By Jacob Stockinger
Today is Nov. 22, 2014.
President John Fitzgerald Kennedy (below) was killed in Dallas, Texas, 51 years ago to the day.
The Ear remembers the deep sadness and immense sense of frustration that surrounded the assassination. American politics has never seemed the same since his death.
He also remembers hearing broadcasts of the Requiem by Gabriel Faure and the “German” Requiem by Johannes Brahms – both fitting choices to honor the dead president.
But since then, The Ear has learned that JFK -– whose own family was well acquainted with tragedy and loss — especially liked the saddest of all music, the “Adagio for Strings” by American composer Samuel Barber. Barber (below) had arranged it from the slow movement of his String Quartet No. 1 in B Minor to a String Orchestra at the request of the world-famous conductor Arturo Toscanini.
By the way, in the original string quartet form, the work was given its world premiere by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Pro Arte Quartet in Rome in 1936. And the original quartet form seems somehow less lush and self-indulgent, more restrained and dignified or even complex, while the string orchestra version seems more overpowering and Romantic.
Compare the two versions for yourself by listening to both of them on YouTube.
Here is the original string quartet version done by the Cypress String Quartet in a live radio performance for WGBH in Boston, which was JFK’s hometown:
And here is the more familiar version for string orchestra in a version that has more than 3 million hits:
Which one do you like best and why?
The Ear wants to hear.
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Archives
Blog Stats
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
bratschespeilerin on Too bad the Wisconsin Union Th… | |
Mindy Taranto on Too bad the Wisconsin Union Th… | |
Roy Carroll on Too bad the Wisconsin Union Th… | |
Mindy Taranto on Too bad the Wisconsin Union Th… | |
Susan Fiore on Too bad the Wisconsin Union Th… |
Tags
#BlogPost #BlogPosting #ChamberMusic #FacebookPost #FacebookPosting #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic #TheEar #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison #YouTubevideo Arts audience Bach Baroque Beethoven blog Cello Chamber music choral music Classical music Compact Disc composer Concert concerto conductor Early music Facebook forward Franz Schubert George Frideric Handel Jacob Stockinger Johannes Brahms Johann Sebastian Bach John DeMain like link Ludwig van Beethoven Madison Madison Opera Madison Symphony Orchestra Mozart Music New Music New York City New York Times NPR opera Orchestra Overture Center performer Pianist Piano post posting program share singer Sonata song soprano String quartet Student symphony tag The Ear United States University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music University of Wisconsin–Madison Viola Violin vocal music Wisconsin Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra wisconsin public radio Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart YouTube
Thank you Ear, I hadn’t heard the quartet version – really nice, but don’t ask me to choose between them as they both go right to my gut. JFK stays with those of us who lived during the last years of his life; a man and a story unlike any other, I think.
Comment by napeta — November 22, 2014 @ 8:49 am
The string quartet version: it seems more intimate, restrained and contemplative.
Comment by Ann Boyer — November 22, 2014 @ 7:44 am