Saturday, December 16, 2017

Most Popular Posts of the Year: January and February

Unlike a lot of blogs, I usually try to put up posts that have more relevance than just for the day so let's have a look back at 2017 and pick out the posts that seemed to resonate with my readers.

Starting with January, the most popular post was on the Piano Sonata no. 2 by Prokofiev:

http://themusicsalon.blogspot.mx/2017/01/prokofiev-piano-sonata-2-in-d-minor-op.html

I didn't see that coming! And the second most popular post was on the Piano Sonata no. 1:

http://themusicsalon.blogspot.mx/2017/01/prokofiev-first-piano-sonata.html

I guess I am going to continue to do series of posts on specific repertoire. If you have some suggestions, just leave them in the comments.

Let's have a listen to that sonata. This performance is by Sviatoslav Richter:



The most popular post in February was one about Lady Gaga's vocal coach, and I presume that was simply because of her fame as a pop star:

http://themusicsalon.blogspot.mx/2017/02/vocal-coaching-lady-gaga.html

The second most popular post came the day before with one on the sub-culture of orchestral musicians:

http://themusicsalon.blogspot.mx/2017/02/practice.html

I ended that last post with a clip of Leonard Bernstein conducting the Vienna Philharmonic in the last movement of the Symphony No. 88 by Haydn. That particular performance is so amusing that we should watch it again. Once he starts them off Lennie just stands there making facial expressions as if to demonstrate that this orchestra hardly needs a conductor to play Haydn!


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2 comments:

  1. Will WilkinDecember 16, 2017 at 11:53 AM

    Nice article on the culture of orchestral musicians. I aim to be a hillbilly version, just an electrician teaching myself violin hoping to some day play in a community orchestra for --you guessed it-- the joy of being in a community of musicians. Aren't there any adult learners out there? It seems classical music only has professional musicians who began as children. The superb quality of the professional orchestras and virtuosic soloists is part of the joy of my life, but there is a certain impoverishment of daily life and popular culture when musicianship is left to the professionals and most people are merely passive "consumers." I realize art music has always been an educated and professional cut above the peasant dances played in the barnyards, but where at least are our gypsies to bridge that class divide with their fiddling?

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  2. Bryan TownsendDecember 16, 2017 at 12:33 PM

    Oh god yes! I think very few children take music lessons these days compared to a few decades ago. It seems to be different in China and Japan though, which is why so many of the young virtuosos are coming from there.

    There must be some community orchestras in your area?

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