I realized all of a sudden that it's been WAY too long since I last put on some Indian Classical.
Nikhil Banerjee - Raga Desh - the greatest sitarist of the 20th century, this man was a god! The 'sheesh has great quantities of his stuff (about 2 1/2 GB at the moment and all of it stellar)
Hariprasad Chaurasia - Venu, one of the greats by this master, in tandem with a youthful Zakir Hussain who is REALLY kicking arse and taking names on this one.
Ahhhh! It's so good for the soul, so deeply satisfying on every level.
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‘Perhaps it doesn’t understand English,’ thought Alice; ‘I daresay it’s a French mouse, come over with William the Conqueror.’
Last edited by baksheesh; November-22nd-2009 at 10:29 PM.
Bach - The English Suites - I infinitely prefer Bach's keyboard music played on piano rather than the originally designated organ or harpsichord
Joy Division - Closer - didn't really hit me first time I checked this one out, but now I am Impressed!
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‘Perhaps it doesn’t understand English,’ thought Alice; ‘I daresay it’s a French mouse, come over with William the Conqueror.’
Bit of a Classical buzz at the moment -
more Bach - The French Suites this time, not quite up there with the English ones but still pretty damn good - I mean, it is Bach after all.
some Shostakovich - 48 Preludes & Fugues - Nice!
and to cap it all off some Berg - Lulu, a bit heavy going in places - all those frenzied monologues, but I Love his orchestral music, and there's some really good stuff going on here.
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‘Perhaps it doesn’t understand English,’ thought Alice; ‘I daresay it’s a French mouse, come over with William the Conqueror.’
A startling piece that I enjoy despite its religious connection. When I told Gokhan about a concert of it I saw I just referred to it as "Vingt Regards" and he replied, "You can't bring yourself to say the whole title." Actually, it's too many damn syllables.
Anyway, the concert I saw by Christopher Taylor was one of the most amazing things I've ever witnessed.
It was this performance:
"...the blazing performance of Messiaen's ''Vingt regards sur l'enfant Jesus'' by Christopher Taylor in the Gardner Museum is likely to stand as a point of reference for many seasons to come."
Boston Globe
But this review from SF really sums it up:
"But that Christopher Taylor... also played Messiaen’s approximately 130-minute work flawlessly and entirely from memory was astounding. It is doubtful that many of us who heard Taylor’s transcendent traversal of Messiaen’s Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus for Cal Performances can imagine another pianist making an equal impact in such challenging music.... the performance was extraordinary. Taylor, who graduated summa cum laude from Harvard with a mathematics degree in 1992 — two years after he received first prize in the William Kapell International Piano Competition — is a genius. I doubt few present will forget how he lifted us to a realm beyond time and space." San Francisco Classical Voice 1/27/08
A startling piece that I enjoy despite its religious connection. When I told Gokhan about a concert of it I saw I just referred to it as "Vingt Regards" and he replied, "You can't bring yourself to say the whole title." Actually, it's too many damn syllables.
Anyway, the concert I saw by Christopher Taylor was one of the most amazing things I've ever witnessed.
It was this performance:
"...the blazing performance of Messiaen's ''Vingt regards sur l'enfant Jesus'' by Christopher Taylor in the Gardner Museum is likely to stand as a point of reference for many seasons to come."
Boston Globe
But this review from SF really sums it up:
"But that Christopher Taylor... also played Messiaen’s approximately 130-minute work flawlessly and entirely from memory was astounding. It is doubtful that many of us who heard Taylor’s transcendent traversal of Messiaen’s Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus for Cal Performances can imagine another pianist making an equal impact in such challenging music.... the performance was extraordinary. Taylor, who graduated summa cum laude from Harvard with a mathematics degree in 1992 — two years after he received first prize in the William Kapell International Piano Competition — is a genius. I doubt few present will forget how he lifted us to a realm beyond time and space." San Francisco Classical Voice 1/27/08
Wow! Sending much envy your way Mr. C. Sounds like one of those rare concerts that really stay with you, and it's sent me off to put in on rightaway!
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‘Perhaps it doesn’t understand English,’ thought Alice; ‘I daresay it’s a French mouse, come over with William the Conqueror.’
Taylor is on our campus as faculty. It's a treat to have him here (and experience his faculty recitals in an intimate setting).
Not only was performing one of the longest, most difficult piano works lacking any traditional "roadmaps" sans sheet music a Herculean task, he had to mop the sweat off the keyboard after every "regard."
A startling piece that I enjoy despite its religious connection. When I told Gokhan about a concert of it I saw I just referred to it as "Vingt Regards" and he replied, "You can't bring yourself to say the whole title." Actually, it's too many damn syllables.
Anyway, the concert I saw by Christopher Taylor was one of the most amazing things I've ever witnessed.
I don't remember if I/we'd mentioned this dvd then. Probably did. I bought it here in Singapore after a recital of his where he played The People United Will Never Be Defeated and the Goldberg Variations. Not easily available, it seems, but easily worthwhile.
I don't remember if I/we'd mentioned this dvd then. Probably did. I bought it here in Singapore after a recital of his where he played The People United Will Never Be Defeated and the Goldberg Variations. Not easily available, it seems, but easily worthwhile.
No, you hadn't mentioned it. I'll look for it. Meanwhile:
Wow! Waaaay cool clip Mr. C! Taylor is obviously a music god of some description. Sending much envy your way about that gig.
Right now I'm listening to Peter Hill playing the Piano Music of Schoenberg, Berg & Webern - wonderful stuff.
Before that 'twas - Nikhil Banerjee - Rag Hemant - a towering performance by another music god, one of the giants to have walked this earth.
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‘Perhaps it doesn’t understand English,’ thought Alice; ‘I daresay it’s a French mouse, come over with William the Conqueror.’
Linear Mode
