7 posts tagged “classical”

[...] "Everything in life is about personal relationships – including the way one feels about music. I want to create as many opportunities for people to have that 'aha' moment – give people the chance to really connect with the composers." [...]

[...] "Musicians, like actors and writers, can be maddeningly inarticulate about what they do – because they do it, not talk about it. Marin is that rare exception. She has such a lucid, human understanding of music that she can explain something the way that others might tell you about certain items on the wall of their living room." [...]

"Marin Alsop breaks the glass baton," Elaine F. Weiss, Christian Science Monitor, Sept. 26, 2007

[...] Gould' s thoughts on ‘ideal' music were most vividly expressed in a few lines he wrote about Jan Sibelius in 1974: “at its best, his style partook of that spare, bleak, motivically stingy counterpoint that nobody south of the Baltic ever seems to write.”

Spare, bleak, motivically stingy counterpoint. You might describe the music of Webern or Schoenberg the same way, without meaning to praise either one of them. But for Gould, stinginess could be an artistic virtue and bleakness could be liberating, just as the North that Gould idealized was free of buildings, roads and other people. [...]

"Our Man for Bach, but Also Schoenberg," Robert Everett-Green, Toronto Globe and Mail, Sept. 22, 2007

[...] Perhaps his biggest gift to the music world was when he teamed up with Spanish stars Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras at the 1990 soccer World Cup and introduced operatic classics to an estimated 800 million television viewers round the globe.

Sales of opera albums shot up after the gala concert in Rome's Baths of Caracalla and since then Puccini's aria "Nessun Dorma" from his opera "Turandot" has been heavily associated with Pavarotti and soccer. [...]

[...] "This is insane," Rubin said enthusiastically as the clip began. In the video, an ordinary-looking middle-aged man waited nervously backstage. When he faced the judges, he told them he worked at a mobile-phone store and wanted to sing opera. The studio audience looked annoyed — they clearly wanted to hear a pop song — and the judges were cold and dismissive. No one expected anything remarkable from this dull-looking, forgettable guy.

But then Paul Potts sang — "Nessun dorma" from "Turandot." He had an improbably beautiful voice. "Where does that come from?" Rubin said as he watched. Tears were rolling down his cheeks. "I can't look at this without crying," he said. "His voice is so beautiful." When Potts finished his song, Cowell said, "I thought you were absolutely fantastic." The studio audience roared with approval, and Potts beamed.

"It's August now — that show was eight weeks ago," Rubin said. "In England, Paul Potts is already gigantic, but we are going to launch him in America. This just blew my mind."

No one could have predicted that one of the first new Columbia artists to excite Rick Rubin would have been a would-be opera singer from a televised talent contest. "I certainly didn't expect his response to be so positive," said Steve Barnett, who originally brought Paul Potts to Rubin's attention. "I was surprised and pleased that he wanted to jump on it."

Rubin has an immediate plan for Potts — he wants to test the powers of his "word of mouth" department. "I want to see if we can create interest without there being a record to buy," he said. "I've told our whole staff to send it to everyone, to tell everyone, to mention it everywhere. I want to get Paul Potts out to the world." Rubin stopped for a moment. "Although, if someone tells you how great this is, it's not as moving. It's the element of surprise that makes you interested in Paul Potts: he looks so bland, and then he sings so well. If you expect him to be great, will the clip still be great?"

The question cannot be answered. A word-of-mouth campaign, like so many possible remedies for the ills of the record business, feels forced. "I just don't know how else people will see Paul Potts," Rubin said. "And I'm really glad I saw him." He paused and looked out at the surf. "I know this sounds hard to believe, but I never had any expectations of success," he said finally. "I knew what I liked, and I didn't really care if anyone else liked it. I still never assume that anyone will like anything. But I can't imagine that they won't, either." [...]

[...] However, which works of classical music are worthy of our precious time? What repertoire is considered the foundation of every classical music library? For the beginning music appreciation student, the endless choices might seem daunting. What follows is a recommended list of the classical music giants and their most enlightening and ethereal repertoire in which every business person MUST indulge at some point in their lives. [...]

HBS Student Classical Repertoire List

Renaissance Period
MONTEVERDI, The Coronation of Poppea: Act III, Scene 7

Baroque Period
HANDEL, Messiah
BACH, Cantata No.8
HAYDN, Lord Nelson Mass

Classical Period
MOZART, Don Giovanni
MOZART, Symphony No.40 in G minor
BEETHOVEN, Piano Sonata in C minor, Op.13 (Pathetique)
BEETHOVEN, Symphony No.5 in C minor

Romantic Period
BERLIOZ, Symphonie Fantastique
BERLIOZ, La Damnation de Faust
MENDOLSSOHN, A Midsummer's Nights Dream
CHOPIN, Premiere Ballade in G minor
SCHUMANN, Piano Concerto in A minor
LISZT, Wild Hunt: Transcendental Etude No.8
RACHMANINOFF, Prelude in C-sharp minor, Op.3, No.2
GRIEG, Concerto in A minor, Op.54 (Norwegian Concerto)
WAGNER, Die Walkure: Act III, Finale
VERDI, La Traviata
TCHAIKOVSKY, The Nutcracker
DVORAK, Symphony No.9 in E minor (From the New World)

Contemporary Period
SKRYABIN, Piano Etude, Op.8, No.12

(Bad George! Overwrought title reach! No cookie for you!)