Spam Roundup October, 2020

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.

I'm sorry, what?

 - Nice on both you and your somebody has a intimately-outlined pouring body part. [My body parts don't pour, though they are poor.]

 - Businesses are always take to ask during the discourse and the info and processes participating.

 - Forbid the near ability to see the results of your cheeks. regain the gross iciness. [I hate that feeling of gross iciness.] 

 -  If not, you should ever familiarize yourself with your whispered earned medium of exchange to expend national leader wealth. [My whispered earned medium of exchange is certainly nothing to shout about.]

Lumbering Along still pulls in the bots

My modest post about a cheap Japanese toy remains popular. The Straco Express Layout, Part 23 - Lumbering Along is in no way related to the comments it generates.

 - Thank you a lot for sharing this with all folks you really understand what you're speaking about! 

 - I get pleasure from, result in I discovered just what I was taking a look for. [Glad I could pleasure you.]

 - This piece of writing is actually nice and I have learned lot of things from it. [You sound surprised.] 

 - Howdy, i read your blog from time to time and i own a similar one and i was just wondering if you get a lot of spam feedback? [You mean like this?]

Then there's this

 - Get a decrease on machine protection reward by fosterage your nipper,

Words fail me. More next month!

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalTimeMachine Week 4

For the month of October, the Classics a Day team turned nostalgic. Classical musicians have been making recordings since the 1890s. So we all have over 130 years of documented performance practices. And we can judge first-hand the artistry of legendary performers. 

The challenge is to post classical recordings made before 1949 (pre-LP era). Here are my posts for the fourth and final week of the #ClassicsaDay theme #ClassicalTimeMachine.

10/26/20 Britten Mazurka Elegiaca (1944)

Britten wrote this two-piano piece in memory of Igance Paderewski in 1941. Clifford Curzon invited Britten recorded the work with him for Decca in 1944.

10/27/20 Scriabin Sonata No. 4 (1939)

Russian pianist and composer Samuil Feinberg was considered Scriabin's musical heir. He was one of the first to perform all of Scriabin's sonatas. He recorded this sonata for Melodiya right before the war.

Mozart Violin Concerto No. 3 (1934)

Violinist Bronislaw Huberman recorded this work with Issay Dobroven and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. He provided his own cadenzas and decidedly unhistoric interpretations.

10/29/20 Grieg Wedding Day at Troldhaugen (1906)

Edvard Grieg made several piano rolls of his piano music for the Welte-Mignon player pianos. Their sophisticated system recorded differences in pedaling and phrasing.

10/30/20 Schubert Death and the Maiden (1928)

The Gewandhaus Quartet is comprised of members of the Gewandhaus Orchestra. It was founded in 1808, the earliest professional string quartet.

"Buried Alive" unearths Roaring 20s classics

This release presents three works from the late 1920s. It was a time of reinvention. The First World War swept away the conventions of the Edwardian Age. 

Composers (and other artists) developed new forms of expression, that incorporated various elements of prewar aesthetics. Arthur Honegger, Othmar Schoeck, and Dmitri Mtropoulous were among them -- each choosing to take a slightly different way forward.

Honneger's "Rugby, (Mouvement symphonique) is the most familiar of the three works (being part of a trilogy that includes "Pacific 321." The music, though not specifically programmatic, effectively depicts the conflict of sport. Motifs move back and forth, clashing with increasing energy until one remains to finish the piece in triumph.

Dmitri Mitropoulos is best remembered as a conductor, but he also composed early in his career. His Concerto Grosso isn't a neo-classical work. Mitropoulos was an admirer of Arnold Schoenberg. The Concerto Grosso is a study in atonality and expressionism, framed in Baroque forms, such as the French overture, and treatments, such as fugues and canons. 

The eponymous composition, "Buried Alive" is the longest piece in the program. Othmar Schoeck greatly admired Hugo Wolf, and the bulk of his catalog is lieder. "Lebendig begraben" (Buried Alive), is a mature work, with Schoeck pushing against convention with exotic harmonies and obscured key centers. 

The song cycle for baritone and orchestra sets a series of poems by Swiss poet Gottfried Keller. The poet is literally buried alive. The poems are contemplations of his situation and events from his life, which ebbs away at the conclusion of the poem. 

