Friday 30 October 2009

Friday 30th October 2009

Today's ears!

In the car, for a couple of short trips, the opening of:
Handel - Acis & Galatea

Following a Spotify link from @iamamro on facebook:
Schumann - Piano Concerto in A Minor

Then:
Beethoven - Fidelio Act I
Britten - Cabaret Songs, Blues
Cole Porter - Songs
Bach - Concertos for 3 & 4 Harpsichords
Bach - Motets BWV 225-230
Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 5, Capriccio Italien
Brahms - Serenade No.2
Scharwenka - Piano Quartet Op.37, Piano Trio Op.45
Hindemith - Ludus Tonalis, Suite 1922

Then, since Spotify was still open:
Satie - 6 Gnossiennes

Comments:

1. I have finally given up the unequal struggle to find my cassette of the Schumann piano concerto (it has a red spine, btw, if anyone sees it around), and just jolly well ordered myself a CD which I can convert to MP3. It is now driving me insane only being able to listen to it on the computer!

2. Britten Cabaret songs are brill - found the disc by accident while searching for Bach! Jill Gomez singing, btw.

3. Brahms Serenade - hee hee hee - a piece without violins! Violas reign supreme. Played this - it was great fun!

4. Scharwenka - memories of rootling about in C19th chamber music when I was doing my (unfinished) D.Phil.

5. I forget how much I like Hindemith. If I don't listen to any more Hindemith in the next day or so, can someone please remind me that I like Hindmith! Thanks!

6. Gnossiennes are perfect for a bit of late night internetting before retiring!

Thursday 29th October 2009

Yesterday's ears!

In the car, for a couple of short trips, the end of:
Reverend & The Makers - French Kiss in the Chaos

At home:
Haydn - Baryton Trios 1-38 (the first four discs of my box set)

In the car on the way out:
Handel - Dixit Dominus, Nisi Dominus

While out at the Wonderspouse's bookreading, a set by:
Jessie Grace

On the way home in the car:
Bach - Concertos for 3 & 4 Harpsichords

I'd forgotten how fabulous those multiple harpsichord concertos are! I like muchly!

Wednesday 28th October 2009

Here are Wednesday's ears!

In the car for a couple of short journeys, the end of:
White Lies - To Lose My Life

In the doctor's waiting room (I assume this is meant to calm patients - hmmm!):
Barber - Adagio
Massenet - Meditation from Thais
Rachmaninov - Slow movement from Piano Concerto No.2

At home:
Tchaikovsky - Symphonies No.1, 2, 3, 4, Swan Lake suite, Francesca da Rimini, Marche Slave, Fatum

In the car on the way to a gig:
Little Boots - Hands

At the gig, sets by:
The Backhanded Compliments
Yves Klein Blue
Reverend & The Makers

After the gig:
Jon McClure, busking on the street outside the gig venue!!

On the way home from the gig:
Reverend & The Makers - French Kiss in the Chaos

A fabulous gig. Another of those "I nearly didn't go because I really didn't feel up to it, but dragged myself there anyway and was really really glad I did".
Only thing that was a bit odd - after an evening of listening to northern accents my usually toned down northern accent returned rather strongly and I sounded like a real Donny lass for a while!
Reverend & The Makers SERIOUSLY rock though. Seriously ROCK!!

Wednesday 28 October 2009

Tuesday 27th October 2009

For a couple of short car journeys, bits of:
White Lies - To Lose My Life

In the morning, on repeat:
Beethoven - Cello Sonatas Op.5 No.s 1&2

In the afternoon, on repeat:
Beethoven - Cello Variations on Theme of Handel & on Bei Mannern
Beethoven - Cello Sonata Op.69

That was it! No gig! Early night instead!

