Based on real events after the Soviet occupation of Berlin (1945).
Friday, October 3, 2025
Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Ravel: Complete Piano Works | François Dumont, piano
Miroirs, M. 43:
00:00:00 I. Noctuelles
00:04:32 II. Oiseaux tristes
00:09:15 III. Une barque sur l'océan
00:16:28 IV. Alborada del gracioso
00:22:50 V. La vallée des cloches
Sonatine, M. 40:
00:29:07 I. Modéré
00:33:11 II. Mouvement de menuet
00:36:12 III. Animé
00:39:57 Menuet in C-Sharp Minor, M. 42
00:40:53 Menuet antique in F-Sharp Minor, M. 7
00:46:46 Menuet sur le nom de Haydn in G Major, M. 58
Le tombeau de Couperin, M. 68:
00:48:39 I. Prélude
00:51:45 II. Fugue
00:55:05 III. Forlane
01:00:39 IV. Rigaudon
01:03:54 V. Menuet
01:08:58 VI. Toccata
01:12:55 Prélude, M. 65
Gaspard de la nuit, M. 55:
01:14:23 I. Ondine
01:21:08 II. Le gibet
01:28:01 III. Scarbo
01:37:10 A la manière de... Emmanuel Chabrier in C Major, M. 63/2
01:38:59 A la manière de... Borodine in D-Flat Major, M. 63/1: I. Valse
01:40:42 Jeux d'eau in E Major, M. 30
01:46:14 Sérénade grotesque
01:49:41 La parade, M. 11
Valses nobles et sentimentales, M. 61:
02:01:06 I. Modéré - très franc
02:02:24 II. Assez lent
02:04:40 III. Modéré
02:06:04 IV. Assez animé
02:07:15 V. Presque lent
02:08:27 VI. Vif
02:09:04 VII. Moins vif
02:11:46 VIII. Epilogue – Lent
02:15:48 La valse, M. 72
02:27:17 Pavane pour une infante défunte in G Major, M. 19
Sunday, September 28, 2025
In the Neighborhoods of Athena
Athena is an ancient Greek goddess associated mostly with wisdom. She was regarded as the patron and protectress of the city of Athens, from which she most likely received her name. The Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens is dedicated to her. This 2011 film, re-edited in 2025, was shot around the Acropolis.
Thursday, September 25, 2025
An opinion about Brahms
Mike was a fellow professor at the Hellenic Naval Academy. He had enormous musical education (if I remember well, he had been a member of the BBC symphony orchestra and chorus and once he had performed under the formidable Otto Klemperer!). I thus always enjoyed discussions with him regarding our mutual love: classical music.
At some point the issue of the discussion was Brahms. And then Mike, with typical British sarcastic humor, said the following about the German composer:
“Brahms’ orchestra sounds like someone stirring a thick soup!”
As much as I adore Brahms, I cannot fully disagree with Mike's statement. Indeed, Brahms' orchestral sound sometimes gives the listener an impression of "thickness" in the flow of the music. This mainly concerns the management of the strings in their lower registers (violas, cellos, basses) where the orchestration is often particularly "dense".
This does not mean to say, of course, that the aesthetic result is unpleasant! Indeed, there are moments when the sound is truly breathtaking, such as toward the end of the slow (2nd) movement of the Second Symphony. And, by the way, let us not forget that Wagner, with a similarly masterful use of the strings in their low ranges, makes us feel as if we are swimming in the depths of the Rhine at the opening of Götterdämmerung!
So here is Brahms’ Second Symphony, a lyrical journey from melancholy to joy...
Saturday, August 9, 2025
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op 93 | Valery Gergiev
If one credits Gustav Mahler entirely to the 19th century in order to make room for subsequent important 20th-century composers, then Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 – 1975) must undoubtedly be regarded as the greatest symphonist of the latter century. His 10th Symphony (whose scherzo alludes to the barbarism of Stalinism) is the absolute masterpiece of the Soviet composer!
1 Moderato
2 Allegro
3 Allegretto
4 Andante - Allegro
National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America
Valery Gergiev, conductor
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