Maestro: Independent Classical Spotlight

Florent Ghys "Soli" (mp3) from "Baroque Tardif: Soli" (Cantaloupe Music) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at Napster More On This Album Album Notes: Cantaloupe Music continues its series of EPs. These are available via digital music services and in a limited edition physical pressing available to members of our subscription-only Cantaloupe Club. After receiving a traditional French diploma in music, Florent Ghys researched experimental and minimalist music--leading him to Bang on a Can's Summer Festival at MASS MoCA in 2007. Returned to his hometown in Bordeaux and missing the community he found around the summer festival, Ghys asked himself, "What would I write if I had to write for an ensemble in which I am the only player?" Ghys says of his process: "The reasons for this schizophrenic question are multiple. Returning to Bordeaux from Paris, I had the feeling of being musically isolated - of being out of tune with my new environment - and I couldn't stop writing. I was also interested in the idea of breaking

Quartet San Francisco "Take Five" (mp3) from "QSF Plays Brubeck" (Violinjazz Recordings) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at Rhapsody Buy at Amazon MP3 More On This Album In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the release of Time Out, QSF pays tribute to the mastery of Brubeck with the first-ever all Brubeck string quartet CD! Grammy nominees for their last two releases (2006 and 2007)and International Tango competition winners (New York , 2004), Quartet San Francisco expresses itself in its agility and standout virtuosic playing. Quartet San Francisco is Jeremy Cohen and Alisa Rose , violinists, Keith Lawrence, violist, and Michelle Djokic, cellist. As crossover specialists they excel in multiple styles ó from jazz to tango, pop to funk, blues to bluegrass, gypsy swing to big band and beyond . Nominee, 52nd Annual GRAMMY© Awards Best Classical Crossover Album Best Engineered Album, Classical NPR Weekend Edition, Sunday January 31, 2010 The Philadelphia Orchestra, Stewart Goodyear, David Bilger, Ch

 Polkastra from "Apolkalypse Now" (Ancalagon LLC) Buy at iTunes Music Store More On This Album Polkastra An eclectic and international cast of characters including a Canadian folk fiddler, the Met's contrabassoonist, an Israeli accordionist and percussionist, a jack-of-all-trades bassist, a French Horn playing record store clerk and an internationally renowned violin soloist met in a New Jersey studio to record a polka album just for fun. An idea that began as a lark quickly grew into an eccentric, virtuosic and energetic exploration of the roots of polka: folk, country, classical and jazz. Polkastra is a unique world music project that celebrates both the joy of music and the power of dance to unite cultures. From the American Midwest and the North of Canada to the mountains of Bohemia and the deserts of Israel - Apolkalypse Now poses the important question "Would you like sauerkraut, poutine, goulash or hummus with that?" http://www.facebook.com/pages/Polkastra/85797268829 http://www.polkastra.com Ama

George Zacharias "Nel cor pi√π non mi sento, Op. 38, MS 44" (mp3) from "Unaccompanied" (Divine Art) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at Rhapsody More On This AlbumArtist: George ZachariasIt takes a particular and extreme level of skill and dedication to perform virtuoso works for unaccompanied solo violin; suffice it to say these are qualities held by George Zacharias without doubt. This is a tour-de-force of musicianship and technique - and wonderful music too. Bartok's Sonata is presented in its original version and of the two awesome Paganini works, the 'God Save the King' Variations are very rarely heard. Dejan Laziƒ?, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Kirill Petrenko "Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18" (mp3) from "Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18 - Moments Musicaux, Op. 16" (Channel Classics Records) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at Rhapsody Buy at Napster More On This AlbumArtist: Dejan Lazic Pianist Dejan Lazic was born in Zagreb, Croatia, and grew up in Salzburg where he studied at

Fabio Biondi "Les Quatre Saisons (L'Ete)" (mp3) from "Violon X" (Naive) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at Rhapsody Stream from Rhapsody More On This AlbumFabio Biondi – violin:  Born in Palermo, Fabio Biondi began his international career at the age of twelve, performing his first solo concert with the RAI symphony orchestra. Driven early on by an inexhaustible cultural curiosity, Fabio Biondi was introduced to pioneers of the new approach to baroque music, an opportunity that was to expand his musical vision and change the direction of his career. In 1990, Fabio Biondi founded Europa Galante, an ensemble which, in just a few years thanks to their worldwide concert schedule and extraordinary recording successes, became the most internationally renowned and awarded Italian ensemble of baroque music. Fabio Biondi and his ensemble have been invited to play at the most important world festivals and concert halls, from La Scala in Milan to the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, the Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Conc

Maestro 008: feat. Impressionistic Piano Works, Part 1 1. Anthony Goldstone "The Bumble Bee" (mp3) from "A Night at the Opera - Liszt, Gluck, Chopin, et al." (Divine Art) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at Rhapsody Buy at Napster Buy at appliedSB / Groupietunes Buy at Puretracks Buy at mTraks More On This Album "Flight of the Bumblebee" is an orchestral interlude written by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov for his opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan, composed in 1899–1900. The piece closes Act III, Tableau 1, right after the magic Swan-Bird gives Prince Gvidon Saltanovich (the Tsar's son) instructions on how to change into an insect so that he can fly away to visit his father (who does not know that he is alive). Although in the opera the Swan-Bird sings during the first part of the "Flight", her vocal line is melodically uninvolved and easily omitted; this feature, combined with the fact that the number decisively closes the scene, made easy extraction as an orchestral concert piece possible. Nicolas Rimsky-Korsakov was

