You need the Horowitz Scarlatti album if you don’t have it.
So what have you all been listening to?
26 thoughts on “Friday Utilitarian Music 3/1/13: Horowitz Plays Scarlatti”
Lovely indeed, probably the first “rock star” classical pianist I was ever aware of.
I’ve been focusing on piano music of a very different sort. I’ve been reacquainting myself with Scott Joplin’s stuff, one of my earliest musical loves. Here’s a pretty well-known favorite, played by one of his best interpreters:
Lazy documentary filmmakers and bad arrangers have done their best to nearly ruin this music for me, but happily, have failed.
I’ve been listening to Joe Pass’ cover of the incredibly insipid “A Time For Us” which transforms the original beyond recognition. It’s so good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKk_SEsr6GQ
That’s great, but you all know that Glenn Gould is THE pianist, right?
Gould is great too! I just adore the Horowitz Scarlatti, though…even more than Gould’s goldberg variations I think. Though I love those too…
I really like Gustav Leonhardt’s bach too….especially his Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue. That is a metal classical performance if there ever was one. So good….
We could be here all day exchanging trading cards, I guess. Thanks for the tips.
Anyway,here’s the great monument in all its glory.
I’m also enjoying Carmina Burana… No need to panic though, it’s not the Nazi one: here.
I saw a ballet production of Carmina Burana–it was odd, but really wonderful.
I’m writing several pieces about my lower class heritage. Since I’m living in the burbs these days, sometimes I end up feeling….oddly alone. Out of step, maybe. So I’ve been listening to the Boss. Steady diet of Nebraska, Born in the USA, Thunder Road. My usual cheery stuff.
Put your makeup on, fix your hair up pretty….and meet me tonight in Atlantic City.
is it just me, or has the carmina burana become less ubiquitous in movies and trailers than it used to be?
I’ve been listening to lots of death jazz/doom jazz by personal faves Bohren & der Club of Gore, who appear to play at about 3 bpm, and the awfully, awfully named but really quite awesome Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation. Think ambient/minimalist jazz filtered through the sensibility of Black Sabbath. Hard for me to listen to either of these bands nowadays, though; my wife doesn’t think I should be playing it while the baby’s around…
I’m in love with the new Johnny Marr album, The Messenger, which has been a great companion to my writing this week. It’s been like running into an old friend and immediately falling into an old, conversational rhythm from years before…
Here’s “Upstarts,” which I think is the new single:
When I haven’t been listening to The Messenger, I’ve been returning to Bob Marley and the Wailers, Catch a Fire and Burnin’, after finishing Paul Gilroy’s recent book on Marley and Hendrix:
MFDC is really nice, Jones. Seems like perfect baby listening music to me….
Brian, you should check out the forthcoming Suuns album (Images du Futur). It’s not quite my thing, but I think you might be into them. I’d be curious what you thought, anyway….
@Brian
Catch a Fire is particularly fascinating to me. As I understand it, Chris Blackwell in the UK wasn’t 100% sure about it and so brought in Wayne Perkins to overdub US/UK-style lead guitar on a couple of tracks. His contribution to “Stir It Up” is particularly notable, including the distinctive wah-wah’d opening chords. In recent years the unadorned version has also been released, but I haven’t heard it yet.
Somewhere in my comics collection I have one issue of the 3-part Bob Marley biography comic that Marvel put out back in 1994; pencil art by Gene Colan, with color painted art (and covers) by Rastafari painter Tennyson Smith. Interesting book, with Gene referencing a lot of fairly well-known photographs of Marley et al.
@Noah
I can see what you mean about the proto-metal quality to Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue recording.
Grr HTML. Anyway, thank you for posting this piano piece – it really is great!!
Damn you subdee…that Singles Jukebox site is addictive.
I’m missing something with your Ryan Leslie joke; he’s been a producer for a long time. He produced that amazing Cassie debut, for example…..
Haha. You could apply to write for them, you know.
The joke is a joke at my expense, because I’m so into Kpop that I didn’t really bother to look up Ryan Leslie until he was working with those guys in Korea. :p I did know about the Cassie album though… because Korean label head JYP produced a bonus track on that album.
I’m halfway through Miles Davis “Cellar Sessions” box set. It’s awesome. Sample
Been starting on a fifties kick. Surprising how much thrill that old music carries over on CD when mastered right. By contrast, a lot of classic rock doesn’t do it for me on CD(like “Astral Weeks,” “Electric Ladyland,” Jefferson Airplane “Volunteers” etc).
So here’s a random question for people. If we had a music roundtable, would people participate? And any thoughts on what we should do if we did that? I thought about people just writing about their favorite album…but maybe something more focused would be fun?
