A split personality!

Vows of Deception (1996)

Cheryl Ladd goes a bit over the top as a "spider woman" in this interesting made-for-TV crime drama...

 

Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78 | Järvi

Together with César Franck's D-minor Symphony, Saint-Saëns' Third Symphony (so-called "Organ Symphony" ) is one of the masterpieces of late romantic French music. It is written in cyclic form in a manner reminiscent of Beethoven's "Fifth" (for example, the theme of the Scherzo is rhythmically related in a very clear way to the basic theme of the first movement). The orchestration contains piano (both two and four hands) and pipe organ.

1. Adagio - Allegro moderato - Poco adagio

2. Allegro moderato - Presto - Maestoso - Allegro

Thierry Escaich, organ

Orchestre de Paris

Paavo Järvi, conductor

A Streetcar Named Desire (TV film, 1995)

A made-for-TV film adaptation of Tennessee Williams' 1947 play. Starring Alec Baldwin, Jessica Lange, John Goodman and Diane Lane.

 

Nino Rota: "Il Gattopardo" (Soundtrack Suite)

Edvard Grieg: Symphony in C minor

I. Allegro molto

II. Adagio espressivo

III. Intermezzo: Allegro energico

IV. Finale: Allegro molto vivace

 

R. Wagner: "Wesendonck-Lieder" | Daphne Evangelatos, mezzo-soprano

The Greek opera singer Daphne Evangelatos (b. 1946) died November 18, 2021, in Munich. Her father was the composer and conductor Antiochus Evangelatos.

Read more...

 

Elgar: Symphony No. 2 | Harding

Edward Elgar,

Symphony No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 63

1 Allegro vivace e nobilmente

2 Larghetto

3 Rondo

4 Moderato e maestoso

London Symphony Orchestra

Daniel Harding, conductor

London, Proms 2013

Bruckner: Symphony No. 1 | Paavo Järvi

I. Allegro

II. Adagio - Andante - Tempo I

III. Scherzo. Schnell - Trio. Langsamer - Scherzo - Coda

IV. Finale. Bewegt, feurig

Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 in C minor (Ed. Nowak,1890, 2nd ver.) | Singapore Symphony Orchestra | Lan Shui

I. Allegro moderato

II. Scherzo (allegro moderato) and Trio (langsam)

III. Adagio (feierlich langsam, doch nicht schleppend)

IV. Finale (feierlich, nicht schnell)

The Cassandra Crossing (1976)

 A prophetic film by George Pan Cosmatos. Who could have guessed in 1976 that a disaster movie would foretell a real-world nightmare in the 21st century?

Beautifully music-scored by Jerry Goldsmith!

Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil (1985, TV)

Despite some historical inaccuracies (notably, the details of Heydrich's assassination), this is a very watchable TV movie about the Nazi period and Hitler's SS.

 

Mikis Theodorakis: Symphonies 1 - 3

Symphony No.1

Symphony No.2 "Song of the Earth"

Symphony No.3

Mikis Theodorakis: Rhapsody for Cello and Orchestra

1. Euterpe

2. Erato

3. Melpomene

4. Calliope

5. Clio

6. Uranie

7. Terpsichore

8. Polymnie

9. Thalie

Rena Kyriakou: Concerto for piano and orchestra, op.18 - Athens Philharmonia Orchestra

I. Allegro – Più mosso – Tempo I – Calmo – Presto – Tempo I

II. Andante

III. Vivace – Allegro maestoso – Presto

 

Bruckner: Symphony No.9 in D major | Bernard Haitink / Orchestre national de France

Typically speaking, Anton Bruckner's 9th Symphony in 3 movements is an "unfinished" work, given that the composer didn't live long enough to complete the 4th movement. However, by listening to the symphony one is not left with any sense of incompleteness! Indeed, the Adagio, as a final movement, is by no means less conclusive than, say, the closing Adagio in Mahler's own 9th...

I. Feierlich, misterioso

II. Scherzo. Bewegt, lebhaft - Trio. Schnell - Scherzo

III. Adagio. Langsam, feierlich

Leonard Bernstein: What is a Melody | Young People's Concerts (1962)

Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, "Resurrection" | BYU Philharmonic - Kory Katseanes

One of my favorite Mahler symphonies, played by the Brigham Young University Philharmonic. Perhaps a very personal choice of interpretation, given that BYU was the school where I studied (and taught)...

