There isn't any theme for tonight's show; I'm simply going to play some of my favorite classics and pops. I couldn't squeeze them all in, so there will have to be yet another Odds And Ends show one of these days. For instance, I wanted to play Little Children by Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, but didn't get around to it.
Part A
Chopin: Etude No 3 In E Major, "Tristesse"
The tune from this Chopin etude was stolen to make a popular song: How deep is the night.
This violinist, Sayaka Shoji is truly wonderful, and it certainly helps that she is utterly cute, too. Unfortunately I can't show you a photo of her on the radio. This is the Finale.
Renaissance: Black Flame
The band called Renaissance was introduced to me by Katie. This is one of their best.
This tune is sung just before the horse race in My Fair Lady. Eliza yells at the horse: Come on, Dover, move yer bloomin' arse! The Higgins clan is not quite ready for that.
Brahms: Haydn Variations No. 7-- Grazioso
One of the more melodious of the St Anthony Chorale Variations, and my favorite.
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| When he's alone, he even counts himself. |
This delightful, but rather suggestive song was sung on Sesame Street. On the face of it, there's nothing naughty about either the tune or the words.
Part B
Mozart: Clarinet Concerto -- Movement 2
This is the slow movement of the Clarinet Concerto once again. Listen, I like this piece, and you're going to like it too.
Procol Harum: A Whiter Shade Of Pale
One of the most memorable tunes to come out of the seventies.
Frederick Delius: Florida Suite -- II: By The River
My Uncle drew my attention to this one. I think the theme wasn't strong enough to carry such a long movement.
Borodin: On The Steppes Of Central Asia
Unlike the previous piece, this one is an absolute winner. The tune depicts a caravan crossing the steppes, encountering a wandering tribe of Arabs, and then a contingent of soldiers.
Part C
My friend Gene said that he recognized this tune because it was featured in, of all things, an episode of The Three Stooges. The vocalist here is Dilber, a great new talent.
Mendelssohn: Octet, Op 20, in E-Flat -- i Allegro moderato ma con fuoco
This is an important piece, both for its structure, and for the extreme youth of its composer. Felix Mendelssohn wrote this wonderful Octet for eight strings (four violins, two violas and two Cellos) when he was sixteen years old. It is remarkable because most octets of this kind have been written for two string quartets. This one is actually conceived orchestrally, so that there is no specific antiphonal intention. This is the first movement. The Scherzo is also independently well known. The first violin is Jascha Heifetz, the brilliant violinist of the first half of the last century. Heifetz was so technically gifted that he dominated string technique to the point where everyone almost hated his perfection. All the performers on this recording are soloists in their own right.
Bach: French Suite No 5 in G major, BWV 816 -- Gigue
I've played this Gigue before, but this is played on a piano, rather than on a harpsichord. (This tune is also the ringtone on my phone.)
Debussy: Reverie, L 68
This lovely early Debussy piece is played by Kathryn Stott. Debussy is said not to have liked it, because it was too popular-sounding. Today it is one of his best-known piano pieces.
Part D
Mozart: Sonata in C minor, K 457-- I Molto allegro
This is Colin Tilney playing one of Mozart's better-known piano sonatas. It has rather a meditative mood. Notice that Mr. Tilney is playing on a reproduction of an early Fortepiano, a kind of instrument that was a precursor of modern pianos, but had a more delicate sound, surprisingly close to that of a harpsichord. But the strings are struck, like a piano, and not plucked, like a harpsichord.
Dowland: Mistress Winter's Jump
This is the melancholy John Dowland trying to be jolly. He succeeds fairly well. The group is the Extempore String Ensemble, led by George Weiland.
Bach: Ach Herr mein Gott
This lovely duet is from a Bach Cantata. The soprano and the alto seem to be in perfect agreement.
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| Go ahead, hug me |
This is a group in which my daughter Uma sang backup. It was a short-lived group; the young fellow who led the group has this tendency to create a group wherever he happens to be staying for a while, make some brilliant recordings, and then go somewhere else and start another group.
Mozart: Violin Concerto No 4 in D major, K 218 -- Allegro
Mozart wrote five violin concertos that I'm aware of. This one is played by Pinchas Zukerman, when he was the music director of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.
Happy shoveling!
Archie
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