A Steely Dan roundtable? I’m the only one who would want to do that, right?
A music roundtable would be a lot of fun–& as I love Steely Dan, too, that might be interesting, though I don’t know what I’d write about them. A favorite album roundtable might be a good place to start. Maybe an essay on your favorite album from childhood? Like, your favorite album when you were 10–which for me would be a toss up between some Power Records Book & Record comic book set and Rick Springfield’s Working Class Dog.
& thanks for the Suuns rec. Have to check them out! & is that Gene Colan Bob Marley comic strip in print?!
Meant to write graphic novel there…though the idea of a Gene Colan daily strip about Bob Marley makes me smile.
Would pass on a Steely Dan roundtable, lol, though I do like Steely Dan, but could probably write about an album.
I’d be reluctant to do a favorite album from childhood…I’ll keep mulling….
I’d be up for a round table on the Dan.
Also, not too much music this week, as our band Rhe Summer Januaries are in writing/recording mode, but we practically devoured the first two discs of the Motown singles box set this morning. Now those are some well crafted songs…
A music roundtable would be fun. I always enjoyed Steely Dan, but I don’t know enough of the formal stuff to understand why they were important or what the different chords mean or anything. I just like to sit on the porch with the dog, kick back, and let that sweet music play while the breeze sways the trees and the bees add their hum….
@Brian – The Bob Marley book came out in the nineties and as far as I know, it hasn’t been reissued. I found the one issue that I have on eBay, as I completely missed it when it first appeared.
Re: Steely Dan, I like them well enough, though they’ve never been a major obsession. I have a particular soft spot for Donald Fagen’s “The New Frontier”, which is (to my ears) a Steely Dan cut in all but name and which was the subject of perhaps my single favorite rock video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt-Q-su4PUQ
Lovely indeed, probably the first “rock star” classical pianist I was ever aware of.
I’ve been focusing on piano music of a very different sort. I’ve been reacquainting myself with Scott Joplin’s stuff, one of my earliest musical loves. Here’s a pretty well-known favorite, played by one of his best interpreters:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyY4LxAMHV0
Lazy documentary filmmakers and bad arrangers have done their best to nearly ruin this music for me, but happily, have failed.
I’ve been listening to Joe Pass’ cover of the incredibly insipid “A Time For Us” which transforms the original beyond recognition. It’s so good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKk_SEsr6GQ
I’ve been enjoying this mixtape by Cakes da Killa: http://theneedledrop.com/2013/01/cakes-da-killa-the-eulogy/
That’s great, but you all know that Glenn Gould is THE pianist, right?
Gould is great too! I just adore the Horowitz Scarlatti, though…even more than Gould’s goldberg variations I think. Though I love those too…
I really like Gustav Leonhardt’s bach too….especially his Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue. That is a metal classical performance if there ever was one. So good….
We could be here all day exchanging trading cards, I guess. Thanks for the tips.
Anyway,here’s the great monument in all its glory.
I’m also enjoying Carmina Burana… No need to panic though, it’s not the Nazi one: here.
Here’s that Leonhardt piece.
I saw a ballet production of Carmina Burana–it was odd, but really wonderful.
I’m writing several pieces about my lower class heritage. Since I’m living in the burbs these days, sometimes I end up feeling….oddly alone. Out of step, maybe. So I’ve been listening to the Boss. Steady diet of Nebraska, Born in the USA, Thunder Road. My usual cheery stuff.
Put your makeup on, fix your hair up pretty….and meet me tonight in Atlantic City.
is it just me, or has the carmina burana become less ubiquitous in movies and trailers than it used to be?
I’ve been listening to lots of death jazz/doom jazz by personal faves Bohren & der Club of Gore, who appear to play at about 3 bpm, and the awfully, awfully named but really quite awesome Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation. Think ambient/minimalist jazz filtered through the sensibility of Black Sabbath. Hard for me to listen to either of these bands nowadays, though; my wife doesn’t think I should be playing it while the baby’s around…
I’m in love with the new Johnny Marr album, The Messenger, which has been a great companion to my writing this week. It’s been like running into an old friend and immediately falling into an old, conversational rhythm from years before…
Here’s “Upstarts,” which I think is the new single:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLOlo2zYqt8
and the title track is wonderful, too. The whole album just makes me want to reach for my Strat and hit a loud, open D chord:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2W8aVDxeBY
When I haven’t been listening to The Messenger, I’ve been returning to Bob Marley and the Wailers, Catch a Fire and Burnin’, after finishing Paul Gilroy’s recent book on Marley and Hendrix:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDMxLbMcjxY
MFDC is really nice, Jones. Seems like perfect baby listening music to me….
