Showing posts with label Tchaikovsky. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tchaikovsky. Show all posts
January 24, 2021
August 10, 2020
July 3, 2019
1,001 LaserDiscs 12: Ken Russell ~ Gustav Holst's The Planets
Today, July 3, is the birthday of British film director, Ken Russell who was born in Southampton, England, in 1927. He is best known for his Oscar-winning film Women in Love (1969), The Devils (1971), Tommy by The Who (1975), and the science fiction film Altered States (1980). Russell also directed several films based on the lives of classical music composer: Elgar, Delius, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, and Liszt.
photo by Styrous®
The Planets is a seven-movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 and 1916. Each movement of the suite is named after a planet of the Solar System and its corresponding astrological character as defined by Holst.
The premiere was at the Queen's Hall on 29 September 1918, conducted by Holst's friend Adrian Boult before an invited audience of about 250 people. The first complete public performance was finally given in London by Albert Coates conducting the London Symphony Orchestra on November 15, 1920.
photo by Styrous®
Each movement is intended to convey ideas and emotions associated with the influence of the planets on the psyche, not the Roman deities. The idea of the work was suggested to Holst by Clifford Bax, who introduced him to astrology when the two were part of a small group of English artists holidaying in Majorca in the spring of 1913.
When composing The Planets Holst initially scored the work for four hands, two pianos, except for Neptune, which was scored for a single organ,
as Holst believed that the sound of the piano was too percussive for a
world as mysterious and distant as Neptune. Holst then scored the suite
for a large orchestra.
The influence of contemporary composers such as Igor Stravinsky and Arnold Schoenberg, as well as late Russian romantics Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov can be heard.
The visuals were chosen by Russell to illustrate associations with the The Planets written, it should be remembered, before the discovery of the planet Pluto.
The influence of contemporary composers such as Igor Stravinsky and Arnold Schoenberg, as well as late Russian romantics Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov can be heard.
John Williams used the melodies and instrumentation of Mars as the inspiration for his soundtrack for the Star Wars films (specifically The Imperial March).
LaserDisc back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
In the late-1980s, Russell directed the music video for It's All Coming Back to Me Now, a song written and produced by Jim Steinman for his project with the female pop group, Pandora's Box. The production featured a range of erotic imagery, including studded bras and spiked codpieces. He'd also directed the Elton John video for Nikita which featured a bit of John wearing the same boots he wore as the Pinball Wizard in the film adaptation of Tommy by The Who.
The films of Ken Russell are often surreal as witness the YouTube links (below). Russell died on November 27, 2011, at the age of 84 after a series of strokes.
Viewfinder links:
Adolph Hitler
Gustav Holst
Elton John
Arnold Schoenberg
Star Wars
Jim Steinman
Igor Stravinsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
The Who
John Williams
Net links:
John Coulthart ~ The Planets by Ken Russell
Music Web ~ Ken Russell’s view of The Planets
Jeffery Schrier website
YouTube links:
Ken Russell ~
The Planets ~ Jupiter
The Boyfriend
Dance of the Seven Veils (1970) complete (57 min., 29 sec.)
A Kitten For Hitler (8 min., 21 sec.)
The Music Lovers ~ 1812 Overture
The Films of Ken Russell (15 min.)
Ken Russell: Sex, God and Tchaikovsky (15 min., 19 sec.)
Ken Russell on his filmmaking career (45 min., 23 sec.)
William Friedkin ~ Ken Russell's The Devils
Ken Russell ~ Gustav Holst's The Planets LaserDisc is for sale on eBay
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1,001 LaserDiscs archive MAIN MENU - Blog Articles
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April 24, 2018
Tchaikovsky ~ 1812 Overture flash mob
screenshot by
I have always loved viewing flash mob videos. It is delightful to watch the reaction of the people present; the surprised looks at first then the realization of something unexpectedly new, uplifting and even educational happening in their lives.
The first flash mob video I saw was in 2010. It was a performance of the song Do-Re-Mi sung by Julie Andrews from the of the 1965 film version of Sound of Music. It was performed in a train station in Antwerp, Belgium (link below).
When I was 18 the very first classical music album I bought was the Arthur Fiedler version of the Tchaikovsky, 1812 Overture (link below); it was and will always remain my favorite piece of "pop" classical music. I still get chills listening to the climax of the work even without cannons.
