This Week's Listening & Muses - April 1-7

Schmitt - Suites from Antoine et Cléopâtre. For r/classicalmusic 's piece of the week. I haven't listened to much by Florent Schmitt, I know his symphonie concertante and some piano works. I liked his orchestration, like Debussy mixed with Strauss. Doesn't captivate me as much as the piano and chamber works but it is luscious.

Mendelssohn - Concerto in Ab Major for two pianos. Decided to listen through more of Hyperion's catalogue of "Romantic Piano Concertos", which were some of the works I listened to getting into classical music and were formative to my tastes. Mendelssohn's double piano concertos were written when he was a teenager for him to play with his sister Fanny, and they weren't published in his lifetime and apparently he thought they were immature. The concerto was charming and made me think of the early/classical Beethoven piano concertos

Moszkowski - Piano Concerto in E major. Another recording from the Romantic Concertos series, I hadn't listened to this one much before and wasn't that interested. Listening to it again now, I loved the exuberance and larger-than-life sounds

Schmidt - Symphony no.1. A less popular symphonist I was really into years back, late romantic and decadent. I didn't like this one as much at first, but listening now I'm surprised that I used to find it boring. It's very loud, grand, "majestic", and like a lot of romantic symphonies, long. It's great for blasting on speakers

Messiaen - Turangalîla. To break up the Romantic monotony, I was happy to see Marc-André Hamelin as the pianist for this masterpiece. Bombastic, "futuristic", otherworldly, fun and beautiful and sometimes mind-boggling.

I'll try to post the top favorites of music I listen to in a week to share some recommendations and act as my own listening diary, hopefully introduce some music to you guys or get recommendations in return!

calming playlists / songs for @calmlyforsaken 🫶🏽

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original video by LENFILM, published 1959. - x

Dracula - music from the Ballet

Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

music on my mind: 🎵 why am i like this - orla gartland 🎵 études op. 10 - chopin 🎵 temporary fix - one direction 🎵 the nutcracker - tchaikovsky 🎵 falling - harry styles 🎵 kitri variation (don quixote) - minkus 🎵 you should be sad - halsey 🎵 esmeralda variation - pugni 🎵 suga's interlude - halsey 🎵 dumky trio - dvořák 🎵 georgia on my mind - ray charles 🎵 concerto op. 61 no. 1 in d minor - kalkbrenner 🎵 always you - louis tomlinson 🎵 partita no. 6 in e minor - js bach 🎵 matilda - harry styles 🎵 andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante - chopin 🎵 another esmeralda variation

Dancers are the athletes of God- Albert Einstein

OTD in Music History: Legendary piano virtuoso Josef Hofmann (1876 - 1957) is born in what is now Poland. One of the greatest instrumentalists in history, young Hofmann gave his debut recital in Warsaw at the age of 5, followed shortly thereafter by a long series of concerts throughout Europe and Scandinavia. His childhood musical activities culminated in a legendary tour of America at tender age of of 11 (1887-88) that prompted unprecedented public fervor and elicited comparisons in the press with the young Mozart and the young Mendelssohn. Spurred by rising public concern over the possibility that was Hofmann being unduly exploited by his parents for financial reasons, however, that tour was cut short when a wealthy benefactor donated $50,000 (more than $2,000,000 in 2022) to free Hofmann from his performing obligations -- on the condition that he cease all public musical activities until he turned 18 years old. This marked the end of Hofmann's child prodigy years. (He later expressed deep regret with this arrangement, noting that he had thoroughly his years as a child prodigy.) Anton Rubinstein (1829 - 1894) had previously heard the young Hofmann play in Warsaw and declared him to be an unprecedented talent. Rubinstein subsequently accepted Hofmann as his only private pupil, and the two met for 42 one-hour lessons in Dresden. All of the pieces that Hofmann brought to Rubinstein had to be memorized, and he was never allowed to bring the same composition twice -- Rubinstein stated that he was worried he would forget what he had previously told Hofmann and give him conflicting advice. Rubinstein also never played for Hofmann. Rubinstein personally arranged Hofmann's adult debut in Hamburg on March 14, 1894, however -- but thereafter, Rubinstein informed Hofmann there would be no further lessons, and they never saw each other again (Rubinstein died just a few months later). PICTURED: A rare original program from one of young Hofmann's final recitals from his aborted 1887-1888 American tour.

Coppelia (Act 1 Waltz) (Ballet Music, Delibes)

The beautiful eyed doll Coppelia, and Franz, a young man who falls in love with her, sneak into the house and have a ``love affair'' with the doll, and this is the graceful waltz that plays at that time. Jealous and suspicious, his lover Swanilda destroys the doll, bringing Franz back to his senses. Still, Franz must have been immersed in a sweet dream. In ballet music, I think it's the most graceful piece.

コッペリア（第1幕ワルツ）（バレエ音楽・ドリーブ）

目の美しい美少女の人形コッペリア、それに恋した青年フランツは、家に忍び込み、その人形と「逢瀬」を重ねるが、そのときに流れる優美なワルツがこの曲。嫉妬と疑念に囚われた恋人のスワニルダが、人形を破壊して、フランツは正気に戻る。それにしても、フランツは、甘美な夢に浸っていたのだろうな。私が、バレエ音楽で、もっとも優美だと思っている曲。

Georg Caspar Schürmann (1672 or 1673 - 1751) - Orchestral Suite from “Ludovicus Pius,” III. Ballet - Entre. Performed by Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin on period instruments.

One of the best things on ballet is pretty good music 🤍

1973

‎♡‧₊˚˗ˏˋ 🩰 ˎˊ˗₊‧‎♡

Unveiling the Symphony of Success: Balletrax — Where Music and Books Converge

In a world where creativity intertwines with commerce, ventures like Balletrax emerge as beacons of innovation, harmonizing the realms of music and literature. Balletrax, a name resonating with elegance and rhythm, stands as a testament to the fusion of artistic expression and entrepreneurial spirit. In this blog, we delve into the captivating journey of Balletrax, exploring how it orchestrates a symphony of success by bridging the gap between music books.

Coppelia (Act 1 Mazurka) (Ballet Music, Delibes)

The original "Sand Man" is a horrifying story. The distance from this graceful ballet is great. Is it the magic of art? "Sand Man" is a horror novel by E.T.A. Hoffmann, in which the story of a young man's spiritual destruction is based on the keys to "eyeballs" and "eye sockets." As in the original, a beautiful girl doll with beautiful eyes appears, but using that as a motif, the story is wonderfully reorganized into a comedy, in which a man and a woman have a happy ending of marriage.

コッペリア（第1幕マズルカ）（バレエ音楽・ドリーブ）

原作の「砂男」は身の毛もよだつ怖いお話。優美なこのバレエとの距離は大きい。芸術の魔術か。「砂男」は、E.T.A.ホフマンの恐怖小説で、「眼球」「眼窩」をキーに、青年が精神的に破滅していくお話。原作の通り目の美しい美少女の人形が登場するが、それをモチーフにして、一組の男女が結婚というハッピーエンドを迎えるという、喜劇仕立てに話を組み替えているのが見事。