Monday 26th October 2009

On the way home from the gig, in the car (we stayed over in a hotel):
Passion Pit - Manners
The Dead Weather - Horehound

At home:
Beethoven - Piano Trios Op.1 No.s 1&2
Creature with the Atom Brain - Transylvania

In the car on the way to another gig:
Arctic Monkeys - Humbug

At the gig, sets by:
The Joy Formidable
Max Tundra
Passion Pit

In the car on the way home from the gig:
Reverend & The Makers - French Kiss in the Chaos

Totally different sort of gig! The Joy Formidable were formidably loud, but pretty cool - The Wonderspouse was particularly chuffed with himself when he acquired a copy of the handwritten setlist by speaking nicely to the security guard who passed it over the barrier for him.

Max Tundra was truly one of the oddest acts I have EVER seen, and is currently putting up a stiff fight against Har Mar Superstar (who we saw at the Boosh festival in 2008). Max's dance rendition of "So long, farewell" from The Sound of Music is giving him serious "weird" points, but Har Mar is still just about winning, since he took all his clothes off and stood on his head (having never come across him at that point, I didn't realise that was what he did - when he took the first jumper off I thought it was normal, by the time he was removing his trousers I was starting to pinch myself quite hard).

Passion Pit started late owing to major technical difficulties - the guy trying to plug in the leads & stuff looked like he was about to cry at one point. However, when they did get going they were great. Bouncy & happy. OK, it's a bit 14-year-old (and there were indeed lots of 14-year-olds there), but hey, it was fun!

Sunday 25th October 2009

Starting to return to some sort of normal listening routine (although it's not quite up to scratch yet, and I'm still not managing to update on the day).

In the morning, following yesterday's tweets by @RAHOrgan:
Saint-Saens - Organ Symphony

In the afternoon:
Bartok - Microcosmos Volumes 1-3

In the car on the way to a gig:
Calvin Harris - I Created Disco
Muse - The Resistance

At the gig, sets by:
Creature with the Atom Brain
The Dead Weather

Really really enjoyed the gig. Creature with the Atom Brain were a great support band, and The Dead Weather were phenomenal. Jack White & Alison Mosshart singing into the same mike produced real electricity, and by the time they finished with Treat me Like Your Mother, the crowd was wild. Fantastic evening. Thoroughly polished, but with real passion. Brilliant!

Sunday 25 October 2009

Saturday 24th October 2009

Briefly, in the car:
Messiaen - L'Ascension (again, I know).

On repeat through the evening and into the night:
Bach - Orchestral Suites 1-4

I wanted to listen to all sorts of other things, but I'm afraid the task of finding the CDs amongst the chaos was really rather beyond me. Things will improve though!!

Friday 23rd October 2009

Home once again, although normal listening activities are still to resume, owing to chaotic state of house & mind!!

In the car:
Messiaen - L'Ascension

At home:
Beethoven - Triple Concerto
Brahms - Double Concerto
Brahms - Variations on a Theme of Handel Op.24
Beethoven - Eroica Variations Op.35

The last lot rather lazily on repeat I'm afraid - terrible habit of mine!

Thursday 22nd October 2009

In the car on the way from Honfleur to Dunkerque:

Bruckner - Symphony No.7 (complete this time)
Smetana - String Quartets
Shostakovich - String Quartet No.8
Shostakovich - Symphony No.8

Then, while waiting for the ferry at Dunkerque:
Shostakovich - Symphony No.10

Driving back home from Dover:
Janacek - String Quartets
Philip Glass - Excerpts from Akhnaten, Company, Violin Concerto
Bartok - String Quartets 1, 3, and 5
Messaien - L'Ascension

Fairly loud Shostakovich maybe not the obvious choice for a ferry queue, but it was actually rather excellent, and provided wonderful accompaniment for a while reading in the car.

Philip Glass not the obvious choice for driving home late at night either, but I didn't feel sleepy, so it was fine!

Wednesday 21st October 2009

An interesting day for the ears!