Maestro Classical podcast: episode 7, a holiday celebration feat. Tchaikovsky and J.S. Bach. 1. The London Symphony Orchestra "Nutcracker Ballet Suite: Waltz Of The Flowers" (mp3) from "Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker Suite / 1812 Overture" (Everest Records) Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was a Russian composer of the Romantic era. While not part of the nationalistic music group known as "The Five", Tchaikovsky wrote music which, in the opinion of Harold C. Schonberg, was distinctly Russian: plangent, introspective, with modally-inflected melody and harmony. Despite the compositional efforts of The Five, Tchaikovsky dominates 19th century Russian music as its greatest talent. While his formal conservatory training instilled in him Western-oriented attitudes and techniques, his essential nature, as he always insisted, remained Russian. This was true both in his use of actual folk song and his deep absorption in Russian life and ways of thought. His natural gifts, especially for melody (what he called the "lyrical idea

Maestro Classical podcast - episode 006: Johann Sebastian Bach feat. Lara St. John & Trevor Pinnick Johann Sebastian Bach: (from Wikipedia.org) (31 March 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and organist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity. Although he introduced no new forms, he enriched the prevailing German style with a robust contrapuntal technique, an unrivalled control of harmonic and motivic organisation in composition for diverse musical forces, and the adaptation of rhythms and textures from abroad, particularly Italy and France. Lara St. John "Bach: The Six Sonatas & Partitas for Violin Solo" (Ancalagon) ALBUM NOTES Sei Solo a Violino senza Basso accompagnato

(Six Solos for Violin without accompanying Bass)

Completed: Cöthen, 1720

According to the date he inscribed on the title page of the manuscript, Johann Sebastian Bach completed his Six Solos for V

Maestro Classical Podcast: episode 5 feat. Ludwig van Beethoven, movements from Symphonies No. 1, 5, & 9. Ludwig van Beethoven (16 December 1770 – 26 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He was a crucial figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western classical music, and remains one of the most respected and influential composers of all time. Born in Bonn, he moved to Vienna in his early twenties and settled there, studying with Joseph Haydn and quickly gained a reputation as a virtuoso pianist. Beethoven's hearing gradually deteriorated beginning in his twenties, yet he continued to compose, and to conduct and perform, even after he was completely deaf. This is Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Opus 21. It was written in 1799 - 1800 and was premiered April 2, 1800 in Vienna, and is dedicated to Baron Gottfried van Swieten, an early patron of the composer. Here, the 3rd movement is performed by the USSR State Symphony, conducted by Konstantin Ivanov. Konsta

Maestro Classical Podcast: Episode 4 feat. Mozart's "Requiem" and Shostakovich's "Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47". 1. Sir Colin Davis, London Symphony Orchestra "Requiem" (mp3) from "Mozart: Requiem" (LSO Live) Buy at iTunes Music Store More On This Album 2. Chicago Symphony Orchestra "Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47" (mp3) from "CSO Resound / Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5" (CSO Resound) Buy at iTunes Music Store Stream from Rhapsody Buy at Amazon More On This Album

Austrian composers part 1: Anton Bruckner. 1. Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra & Andreas Delfs "Bruckner: Symphony No. 4" (mp3) from "Bruckner: Symphony No. 4" (MSO Classics) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at eMusic Buy at Amazon More On This Album 2. Carl Schuricht "Symphony No. 9 D minor" (mp3) from "Anton Bruckner: Symphony No.8 / No.9" (haenssler CLASSIC) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at eMusic Stream from Rhapsody Buy at Amazon More On This Album

1. Sviatoslav Richter, Kirill Kondrashin, Camille Saint-Saëns, Moscow Youth Orchestra "Piano Concerto No. 5 in F Major, Op. 103" (mp3) from "Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 5" (MUSIC ONLINE) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at Napster Buy at Amazon More On This Album 2. Jean-Pierre Ferey, Laurent Boukobza "Âmes d'enfant (Children's Souls)" (mp3) from "Ladmirault, Fauré, Cras, Ravel: Piano Works for Four Hands" (SKARBO) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at Napster Buy at mTraks Download More On This Album

1. Elaine Comparone, Marsha Heller, Peter Seidenberg "Concert 1 - La Coulicam" (Jean-Philippe Rameau: Pieces de Clavicin en Concert) [Lyrichord Early Music Series] Elaine Comparone, Marsha Heller, Peter Seidenberg "Concert 1- La Coulicam" (mp3) from "Jean-Philippe Rameau 1683-1764: Pieces de Clavicin en Concert (1741)" (Lyrichord Early Music Series) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at eMusic Buy at Rhapsody Buy at Napster Stream from Rhapsody Buy at Amazon Buy at GroupieTunes Buy at mTraks Download More On This Album 2. Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Mariss Jansons "La mer, trois esquisses symphoniques"[RCO Live] Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Mariss Jansons "La mer, trois esquisses symphoniques" (mp3) from "Debussy: La mer, trois esquisses symphoniques - Dutilleux: L'Arbre des songes - Ravel: La valse, poème chorégraphique" (RCO Live) Buy at iTunes Music Store More On This Album