Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1
Tuesday, 07 August 2018 21:36 | Written by bluesever | 
| Classical Notes |
Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1
During his long career under the Communists, Dmitri Shostakovich seesawed between being the pride of Russian music and a pariah one step away from the Siberian Gulag. His lowest moments came in 1936, when he was denounced for his seamy opera “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” (he restored himself to favor with his famous Fifth Symphony), and again in 1948. In that year, Stalin, aging and crazier than ever, attacked musicians, writers, scientists, and...
During his long career under the Communists, Dmitri Shostakovich seesawed between being the pride of Russian music and a pariah one step away from the Siberian Gulag. His lowest moments came in 1936, when he was denounced for his seamy opera “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” (he restored himself to favor with his famous Fifth Symphony), and again in 1948. In that year, Stalin, aging and crazier than ever, attacked musicians, writers, scientists, and...
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Last Updated (Tuesday, 07 August 2018 22:16)
La Bamba
Monday, 02 July 2018 20:44 | Written by bluesever |
La Bamba La Bamba is the story of 1950s rock 'n' roll rage Ritchie Valens, played herein with gusto and credibility by Lou Diamond Phillips. The film follows 17-year-old Ritchie as he strolls from one end of his California barrio to the other, guitar in hand. We meet Ritchie's colorful Mexican/American family, who react to his fame with varying degrees of pride and envy. And we meet the ladies in his life: his ambitious mother Connie Valenzuela (Rosana De Soto), his half-sister Rosie Morales... Last Updated (Monday, 02 July 2018 21:17) Donovan's “Catch The Wind”
Sunday, 27 May 2018 14:37 | Written by bluelover |
Donovan's “Catch The Wind”
Donovan is often described as a hippie, lightweight Dylan, a kind of Dylan Lite. And there’s no denying the resemblance. But who wasn’t trying to sound like Dylan in the sixties? And unlike many of the imitators, Donovan actually had songwriting and musical chops to back up his imitation. Take “Catch the Wind,” a pretty little song that sounds like a “Freewheelin’” Bob Dylan castoff but is sweeter than anything Dylan has ever done. At its worst... |
I'll Take Care of You
Monday, 11 June 2018 20:44 | Written by bluesever |
I'll Take Care of You In 2011, Toronto-based pop star Drake named the album ‘Take Care’ but only a few people have caught the original reference. Produced by British indie darling Jamie xx, "Take Care" is a sultry “club number that features Rihanna sweetly murmuring a verse that begins with a memorable couplet: I know you've been hurt by someone else / I can tell by the way you carry yourself." Echoing her words is the ghost of Gil Scott-Heron, whose brooding piano-based version of a... Last Updated (Monday, 11 June 2018 20:49) Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)
Sunday, 29 April 2018 16:45 | Written by bluesever |
Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing) On the evening of January 16, 1938, Benny Goodman took to the stage at Carnegie Hall along with his trio, his quartet, and his big band. It was the first time ever that a swing band played Carnegie. Historians now look to this night as the moment when jazz gained validity from the music establishment. The last number on the program was "Sing, Sing, Sing" — what Goodman called a "killer diller," a number intended to get a crowd on its feet, jitterbugging... Last Updated (Sunday, 29 April 2018 17:10) |