I was able to log on to twitter again thanks to free WiFi & terminal in hotel foyer. Tweets from @ClassicalReview and @jessicaduchen prompted me to listen to the opening of:
Bruckner - Symphony No.7

Then we went to the Satie Museum in Honfleur, where I heard LOTS of Satie. Too many random snippets to list here, but I'll try and decipher what I can from the photos I took a bit later on. However, I can tell you that I heard:
Satie - Gymnopedies
Satie - Gnossiennes
Satie - Parade

Back in the hotel room, on the MP3 player, whilst doing a bit of reading:
Handel - Acis & Galatea

The Satie museum, by the way, was fabulous. If you're in Honfleur, you must go. I've now been rather inspired to listen to more Satie, as well as exploring the works of Les Six, which I haven't really bothered with much since college. It was certainly one of the highlights of the holiday!

Tuesday 20th October 2009

A slightly better day for the ears, in the car driving from Chartres to Honfleur:

Handel - Organ Concertos, details here!
Corelli - Concerti Grossi Op.6, No.s 1-4
Monteverdi - 1610 Vespers

An improvement upon yesterday anyway!

Monday 19th October 2009

Another rather lean day. Just one short trip in the car and a little bit of:
Blur - Midlife

Some of these holiday days are pretty shockingly earless I'm afraid. Next time I shall go on a listening holiday or something!!

Sunday 18th October 2009

Back in the car, driving from Cergy-Pontoise to Chartres:

Kasabian - West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
Blur - Midlife (most of)

Then, in the hotel room on the MP3 player:
Beethoven - Razumovsky Quartets (while writing postcards)
Mahler - Symphony No. 1, 3rd & 4th movements (on Arte TV channel, the end of a rather excellent concert (LA Phil, Dudamel) that we caught while channel surfing)

That was it!

Saturday 17th October 2009

A very lean day for the ears - they were filled not with music, but the sounds of Paris metro trains, cafes, shops and so on!

However, I did put my MP3 player on as I went to sleep that night and listened to:
Beethoven - Triple Concerto

Word of warning though - if you doze off with earphones in, you may wake up half throttled by the wires, as I did!!

Friday 16th October 2009

In the car, while driving from Dunkerque to Cergy-Pontoise:

Mendelssohn - Overtures: Hebrides, Fair Melusine, Midsummer Night's Dream, Calm Sea & Prosperous Voyage
Beethoven - Choral Fantasia, Triple Concerto
Haydn - Harpsichord Concerto in D, Hornsignal Symphony
Mozart - Piano Concerto K488
Schubert - Piano Trios D898, D929
Chopin - Piano Concertos 1 & 2, La Ci Darem Variations, Fantasy Polish Airs, Krakowiak, Andante Spianato & Polonaise

That was it!!

Thursday 15 October 2009

Thursday 15th October 2009

So far, today's ears have been:

In the car:
Passion Pit - Manners

At home:
Bach - Orchestral Suites

There may be more to add to this post, but I shall soon be away from my technology for a short while. Ears posts will resume shortly though - never fear, the ears will note down everything they hear in the meantime and fill you in on all their musical delights when they can!!

********************************

Some time later, upon my return from a holiday in France, having found the bit of paper upon which I scribbled information about Ears, here I am, ready to continue!

In the car on the way to Dover:
The Dead Weather - Horehound
The Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
Reverend & The Makers - French Kiss in The Chaos
White Lies - To Lose My Life
Little Boots - Hands

Wednesday 14th October 2009

Here are yesterday's ears (I'm afraid normal posting is still not quite there)!

First thing:
Faure - Requiem & Cantique de Jean Racine

Then, from my Scarlatti box set:
Scarlatti - Sonatas Kk485-519 (some brilliant ones in there!)

Then:
Beethoven - Triple Concerto (several times)

Then, in the car:
Passion Pit - Manners

When I got home:
Rachmaninov - Cello Sonata
Schumann - Fantasiestuke
Beethoven - Cello Sonata No.3

And in the evening:
Schubert - String Quintet

That was all!

Wednesday 14 October 2009

Tuesday 13th October 2009

In the car:
Muse - The Resistance

Started the day with:
Richard Strauss - Tod und Verklarung, Metamorphosen, Vier letzte Lieder

Then:
Beethoven - Quintet in C Op.29, Sextet in Eb Op.71, Sextet in Eb Op.81b

And then:
Beethoven - Triple Concerto
Brahms - Double Concerto

(yes, I know you've heard about that disc already, but it's a bit of a favourite at the moment).

