Spam Roundup April, 2019

There's spam, and then there's spam so oddly written it's somewhat amusing. Here's a roundup of some of the "best" comments I received this month from spambots around the world. 

Faint praise, indeed

 - Greetings from Idaho! I'm bored to death at work so I decided to browse your website. [Yes, if you have absolutely nothing to do, this is the blog for you!]

 - You're so awesome! I don't think I've read through anything like that before. [Oh, but I've read spam like this before. Many times before.]

 - I am reading this fantastic paragraph to increase my know-how. [There were three in the post. Which one?]

"Lumbering along" still excites spambots

My very brief write-up of a cheap Japanese friction toy continues to generate comments.The Straco Express Layout, Part 23 - Lumbering Along remains one of my most popular posts among non-human readers.

 - Highly energetic blog. I enjoyed that a lot. Will there be a part 2? [Um, this was part 23, sport.]

 - I ponder why the other specialists of this sector don't understand this. [Wait - there are other specialists?!]

 - You have made some decent points there. I looked on the net for more information about the issue and found most individuals will go along with your views. [Wait - there's more information?!]

 - Friday delivers the first Complete Moon after the Spring Equinox. The querent understands what they want and what it requires to get it. Your cash should be picking up nicely and long lasting through the thirty day period. [I feel like if I gave the proper countersign they'd hand over the stolen missile plans.]

Thought for the day

Adding in golf course to that is not right a accommodate that you buy online. [I agree. Online golf is not right.]

That's all for this month. Remember, no matter how obscure the subject, there are always other specialists and more information -- apparently. And if you must play golf, do so offline, out in the sun.

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalSpring Week 4 & 5

Classical Spring For January 2019 the #ClassicsaDay team made #ClassicalWinter then theme. It seemed only right to continue the trend and celebrate Spring. So for April 2019, everyone is encouraged to share classical works inspired by the season.

Some famous pieces may readily come to mind, such as the "Spring" movement from Vivaldi's "Four Seasons," or Copland's "Appalachian Spring." I decided to avoid the obvious and dig a little deeper. 

Here are my posts for the fourth and fifth week of #ClassicalSpring.

4/22 Ralph Vaughan Williams - The Lark Ascending

George Meredith's poem about a lark in flight inspired Vaughan Williams to write this work. Originally it was for violin and piano. He orchestrated it in 1920, the version most often performed today.

4/23 Heinrich Schutz - Italienische Madrigale "Ride la Primavera" SWV 7

Schutz studied in Venice with Gabrieli and possibly Monteverdi. His first collection of published compositions was "Italienische Madrigale" in 1611. "Ride la Primavera" is one of two madrigals about spring in the collection.

4/24 Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov: Yar-khmel (Spring Overture), Op. 1

Ippolitov-Ivanov studied with Rimsky-Korsakov. His teacher's influence (especially in orchestration) can be heard in this work.

43/25 Karl Goldmark - Im Frühling, Overture Op.36

Goldmark's Im Frühling (In the Spring) premiered in 1889. Goldmark was largely self-taught as a composer. His work in the Vienna Theater in der Josefstadt gave him first-hand experience in orchestration.

3/26 Hermann Goetz - Frühlings-Ouvertüre (Spring Overture), Op. 15

Goetzs's 1864 overture is part of a small body of works. Goezt died of tuberculosis at age 35, before his career could fully develop. His music fell into obscurity after his death, although it was later championed by Mahler.

4/29 Zdenek Fibich - Spring, Symphonic Poem Op. 13 (1881)

Czech composer Zdenek Fibich was an ardent admirer of Wagner. This often put him at odds with the Czech musical community which was fostering a national identity distinct from Germany and Austria.

4/30 Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer - Suite No. 1 in C, Op. 1 "Journal du Printemps"

Bohemian composer Johann Fischer was greatly influenced by Lully. His 1695 Journal du Printemps is a set of eight orchestral suites, written in the French style. They were the first orchestral suites published in Germany.

Tasmin Little Plays Exceptional Music by Exceptional Women

Tasmin Little presents a solid program of late-Romantic violin works. As always, her performances let the emotional content of this music blossom forth in beauty. Little has done other outstanding recordings of this repertoire (her Brahms album springs to mind). She seems to have a natural affinity of the late-Romantic style.

Oh - and all the music on this release happened to be written by women. While that may provide the program's theme, in my opinion, it's not that relevant. These works are all well-crafted, displaying high degrees of creativity and imagination.