Brian, you should check out the forthcoming Suuns album (Images du Futur). It’s not quite my thing, but I think you might be into them. I’d be curious what you thought, anyway….
@Brian
Catch a Fire is particularly fascinating to me. As I understand it, Chris Blackwell in the UK wasn’t 100% sure about it and so brought in Wayne Perkins to overdub US/UK-style lead guitar on a couple of tracks. His contribution to “Stir It Up” is particularly notable, including the distinctive wah-wah’d opening chords. In recent years the unadorned version has also been released, but I haven’t heard it yet.
Somewhere in my comics collection I have one issue of the 3-part Bob Marley biography comic that Marvel put out back in 1994; pencil art by Gene Colan, with color painted art (and covers) by Rastafari painter Tennyson Smith. Interesting book, with Gene referencing a lot of fairly well-known photographs of Marley et al.
@Noah
I can see what you mean about the proto-metal quality to Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue recording.
My application to write for The Singles Jukebox was accepted so I have been listening to tracks from their behind-the-scenes site in preparation for my debut as a Serious Music Writer. So far my favorite tracks are Ace Hood ft. Future and Rick Ross : Bugatti and Lindi Ortega: Cigarettes & Truckstops. I have also been listening to songs by Ryan Leslie because – I won’t lie – he is now a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqTptfgGhPI"Kpop producer. Speaking of, your Kpop single of the week is Teen Top: Miss Right.
In less cerebral territory, Icona Pop: Flashback and 2AM Club: Too Fucked Up to Call are my jams for the week.
Grr HTML. Anyway, thank you for posting this piano piece – it really is great!!
Damn you subdee…that Singles Jukebox site is addictive.
I’m missing something with your Ryan Leslie joke; he’s been a producer for a long time. He produced that amazing Cassie debut, for example…..
Haha. You could apply to write for them, you know.
The joke is a joke at my expense, because I’m so into Kpop that I didn’t really bother to look up Ryan Leslie until he was working with those guys in Korea. :p I did know about the Cassie album though… because Korean label head JYP produced a bonus track on that album.
I’m halfway through Miles Davis “Cellar Sessions” box set. It’s awesome. Sample
Been starting on a fifties kick. Surprising how much thrill that old music carries over on CD when mastered right. By contrast, a lot of classic rock doesn’t do it for me on CD(like “Astral Weeks,” “Electric Ladyland,” Jefferson Airplane “Volunteers” etc).
Bobby Smith & His Orchestra – Bess’s Boogie
Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats – Rocket 88
So here’s a random question for people. If we had a music roundtable, would people participate? And any thoughts on what we should do if we did that? I thought about people just writing about their favorite album…but maybe something more focused would be fun?
A Steely Dan roundtable? I’m the only one who would want to do that, right?
A music roundtable would be a lot of fun–& as I love Steely Dan, too, that might be interesting, though I don’t know what I’d write about them. A favorite album roundtable might be a good place to start. Maybe an essay on your favorite album from childhood? Like, your favorite album when you were 10–which for me would be a toss up between some Power Records Book & Record comic book set and Rick Springfield’s Working Class Dog.
& thanks for the Suuns rec. Have to check them out! & is that Gene Colan Bob Marley comic strip in print?!
Meant to write graphic novel there…though the idea of a Gene Colan daily strip about Bob Marley makes me smile.
Would pass on a Steely Dan roundtable, lol, though I do like Steely Dan, but could probably write about an album.
I’d be reluctant to do a favorite album from childhood…I’ll keep mulling….
I’d be up for a round table on the Dan.
Also, not too much music this week, as our band Rhe Summer Januaries are in writing/recording mode, but we practically devoured the first two discs of the Motown singles box set this morning. Now those are some well crafted songs…
A music roundtable would be fun. I always enjoyed Steely Dan, but I don’t know enough of the formal stuff to understand why they were important or what the different chords mean or anything. I just like to sit on the porch with the dog, kick back, and let that sweet music play while the breeze sways the trees and the bees add their hum….
@Brian – The Bob Marley book came out in the nineties and as far as I know, it hasn’t been reissued. I found the one issue that I have on eBay, as I completely missed it when it first appeared.
Re: Steely Dan, I like them well enough, though they’ve never been a major obsession. I have a particular soft spot for Donald Fagen’s “The New Frontier”, which is (to my ears) a Steely Dan cut in all but name and which was the subject of perhaps my single favorite rock video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt-Q-su4PUQ