Monday 12th October 2009

In the car:
Muse - The Resistance

Since it was still in the CD player, I had:
Haydn - Op.74 String Quartets (again)!

Then a bit later, prompted by a link in @iamamro's tweet and a subsequent conversation with @5357311:
Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid

Then, for something rather different:
Elliott Carter - String Quartets 1-5

Then for something different again, the whole of:
Mendelssohn - Elijah!

I'd say that was a pretty varied day's listening!!

Sunday 11th October 2009

Sunday's ears (sorry people, I'm behind again - still not quite settled back into daily ear posting)!

Following a facebook link from the previous evening:
Vaughan Williams - Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis

And then the rest of the CD:
Elgar - Introduction and Allegro
Vaughan Williams - The Lark Ascending
Elgar - Serenade for Strings
Vaughan Williams - Fantasia on Greensleeves

Then:
Russian Chant for Vespers - details can be found here!

Then:
Brahms - Symphony No.2 and Symphony No.3
Dvorak - Serenade for Strings and Czech Suite
Haydn - String Quartets Op.74 1-3

That was it for Sunday!

Saturday 10 October 2009

Saturday 10th October 2009

Wow, it's now been 3 months with the ears! I'm a quarter of the way through A Year With My Ears! Wasn't totally sure I'd still be going by now, but I am!

And I've caught up with the posts too! So, here are today's ears:

In the car on the way into town:
Calvin Harris - I Created Disco

This morning:
Palestrina - Missa Papae Marcelli & Missa Brevis

This afternoon:
Shostakovich - Violin Sonata & Viola Sonata

Three months of ears done!!

Friday 9th October 2009

And more catching up!

In the car on the way to and from work:
Editors - An End Has a Start
Elbow - Leaders of the Free World

On Grooveshark, at work on earphones for calming effect:
Bach - Cello Suites, 2, 4, and 6.

While walking:
Corelli - Concerti Grossi Op.6 No.s 4 and 8

On arrival at home:
Shostakovich - Symphony No.13

In the evening:
Beethoven - Triple Concerto
Brahms - Double Concerto

The Corelli is deeply nostalgic for me, particularly No.8, which is a favourite of my Mum's. Remember many evenings in my early teens sitting with my mum & stepfather, drinking Sancerre & listening to those concerti. As long as I could convince them that I'd done my homework, both Corelli & Sancerre were permitted!!

I guess those are slightly unconventional things for a teenager to like, but that's the sort of teenager I was!!

Thursday 8th October 2009

Another catch-up ears I'm afraid, I really will try to get back to posting daily soon!

In the car:
Little Boots - Hands

At home, all morning, on repeat:
Little Boots - Hands (yes, ALL morning, just what I was in the mood for)

Then:
Candle Thieves - The Sunshine EP (bought at the gig on Tuesday)

Then I went into Russian mode:
Shostakovich - Symphony No.11, Symphony No.12

And in the evening:
Schubert - Trout Quintet & Death & The Maiden Quartet

That's it!

Wednesday 7 October 2009

Wednesday 7th October 2009

And finally, on my bid to catch up, here are today's ears!

In the car, bits of:
Little Boots - Hands

At home this morning:
Sibelius - Symphonies 4 & 6

This afternoon:
Haydn - Piano Concerto in D, No.11, 1st Mvmt (Spotify link tweeted by @iamamro)

This evening:
Haydn - Harpsichord (Piano) Concerto in D, No.11
Haydn - Harpsichord & Violin Concerto
Haydn - Hornsignal Symphony

The Haydn disc from this evening has a bit of a story attached. I bought it many years ago, when I was a small 1st year undergrad about to fail some exams fairly spectacularly (I came bottom of the school & got the record for the lowest mark ever, simply by sitting for most of the exam doing absolutely nothing).
Highly stressed & wondering what to do about it, I wondered into the classical bit of HMV on Cornmarket, and there was this most wonderful music playing. I instantly started to feel better, so simply walked up to the counter and said "Whatever this is that's on, I'll buy it". Fortunately for my bank manager's blood pressure it was a budget CD and not a complete works box set!
It was my constant listening for the rest of term & I know it rather well. In fact, I can still smell my college room whenever I listen to it!
The spotify link put me onto it, and it's on repeat for the rest of the evening!

