I think of him as the star of stars, in all of classical music, past and present. At his recitals in the 1840s, admirers fought over his cigar stubs, handkerchiefs and gloves, and the poet Heinrich Heine compared the frenzy to mass hysteria. It came to be called Lisztomania.

The Sonata in B minor came later, in 1852–53. He dedicated it to Robert Schumann, and it was first played in public in 1857 by his pupil Hans von Bülow, in Berlin. I am no Lisztomaniac, but I waited eagerly for Jorge Bolet's 1982 recording to come out, bought the CD, and played it many times.

Piano Sonata in B minor (Jorge Bolet, 1982)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5tUUZzdC2E

I have always loved the melody of La Folia and have now been listening to this version by Salieri. In my opinion, it is an almost underrated piece of music.

Would be interested to hear if you have recommendations for other interpretations!

By French Overture, I mean the baroque form that features a slow introduction in dotted rhythm followed by a fast fugal section. So please no Carmen :).

I just want to put my love for the overture to Handel‘s Theodora out there.

With the final round taking place in around 10 hours or so, it feels like engagement for the Wieniawski comp as a whole this year is pretty weak. The Chopin competition last year and even the Wieniawski competition 4 years ago had far more people invested and actively engaging. Why might this be?

The lack of engagement is even more surprising because the production quality is absolutely amazing this year.

Jaguar has ended its naming rights partnership with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. On 15 October the orchestra’s home reverts to its original name, Shanghai Symphony Hall, after five years and three months as Jaguar Shanghai Symphony Hall.

Jaguar took the name at a ceremony on 8 July 2021, announcing a long term strategic partnership with the orchestra at the hall on Fuxing Road Central. Jaguar Land Rover also became a standing member of the orchestra’s cultural development foundation, and it backed the youth programmes of that summer’s Shanghai Summer Music Festival. The hall was designed by Arata Isozaki with acoustics by Yasuhisa Toyota and opened in 2014. Locals call it the “wonton wrapper.”

Car makers were once among the most prominent corporate names on Shanghai’s stages. Buick became a strategic partner of the Shanghai Grand Theatre in 2014, and its name was still on the theatre’s medium sized hall in 2021. The theatre’s 2026/27 season announcement refers to the medium sized hall without it. SAIC, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation and a state-owned enterprise, took the naming of Shanghai Culture Square in June 2016 on a five year deal. It is unclear whether that was renewed.

https://klassikom.substack.com/p/jaguar-drops-shanghai-symphony-hall

Hello all!

This is a deep cut to my school days but I once had a Theory TA explain to us that the Oboe was commonly used to symbolized a doomed character.

If the orchestration had a characters motif played by the oboe, then they would often die by the end of the opera.

She had examples but this was 10+ years ago and I cannot for the life of me find any mention of this elsewhere!

Has anyone else heard of this?

Yesterday's concert at the Philharmonie by Staatskapelle Berlin was so amazing! They performed Richard Strauss' For Last Songs which was okay, but what Christian Thielemann and the orchestra did after the intermission with the Alpine Symphony was out of this world. Never heard an orchestra with such a warm and dark sound ever before and this fit the piece so extremely well. The thunderstorm Thielemann unleashed during the descent whipped with such a force through the hall that I wouldn't have been surprised if the ceiling had been blown off — only to be followed by the most calming organ sound during the sunset and epilogue you can imagine.

You can't do Strauss any better then this imho. And of course it's a different experience in the hall then with headphones, but for those interested the whole performance from a day prior at the Staatsoper is online on German Radio Station radio3 here, starting with the Four Last Songs and then the Alpine Symphony beginning at 54:30.

I came across a chamber version of Bruckner’s Symphony no 7 and absolutely loved it - I mean, I loved the original symphony too (probably my favorite Bruckner), but I thought the chamber version was clearer and a little easier to understand (I admit that I do have a love/hate relationship with Bruckner in general…).

I feel like someone like Bruckner could possibly benefit from a chamber version… but need to do it really well to avoid losing that all-encompassing grandeur of Bruckner… I think at one point I listened to a Mahler symphony transcribed for chamber and thought that it was a little lacking, but then again I absolutely adore Mahler and probably cannot deal with people messing with his music. Can you imagine a chamber version of Mahler 2’s finale? Or 3? Just wouldn’t be adequate…

Have you listened to chamber versions of symphonies? How have you found them? Are there some that you like more than others? Is it also composer- or even symphony-specific?

Have ya'll heard Keating's Triumph by Maurice Jarre? I know its technically not classical music but it does have those vibes. Its from "Dead Poets Society" and man it hits hard.

She seemed to be such a delightful, fun and sweet person!

The HIP movement deserves a lot of credit for reviving Zelenka's music and the recordings out there are quite nice, but I have a burning curiosity for more unabashedly modern interpretations. Has this been done? I guess the earliest recordings of his trio sonatas are a bit like that, but is there anything beyond that?

Barry Lyndon • Piano Trio in E-Flat • Franz Schubert - HD Film Tributes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V_TXNdn5ss

🎹✨ A Glimpse Into My Musical Journey – 1995 ❤️

Throwback to my 15-year-old self performing Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st Movement! 🎶🔥

A special memory from my childhood, when my passion for the piano was already shaping my dreams. ❤️

Every great musical journey begins with a young dreamer. 🥹🎹

What were you passionate about at 13? 💕

#Rachmaninoff #PianoConcertoNo1 #YoungPianist #ClassicalPiano #IllyaZozulya

1. Tchaikovsky Suite from Sleeping Beauty and Dvorak Cello Concerto (also Nielsen Overture to Maskarade) on 10/24 with no Bears game to contend with on hotels and restaurants. OR
2. Beethoven's 5th, Strauss Burlesque, and Wagner prelude to Parsifal on 11/7 with limited lodging options and high crowds due to the Bears game on Sunday.

[Edited formatting. I suck at this apparently]

Another symphony orchestra facing financial difficulties. 80th season for this group will be next year. Hoping things can improve sooner rather than later.

Hello everyone i have been into mainly romantic, impressionist, and begun indulging into a few classical pieces (mainly piano), and only recently maybe a month ago, i have been looking into bach a lot.

I used to be a hater, saying his music sounded the same and repetitive. But i began to listen for the nuances and the famous counterpoints which i admit have piqued my interest. But i am far from understanding him, such as the lack of rubato in recordings of his music which take away that aspect of emotion, so please tell me, what do you think makes Bach so interesting and special?

Like the March of the Mogul Emperors specifically.

Hey music lovers,

Im looking to arrange a piece for concert band. our theme this year is celebration. my taste often leads me to the bleak and melencholy and so my mental catalogue doesnt have much in the way of celebrational pieces.

no need to curate difficulty here as i feel confident in my arranging skills. i just want to hear about your favourite pieces that are all about Celebration!

So I can play this relatively well and have played it with my local community Orchestra. Just for fun.

I'm just now noticing some arrangements have an 8th rest on the right hand on the second run up. Anyone know or have any insight?

Tchaikovsky piano concerto no 1. 3rd mov.

Hi! I'm searching for pieces in the style of Berg or earlier Schönber pieces, atonally beautiful to play with my double bass piano duo. They didn't write anything for that setting, but perhaps you know any arrangements or similar composers I could check out?