Classical Sunday: Furtwängler conducts Brahms in Hamburg

Brahms – Symphony No.1 (recording of the Century : Wilhelm Furtwängler 1951)

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

Symphonie No.1 Opus 68 / Ut mineur

1 – Un poco sostenuto – allegro (00:00)
2 – Andante sostenuto (14:56)
3 – Un poco allegretto e grazioso (25:03)
4 – Adagio, più andante – allegro non troppo ma con brio, più allegro (30:18)

Sinfonieorchester des Norddeutschen Rundfunks
Wilhelm Furtwängler
Live performance in 1951 (Hamburg)

Wilhelm Furtwängler is probably a name that you have heard before.  They say that this recording is Furtwängler’s most fantastic performance of this symphony, which he conducted many times.  How fitting, since he was performing in Johannes Brahms’ town of birth, Hamburg.

Enjoy!

Classical Sunday: Winter in Music

Winter in music : Classical Music for Winter

Vivaldi — Sinfonia RV 121 Adagio (00:00)
Brahms — Tragica Ouverture in D minor op. 81 (00:55)
Mozart — Eine Kleine Nachtmusik K 525 II mov (15:00)
Beethoven — Concerto for Pianoforte and Orchestra No. 3 in C minor I mov (21:32)
Bach – Suite No 2 BWV 1067 Rondo (38:09)
Boito — Symphony in A (39:33)

Classical Sunday: Scary Hodge-Podge

Believe it or not, people have put up “scary classical music compilations”, and we picked one from a channel we frequently refer to.

So this week, rather than listening to one nice tragic requiem for the occasion, you will hear a snipped from many (refer to list below).

Wishing you all a decently spooky Allhallowtide!

Halloween or Hallowe’en is a celebration observed in a number of countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows’ Day.  It begins the three-day observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed.

SCARY DARK CLASSICAL MUSIC

• 00:00 MOZART – Requiem, K. 626: Sequentia. Dies Irae (Harmonia Cantata & Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina cond. by Giuseppe Lanzetta)
• 01:38 PROKOFIEV – Suite No. 1 from Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64bis: No. 6, Death of Tybalt
• 06:07 LITVINOVSKY – Suite for String Orchestra «Le Grand Cahier»: II. Les Alertes (Metamorphose String Orchestra cond. by Pavel Lyubomudrov)
• 08:16 BRAHMS – Tragische Ouvertüre, Op. 81 (Olsztyn Philharmonic Orchestra cond. by Marek Tracz)
• 22:20 MOZART – Requiem, K. 626: Sequentia. Confutatis & Lacrimosa (Harmonia Cantata & Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina cond. by Giuseppe Lanzetta)
• 27:54 CHERUBINI – Marcia Funebre (International Symphonic Orchestra cond. by Silvano Frontalini)
• 34:07 LITVINOVSKY – Suite for String Orchestra «Le Grand Cahier»: X. L’Incendie (Metamorphose String Orchestra cond. by Pavel Lyubomudrov)
• 36:25 MOZART – Masonic Funeral Music in C minor, K. 477 (International Symphonic Orchestra cond. by Silvano Frontalini)
• 42:35 CAGGIANO – La Tomba del Busento (Symphonic Poem) (Slupsk National Orchestra cond. by Silvano Frontalini)
• 57:58 BEETHOVEN – Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92: II. Allegretto (Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina cond. by Giuseppe Lanzetta)
• 01:06:56 TCHAIKOVSKY – Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a: No. 2d, Arabian Dance (Donetsk Symphonic Orchestra cond. by Silvano Frontalini)
• 01:10:32 CHOPIN – Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 35: III. Marche funèbre
  (Giovanni Umberto Battel)
• BOCCHERINI – Sinfonia in D Minor «La Casa del Diavolo» (The Devil’s House)
  01:19:58 I. Andante sostenuto – Allegro assai
  01:25:28 II. Andantino con moto
  01:28:10 III. Andante sostenuto
  (I Virtuosi del Teatro alla Scala)
• 01:33:47 MAHLER – Symphony No. 1 in D Major «Titan»: IV. Stürmisch bewegt
  (Volgograd Philharmonic Orchestra cond. by Silvano Frontalini)

 

 

Classical Sunday: Brahms’ Double Concert in A Minor

Johannes Brahms:
Doppekonzert fuer Violine, Violoncello und Orchester A-Moll Op. 102

Anne-Sophie Mutter und Maximilian Hornung mit dem Symphonieorchester des Bayrischen Rundfunks, Dirigent: Mariss Jansons.

 

Ist auf Deinem Psalter…

50 years ago today, on Dec 30th, 1967, my father passed away.  Got to wonder if it was a death or a birth, after all…

The above was played at his funeral, per special request: Brahms’s Alto Rhapsody, Op. 53.
The text is the German poem Harzreise im Winter, by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Here is what she sings:

Aber abseits wer ist’s?
Im Gebüsch verliert sich sein Pfad.
Hinter ihm schlagen
Die Sträuche zusammen,
Das Gras steht wieder auf,
Die Öde verschlingt ihn.

Ach, wer heilet die Schmerzen
Des, dem Balsam zu Gift ward?
Der sich Menschenhass
Aus der Fülle der Liebe trank?

Erst verachtet, nun ein Verächter,
Zehrt er heimlich auf
Seinen eig’nen Wert
In ungenügender Selbstsucht.

Ist auf deinem Psalter,
Vater der Liebe, ein Ton
Seinem Ohre vernehmlich,
So erquicke sein Herz!

Öffne den umwölkten Blick
Über die tausend Quellen
Neben dem Durstenden
In der Wüste!

Classical Sunday: Johannes Brahms’ Hungarian Dances

Hannes ended up in Vienna, Austria, but he was born in Hamburg, Germany.  Surely you know some of these melodies from the hand of one of the Three B’s of Classical Music…

More about Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897) at JohannesBrahms.org.