 

The Great War: Ceasefire. The Treaty of Versailles

The Great War: Germany's last offensive

The Great War: Mutiny at the front. The Russian Revolution

The Great War: The war at sea. America enters the war

The Great War: The Western Front. The Somme

Note: It is the uploader's opinion that the Battle of the Somme is not treated as thoroughly as it should. In particular, the almost criminal responsibilities of Sir Douglas Haig in the unnecessary carnage of hundreds of thousands are not even hinted at!

 

The Great War: Turkey's alliance with Germany. Gallipoli

The Great War: The Eastern Front

The Great War: Belgium under German occupation. The Marne

Mozart: Piano Concertos No. 20 - 27 | Lili Kraus

Piano: Lili Kraus

Vienna Festival Orchestra

Conductor: Stephen Simon

Piano Concerto No.20 in D minor, K.466 Ⅰ. Allegro (00:00)

Piano Concerto No.20 in D minor, K.466 II. Romance (13:34)

Piano Concerto No.20 in D minor, K.466 III. Rondo: Allegro assai (22:31)

Piano Concerto No.21 in C major, K.467 Ⅰ. Allegro maestoso (30:28)

Piano Concerto No.21 in C major, K.467 II. Andante (44:27)

Piano Concerto No.21 in C major, K.467 III. Allegro vivace assai (50:39)

Piano Concerto No. 22 in E flat Major, K. 482 - 1. Allegro (57:47)

Piano Concerto No. 22 in E flat Major, K. 482 - 2. Andante (1:10:53)

Piano Concerto No. 22 in E flat Major, K. 482 - 3. Allegro (1:19:30)

Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major K. 488 - 1. Allegro (1:31:20)

Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major K. 488 - 2. Adagio (1:41:57)

Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major K. 488 - 3. Allegro Assai (1:47:30)

Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor K. 491 - 1. Allegro (1:55:27)

Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor K. 491 - 2. Larghetto (2:08:24)

Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor K. 491 - 3. Allegretto (2:15:23)

Piano Concerto No. 25 in C Major K. 503 - 1. Allegro (2:24:47)

Piano Concerto No. 25 in C Major K. 503 - 2. Andante (2:39:38)

Piano Concerto No. 25 in C Major K. 503 - 3. Allegretto (2:45:48)

Piano Concerto No. 26 in D Major K. 537 - 1. Allegro (2:55:10)

Piano Concerto No. 26 in D Major K. 537 - 2. Larghetto (3:09:18)

Piano Concerto No. 26 in D Major K. 537 - 3. Allegretto (3:15:06)

Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-Flat Major K. 595 - 1. Allegro (3:27:00)

Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-Flat Major K. 595 - 2. Larghetto (3:40:29)

Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-Flat Major K. 595 - 3. Allegro (3:48:17)

 

June 28, 1914: Assassination in Sarajevo - the beginning of the nightmare...

Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 56 ("Scottish") | R. Gamba

Glimpses of Greece | Music: F. Delius

Across The Bridge (1957)

Tchaikovsky: Manfred Symphony, Op. 58

I. Lento lugubre – Moderato con moto – Andante

II. Vivace con spirito

III. Andante con moto

IV. Allegro con fuoco

Frankfurt Radio Symphony

Dir. Vasily Petrenko

Tchaikovsky: Grand Piano Sonata in G major, Op. 37 | Tyler Hay

Mikis Theodorakis: CARNAVAL (Ballet Suite)

Alan Hovhaness: Symphony No. 2 ("Mysterious Mountain")

Alan Hovhaness: Concerto for Harp and String Orchestra, Op. 267 | Yolanda Kondonassis

Mieczysław Weinberg: Symphony No.2 for Strings

Kremerata Baltica conducted by Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla 

 I - Allegro moderato 

II - Adagio 

III - Allegretto

 

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.6 in B minor, Op.74 ("Pathetique")

The Symphony No.6 ("Pathetique") was Tchaikovsky's "swan song" in which the composer possibly foretelled his alleged suicide.

The sonata form in the first movement is of some interest. After the exposition of the two themes (the first sombre while the second nostalgically lyrical) follows the development section with an exhaustive elaboration of the first theme but a total absence of the second. The second theme is heard again at the end of the first movement, though not as a standard recapitulation but as a coda.

In the second movement it is worth noticing an intermediate episode whose mood foreshadows the dark atmosphere of the finale of the symphony and gives a sense of cyclic form to the overall work.

Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse

Tugan Sokhiev, conductor