The Well-Tempered Ear

Today is World Piano Day — so play, listen, watch, celebrate

March 28, 2024
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By Jacob Stockinger

World Piano Day — established in 2015 — falls on the 88th day of the year because the standard piano keyboard has 88 keys.

Because 2024 is a Leap Year, World Piano Day is being celebrated a day later than usual — on today, March 28.

For more background and past playlists, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Day

There are lots of free celebrations online, to say nothing of just sitting down at a piano and playing or listening to someone else play or going to your library of CDs and LPs or using your streaming service.

Here is a list of live international events from March 12-April 7,  complete with information links, to concerts and other events marking Piano Day around the world.

Some presenters have put together their own special celebrations. DG is offering a 30-day free trial to its Stage+ streaming site to mark the occasion.

Deutsche Grammophon, the world’s oldest classical record company, has a terrific stable of prize-winning, critically acclaimed pianists, includes Maurizio Pollini who died last Saturday, as well as Lang Lang, Yuja Wang, Vikingur Olaffson, Maria Joao Pires, Seong-Jin Cho, Grigory Sokolov, Alice Sara Ott, Daniil Trifonov, Hélène Grimaud and Bruce Liu.

Check it out. Here is a  link to DG’s celebration:

https://www.worldpianoday.com

You can also find many things to watch and hear — concerts, documentaries — for this year and from past year of YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=World+Piano+Day

And at the bottom, from World Piano Day 2023, is a YouTube video with 88 minutes of piano music from masters old and current — including Vladimir Horowitz and Arthur Rubinstein — to celebrate World Piano Day:

Will you celebrate World Piano Day?

Do you play the piano or did you take piano lessons?

Do you have a favorite pianist?

Do you have a favorite composer and favorite piece for the piano?

The Ear wants to hear.


Posted in Classical music
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The Guardian names its Top 10 classical albums of 2023

December 22, 2023
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PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.

By Jacob Stockinger

Here’s another “Best of 2023” or “Top 10 of 2023” list of classical recordings during the past year.

This one comes come the British newspaper The Guardian. The Ear likes that the critic also refrains from calling the choices definite, but rather emphasizes personal preference that were “particularly impressive or rewarding.”.

While my own preferences haven’t been well incorporated into other lists, at least this one has one of my favorite and relatively young artists: the Icelandic pianist Vikingur Olafsson (below).

He is noteworthy when playing Mozart, Debussy and Philip Glass.

But I find him most outstanding in Baroque repertoire, including his performances and own transcriptions of Rameau and especially Bach.

This year he is touring the world with his latest release — an astonishing recordings of Bach’s “Goldberg Variations.” He takes all repeats and offers 85 minutes or greater clarity, drive, left hand voicing and ornamentation. (You can hear a snippet in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

But there is much more to check out.

This list lacks audio samples but does have links to the full reviews.

See for yourself:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/dec/20/our-top-10-classical-recordings-of-2023

And here are lists to other Best of lists, which can be used for buying or receiving gifts or for exploring on various subscription services.

This is from NPR or National Public Radio:

And this is from Gramophone magazine:

Are you familiar with any of the named or honored recordings?

What ones do you recommend?

The Ear wants to hear.


YOU MUST HEAR THIS: Pianist Vikingur Olafsson plays his Rameau transcription

November 10, 2023
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PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.

By Jacob Stockinger

Vikingur Olafsson (below) just might be the most interesting pianist in front of the public today.

He is from Iceland and was trained at Juilliard. He demonstrates a special talent and touch for Baroque music — especially Bach — which is one reason he is often called “The Glenn Gould of Iceland.” We’ll explore why another time.

Olafsson shares a gift with some of the great 19th- and early 20th-century piano virtuosos like Franz Liszt, Feruccio Busoni, Egon Petri, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Wilhelm Kempff and Myra Hess to name just a few.

That is, Olafsson composes and plays beautiful transcriptions for the piano drawn from other instrumental, choral and operatic repertoire.

One of his best comes from “Les Boréades,” the last opera composed by the French Baroque composer Jean-Philippe Romeu in 1759.

His own performance of the trasnscription is in the YouTube video at the bottom.

Take a listen, It lasts about 4 minutes long.

The Ear loves it and hopes Olafsson will publish the transcription so the rest of us can play it. Or at least try to.

What do you think of the transcription and the performance?

The Ear wants to hear.


The New York Times names the top 25 classical recordings of 2020 and includes sample tracks

December 27, 2020
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By Jacob Stockinger

What did the holidays bring you?

Did Hanukkah, Christmas or Kwanzaa bring you a gift card?

A subscription to a streaming service?

Maybe some cash?

Or maybe you just want to hear some new music or new musicians or new interpretations of old classics?

Every year, the music critics of The New York Times list their top 25 recordings of the past year. Plus at the end of the story, the newspaper offers a sample track from each recording to give you even more guidance.

This year is no exception (below).

In fact, the listing might be even more welcome this year, given the  coronavirus pandemic with the lack of live concerts and the isolation and self-quarantine that have ensued.

The Ear hasn’t heard all of the picks or even the majority of them. But the ones he has heard are indeed outstanding. (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear a sample of the outstanding Rameau-Debussy recital by the acclaimed Icelandic pianist Vikingur Olafssen, who scored major successes with recent albums of Philip Glass and Johann Sebastian Bach.)

Here is a link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/17/arts/music/best-classical-music.html

Of course not all critics agree.

