Those memorable photo ops...

Furtwangler's reputation will never live down this photo op with his patron Adolf Hitler:

Karajan's reputation will be forever tarnished by his Nazi Party ID card:

I hope the eager musical serfs of today's tyrants will pay a similar price: 

Mongoloids on the loose #2

If I were granted only one wish before I die, I would ask to meet the fucking retard(s) responsible for this CD booklet, so as to find out

(1)  which "unforgettable concert" I am supposed to feel present at when listening to this recording, and

(2) which "great occasion" is preserved on a recording spliced from segments taped at multiple concerts.

The Emperor's old recordings

Recently I had to do several hours worth of mind-numbing paperwork.  I didn't want to do it in complete silence, but neither did I want to play music interesting enough to undermine my resolve to get through the necessary drudgery.  Which is why I settled on Bruckner.  I figured Buckner's stupefying repetitiveness would relieve my angst by proving that music can be as boring as the work I had to do.  And since all but two Bruckner recordings in my collection are conducted by Furtwangler, I ended up listening to Furtwangler's take on  five Bruckner symphonies.

Time flies...

Last Tuesday was the first anniversary of Elliott Carter's death.  Yesterday I came across a live broadcast recording of this:

A MEMORIAL CONCERT FOR ELLIOTT CARTER

January 13, 2013

Le Poisson Rouge, New York City

Con Leggerezza Pensosa

Figment for solo cello

Tempo e Tempi

Duettino for violin and cello

Gra for solo clarinet

Fantasy for solo violin

Quintet for Piano and String Quartet

PERFORMERS:

Charlie Neidich, clarinet; Rolf Schulte, violin; Fred Sherry, cello; Tony Arnold, soprano; Steve Taylor, oboe; Ursula Oppens, piano;

Ensemble LPR (Harumi Rhodes, violin; Clara Lee, violin; Mark Holloway, viola; Mihai Marica, cello; Michael Nicolas, conductor)

Those sadistic perverts at BBC Radio 3...

From the program description of a recent BBC Radio 3 broadcast:
Louise Fryer explores Bruckner, the man behind the music...

Now, I have a pretty good idea of what exploring music is about.  But when it comes to exploring "the man behind the music", the only thing that comes to mind is this:

Short but sweet...

Carter's 7-min long String Trio was one of several chamber works completed in 2011, about a year before he died.  Although it was premiered in December 2011 by Rolf Schulte, Fred Sherry, and Richard O'Neill  at the 92nd Street Y concert celebrating Carter's 103rd birthday, I have not come across a recording of that premiere performance.  The present live recording from the 2013 REMUSIC Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia (performed by members of eNsemble Pro-Arte Fund) was my first chance to get acquainted with this little gem.