Classical Music

Music For The Day

Samuel Hooper4 Comments

“Midnight” from the Cinderella Suite by Sergei Prokofiev:

 

An excellent and dramatic depiction of the clock striking midnight at the ball.

I had the pleasure of seeing the London Symphony Orchestra perform the entire ballet score at their recent BBC Proms concert the other night – as usual, they were on top form, particularly the woodwind section and the excellent and surprising offstage brass ensemble that played from the balcony during one particularly exciting section.

A review of the performance can be found here.

Music For The Day

Samuel HooperLeave a comment

The murder scene from the opera “Otello” by Guiseppe Verdi, sung here by Charles Craig (Otello) and Elena Souliotis (Desdemona) in a 1969 performance recorded in Naples:

 

My favourite opera of all time, and an excellent rendering of the climactic scene from the final act here, as Desdemona pleads for her life in the face of an implacable, enraged, jealous Otello.

Music For The Day

Samuel HooperLeave a comment

“Menuet Antique”, by Maurice Ravel, in the original piano arrangement:

 

The version arranged for full orchestra, as with all Ravel orchestrations, is also well worth a listen.

Music For The Day

Samuel HooperLeave a comment

“Shéhérazade” by Rimsky-Korsakov, third movement, performed by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra under Kurt Masur:

 

The explosive final movement is also well worth a listen.

Music For The Day

Samuel HooperLeave a comment

The final movement of Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony, performed here by the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of the excellent Esa-Pekka Salonen:

 

An excellent performance of a wonderful symphony. I find the tempo of the middle “chorale” theme, as introduced by the flutes accompanied by french horns, to be a little too broad – but otherwise I can’t fault this interpretation.