Daily Archives: October 8, 2013

Beethoven: Symphony No.6, “Pastorale”;Jarvi, DKB



Beethoven: Symphony No.6 in F, “Pastorale”, Op.68
Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
Paavo Jarvi, dir.

0:01 I. Pleasant, Cheerful feelings awakened in a person on arriving in the country. Allegro ma non troppo
12:10 II. Scene by the brook. Andante molto mosso
23:48 III. Merry gathering of country folk. Allegro
28:51 IV. Thunderstorm. Allegro
32:20 V. Shepherd’s Song. Happy and thankful feelings to the deity after the storm. Allegretto

 

Walters Pyramid-Long Beach: An Unlike Pyramid (my Photo Collection)


Walters Pyramid-Long Beach

Walters Pyramid-Long Beach

Walters Pyramid-Long Beach: An Unlike Pyramid (my Photo Collection)

 

Horowitz, Schubert Impromptu op. 90 n° 4 in A flat major



Vladimir Horowitz, the last romantic”, 1985 filmed recital in his living room with his wife Wanda Toscanini-Horowitz.

1. Bach-Busoni, Chorale in G minor “Nun Komm der Heiden Heiland
2. Mozart, Sonata in C major K330
3. Schubert, Impromptu op. 90 n° 4 in A flat major
4. Chopin, Mazurka op. 17 n° 4 in A minor
5. Chopin, Scherzo n° 1 in B minor
6. Liszt, Consolation n° 3 in D flat major
7. Rachmaninoff, Prelude op. 32 n° 12 in G sharp minor
8. Schumann, Novelette op. 21 in F major
9. Scriabin, Etude op. 2 n° 1 in C sharp minor
10. Chopin, Polonaise op. 53 in A flat major
11. Chopin, Etude op. 10 n° 5 “Black keys”
12. Moszkowski, Etude in F major
13. Liszt, “Au bord d’une source

 

Mozart Concerto D Minor K466 Freiburger Mozart-Orchester, Michael Erren,Valentina Lisitsa



Filmed live May 20, 2012, Freiburg im Breisgau ,Germany
Cadenzas by Mozart‘s favorite student – and billiards pal, Jan Nepomuk Hummel 🙂 

 

Chopin Grande Valse Brillante Op. 18 Valentina Lisitsa


Grand Waltz Brilliante E Flat major op. 18

 

Chopin “Heroic” Polonaise op 53 A flat major Valentina Lisitsa (MAGNIFICENT)



Chopin “Heroic” Polonaise op 53 A flat major Valentina Lisitsa

 

QUOTATION: Henry David Thoreau


Most of the luxuries, and many of the so-called comforts of life, are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind.

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) Discuss

 

Today’s Birthday: RUTH ELLIS (1926)


Ruth Ellis (1926)

Ellis has the notorious distinction of being the last woman executed in the UK. In 1955, a jury took just 14 minutes to convict her of murdering her lover, racecar driver David Blakely. The two had had a volatile relationship, and Ellis had previously suffered a miscarriage as a result of a punch to the stomach from Blakely, but this mattered little after she admitted openly in court that she had shot him with the intention of killing him. In what film does Ellis have an uncredited cameo? More… Discuss

This Day in the Yesteryear: LANDSLIDE IN ITALY CLAIMS MORE THAN 2,000 LIVES (1963)


Landslide in Italy Claims More Than 2,000 Lives (1963)

One of the highest dams in the world, the Vaiont Dam was constructed on the Vaiont River about 60 mi (100 km) north of Venice, Italy. Two years after its completion, a massive landslide fell into its reservoir, causing the stored water to spill over the dam, sweeping away the village of Longarone and flooding several nearby towns. Some 2,000 people drowned. The dam itself surprisingly remained intact. In 2008, who cited the disaster as one of five “cautionary tales” for engineers and geologists? More… Discuss

 


Sports Superstars Endorsing Less-Than-Healthy Fare

To be a top athlete, one must be in peak physical condition, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at many of the products they agree to endorse. About a quarter of the brands endorsed by the 100 top US athletes of 2010 were food and beverage companies, and a vast majority of the player-endorsed products were less than healthy. Nearly 80% of the food products were high in calories and low in nutritional value, and a whopping 93.4% of the beverages had all of their calories come from added sugar. More… Discuss

 

Word: FOREGATHER


foregather 

Definition: (verb) Collect in one place.
Synonyms: assemblemeet
Usage: The captains of every ship in the fleet rowed into the lagoon to foregather on its secluded beach. Discuss.

 

ARM WRESTLING


Arm Wrestling

Arm wrestling is not just a way to settle an argument—it is also a competitive sport. In official contests, two opponents sit facing each other, with hands interlocked and elbows firmly planted on a table surface, and attempt to force the other’s arm down. Strength alone does not make for a successful arm wrestler. The significant twisting force arm wrestling puts on the humerus bone of the upper arm can be quite dangerous, so good technique is also vital. How do arm wrestlers avoid broken arms? More…Discuss

 

Beethoven “Moonlight” Sonata op 27 # 2 Mov 3 Valentina Lisitsa



Recording in Beethovensaal, Hannover Germany, Dec 2009. Wilhelm Kempff recorded Beethoven cycle in the very same hall.
Buy Moonlight Sonata DVD http://www.amazon.co.uk/Live-Royal-Al…

Valentina Lisitsa Live at the Royal Albert Hall
US iTunes – http://bit.ly/iTunesUSVal 
US Amazon – http://bit.ly/ValRAH

 

National Geographic Photographers: The Best Job in the World | Nat Geo Wild


 

National Geographic Photographers: The Best Job in the World | Nat Geo Wild.

