21 - György Ligeti, pt. 3 "Through the Looking Glass"
The Great Composers Podcast - a classical music podcastShow Notes
Ep. 21 - "Through the Looking Glass" --- Its 1974, and the great composers of the Western avant-garde continue to drift ever further apart. Stockhausen tours the globe and dreams of a life among the stars, Boulez becomes a world-renowned conductor, John Cage adds to his growing list of artistic pursuits, and György Ligeti settles down to a life as a teacher and begins planning his next moves as a composer. Much more composing and much more life is to come. We see Ligeti through dry spells and periods of great productivity. We see him deal with life and death in his own way. Then we see him to the end of his life, which ended much differently than it began. Please rate, review, and subscribe on iTunes! Like our Facebook page too! https://www.facebook.com/thegreatcomposerspodcast/ www.kevinnordstrom.com All music heard in this episode is by Ligeti unless otherwise noted. Most are short clips of the larger work. Please listen to the complete works (especially the the piano etudes and Hamburg Concerto!) after the episode. San Francisco Polyphony Tierkreis (Verison for clarinet, flute, trumpet, and piano)- K. Stockhausen Pli Selon Pli, Don - Pierre Boulez Music for Five - John Cage Hungarian Rock for Harpsichord "Overture" to Le Grand Macabre Monument, from "Three Pieces for Two Pianos" Horn Trio mvt. 2 Vivace molto ritmico Study for player piano no. 9 - Conlon Nancarrow Etude no. 13 L'esceliere du diable (The Devil's Staircase) Sonata for Viola Solo - Kevin Nordstrom, viola - mvt. 2 "Loop" - mvt. 5 "Lamento" - mvt. 6 "Chaccone Chromatique" All materials used in this episode are meant for educational purposes only. Thank you for listening! ---------------- For all things GCP Please rate, review, and subscribe on iTunes! The App! https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-great-composers-the-gcp/id1465809545?fbclid=IwAR0tQTElluT8I3jn6SYFcQst70IY0Ym52LjEz1Z3DR11oq5ZGDLV_URNyHk&ls=1 Like our Facebook page! https://www.facebook.com/thegreatcomposerspodcast/ A complete bibliography for all episodes can be found on my website: www.kevinnordstrom.com
More from The Great Composers Podcast - a classical music podcast
Brahms pt. 15b: we detail the course of the Brahms-Joachim relationship as they return to something like their former friendly relations and see how is other friendships and partnerships evolve, disolve, change and mature as we reach the year 1887. Works heard in this episode in order (all by Brahms): Tafellied op. 93b Der Tod, das ist die kühle Nacht op. 96 no. 1 Wir wandelten op. 96 no. 2 Nachtigall op. 97 no. 1 arr. for viola and piano by...me (viola) Symphony no. 4 in E minor, mvt. 1 Allegro non troppo Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major, op. 100, Allegro amabile Allegretto grazioso
Brahms pt. 15a: we return to the life narrative of our great composer, picking up where we left him in the summer of 1879 adding the finishing touches to his D major violin concerto which he had written for and with the advice of his great friend, Joseph Joachim. This was the high point of their friendship and musical partnership; but for how long would the happy feelings last, and if they didn't, how long would it take Brahms to reclaim them?
In Brahms pt. 14 our pause in the narrative continues as we study the greatest of all violin concertos, that by Johannes Brahms. We will analyze the relationship between Brahms and the work's first, possibly finest performer Joseph Joachim, putting the concerto in the context of his performing life and in relation to other works in the genre. We conclude with a discussion of cadenza's, but Joachim and others, which happily allows us to revisit Fritz Kreisler, seeing how his life intersects with Joachim's and Brahms's, and discuss another of my heroes: the violinist Jascha Heifetz. Works heard in this episode in order (all by Brahms): -Concerto in D major for Violin and Orchestra, op. 77 Unmarked recording from Musopen's "European Archive" (possibly Jacques Thibaud...) 1. Allegro non troppo 2. Adagio 3. Allegretto giocoso, ma non troppo vivace https://musopen.org/music/2130-violin-concerto-in-d-major-op-77/ -----------------
In Brahms pt. 13 we pause the narrative and retrace our steps to spend some more time with the Second Symphony. A brief discussion of the symphony and an analysis of its motives will be presented, including excerpts from it and a complete recording by the Musopen Symphony. Works heard in this episode in order (all by Brahms): -Symphony no. 2 in D major op. 73 Multiple excerpts recorded by Chang Ji, violin and Kevin Nordstrom, viola 1. Allegro non troppo 2. Adagio non troppo 3. Allegretto grazioso 4. Allegro con spirito Musopen Symphony https://musopen.org/music/65-symphony-no-2-in-d-major-op-73/ -----------------
Pt. 12: It is early November 1876 and Brahms is in the audience as the orchestra at Carlsruhe premieres his first symphony in C minor. The concert goes better than expected and riding high on his success, Brahms performs the symphony many more times elsewhere. Its positive reception gladdened his heart and he quickly produced another symphony to celebrate, then a series of other wonderful works including the first violin sonata in G major, and the monumental violin concerto for Joseph Joachim. Works heard in this episode in order (all by Brahms): -Symphony no. 2 in D major op. 73, mvt. 3 Allegretto grazioso -Capriccio in B minor op. 76, no. 2, Luis Sarro, piano, https://musopen.org/music/2037-8-piano-pieces-op-76/ -Sonata in G major, op. 78, mvts. 2, 3, Chang Ji (Mrs. the GCP), violin and Haeri Su, Piano -----------------