Tuesday 6th October 2009

More live music for the ears today!

At home in the morning:
Sibelius - Symphonies 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, Violin Concerto, The Oceanides

In the car, on the way to & from a gig:
Passion Pit - Manners
The Dead Weather - Horehound
Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
Reverend & The Makers - French Kiss in the Chaos
White Lies - To Lose My Life
Little Boots - Hands

At the gig, sets by:
Candle Thieves
The Molotovs
The Boxer Rebellion

I wasn't actually feeling terribly well and very nearly didn't go to the gig. Jolly glad I did go though. Candle Thieves were really fab (including duetting glockenspiels, sparklers, teddy bears, multi-tasking like you've never seen, and rather lovely music too). The Molotovs were on great form (3rd time we've seen them), and The Boxer Rebellion just get better and better (7th time we've seen them). They did a fabulous set, with loads of favourites. The crowd were amazing, we were right at the front. It was truly a gig to remember. Glad I was able to go.

Monday 5th October 2009

Today's Ears!

In the car:
Muse - The Resistance

At home:
Bach - B Minor Mass
White Denim - Fits
Beethoven - String Quartets Op.59, 1-3, Op.74, Op.127, Op.131, Op.132

That's it!

Sunday 4th October 2009

Today's ears!

Schubert - Wanderer Fantasie
Schumann - Fantasie Op.17
Mahler - Symphony No.2
Faure - Requiem & Cantique de Jean Racine
Beethoven - Piano Sonatas 2, 26 & 32
Tchaikovsky - Symphony No.1 & Swan Lake Suite

That's it!

Sunday 4 October 2009

Saturday 3rd October 2009

Well, this was a treat day for the ears!

In the morning, at my desk, on the stereo:
Ligeti - Le Grand Macabre

In the car on the way to and from London:
Editors - An End Has a Start
Elbow - Leaders of the Free World
Calvin Harris - I Created Disco
Muse - The Resistance

At the Coliseum, live, the most AMAZING production of:
Ligeti - Le Grand Macabre

At home later in the evening:
Brahms - Violin Sonatas 1-3

Comment: I believe Calvin Harris is meant to be uncool, but I like it anyway!
Comment: WOW - an opportunity to see the Ligeti live. I'm going to try, like last week's piano recital, to think of more words to say about this - maybe a blog post on my main blog. Suffice to say for now, it was amazing. I'm quite a fan of Ligeti's music, and the production was pretty wild. Fantastic evening out. The ears were well pleased!!

Friday 2 October 2009

Friday 2nd October 2009

Well, at long last I've got a new MP3 stick sorted for the car.

On the way to work:
White Lies - To Lose My Life

While walking, on my phone:
Kasabian - West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum

On the way home from work:
Little Boots - Hands

This evening (partly because there's a load of paperwork on top of the CD player which I'd have to move to change the CD - excuses excuses):
Beethoven - Triple Concerto
Brahms - Double Concerto

(I promise I'll change the CD soon)!!

Thursday 1st October 2009

You know when you just get one of those days that it's one thing and one thing only. Well, that's how it was for the ears. One disc, on replay, all day. I do this sort of thing from time to time.

Beethoven - Triple Concerto
Brahms - Double Concerto

Sorry if that's a bit tedious dear readers, but it's the truth.

Oh, and 5 minutes each in the car of:
Smetana - String Quartet No.2
Reverend & The Makers - French Kiss in the Chaos
(but really only a few minutes of each)!

Bit embarrassing putting up a post like that!