It is interesting that Tchaikovsky actually hated the Overture even though it won him fans all over the world and made him a household name.
Last week I saw a flash mob video from September 3rd, 2016, at Algemesí (Spain); the Banda Simfònica d'Algemesí, performed the Tchaikovsky, 1812 Overture in a Flash Mob. It is a delight to watch the gradual "growth" of the orchestra and the reactions of the people as it does (link below).
It is interesting that Tchaikovsky actually hated the Overture even though it won him fans all over the world and made him a household name.
Last week I saw a flash mob video from September 3rd, 2016, at Algemesí (Spain); the Banda Simfònica d'Algemesí, performed the Tchaikovsky, 1812 Overture in a Flash Mob. It is a delight to watch the gradual "growth" of the orchestra and the reactions of the people as it does (link below).
Viewfinder links:
1812 Overture & Arthur Fiedler
Arthur Fiedler articles/mentions
Net link:
Classical FM ~ The 1812 Overture: the hit that Tchaikovsky hated
YouTube links:
Banda Simfònica d'Algemesí: Tchaikovsky ~ 1812 Overture
Antwerp train station flash mob ~ Do-Re-Mi (2010)
. . . very loud and noisy and completely without artistic merit, obviously written without warmth or love.”
~ Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Styrous® ~ Tuesday, April 24, 2018
September 23, 2017
June 18, 2016
101 Reel-to-Reel Tapes 119: Tchaikovsky ~ Symphony #6 (Pathétique)
reel-to-reel tape cover
photo by Styrous®
~ ~ ~
I
started the Vinyl LP series because I have a collection of over 20,000 vinyl record albums I am
selling; each blog entry is about an album from my collection. The 101 Reel-to-Reel Tapes series is an extension of that collection. Inquire
for information here.
~ ~ ~
I remember hearing Glenn Miller with his big band and perform a beautiful song with vocal by Ray Eberly on the radio. I wasn't to find out until I was in my late teens that the theme came from the 6th Symphony by Tchaikovsky.
The second theme of the first movement formed the basis of this popular
song in the 1940s, (This is) The Story of a Starry Night (by Mann Curtis, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston) and was popularized by Glenn Miller. This same theme is the music behind Where, a 1959 hit for Tony Williams and the Platters as well as In Time, by Steve Lawrence in 1961. All the songs have completely different lyrics (YouTube links below).
reel-to-reel tape cover
photo by Styrous®
The Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, Pathétique is the final completed symphony written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky between February and the end of August 1893. The composer led the first performance in Saint Petersburg on 16/28 October of that year, nine days before his death. The second performance, conducted by Eduard Nápravník, took place 21 days later, at a memorial concert on 6/18 November.
It included some minor corrections that Tchaikovsky had made after the
premiere, and was thus the first performance of the work in the exact
form in which it is known today. The first performance in Moscow was on 4/16 December, conducted by Vasily Safonov.
reel-to-reel tape box spine
photo by Styrous®
In 1888, Tchaikovsky did not start thinking about his next symphony until
April 1891, on his way to the United States. The first drafts of a new
symphony were started in the spring of 1891.[5]
However, some or all of the symphony was not pleasing to Tchaikovsky,
who tore up the manuscript "in one of his frequent moods of depression
and doubt over his alleged inability to create."[5] In 1892, Tchaikovsky wrote the following to his nephew Vladimir "Bob" Davydov:
"The symphony is only a work written by dint of sheer will on the part of the composer; it contains nothing that is interesting or sympathetic. It should be cast aside and forgotten. This determination on my part is admirable and irrevocable."
reel-to-reel tape box interior
photo by Styrous®
Richard Taruskin notes, "Suicide theories were much stimulated by the
Sixth Symphony, which was first performed under the composer's baton
only nine days before his demise, with its lugubrious finale (ending morendo, 'dying away'), its brief but conspicuous allusion to the Orthodox requiem
liturgy in the first movement and above all its easily misread
subtitle. . . . When the symphony was done again a couple of weeks
later, in memoriam and with subtitle in place, everyone listened hard
for portents, and that is how the symphony became a transparent suicide note. Depression
was the first diagnosis. 'Homosexual tragedy' came later." David Brown
describes the idea of the Sixth Symphony as some sort of suicide note as
"patent nonsense".
