music is a journey
Valentina Lisitsa plays Ludwig van Beethoven’s The Piano Sonata No. 14 “Quasi Una Fantasia” Opus 27 No. 2, also known as the “Moonlight Sonata”. Completed in 1801 and dedicated in 1802 to his pupil, Countess Giulietta Guicciardi, it is one of Beethoven’s most popular compositions for the piano. It is named “The Moonlight Sonata” by …
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Two opera giants of the 20th century, Franco Corelli and Luciano Pavarotti singing Vesti la giubba (English: put on the costume), a famous tenor aria from Ruggero Leoncavallo’s 1892 opera Pagliacci (Clowns).
Casta Diva is one of the most famous soprano arias of the nineteenth century. It is in act 1 of Norma, a tragedia lirica or opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani. Here are the Renée Fleming and Maria Callas versions of Casta Diva.
Conducted by Riccardo Muti, the Wiener Philharmoniker (Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra) performs Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 in B minor, D.759, commonly known as the “Unfinished Symphony”. A 1992 recording of the piece.
Conducted by Tomomi Nishimoto (see notes 1), the Russian Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra plays Hungarian Dance No. 5 by Johannes Brahms.
Conducted by Christian Thielemann, the Wiener Philharmoniker (Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra) performs Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op 67. Written in 1804-1808, Beethoven’s fifth is one of the best-known compositions in classical music. It was first performed in Vienna’s Theater an der Wien (see notes 1) in 1808. Then, it became one …
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Lágrima is a piece by Francisco Tárrega, and certainly a little gem in the guitar’s repertoire. It’s called “lágrima” (tear, or teardrop) because of the sadness in the second section, and isn’t a piece difficult to play: the feeling is much more important than technique with this one.
The best versions of “Je crois entendre encore” (I still believe I hear), a beautiful aria from Georges Bizet‘s Les pêcheurs de perles. Les pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) is an opera in three acts by the French composer Georges Bizet, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. It was first performed on …
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Conducted by Christian Thielemann, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (Wiener Philharmoniker) and the Vienna Singverein perform Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op 125. Recorded in 2006 at the Musikverein in Vienna.
Italian tenor Enrico Caruso was the first gramophone star to sell more than a million copies with his 1904 recording of “Vesti la giubba” from the opera “Pagliacci” (Clowns) by Ruggero Leoncavallo. Here are his recordings from the 30th of November 1902, the 1st of February 1904, and the 17th of March 1907.
