This morning, the world–renowned conductor of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 in D Major is Herbert Blomstedt (1927- ). I first encountered Maestro Blomstedt when I listened to the complete works of Beethoven a few years ago. The label then, as it is this morning, is Brilliant Classics, one of the best in the world if … [Read more…]
This morning, my office is Spyro’s restaurant, which bills itself as “Fort Wayne’s Breakfast Eggsperts!” The coffee is good. The Irish Skillet is wonderful. And the biscuits and gravy were better than I expected. The only downside is I’m using my iPhone’s Personal Hotspot setting as my WiFi connection. This restaurant doesn’t offer WiFi to … [Read more…]
Okay. I’ll be honest. I have a soft spot in my heart for Argentine conductor Daniel Barenboim (1942- ). And Staatskapelle_Berlin. My wife and I saw both and in person at Carnegie Hall on Saturday, January 28, 2017. The performance was Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8. It was a night we’ll never forget. Anyway, I … [Read more…]
This morning, Day 19 of my exploration of Beethoven’s symphonies, starts a new chapter: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, which was composed between 1801 and 1802. So here I sit at New Beginnings restaurant, listening to Beethoven’s composition while (or whilst if you’re British) I eat a Mexican chicken omelette complete with jalapenos and … [Read more…]
This morning (Day 18, and the last day of the first leg of my journey) represents a bunch of firsts for me, to wit: I’d never heard anything conducted by David Zinman. I’d never heard the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich perform. I’d never heard of an Urtext edition. I’d never heard of the Arte Nova Classics … [Read more…]
This morning (Day 17 of my 18-day exploration of Beethoven’s First), under storm-threatening skies, I sit once again at Panera Restaurant – a place to which I keep swearing I’ll never return, although the reasons why seem to escape me at the moment. Sloppy service, so-so food, and a Light Roast coffee pot that seems … [Read more…]
This morning’s performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 will introduce me to conductor George Szell (1897-1970) and The Cleveland Orchestra, which means today’s recording is the first I’m hearing by an American orchestra. Frankly, I didn’t know Cleveland even had an orchestra, let alone a great one. Yet, according to its bio on Wikipedia: The … [Read more…]
This morning’s conductor of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 in C Major is Liverpool-born conductor Simon Rattle (1955- ) working his magic with the Weiner Philharmoniker. Warner Classics is the record label. At 63, Rattle might very well be the youngest conductor to which I’ll listen during my exploration of Beethoven’s nine symphonic works. He was … [Read more…]
This morning’s conductor of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 in C Major is a fellow I had never heard of before, Frenchman (Pierre Monteux), on an Italian record label I’d never heard of before (Memories Reverence). And those two reasons are precisely why I chose this no-frills box set. And I do mean no frills. There … [Read more…]
As with Otto Klemperer, I first encountered German conductor Franz Konwitschny when I explored the symphonic works of Anton Bruckner a year or two ago (see My Year-Long Project for details about my musical explorations, including Anton Bruckner). The orchestra for today’s recording is the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Wikipedia entry for which tells us … [Read more…]