Alexander Poznansky writes, "Since the arrival of the 'court of honour'
theory in the West, performances of Tchaikovsky's last symphony are
almost invariably accompanied by annotations treating it as a testimony
of homosexual martyrdom."
Other scholars, including Michael Paul Smith, believe that with or
without the supposed 'court of honour' sentence, there is no way that
Tchaikovsky could have known the time of his own death while composing
his last masterpiece.
reel-to-reel tape box interior
photo by Styrous®
The Russian title of the symphony, Патетическая (Pateticheskaya), means "passionate" or "emotional," not "arousing pity," but it is a word reflective of a touch of concurrent suffering. Tchaikovsky considered calling it Программная (Programmnaya or "Program Symphony") but realized that would encourage curiosity about the program, which he did not want to reveal. According to his brother Modest, he suggested the Патетическая title, which was used in early editions of the symphony; there are conflicting accounts about whether Tchaikovsky liked the title, but in any event his publisher chose to keep it and the title remained. Its French translation Pathétique is generally used in French, Spanish, English, German and other languages.
program notes
The Pathétique has been the subject of a number of theories as
to a hidden program. This goes back to the first performance of the
work, when fellow composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
asked Tchaikovsky whether there was a program to the new symphony, and
Tchaikovsky asserted that there was, but would not divulge it.
A suggested program has been what Taruskin disparagingly termed "symphony as suicide note."
This idea began to assert itself as early as the second performance of
the symphony in Saint Petersburg, not long after the composer had died.
People at that performance "listened hard for portents. As always, they
found what they were looking for: a brief but conspicuous quotation from
the Russian Orthodox requiem
at the stormy climax of the first movement, and of course the
unconventional Adagio finale with its tense harmonies at the onset and
its touching depiction of the dying of the light in conclusion".
Countering this is Tchaikovsky's statement on 26 September/8 October
1893 that he was in no mood to write any sort of requiem. This was in
reply to a suggestion from his close friend Grand Duke Konstantin that he write a requiem for their mutual friend the writer Aleksey Apukhtin, who had died in late August, just as Tchaikovsky was completing the Pathétique.
reel-to-reel tape
photo by Styrous®
Notes:
Recorded 10 March 1960, Broadwood Hotel
Total playing time: 46:37
Tracklist:
I- Adagio
II- Allegro
III- Allegro Molto
IV- Finale
Recorded 10 March 1960, Broadwood Hotel
Total playing time: 46:37
Tracklist:
I- Adagio
II- Allegro
III- Allegro Molto
IV- Finale
Net links:
Eugene Ormandy - Sym #. 6 in B Minor "Pathetique" on YouTube
Glenn Miller - The Story Of A Starry Night on YouTube
The Platters - Where on YouTube
Steve Lawrence - In Time on YouTube
Tchaikovsky on the Viewfinder:
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
1812 Overture
The Nutcracker & Joyous Tidings
Swan Lake
Van Cliburn & Sputnik ~ 1958
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
1812 Overture
The Nutcracker & Joyous Tidings
Swan Lake
Van Cliburn & Sputnik ~ 1958
101 Reel-to-Reel Tapes 118: Tchaikovsky ~ Swan Lake
reel-to-reel tape box
cover photographer unknown
cover photographer unknown
photo by Styrous®
~ ~ ~
I
started the Vinyl LP series because I have a collection of over 20,000 vinyl record albums I am
selling; each blog entry is about an album from my collection. The 101 Reel-to-Reel Tapes series is an extension of that collection. Inquire
for information here.
~ ~ ~
Swan Lake (Russian: Лебединое озеро/Lebedinoye ozero), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. It was based on Russian folk tales
and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil
sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger. The libretto is based on a story by the German author Johann Karl August Musäus, Der geraubte Schleier (The Stolen Veil).
As with all the music I love, there is always one song, melody, title, whatever, that is my favorite. In this work it is the "Black Swan" theme; it is incredibly beautiful and extremely dramatic (link below).
Swan Lake Rocks
Madness did a cover of the Swan Lake theme that is sensational. It employs a ska beat with a great piano intro; of course, the smooth sax work by Lee Thompson is featured as well (YouTube link below).
PIL (Public Image, Ltd.) had a turn at the tune with their punk rock version, with vocal by John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten). Jah Wobble was on bass with this one (YouTube link below).