Baritone Michael Nagy delivers what seems like a stream of consciousness monologue. Schoeck knew how to write for the voice -- and Nagy knows how to bring Schoeck's music to life. "Buried Alive' isn't operatic in gestures, but it is in emotional content. 

Leon Botstein conducts the Orchestra Now in some fine performances. "Rugby" has the necessary energy, and the Concerto Grosso the required precision. But it's "Buried Alive" where the superb musicianship of the conductor and orchestra come together (along with the soloist). Schoeck's score provides context for the voice. And it also wraps around the voice in a way that continually evokes claustrophobia.

Highly recommended.

Buried Alive
Honegger, Schoek, Mitropoulos
Michael Nagy, baritone
The Orchestra Now; Leon Botstein, conductor
Bridge Records 9540

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalTimeMachine Week 3

For the month of October, the Classics a Day team turned nostalgic. Classical musicians have been making recordings since the 1890s. So we all have over 130 years of documented performance practices. And we can judge first-hand the artistry of legendary performers. 

The challenge is to post classical recordings made before 1949 (pre-LP era). Here are my posts for the third week of the #ClassicsaDay theme #ClassicalTimeMachine.

10/19/20 Richard Strauss - Also Sprach Zarathustra (1944)

Strauss recorded this and other works with the Vienna Philharmonic as part of his eightieth birthday

 celebration.

10/20/20 Elgar - Cello Concerto (1920)

Edward Elgar finished this work in 1919. He recorded it a year later, chopping it down from 29 minutes to 15. Elgar conducted a reduced orcehstra for the acoustic recording, with Beatrice Harrison soloist.

10/21/20 Mahler Second Symphony (1934)

This is a transcribed recording of a concert bpradcast in 1934. Arnold Schoenberg, Mahler's friend and early champion of his music, conducts the Cadillac Symphony.

10/22/20 Elgar - Cello Concerto (1920)

Elgar finished this in 1919. He recorded it a year later, chopping it down from 29 minutes to 15. Elgar conducted a reduced orchestra for the acoustic recording, with Beatrice Harrison.

10/23/20 Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue (1924)

George Gershwin premiered the work with Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra Feb. 12, 1924, and they recorded it four months later. The score was reduced by 1/3 to fit unto the 12-inch discs.

Sarah Connolly shines in Arthur Bliss cantatas

This outstanding release presents three relatively late works by Arthur Bliss. At the time, they were considered a little old-fashioned. Heard now, though, I think they show the originality of Bliss' vision -- and his skill at orchestral writing. 

Mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly shines in "The Enchantress" and "Mary of Magdala." Her voice can sound warm, with rich honeyed tones. Or it can have a steely edge to it, projecting a menacing strength. 

That wide range of technique is put to the test with "The Enchantress." Bliss wrote the work for Kathleen Ferrier, "in admiration of her singing." It played to all of Ferrier's vocal and dramatic strengths. And from the sound of this performance, Connolly's as well. 

"Mary of Magdala" is also dramatic, but of a more subtle nature. Mary Magdalene is grieving at Jesus' open tomb when the gardener talks to her. As she converses with him, she slowly realizes that it's actually Jesus, and her grief turns to overwhelming joy. 

Connolly presents the initial emotions of Mary with restraint (compared with those in "The Enchantress"). And while that loosens as the work progresses, Connolly remains focused. She presents Mary's joy as spiritual rather than visceral.

Also included is Bliss' commission for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, "Meditations on a Theme by John Blow." The theme was a setting of Psalm 23. Each meditation uses a different passage, making this work a study in contrasts. 

Andrew Davis leads the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in some fine performances. This is an SACD release. If you choose to purchase a digital version, opt for the highest resolution you can. The fine details of Sarah Connolly's singing --especially in "The Enchantress" should not be missed. 

Arthur Bliss: Mary of Magdala
The Enchantress; Meditations on a Theme by John Blow
Sarah Connolly, mezzo-soprano; James Platt, bass
BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus; Andrew Davis, conductor
Chandos CHSA 5242
SACD