"There are countless horrible things happening all over the world and horrible people prospering, but we must never allow them to disturb our equanimity or deflect us from our sacred duty to sabotage and annoy them whenever possible." -Auberon Waugh
Monday, July 13, 2020
Classical corner
The beautiful second movement of Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 (the "New World" symphony).
10 comments:
bruce
said...
Oh yes, symphonies are more my thing. Wonderful music. I even know the different conductors: Solti was generally louder.
By the way, that's an Albert Bierstadt painting of Yosemite Valley on the CD cover, but I haven't figured out which one. He painted Yosemite about as often as Ansel Adams photographed it.
It's a historic piece. Anyone (anywhere) who hears the symphony now thinks 'America!'(USA) yet he seems to have just made up the tunes, mixing his Czech roots with the style of songs he heard in the US - Gospel, spirituals - but no actual local tunes or rhythms.
Anyway it's one of the wonders of history how a Czech composer after a brief visit started a unique American style of music with an influence down the generations including a massive influence on Hollywood.
The reason you may have trouble placing which one is the colours of the painting have been radically altered for the album cover. It looks on the album like one of Bierstadt's "sundown/dusk" type paintings, all orange & dark shadows.
When the painting is actually a cheerful "sunlight bursting through clouds" type, painting in midday colours with barely a shadow in it.
Ah, thanks Steve, that is exactly why I couldn't find it. Sunrise/sunset scenes are such a common Bierstadt theme it didn't occur to me that the CD cover image was altered.
It had me guessing for a while. Even drove me to question my own knowledge of Bierstadt. For a while I even believed it wasn't one of his (despite the style). Coz as with you, I couldn't place it.
10 comments:
Oh yes, symphonies are more my thing. Wonderful music. I even know the different conductors: Solti was generally louder.
By the way, that's an Albert Bierstadt painting of Yosemite Valley on the CD cover, but I haven't figured out which one. He painted Yosemite about as often as Ansel Adams photographed it.
I believe that's the LP I actually had in my old record collection.
It's a historic piece. Anyone (anywhere) who hears the symphony now thinks 'America!'(USA) yet he seems to have just made up the tunes, mixing his Czech roots with the style of songs he heard in the US - Gospel, spirituals - but no actual local tunes or rhythms.
Anyway it's one of the wonders of history how a Czech composer after a brief visit started a unique American style of music with an influence down the generations including a massive influence on Hollywood.
including a massive influence on Hollywood
From 1930s-40s Westerns all the way to Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings score (at least).
If it wasn't in a Bugs Bunny cartoon I'm not interested.
Bugs Bunny sent up 'serious' music from the Old World: Wagner, Rossini (Figaro!) Mendelssohn - must have helped that it was out of copyright.
I was thinking of Jerome Moss's The Big Country music which is kind of Dvorak via Aaron Copeland.
@ Spiny Norman;
"Merced River Yosemite Valley"
The reason you may have trouble placing which one is the colours of the painting have been radically altered for the album cover.
It looks on the album like one of Bierstadt's "sundown/dusk" type paintings, all orange & dark shadows.
When the painting is actually a cheerful "sunlight bursting through clouds" type, painting in midday colours with barely a shadow in it.
Ah, thanks Steve, that is exactly why I couldn't find it. Sunrise/sunset scenes are such a common Bierstadt theme it didn't occur to me that the CD cover image was altered.
@ Spiny Norman:
It had me guessing for a while.
Even drove me to question my own knowledge of Bierstadt.
For a while I even believed it wasn't one of his (despite the style).
Coz as with you, I couldn't place it.
It took quite some time before the penny dropped.
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