Dark Moor is a is a Spanish neo-classical metal and symphonic power metal band from Madrid. They do an 8 minute cover that is outstanding. The vocal by Enrik Garcia is powerful and actually very beautiful, not what you'd expect from a metal band (YouTube link below).
The Nebulas did an instrumental 'n smokin' surf version on their 2001 album, Hot Rods, Waves & Women! Cowabunga, dudes!
PIL (Public Image, Ltd.) had a turn at the tune with their punk rock version, with vocal by John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten). Jah Wobble was on bass with this one (YouTube link below).
Dark Moor is a is a Spanish neo-classical metal and symphonic power metal band from Madrid. They do an 8 minute cover that is outstanding. The vocal by Enrik Garcia is powerful and actually very beautiful, not what you'd expect from a metal band (YouTube link below).
The Nebulas did an instrumental 'n smokin' surf version on their 2001 album, Hot Rods, Waves & Women! Cowabunga, dudes!
The Japanese instrumental rock group Takeshi Terauchi & Bunnys recorded a rock version on their 1967 album, Let's Go Unmei ; it features shakahaci flute & guitars for a very interesting effect (YouTube link below).
conducted by Ernst (Ernest) Ansermet
The ballet was premiered by the Bolshoi Ballet on 4 March [O.S. 20 February] 1877 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.
There is a photo dated 1901, in which Adelaide Giuri danced the role of Odette and Mikhail Mordkin as Prince Siegfried in Aleksandr Gorsky's staging of the Petipa/Ivanov Swan Lake for the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow. A young Vera Karalli is seen kneeling.
Swan Lake, Bolshoi Ballet - 1901
left: Mikhail Mordkin, center: Adelaide Giuri
kneeling: Vera Karalli
photographer unknown
In 1940, San Francisco Ballet became the first American company to stage a complete production of Swan Lake. The enormously successful production starred Lew Christensen as Prince Siegfried, Jacqueline Martin as Odette, and Janet Reed as Odile. Willam Christensen based his choreography on the Petipa-Ivanov production, turning to San Francisco’s large population of Russian émigrés, headed by Princess and Prince Vasili Alexandrovich of Russia, to help him ensure that the production succeeded in its goal of preserving Russian culture in San Francisco.
The Swan Lake
interpretation by Matthew Bourne
departed from the traditional ballet by replacing the female corps de
ballet with male dancers. Since its inception in 1995, Bourne's
production has never been off the stage for more than a few months.
It has toured the United Kingdom and returned to London several times.
It has been performed on extended tours in Greece, Israel, Turkey,
Australia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Russia, France, Germany, the
Netherlands, the United States, and Ireland in addition to the United
Kingdom. Bourne's Swan Lake has won over 30 international awards to date.
The Swedish dancer/choreographer Fredrik Rydman has produced a modern dance/street dance interpretation of the ballet entitled Swan Lake Reloaded.
It features the "swans" as being heroin addict prostitutes who are kept
in place by Rothbart, their pimp. The music used in the production uses
themes and melodies from Tchaikovsky's score and incorporates them into
hip-hop and techno tunes. It is quite something to see (YouTube link below).
In 2010, Black Swan, a film starring Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis, featured sequences from Swan Lake. The plot revolves around a production of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake ballet by a prestigious New York City
company. The production requires a ballerina to play the innocent and
fragile White Swan, for which the committed dancer Nina (Portman) is a
perfect fit, as well as the dark and sensual Black Swan, which are
qualities better embodied by the new arrival Lily (Kunis). Nina is
overwhelmed by a feeling of immense pressure when she finds herself
competing for the part, causing her to lose her tenuous grip on reality
and descend into a living nightmare.
Copyright © 2010 by Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Net links:
"Black Swan" theme on YouTube
Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake on YouTube
Swan Lake Reloaded on YouTube
Madness - Swan Lake on YouTube
Public Image Ltd.- Swan Lake on YouTube
The Nebulas - Swan Lake on YouTube
Takeshi Terauchi & Bunnys - Swan Lake on YouTube
Tchaikovsky on the Viewfinder:
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
1812 Overture
The Nutcracker & Joyous Tidings
Symphony #6, (Pathétique)
Van Cliburn & Sputnik ~ 1958
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