Chamber Music for English Horn and Strings

I do have a CD recommendation for this week.  It's the 2004 debut of Chamber Music for English Horn and Strings (running time approximately 54 minutes).  It features members of the St. Louis Symphony with David Halen on violin and Marc Gordon on English horn.  Lenard Slatin was the producer of the record, which is on A&M Recordings. 

The pieces performed are:

Michael Haydn - Quartet in C Major

W.A. Mozart - Adagio K580a

Rossinni - Sonata No. 2

Jean Francaix - Quatuor

I enjoyed all the pieces on it.  Giving it as a present to someone who loves music is a great way to introduce them to members of the St. Louis Symphony.

I'm slow with the times

I'm still in a state of shock.  But no surprised.  Though I'm late in finding out Webster University dissolved its Community Choir and Webster University Symphony last year.  As Sarah Bryan Miller of the Post-Dispatch reported in July 2012, the university got rid of its community-university based choir and orchestra.  That probably had to due with the fact that Katherine Smith-Bower retired from Webster's music department several years ago.  She was the driving force behind the Webster University Community Choir. 

I participated in several productions in the 1990's.  One of which was Carmina Burana by Carl Orff.  I hadn't done which with the community choir since then.  I'd hoped to do something with it.  Now, I'm just disappointed.  I don't know of any local musical outlets I could turn to as easily as the Community Choir.  It just goes to show I'm slow with the times...

My musical odyssey

I discovered Rachmaninov when I was an undergraduate at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN.  At the time, I played 4th Horn on the Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 1.  That was when I had time to practice the French horn and devote myself to music.  Now, I have the time but no French horn.  So I did what I could do and became a tenor. 

I sang with a local church choir and the Webster University Choral Society for several years in the 1990's.  But working nights often interfered with it.  I also had season tickets to the St. Louis Symphony the last few years I lived here before moving to Hays, KS.  I learned to appreciate good music and what an outstanding orchestra we had locally.  It's a hidden gem. 

All that was before I sold my French horn when I went to South Africa for a vacation.  Now, I curse my luck.  But I still want a double barreled French horn.  I'm thinking about a professional Yamaha double barreled horn.  Those are expensive.  It would take me a while to come up with the money for one.  My luck being what it is, that won't be for at least another two and a half years.

Right now, I have few musical outlets besides my CD collection.  I'm not singing with anyone.  Though it would be good to have an outlet.  I don't know if the Webster Choir Society still meets on Tuesdays evening.  It might be worthwhile looking into.  The problem is I don't know if my writing group will switch dates from Mondays to Thursdays when they finally chose a new location this summer.  I'll have to see what is going on at Webster University... 

What I've been listening to...

I played the French Horn for about ten years.  When I was 31, I foolishly sold off my double barreled Conn 8D Horn.  I needed money for a trip.  The only way I could come up with it was to pawn off my beloved instrument.  I've regretted it ever since...

What I have been listening to has been Natasha Paremski's latest CD, simply called Natasha Paremski.  She plays sonatas by Brahms, Kahane, and Prokofiev on the disk.  I heard her live at Powell Hall back in 2008 when she played some Rachmaninov.  I admire Paremski's work and artistry.  She's been a regular at the music festival in Innsbrook, MO each June.  I'd like to hear her again in person when time allows.

The second artist I'd recommend is another Russian named Anna Netrebko.  I discovered her when I listened to Met productions when KOFU 99.1 FM was still on the air in St. Louis, MO.  Netrebko has been called the "Miracle from St. Petersburg" for her singing.  She is a mezzo-soprano with a wonderful range.  I've played her "Russian Album" by Deutsche Grammophon to death.  I have a couple other of her CDs.  But I haven't kept up with her latest releases.

The last two artists I'd recommend is Joshua Bell and Anne Sophie Mutter.  Both are excellent violin players.  I just came into possession of Joshua Bells's "Voice of the Violin."  I own a variety of Mutter recordings.  The latest is her release with "In Tempus Praesens" by Gubaidulina and some Bach pieces.  I found anything by Mutter to be good.  It just matters what you're in the mood for...