Today is 26 January and is also the first day of the Lunar New Year. This is celebrated by Chinese all over the world but unfortunately there is no Chinese musician of note born on this day. The most popular musician born on this day is
1945 - Jacqueline Du Pre, English cellist in London.
However, there are many more popular works that debuted on this day.
1734 - First Performance (FP) of opera Arianna in Crete by Handel in King's Theatre, London
Selected recording Recommended by Gramophone Guide. Not a famous work by Handel but '....Arianna in Crete is well worth investigating."
1790 - FP of Cosi fan Tutte by Mozart in the Burgtheatre, Vienna.
Selected recording DVD format. Rated 4 stars and Key Recording of Penguin Guide. "...........bringing out the fine qualities of the whole cast, both vocally and dramatically....." Also recommended by Gramophone Guide, a Gem recording.
Selected Recording. CD format. Rated 4 stars, Key Recording and also Rosette by Penguin Guide. '.......remains a clear first choice....." Also recommended by Gramophone Guide, a Gem recording. "............Boem's cast could hardly be bettered......."
1905 - FP of Pelleas and Melisandre by Schoenberg in Vienna.
Selected recording Rated 4 stars and Key Recording by Penguin Guide. ".........splendidly recorded version...........superb performances........." Also recommended in 1001 Classical Recordings. ".........surpasses all others............an overwhelming experience."
1908 - FP of Symphony no. 2 by Rachmaninoff
First choice is EMI recording by the LSO and Previn but no image available in Amazon. Recommended by both Penguin Guide and 1001 Classical Recordings. Other recommendations are
Selected Recording Recommended by Penguin Guide. "This is an easy first choice in the budget range."
Selected recording Recommended by Gramophone Guide. "...........this is great music making.........."
1911 - FP of Der Rosenkavalier by Strauss Royal Opera in Dresden.
Selected recording
Selected recording DVD format. Rated 4 stars, Key Recording and Rosette by Penguin Guide. "......ravishing sound......as perfect as you are likely to encounter in this world."
Selected recording CD format. Rated 4 stars, Key Recording and Rosette by Penguin Guide. "......one of the greatest of all opera recordings, is in a class of its own....."
Also recommended by Gramophone Guide, a Gem recording. "This magnificent recording..........unlikely to be challenged........"
1922 - FP of Symphony no.3 by Vaugh Williams.
Selected recording Rated 4 stars and Key Recording by Penguin Guide. "..........rare gift for drawing out the warmth of this evocative music..........spacious inspiration is irresistible........."
1957 - FP of Dialogues des Carmelites by Poulenc in La Scala, Milan.
Selected recording DVD format. Rated 4 stars, Key Recording and Rosette by Penguin Guide. "..........remarkably gripping and wholly convincing production.........excellent dramatically............." Also recommended by Gramophone Guide. "This is one of the most worthwhile opera performance yet to appear on DVD."
Selected recording CD format. Rated 4 stars and Key Recording by Penguin Guide. "...........vivid recording..........." Also recommended by Gramophone Guide and 1001 Classical Recordings, "..........an utterly committed performance......"
Selected recording CD format in English. Rated 2.5 stars by Penguin Guide. "Excellent. atmospheric sound....................." Also recommended by Gramophone Guide.
Ronald Kwok
http://ronaldkwok.atomicblog.hop.clickbank.net/
Today is 18 January and birthdays of just a few popular composers.
1835 - Cesar Cui, Russian composer in Vilnius. Operas include William Ratcliff. Wrote many songs and the most popular is The Statue at Tsarkoye Selo.
1841 - Emmanuel Chabrier, French composer in Paris. Popular orchestral works include Espana, Habanera, Joyeuse marche, and Gwendoline overture. He has also written the operas Briseis and L'etoile.
1903 - Berthold Goldschmidt, German-British composer in Hamburg. Operas include Der gewaltige Hahnrei and orchestral works include Ciaconna Sinfonica.
