Archive for December, 2006

The Complete Mozart

Tuesday, December 19th, 2006

In the death rattle of this Mozart year, we get an online version of every piece of music Mozart published.
NEUE MOZART-AUSGABE / DIGITAL MOZART EDITION
Those of you who can read German….could any of you translate all those “scatological” canons for me?

The Guillemots

Wednesday, December 13th, 2006

The GuillemotsĀ is one of my favorite new bands. Their EP from earlier this year, From the Cliffs, was already pretty great, then they topped it with their album Through the Windowpane, which included some From the Cliffs material. I’ve liked most of what they’ve done, and it all points to a potential that they are […]

Proto Minimalism 2

Tuesday, December 12th, 2006

This is music is like the constant lapping of waves at some ancient shore. It’s a 1941 recording of piano transcriptions of Balinese music by Colin McPhee. I love how minimal and repetitive it is even though it feels very expressive. I only wish it were longer.
Gambangan - Colin McPhee Buy

Christmas Christmas Everywhere

Saturday, December 9th, 2006

What does John Williams sound like at Christmas? Well, catchy and iconic as usual.
Somewhere in My Memory - John Williams Buy

Reminds me of that other great Christmas tune that’s sung sweetly by a children’s choir.
Christmas Time is Here - Vince Guaraldi Buy

The Beethoven Lectures

Saturday, December 9th, 2006

Andras Schiff is a great pianist. One of the things that any great musician must know, especially the classical performer, is the reasons for playing music the way they do. In fact, they must know so much about it that they could give a lecture if they had to.
Well, Schiff indulges us with his musical […]