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Vivaldi: Four Seasons [I Musici]

Italian chamber orchestra I Musici performs The Four Seasons (Italian: Le quattro stagioni) by Antonio Vivaldi. The Four Seasons is a group of four violin concertos, each of which gives musical expression to a season of the year. The wonderful videos below are from “I Musici“, a film by award-winning Dutch cinematographer Anton van Munster (1935-2009).

Malagueña Salerosa

One of the best versions of Malagueña Salerosa on the Internet. I don’t know who the performers are, unfortunately.

Malagueña Salerosa (also known as La Malagueña) is a well-known Son Huasteco or Huapango song from Mexico, which has been covered more than 200 times by recording artists. The song is that of a man telling a woman (from Málaga, Spain) how beautiful she is, and how he would love to be her man, but that he understands her rejecting him for being too poor.

Pink Martini – Ninna nanna (live in Stuttgart)

Ninna nanna is a Neapolitan ballad, sung by Pink Martini in the album “Splendor in the Grass” (2009). Here the band performs the song live in 2010 at Jazz Open Stuttgart, Germany.

“Ninna nanna” is a stunning lullaby sung for a sleeping sailor who “dreams in the blue” written for the band by longtime friends Alba Clemente (actress of Italian stage and wife of the Italian painter Francesco Clemente who co-authored the band’s hit “Una Notte a Napoli“) and New York art dealer Massimo Audiello.

Three great versions of “Concierto de Aranjuez” [Rodrigo]

Three great versions of “Concierto de Aranjuez“, a composition for classical guitar and orchestra by the Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo. The first version is performed by Paco de Lucia, the famous Flamenco guitarist. The second version is performed by the Spanish classical guitarist Narciso Yepes, and the third version is performed by the Australian classical guitarist John Williams.

The Second Waltz (Shostakovich) by André Rieu’s Johann Strauss Orchestra

Johann Strauss Orchestra plays Shostakovich's"The Second Waltz"

The Second Waltz of Dmitri Shostakovich is a Music to the 1955 Soviet feature film “The First Echelon“. It is actually only the “Waltz” (eighth movement) from The First Echelon (suite from the film score), Op. 99a. Its popular name is coming from “Suite for Variety Orchestra” (also named Suite for Variety Stage Orchestra); a suite in eight movements, written after 1956 by the Russian composer. The “waltz” is the seventh movement of the suite, and it is the “second” waltz in the work, hence the name “The second waltz”. Here it is played by André Rieu‘s “Johann Strauss Orchestra“.

Bach: Brandenburg Concertos [Münchener Bach-Orchester, Karl Richter]

Conducted by the German conductor, choirmaster, organist, and harpsichordist Karl Richter, the Münchener Bach-Orchester performs Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos (BWV 1046-1051).

The Brandenburg concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach (BWV 1046-1051, original title: Six Concerts à plusieurs instruments) are a collection of six instrumental works. They considered masterful examples of the balance between assorted groups of soloists and a small orchestra. The collection was composed between 1711–1720 and dedicated in 1721 to Christian Ludwig, the margrave (marquess) of Brandenburg and the younger brother of King Frederick I of Prussia. The Brandenburg concertos are widely regarded as some of the best orchestral compositions of the Baroque era.

John Rawnsley sings Largo al factotum [from Il Barbiere di Siviglia]

John Rawnsley sings Largo al Factotum (featured)

One of the best versions of Gioachino Rossini’s “Largo al factotum” from “The Barber of Seville”. Sung by the British baritone, actor, and opera singer John Rawnsley.

“Largo al factotum” (Make way for the factotum) is an aria from The Barber of Seville (Il Barbiere di Siviglia) by Gioachino Rossini, sung at the first entrance of the title character; the repeated “Figaro”s before the final patter section is an icon in popular culture of operatic singing. The term “factotum” refers to a general servant and comes from Latin where it literally means “do everything.”

‘O Sole Mio from three great tenors

Three versions of the famous Neapolitan song ‘O Sole Mio: Enrico Caruso, Jussi Björling, and Luciano Pavarotti.

John Williams plays Isaac Albéniz’s Asturias (Leyenda)

Asturias (Leyenda) is a musical work written by the Spanish composer Isaac Albéniz. It was originally written for the piano and set in the key of G minor, and first published in Barcelona, by Juan Bta. Pujol & Co., in 1892 as the prelude of a three-movement set entitled Chants d’Espagne. Here it is played by John Williams inside the Reales Alcázares in Seville, Spain.