’s all about achieving the right balance.  Whether it’s jazz or classical, written or improvised, as soloist or director, Gould is right in the eye of the storm.  If the dark clouds gathering in the wider music world imply that the days of the single-minded virtuoso are coming to an end; if to succeed in that brave new world we need to attract more diversity and brighter colours, then in Thomas Gould we may have found the lightning conductor to spark a new generation.


THOMAS GOULD Vaughan Williams - The Lark Ascending

Etude No. 2 - Philip Glass

Johann Sebastian Bach - Aria Da Capo,  Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (Fine Classical Music)

Hey 👋 Making classical music is thirsty work, I could sure use a beer right now! Buy me a pint if you can! Cheers!

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🍺 Buy me a Beer! 🍺

Audius

Piano Sonata No.15 in F-Major, K. 533: III. Rondo Allegretto

I Surrender All

Jacqueline Du Pré, Saint - Saëns - Allegro Appassionato Op.43.

01 Oscar

The black black waters
Black waters of home
Where rocks bathe treacherous
In the sun

In kindred silence
The forest suffocates the path
Climb darkling chasms
To dawn at last

She falls down the mountain
Down the mountain when she comes
And down down sinking
She pulls the sun

Wooden Arms - Cole Porter

Ward, Tanisha, "September," Richard Strauss, Vier Letzte Lieder

Cover of Paris Texas (Ry Cooder).

JEROME PIETRI Little Blues Story (album)

Des rives du Mississippi au Delta Blues, Jérôme Pietri parcours en musique la « petite » histoire du Blues au travers de ses instruments (Dobro, Weissenborn…) et de ses anecdotes. Des racines du Blues au Rock d’aujourd’hui et seul sur scène, ce guitariste émérite nous fait partager sa passion pour la musique du diable.

"You are dynamite!" said Calvin Russell himself, after a 
particularly awe-inspiring show.
Part bluesmen, part rockers, that's JEROME PIETRI


Paris Texas

't Muziek Frascati - Lettres Oubliées
1 december 2009,
Schouwburg Leuven

http://www.tmuziekfrascati.be/concert/6

Pelléas et Mélisande - Sicilienne (Gabriel Fauré)

Maurice Ravel - Sonatine (mvnt. I)

Musicologist/Sound Researcher/Artist/Foodie/Cat Lover/Life Enthusiast

Etude No. 2 - Philip Glass

Jon McSpadden

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