American composer Samuel Barbers best known piece is the Adagio for Strings, which is often used on sad and solemn occasions. If you saw The Elephant Man or Platoon, you heard the Barber Adagio at the end. The version were used to hearing was arranged by Arturo Toscanini for string orchestra in 1936 from the second movement of Barbers Quartet. What was played in Miami was the full quartet, and the Adagio hits harder in the string quartet version. Here is a video, for which I recommend a box of tissues or three handkerchiefs.
Barber: Quartet in B minor, second movement (adagio)
The Hugo Wolf piece is sheer fun. Cellist Robert deMaine loves it.
Dmitri Shostakovichs Quartet #8 in C minor is for hard core chamber music people, and its both depressing and transcendent. You have to love the modern Russians to enjoy it.
Maurice Ravels Quartet in F Major is one of his greatest pieces, and the Ehnes Quartet has it nailed. Back in 2003, the Seattle Chamber Music Society programmed this quartet for the first time after I had begged for it for years. Jimmy Ehnes, Richard ONeill and Bob deMaine were the first violinist, violist and cellist respectively for the Ravel. (I forget who played second violin that night.) The performance was amazing, and afterward the musicians knew that something astonishing had happened on stage. That was the night the first seeds for the Ehnes String Quartet were planted. What I witnessed in Miami was the best performance of the piece Id ever heard, and I told Jimmy and Bob that they needed to record it. (Theyll be recording Barber, and Shostakovich #7 and #8, live in Seattle this July.) Here is the second movement, which is an absolute blast.
Ravel: Quartet in F, second movement (scherzo)
I hope to be present for the Canteen this Friday with a new project.
You were missed! :)
I really missed you!
So I comforted myself by reading the Bible and came across this Scripture:
Acts 28:7:There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and for three days entertained us hospitably.
So it would seem that St. Paul enjoys your Weekend entertainment as well.
So Glad to have you back. Sorry your visit to my beautiful State was during the COLDEST weekend of the YEAR! LOL!