ha ha - yup - I think so. Actually I like most of the albums posted here - many are new to me - and even if they aren't my cup of tea, its nice to see what others are enjoying in their day.
Speaking of which - I had best hop to and go for a walk while the sun is shining.
An excellent recommendation—it's been in my library for fifteen years. Sometimes I play something simply because the name of the piece appeals, and on this recording it's definitely track #3: Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage.
The Ravel Kaddisch ( Deux mélodies hébraïques W No. 1: Kaddisch) was played spontaneously by Daniel Hope with Lord Menuhin sitting in the orchestra, 6 days before his death.
To quote Daniel:
“March 7th, 1999. We were in Düsseldorf. I had played
a concerto under Menuhin’s baton, in what proved to
be his last concert. Afterwards he encouraged me, as
usual, to play an encore. I chose Ravel’s ‘Kaddisch’ – I
had grown up on Yehudi’s extraordinary recording of it
and I wanted to play it specifically for him as a kind of
tribute. He pushed me out onto the stage but – very
different to the previous nights on the German tour – he
then came out and sat on the stage amongst the
orchestra, listening to me. Perhaps it may have been in some way prophetic ...”
This is an excellent album, in my respectful view, by the Menuhin protegee, who practically grew up with him. Been a few years since I have played this - really enjoyed it. Moving.
One of the great opera recordings. It was a very early stereo recording done by Decca in 1956. Released first in mono then in stereo in 1958 when Decca first started releasing stereo records. If this is an early Decca vinyl pressing, then it is one of the holy grail Deccas. Even the London version (same Decca pressing but more common - the one I have) is very valuable. The Decca ED1 label wide band groove "Original Recording" goes for several thousand USD. About as perfect a cast - and Erich Kleiber (father of Carlos) who was to die shortly after the recording was one of the top conductors of this era. The story goes that Kleiber initially blocked the release of the album. On the very last day of recording, they only had the finale to record - which is a chorus, including the principals, but no solos. One of the principals had left the night before, since it was only a chorus. When Kleiber found out after the recording was completed, he threw a fit and said they needed to bring everyone back to record the finale again - which would have been a very high cost and logistical nightmare. He held out, and, fortunately for Decca, he died unexpectedly and his widow was more cooperative and allowed Decca to release the recording. IIRC, this recording has never been out of the catalogue in its more than 60 years of existence. Certainly my favorite Figaro. Unlike almost all performances and most recordings, it includes the arias sung by Basilio and Marcellina near the beginning of the last act, which are usually cut. Because Marcellina's aria is placed rather high in the voice of a contralto, Hilda Gueden, the Susanna, actually sung the aria in the recording.
The Ravel Kaddisch ( Deux mélodies hébraïques W No. 1: Kaddisch) was played spontaneously by Daniel Hope with Lord Menuhin sitting in the orchestra, 6 days before his death.
To quote Daniel:
“March 7th, 1999. We were in Düsseldorf. I had played
a concerto under Menuhin’s baton, in what proved to
be his last concert. Afterwards he encouraged me, as
usual, to play an encore. I chose Ravel’s ‘Kaddisch’ – I
had grown up on Yehudi’s extraordinary recording of it
and I wanted to play it specifically for him as a kind of
tribute. He pushed me out onto the stage but – very
different to the previous nights on the German tour – he
then came out and sat on the stage amongst the
orchestra, listening to me. Perhaps it may have been in some way prophetic ...”
This is an excellent album, in my respectful view, by the Menuhin protegee, who practically grew up with him. Been a few years since I have played this - really enjoyed it. Moving.
Very touching story. I was fortunate to have dinner with Daniel Hope a few years ago. He had just been appointed to be music director of a European Orchestra. We had been invited to a dinner with cellist David Finkel and his wife pianist Wu Han, who had performed a concert in Berkeley. They were friends of Daniel Hope and invited him to join the dinner. He had performed in Palo Alto that afternoon and arrived in Berkeley about half way through the dinner. I happened to be sitting next to Finkel and Hope sat next to him on the other side. They had performed many times together and Hope talked about his new position and his plans. Very much fun listening to musicians talking about their careers. Hope was quite gregarious and friendly - Finkel, much more quiet, but still very friendly also. Larry
Oh - two of our best Australians - thanks for listening to Elena and Tamara: Tamara is one of our finest pianists, and Kats-Chernin - originally from Uzbekistan - probably our preeminent contemporary composer and interpreter, and is a fine pianist in her own right. Kats-Chernin works cover just about every conceivable genre in the classical repertoire: classical composition and harmonic structure, dance company colloborations, operas, ballet and TV and film scores. Sort of the Anne Dudley of classical tv music here. Remarkable talents both.
Tamara is on the radio (ABC Classic Thursdays 3-4pm GMT+10 is anyone is interested) - she spends an hour or so "at the keyboard and discussing music" - here is the weblink: https://www.abc.net.au/classic/programs/duet/
Its a great show and I try not to miss it. She isn't on every week but most - but has of late - especially since Covid. Her Last guest was Lang Lang.
Very touching story. I was fortunate to have dinner with Daniel Hope a few years ago. He had just been appointed to be music director of a European Orchestra. We had been invited to a dinner with cellist David Finkel and his wife pianist Wu Han, who had performed a concert in Berkeley. They were friends of Daniel Hope and invited him to join the dinner. He had performed in Palo Alto that afternoon and arrived in Berkeley about half way through the dinner. I happened to be sitting next to Finkel and Hope sat next to him on the other side. They had performed many times together and Hope talked about his new position and his plans. Very much fun listening to musicians talking about their careers. Hope was quite gregarious and friendly - Finkel, much more quiet, but still very friendly also. Larry