Grigory Sokolov plays Jean-Philippe Rameau, Suite D-major from Pièces de Clavecin



Jean-Philippe Rameau, Suite D-major from Pièces de Clavecin
Concert in Tonhalle Zürich, Switzerland (30.03.2012)

Surrender Emergence 2 (my art collection)


Surrender Emergence 2 (my art collection)

Surrender Emergence 2 (my art collection)

Schubert – Arpeggione – (Anne Gastinel Claire Désert) (Tout simplement magnifique)


Tout simplement magnifique

 

Schubert – “Ständchen” D957



FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797-1828)
*arrangement

Schwanengesang” D957

Lieder: “Ständchen” (Serenade) orginally for tenor and piano, arranged for cello and piano in D minor 

Performed by Anne Gastinel, cello
Claire Désert, piano

 

Gioacchino Rossini – La Cenerentola – Overture



La Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo (Cinderella, or Goodness Triumphant) is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the fairy tale Cinderella. The opera was first performed in Rome’s Teatro Valle on 25 January 1817.

 

J.S. Bach – Brandenburg Concerto No.4 in sol-major BWV 1049


1. Allegro   00:00 
2. Andante  07:17
3. Presto  12:42

Johann Sebastian Bach (Eisenach, Thuringia, March 21. / March 31, 1685 – Leipzig, July 28, 1750) was an organist, harpsichordist and composer of Baroque music German member of a family of musicians most extraordinary of history, with more than 35 famous composers and many outstanding performers. 
His reputation as an organist and harpsichordist was legendary, famed throughout Europe. Apart from the organ and harpsichord, also played the violin and the viola da gamba as well as being the first great improviser renowned music. 
His prolific work is considered the pinnacle of Baroque music. He was distinguished for his intellectual depth, technical perfection and artistic beauty, and also for the synthesis of various international styles of his time and of the past and unparalleled extension. Bach is considered the last great master of the art of counterpoint, which is the source of inspiration and influence to later composers and musicians from Mozart through Schoenberg, until today.

 

Shostakovich Plays Shostakovich – Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major, Op. 102



Dmitri Shostakovich
Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major, Op. 102

Dmitri Shostakovich, piano

Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française
André Cluytens, conductor

 

Quotation: Homer About people and beasts


There can be no covenants between men and lions, wolves and lambs can never be of one mind, but hate each other out and out.

Homer (900 BC-800 BC) Discuss

 

Today’s Birthday: EDWARD “EDDIE” RICKENBACKER (1890)


Edward “Eddie” Rickenbacker (1890)

A skilled American racecar driver, Rickenbacker entered World War I as a driver but soon became a fighter pilot. He shot down 26 enemy aircraft, earning the Congressional Medal of Honor and the moniker “Ace of Aces.” After a failed foray into automobile manufacturing, he ran several airlines for General Motors and eventually acquired one of them. In 1942, his plane was lost while on a tour of military bases in the Pacific, and he was presumed dead, but he was rescued after how many days adrift? More…Discuss

 

This day in the Yesteryear: RAYTHEON PATENTS PERCY SPENCER’S MICROWAVE (1945)


Raytheon Patents Percy Spencer’s Microwave (1945)

Self-taught engineer Percy Spencer discovered the cooking potential of microwaves in the 1940s. While working on magnetrons for the Raytheon Company, he noticed that a peanut butter chocolate bar in his pocket had melted. He determined that microwaves emitted from his magnetrons had cooked the candy bar and confirmed this theory by testing it on popcorn. Raytheon patented Spencer’s microwave oven in 1945 and put it on the market in 1947. What was the first food to explode in a microwave? More… Discuss

CHICKEN NUGGETS LESS THAN 50% CHICKEN MEAT


Chicken Nuggets Less than 50% Chicken Meat

A small-scale study of restaurant chicken nuggets found that the samples examined consisted of 50 percent or less chicken muscle tissue. The remaining bulk was made up of things like fat, blood vessels,nervescartilage, and even bits of bone. Chicken industry members argue that the sample size of the study—two—is too small to carry much weight. The researchers acknowledge that their sample size is quite small but insist their study has an important takeaway message—that although chicken nuggets taste good, they are not necessarily good for you and should only be eaten in moderationMore… Discuss

 

SPACE WARFARE


Space Warfare

Though it may seem limited to science fiction, space warfare was a real concern in the 1960s as space was becoming more accessible to humans during the height of the Cold War. While the Soviet and American space programs were competing to launch satellites and make lunar landings, they were also pursuing other projects—Almaz and Blue Gemini, respectively—to prepare for battle beyond the atmospheric confines of Earth. What weapon did the Soviet Union reportedly test fire in space?More… Discuss