LGM Classical
By One of our readers requested classical music commentary. I had thought of a couple of classical music posts over the past month but thought maybe rock and country were the official LGM flavors. So I volunteered.
You know how it is with volunteers, though. They are hard to direct. Let me give you some idea of what to expect.
I took piano lessons when I was a kid, up until I was ten or eleven years old. Then I went on to flute and, there always being more than enough flute players, was talked into bassoon by my high-school music teacher. That worked out pretty well – I played in the all-state orchestra and a semi-professional summer band that rehearsed on Monday and played on Wednesday in the park.
I kept up the bassoon through college, and then sort of dropped music-making. I had a little piano that I played at from time to time.
About ten years ago, I started taking lessons again and bought myself a nice piano when the old one limited me. I think I’m not bad; good enough for my ears, anyway. I’ve been lucky to have three excellent teachers. Here are a couple of things I am currently working on.
Bach’s French Suite No. 5 in G Major
Schoenberg’s Six Little Pieces for Piano
I don’t intend to cover new releases. I don’t much follow them, but if there is a big one, I may take note.
I am intrigued by Estonian composers. Be prepared to hear about more Estonian composers than you ever knew existed. Here are two of the better-known Estonian composers.
Veljo Tormis
Eduard Tubin
When the opera “Dr. Atomic” was produced by the Santa Fe Opera, I reviewed it for Physics Today.
I’ve also been thinking about the period before World War I, which was incredibly productive of innovative music in Europe. Schoenberg was only one of the contributors. So you may get music criticism mixed in with history and wars. Expect the outcome of quirky conversations with my piano teacher.
I hope that other front-pagers will feed free to use the marque “LGM Classical” to write about classical music, if they are so inspired.