Category Archives: Music

Johannes Brahms, Piano Works

Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 15 [Chicago Symphony Orchestra, James Levine, cond.]; Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83 [Boston Symphony Orchestra, Bernard Haitink, cond.]; Two Rhapsodies, Op. 79, Three Intermezzos, Op. 117, Four Pieces … Continue reading

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Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen

Everyone has their national epic. The Greeks have the Iliad and the Odyssey, the French have Le Chanson de Roland, the British get to pick among Beowulf, The Mabinogion, and the tales of the Arthur Cycle, and the Germans have … Continue reading

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Various artists’ Uzelli Psychedelic Anadolu

This vinyl and digital release is a sampler of sorts for a new project by the German-based Turkish music label Uzelli. The Uzelli brothers started the label out of their Frankfurt import shop in the 1970s, releasing cassettes of all … Continue reading

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Roy Thomas and Gil Kane’s Richard Wagner’s The Ring of the Nibelung

It never would have occurred to me to make a graphic novel out of Wagner’s Ring cycle, but on reflection, it’s a natural — I mean, who is more a superhero than Siegfried, the son of a god, running around … Continue reading

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Joseph Haydn’s Orlando Paladino

Joseph Haydn, the composer who did as much as anyone, and more than most, to create the style we know as “classical,” was also one of the wittiest artists of a witty era. He also created some of the most … Continue reading

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Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations

There is a place in the history of musical performance where that history becomes legend. This is pertinent here because we are talking about one of those legends, Glenn Gould performing J. S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations. (There are other legendary … Continue reading

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Ensemble Melpomen’s Melpomen: Ancient Greek Music for an Athenian Symposium of ca. 450 BC

The essay that accompanies this disc is titled “Ancient Greek Music for an Athenian Symposium of around 450 BC.” Think about that for a moment: in the absence of scores, soundtracks, any notated music whatsoever, or any other specific records, … Continue reading

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Québéc’s second annual FestiTrad, April 7-9

Some of Québéc’s top roots musicians will be performing at the second annual FestiTrad. This new French-Canadian traditional festival will be held April 7-9 in the beautifully rustic St. Gabriel, a small lakeside town nestled deep in the Lanaudière valley, … Continue reading

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Aseethe’s Hopes of Failure

Aseethe is a doom band from Iowa City, Iowa. I know hardly anything about the genre called doom, or drone, or any of the other darker-than-dark and heavier-than-heavy offshoots of metal. In fact I’ve never been much of a fan … Continue reading

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Battlefield Band’s The Producer’s Choice

In the autumn of 2016 Battlefiend Band were inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame in recognition of their services to Scottish music. The only question is why it took so long. Battlefield were formed in 1969 in … Continue reading

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