classical music - Accelerando Podcast

95. Muzio Clementi, The Composers’ Composer

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95. Muzio Clementi, The Composers' Composer

00:00 / 00:15:46

Muzio Clementi was respected and praised by most of his contemporaries, especially Beethoven. Mozart paid respects by quoting or borrowing some of his themes, as composers did often in the classical era. Mozart may have been envious of Clementi’s technique and the two were put side by side on a Christman Eve’s concert type competition in Vienna. No winner was declared and it seems the purpose was to delight the audience and the Emporer. After, Mozart told his father Clementi was talented, but nothing special. One wonders if he was a bit intimidated by the older keyboardist. In time Clementi would instruct pianists that would influence the best players in the world.

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94. A Guy Walks Into Three Violin Shops In Cremona

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94. A Guy Walks Into Three Violin Shops In Cremona

00:00 / 00:14:13

The three violin makers that shaped the violin we know today lived in Cremona in the late seventeenth to the mid eighteenth century. Amati, Stradavari and Guarneri Del Gesu may have influenced each other and their influence reaches violin makers today. David L. Fulton collected twenty eight fine Cremonese instruments and published several documentaries about fine violins. The documentaries feature prominent violinists of today playing and talking about Amati, Stradavari and Del Gesu (The nick name for Guarneri because of the cross on his label). The first, Homage (2008) won a Juno Award. The second is Violin Masters: Two Gentlemen of Cremona (2010). We hear some clips from that documentary in today’s episode. It won an 2012 Emmy in the Historical Documentary section. A third film Transcendence: A Meeting of Greats (2014) won an Emmy for Best Director. Fulton published a book documenting all his instruments The Fulton Collection- A Guided Tour (2022).

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93. Page Turning

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93. Page Turning

00:00 / 00:18:50

The seemingly easy and mundane task of turning another’s pages can be difficult at times or amusing. We look at a few comic skits where the page turner is the souce of jokes. We also take a deeper dive into those that take it seriously. Finally we see how technology assists in the effort, another DIY.

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92. Boccherini: Our Hero Among Cellist Composers

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92. Boccherini: Our Hero Among Cellist Composers

00:00 / 00:20:45

The music of Luigi Boccherini is some of the most elegant and refined of the era that emerged out of the Baroque and eventually arrives at the Classical Era. Boccherini lived in this in-between time. He began writing polyphonic music and switched to homophonic writing after he met Sammartini. Both Sammartini and Boccherini were composers of the Galante Style. A few others of note were two of J.S.Bach’s sons. The Galante Style music was simpler, predictable if you will, and focused on melodies that were singable, or memorable. Boccherini is special, especially to cellists, because he developed cello writing: his chamber music works give the cello interesting lines and his own virtuosic playing an outlet. He was a composer/cellist in the Spanish court for a large part of his career, so we even refer to him as Italian/Spanish. If you’re looking for new pieces from the old eras, look to Boccherini. His works are played less, but you can find a lot of very fine Chamber Music, Symphonies and Cello and Violin Concertos. He includes guitar and castenets in a few works.

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91. Leadership in the Twenty-First Century

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91. Leadership in the Twenty-First Century

00:00 / 00:14:17

Some people say we live in a gig economy. And its certainly true for musicians who gig, and have always gigged. But its different now than fifty years ago when industries hired locally and everything was run like a factory, because today you can choose to be infungible, one of a kind. There are so many tools at your fingertips that can help you market yourself, and create your own path. Today we talk about the first steps to becoming a leader, and its not what you imagined.

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90. Opera Supertitling

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90. Opera Supertitling

00:00 / 00:16:03

Opera is the art form that incorperates everything from complex stage sets to lighting and effects. In Italian “opera” means “work”. And Opera is a lot of work. It has drama, ballet, singing and instrumental music. Its “the works” alright. When supertitling came on the scene in the 1980’s, some Opera companies and fans that pushed back. You wonder: in an art form that embraces everything innovative, why wouldn’t the new idea be loved by everyone. Today we talk about the first supertitles, the trend and how it may change art going forward. Michael C. Heller’s Essay in Just Beyond Listening dives into Supertitling for those wanting in-depth history on the subject.

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89. Yes To Practice

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89. Yes To Practice

00:00 / 00:19:38

Environment has as much to do with our resolve and discipline as other factors like time management, finding good teachers, and being fortunate to have a good instrument. Meaning, we can have all four, and hopefully we can get good work done. Lots of books talk about preparation and planning. Those are all good, but if we can’t throw the switch and practice efficiently, we aren’t going to find success. Today’s episode talks about summer music festivals and retreats and why they can be so effective.

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88. Take My Viola, Please

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88. Take My Viola, Please

00:00 / 00:19:29

One can’t talk about the viola without including the viola joke. Today we explore the viola, its sometimes lonely existence, and its far too few moments in the spotlight. Stephen Weiss comments at the close about an up and coming violist/composer. There’s a lot to the viola we should give credit, where its due. I hope you enjoy this episode, and pay respects to our cohorts living in the world of the alto clef.

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87. Le Grand Tango

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87. Le Grand Tango

00:00 / 00:18:33

Astor Piazzolla grew up playing bandoneon in tango orchestras in New York City where he met Carlos Gardel. He would return to Argentina to study music composition with Alberto Ginastera, move to Paris to study with Nadia Boulanger, and eventually become the world’s greatest tango composer. Piazolla revolutionized the tango to a style now termed neuvo tango. Today we explore the composition he wrote for Mstislav Rostropovich in 1982: Le Grand Tango for cello and piano.

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86. Chaconne

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86. Chaconne

00:00 / 00:16:09

J.S. Bach wrote a lot of monumental works and the Chaconne for violin is one of the great masterpieces in the repertoire for solo violin. Aside from the many recordings, there are countless transcriptions for piano, orchestra and chamber groups. Violinists get hooked on the Chaconne early in their pursuit of the violin, but it takes decades to master the piece. For some, like Arnold Steinhardt of the Guaneri String Quartet, it becomes an obsession. Among players who have mastered the Chaconne, they speak about having revelations while performing the piece. Those of us who don’t play the violin feel a bit of envy. Today’s episode gives a look at the Chaconne so we can get better aquainted, without the grueling hours of practice. In anticipation of Bach’s birthday (March 21-31 The Julian and Gregorian calandars inclusive!) Bach in the Subways returns after three years of suspension due to you-know-what. Will you take part? Find a pop-up performance in your city/state/country.

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