Amy Beach's 1896 Violin Sonata in A minor, Op. 34 is a large-scale work. Beach masterfully handles her resources and delivers beautifully-turned melodies one after the other. Little is especially effective in the quiet passages, playing with poignant delicacy.

The Violin Sonata, Op. 7 by Dame Ethel Smyth has a darker character to it. Written in 1887, it more closely resembles the style of Brahms and Schumann. Little makes this work her own, brushing aside the considerable technical challenges to get to the heart of the music. I've heard other recordings of this work. I think Little's is the best.

Clara Schumann's Drei Romanzen, Op. 22 was written for the violinist Joseph Joachim. The scope of these romances is modest. Little's sympathetic performances make them absolutely charming.

Tasmin Little Plays Clara Schumann, Amy Beach, and Ethel Smyth
Tasmin Little, violin; John Lenehan, piano
Chandos 20030

Reinecke Complete String Quartets -- authentically Romantic

The five surviving string quartets of Carl Reinecke describe an arc. His two earliest quartets were discarded and lost, but his first published quartet appears in 1845 at the start of his career. The last was completed in 1909, a year before his death.

Reinecke studied with both Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann. The influence of these teachers is apparent in Reinecke's String Quartet No. 1. Completed when the composer was just eighteen, it's a well-constructed work full of potential.

By contrast, the String Quartet No. 5 in G minor is pure Reinecke. Written at the end of his career, the quartet benefits from a lifetime of compositional experience. The construction is complex and sophisticated. Thick, chromatic harmonies masterfully guide the listener through the work.

The middle quartets show the gradual development of a composer finding his own voice. By the end of his life, Reinecke was considered somewhat old-fashioned. Yet he always remained true to his musical ideal, eschewing fashion for authenticity.

The Reinhold Quartett performs admirably in this cycle. The players are all members of the Gewandhaus Orchestra, an organization Reinecke directed for over 30 years. I like to think it gives the quartet a natural affinity for Reinecke's style.

The quartet has a lush, full sound in these recordings. And yet I could easily follow individual lines in the music. Reinecke wrote, "Time mows down artworks that are not created by a brilliant artist, which I am not." Perhaps. But mowed vegetation sometimes grows back.

The Reinhold Quartett's performances do justice to these works. They convinced me that Reinecke's quartets merit a listen -- and perhaps more than just a listen.

Carl Reinecke: Complete String Quartets
Reinhold Quartett
CPO
2 CD Set

Woldemar Bargiel - String Quartets Fall Between Mendelssohn and Brahms

Even in his lifetime, Woldemar Bargiel never quite escaped the shadow of his half-sister and his brother-in-law -- Clara and Robert Schumann. At an early point in his career, Schumann rated Bargeil's chamber music higher than that of newcomer Johannes Brahms. The rankings soon changed.

Nevertheless, Bargiel was a talented composer, carefully crafting and refining his works over long periods of time. This release features his four string quartets, plus his string octet.

Bargiel's first string quartet was completed in 1848 as a graduation piece. It's a fairly simple work, owing much to Mendelssohn in texture and melodic contour.

His Second String Quartet in D minor finished a year later, is a more fully developed quartet. Here the inspiration seems to be Beethoven. The work carefully develops its motifs with some richly dark harmonies and skillful modulations.

The album leads with the String Quartet No. 3 in A minor, Op. 15b, as well it should. This is a work by a full-fledged composer (rather than a student). Bargiel's style sits somewhere between Mendelssohn and Schumann without sounding derivative. His melodies are fully formed, and the handling of the ensemble is more self-assured.

His last quartet of 1888 shows even more development. The Quartet in D minor, Op. 47 is a big, brawny work that reminded me very strongly of Brahms. It's a beautifully expressive work. The lyrical melodies have plenty of substance for the players to dig into. And the Orpheus Quartet does just that.

The Orpheus Quartet performs with an emotive power that makes these compositions sparkle. Their reading of the fourth quartet I found particularly exciting.

Also included is Bargiel's String Octet, Op. 15a. Inspired by Mendelssohn's octet, Bargeil's work is a somewhat ambitious work. Although both octets have 30-minute playing times, Bargeil's has three movements to Mendelssohn's four.

Bargiel made his octet an expansive work, emulating Mendelssohn's octet in energy, but looking to Beethoven for thematic development and structural balance. It works quite well.

In the end, Schumann ranked Brahms above Bargiel. It's a fair assessment. Bargiel synthesized his influences, while Brahms used them as jumping off points. But still, listening to these works over a century later, I think Bargiel had something interesting to say.

Woldemar Bargiel: Complete String Quartets & String Octet
Orpheus Quartet
CPO 555 095
2 CD Set