1951 - Ronald Kwok, Malaysian composer of this Blog in Kuala Lumpur. (Just kidding!)
Alas, not many popular works had its first performance today, just the two below.
1908 - Brigg Fair, orchestral work by Delius in Liverpool.
Selected recording Rated 4 stars and key recording by Penguin Guide. Also Rosette winner. "...........unsurpassed performances.............Sheer magic........."
Also included in "1001 Classical Recordings You Must Hear Before You Die" - ".......this disc is special."
Selected recording Recommended by Gramophone Guide - "This Brigg Fair is unique." - and rated 4 stars by Penguin Guide. "A superb disc."
1943 - Piano Sonata No.7 by Prokofiev in Moscow.
Selected recording Complete Piano Sonatas 1-9 in three CD's. Rated 4 stars and Key Recording by Penguin Guide. "......his playing.......could scarcely be bettered."
Selected recording Included as one of the recordings in "1001 Classical Recordings You Must Hear Before You Die"
That's all folks.Ronald Kwokhttp://cbpirate.com/s/cbp/ronaldkwok
Today, the 12 the of January had plenty of operas that were first performed on this day. There were also a number of composers born on this day but they are not the major ones.
1876 - Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian composer in Venice. Major works includes operas, violin concerto, cello concerto and concertos for wind instruments.
1888 - Claude Delvincourt, French composer in Paris.
1926 - Morton Feldman, American composer in New York. Popular works include Cello and Orchestra, For Philip Guston, The Viola in my Life and Rothko Chapel.
Here are some of the classical works that had the First Performance today.
1723 - Ottone, opera by Handel, in Paris
Selected recording Rated 3 stars by Penguin Guide. ".......singing is full of colour. Added to that is the richness and bloom of the instrumental sound."
1737 - Arminio, opera by Handel in Covent Garden, London.
Selected recording Rated 3 stars by Penguin Guide. "Clear, well-balanced sound."1832 - Fausta, opera by Donizetti in theatre San Carlo, Naples.Recommended by Gramophone Guide. "........this very fine recording......."
1955 - Symphony No.6 (Fantaisies Symphoniques) by Martinu in Boston.
Selected recording Rated 4 stars and a Key Recording by Penguin Guide. ".............recording is in the demonstration class yet sounds completely natural.........."
Recommended by Gramophone Guide. "........recordings are beautifully clear, with plenty of ambience.........."So that's it for today until my next post.Ronald Kwokhttp://cbpirate.com/s/cbp/ronaldkwok
Happy New Year 2009! So today is 1 January but not many famous classical musicians were born on this day.
1898 - Viktor Ullmann, Czech composer in Teschen.
1911 - Endre Szervansky, Hungarian composer in Budateteny.
1940 - Laszio Sary, Hungarian composer in Gyor.
However, there are more famous first performance on New Year Day.
1846 - Piano Concerto by Schumann in Leipzig.
Recommended recording Rated 3 stars and key recording by Penguin Guide. "An indispensable issue." (DVD format)
Recommended recording Rated 4 stars and key recording by Penguin Guide. "A classic version for our time." (CD format)
Recommended recording by Gramophone Guide. ".......Pires is also at her most persuassive." (CD format)
1879 - Violin Concerto by Brahms in Leipzig.
Recommended recording Rated 4 stars and key recording by Penguin Guide. "......in every way satisfying.......in every way memorable......" (DVD format)Recommended recording Featured in "1001 Classical Recordings you must hear before you die". (CD format)
Recommended recording Rated 3 stars and key recording by Penguin Guide. ".....commanding performance.....full of flair.......always sounding spontaneous." (CD format)1957 - Prince of the Pagodas, ballet by Britten in Covent Garden, London.
Recommended recording Rated 3 stars and key recording by Penguin Guide. ".......performances.......are very bit as impressive.......distinguished by imagination and great musicality." (DVD format)Ronald Kwokhttp://ronaldkwok.atomicblog.hop.clickbank.net/
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