beethoven Archives

Other concerts || George Enescu Festival 2019 journal

oana September 22, 2019 No Comments

RUNDFUNK-SINFONIEORCHESTER BERLIN

Date: 5 Sept 2019

Location: Grand Palace Hall

Category: Great Orchestras of the worlds

Georg Katzer “discorso” for orchestra; Brahms Violin Concerto în D major op. 77; Enescu Symphony no. 3 in C major op. 21

Vladimir Jurowski conductor; Choir of The „George Enescu” Philharmonic; Iosif Ion Prunner conductor of the choir; Romanian Radio Children’s Choir; Răzvan Rădos conductor of the choir; Julia Fischer violin

Katzer’s composition is pretty gimmicky, a mixture of sounds coming from all sorts of weird instruments, a fun work but not that impressive overall.… Read more

Tragedy, Beethoven and a Guitar | CBW21

oana May 26, 2019 No Comments

3. Milonga by Jorge Cardoso

On third place we have the most famous work of the Argentinian guitarist and composer Jorge Cardoso, namely Milonga. Akin to its composer, who is also a teacher, a medical doctor and a researcher, Milonga stands for several things: it is a musical genre from Argentina and Uruguay, a dance similar to the tango, but faster and more relaxed in movements and a weekly event where people play and dance Argentinian tango, along with valses and milongas.… Read more

One caprice and the knock of destiny | CBW 17

oana April 28, 2019 No Comments

2. “Caprice in A minor, op. 1 no. 24” by Niccolo Paganini

A rather disappointing week, as I’ve enjoyed only two musical bits, to be indulgent with this particular work at no. 2. The 24 Caprices by Niccolo Paganini are notorious for their difficulty, as they explore different violin skills. Among them, the 24^th one is the most difficult piece, which is why it’s so difficult to find a version that’s not scratching your ears out or that’s technically correct but avoids that mechanical and sterile sound.… Read more

3 Pianos and a Violin | CBW14

oana April 7, 2019 No Comments

Honourable mention: “Symphony no. 3” by Henryk Górecki

Also known as the Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, this work got Henryk Gorecki in the attention of the wide public, being before then known only to a restricted circle of 20^th century modern music connoisseurs. Despite having sold over a million copies, it remains a controversial work, being loved by the public and rather dismissed by critics.… Read more

Pianos, Trumpets and Prokofiev | CBW10

oana March 10, 2019 No Comments

Honourable mention: “Concerto for two trumpets in C major, RV 537” by Antonio Vivaldi

We begin the week with one of the greatest names of the Baroque era, namely Antonio Vivaldi. He was a very prolific composer, having composed more than 500 concertos, several sacred works and over forty operas. Out of the 500, forty are for two instruments.… Read more

Beethoven wins it, but Bruch steals the heart | CBW01

oana January 7, 2019 No Comments

We start the year with some big names (Bach, Beethoven) and some unknown ones for me at least, since I’m not exactly a big connoisseur in this domain.

At number 4, we have a new find for me: “O virtus sapientiae” by Hildegard of Bingen. I have to admit I’d never heard of this name before and it turns out this was a very intelligent and notable lady of the 12^th century (a nun, a composer, a scientist and many other things – more details can be found in the book).… Read more