The Ear has already listed the nominations for the Grammy Awards (a link is below), and more critics’ picks will be featured in coming days.

https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2020/11/28/for-holiday-shopping-and-gift-giving-here-are-the-classical-music-nominations-for-the-63rd-grammy-awards-in-2021/

You should also notice that a recording of Ethel Smyth’s “The Prison” — featuring soprano Sarah Brailey (below), a graduate student at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music and a co-founder of Just Bach — is on the Times’ list as well as on the list of Grammy nominations.

What new recordings – or even old recordings — would you recommend?

The Ear wants to hear.

 


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Classical music: Gift guide or gift or both? Critics for The New York Times name their top classical recordings of 2018, and so does National Public Radio (NPR)

December 22, 2018
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By Jacob Stockinger

Today is “Panic Saturday” — another, newer theme day on the commerce-driven Holiday Consumer Calendar that goes along with Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber-Monday and Giving Tuesday. 

In past years, by this time many media outlets would publish the list of the top classical recordings of the past year. And The Ear has offered them as holiday shopping guides with links to the lists.

They seem to be running late this year, probably too late for many shoppers.

But recently the team of critics for The New York Times named their Top 25 classical recordings of 2018 that run from the 15th century to today (sample album covers are below).

This time, the website didn’t just reproduce something that first appeared in the printed edition. And something more than small snippets or excerpts are offered.

This time, the newspaper took full advantage of the electronic possibility of the web and used streaming to add hours of sound samples — some as long as 40 minutes – so you can see what you think of the recordings before you buy them. (Be sure to look at reader reactions and comments.)

It is a new and innovative way to do a Top 25 list – very appealing or entertaining as well as informative. Even if you don’t use it to buy anything for others or yourself, it can provide many minutes of listening pleasure. You can think of it as a gift guide or a gift or both.

Of course, there are also the usual short and very readable, to-the-point narratives or explanations about why the recording stands out and what makes it great music, a great performance or a great interpretation.

So there is a lot to listen to and help you make up your mind. The Ear has enjoyed it and found it helpful, and hopes you do too, whether you agree or disagree with the choice:

Here is a link:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/13/arts/music/best-classical-music-tracks-2018.html

Since this is the last weekend for holiday shopping before Christmas, here is the previous list – notice the duplications in the two lists — posted here, which was of the nominations for the upcoming 2019 Grammy Awards:

https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2018/12/08/classical-music-here-are-the-just-announced-grammy-nominations-for-2019-they-can-serve-as-a-great-holiday-gift-guide/

And here is the Top 10 list, which was chosen by the always discerning Tom Huizenga (below) — who explains the reasons for his choices — and which also offers generous sound samples, from National Public Radio (NPR) and its Deceptive Cadence blog. Also look for duplications:

https://www.npr.org/2018/12/18/677776208/npr-musics-best-classical-albums-of-2018

What recordings would you suggest? 

The Ear wants to hear.


Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: Here are lists of the Best Classical Recordings of 2017 as named by The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, Forbes magazine and Gramophone magazine

December 16, 2017
8 Comments

By Jacob Stockinger

Just in time for last-minute holiday shopping and streaming – whether by others or yourself – some major publications and critics have published their lists of the top classical recording of 2017.

Personal preferences and taste matter, to be sure. So opinions inevitably differ.

But in some cases, the verdicts seem close to unanimous.

Take the case of some pianists.

You can, for example, find overlapping agreement on the merits of the 24-year-old Italian pianist and Cliburn Competition silver medal laureate Beatrice Rana playing the famed Goldberg Variations by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Same for the 33-year-old Icelandic pianist Vikingur Olaffson who gives revelatory readings of works by contemporary American Minimalist composer Philip Glass.

And many critics give raves to acclaimed Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes playing neglected piano miniatures by Finnish symphonic titan Jean Sibelius. (See Andsnes discussing Sibelius in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

The various lists cover all genres from solo piano music to songs, chamber music to symphonies, oratorios to operas.

You can find lots of neglected repertoire — both early and new — unknown artists and small labels.

But there are also major stars, tried-and-true repertoire and large vintage or heritage labels.

In short, both beginners and experienced classical listeners and players can find plenty to please them.

In addition, some of the lists for the past year include links to lists from previous years. And those lists too still have some excellent choices that hold up.

Here is a link to the 2017 list in The New York Times, which was compiled by several critics:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/13/arts/music/best-classical-music-recordings-2017.html

Here is a list by a critic and columnist for Forbes magazine:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenslaurson/2017/12/13/the-10-best-classical-recordings-of-2017/#60b8fd87ebca

Here is the list from John von Rhein for the Chicago Tribune:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/vonrhein/sc-ent-best-classical-recordings-2017-1206-story.html

And here is a list from the British Gramophone magazine, which often favors artists and groups located in the United Kingdom:

https://www.gramophone.co.uk/feature/the-best-new-classical-albums-december-2017

And in case you missed it before, here are lists from other sources that this blog has posted and linked to:

From famed WQXR-FM radio in New York City:

https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2017/12/14/classical-music-here-are-the-top-20-classical-recordings-of-2017-as-chosen-by-famed-radio-station-wqxr/

And here are the classical nominations for the 2018 Grammy awards:

https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2017/12/02/classical-music-here-are-the-classical-music-nominations-for-the-2018-grammy-awards-they-make-a-great-holiday-gift-list-of-gives-and-gets/


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