Review of Eroica Trio (1997)

Artists:  Eroica Trio.
Album:  Eroica Trio.
Publisher:  EMI Classics.
Release Date: 1997.

George Gershwin - Three Preludes.

Marice Ravel - Piano Trio (1914).

Benjamin Godard - Berceuse.

Paul Schoenfield - Cafe Music.

I have had this CD for a long time.  I discovered the Eroica Trio by accident on a local NPR station when they still played classical music in St. Louis.  I could have heard them live when I lived outside of Ames, IA in early 2003.  However, I just have several of their CDs. 

The Trio has released a ton of albums since their debut CD in 1997.  Bryan Miller of the Post-Dispatch called the Erotic Trio because the three musicians looked like Covergirl models.  Besides the eye candy, their music is excellent.  If you get a chance, do see them in concert.  It's worth it.

Bach: Violin Concertos/Gubaidulina: In tempus praesens

Album:  Bach - Violin Concertos/Gubaidulina - In tempus praesens
Artist:  Anne Sophie Mutter
Recording Company:  Deutsche Grammophon
Release Date:  2008.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Violin Concerto in A minor
Violin Concerto in E major

Sofia Gubaidulina (1931)
In tempus praesens

The Bach recordings are solid pieces.  I enjoyed hearing Mutter and her chamber orchestra record them.  What can I say about Bach?  Other than his works stand the test of time.  Because of his staying power, Bach ranks as one of the immortals of classical music.

In tempus praesens is one of those atonal modern pieces that I don't know how quite to react.  I do like new pieces of music.  Don't get me wrong.  Just because I'm a 19th century romantic at heart, I do appreciate 20th century music.  And new music should be patronized. 

Unfortunately in the words of Bryan Miller, modern classical music became movie soundtracks.  I'm of the opinion new music is meant for live performances and recordings.  But I fear I don't have the proper musical language to describe In tempus praesens.  It's meant to be experience and then judged for what it is.  I think that is what Mutter and the composer, Sofia Gubaidulina, intended.  But if modern music isn't your forte, then you might want to skip this recording.

Review of Hilary Hahn's Bach Concertos

Name:  Bach Violin Concertos
Performers:  Hilary Hahn & Los Angels Chamber Orchestra
Recording Company:  Deutsche Grammophon
Date:  2003

Concerto for Violin, Strings, and Continuo in E major, BWV 1042
Concerto for 2 Violins, Strings, and Continuo in D minor, BWV 1043
Concerto for Violin, Strings, and Continuo in A minor, BWV 1041
Concerto for Oboe, Violin, Strings, and Continuo in C minor, BWV 1060

I bought this CD in October 2010 at a local Borders in St. Louis, MO.  I enjoyed hearing Hilary Hahn's work.  This album is an hour's worth of Bach violin concertos.  I'd hear Hahn when she performed at Powell Symphony Hall back in the late 1990s.  I've always been impressed by her technical performance.  Hearing on disc is as rewarding as hearing her live. 

And there has always been a place in my heart for Bach.  The endurance of his music is a testimony to his genius.  Though violinists tend to fall back on his work when it comes to performances.  I highly recommend this CD for its artistry and flawlessness.

Horn Quintets by Zbigniew Zuk

Years ago, I received a CD from Sarah Bryan Miller at X-mas called Horn Quintets by Zbigniew Zuk.  Zuk was a French horn player from Warsaw, Poland. 

There are four pieces on this CD:

Louis Francis Dauprat: 
Quintette pour cor et quatour a cordes Op. 6/1 en fa majeur

Willhelm Gottlieb Hauff:
1st Concerto (Quintet) for Horn and Strings in E-flat

Louis Francis Dauprat:
Quintette pour cor et quatuor a cordes Op. 6/III en mi flat majeur

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:
Quintet Es-dur fur Horn, Violene, 2 Violen & Cello KV 407

I enjoyed all the pieces on this CD.  Then again, I'm a French horn player.  Recommended for any who enjoys chamber music or Horn pieces.

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...