I have long loved the harp. Ever since I first heard “She’s Leaving Home” sometime in my tweens I was enchanted. And yet I have done a piss poor job of ever seeking out harp music. I can’t really say why exactly, I guess I was just too busy looking for other sounds (that of …
Category: 1989
Complete String Quartets (2008) by Philip Glass, performed by the Smith Quartet
First off, this is no longer ‘complete’ if it ever really was – Glass has apparently written a 6th quartet. (Also, there are other pieces he has written for string quartet that do not appear here, but they are not numbered among his string quartets, apparently.)
Passion – Sources (1989) by Various Artists, curated by Peter Gabriel
On the one hand, this is a fine collection of “world” music, featuring all sorts of interesting pieces from different cultures. Moreover, it was released in connection to an “event” Hollywood film, meaning that this type of music got unprecedented exposure in North America.
Piano Concertos; Elegy for Anne Frank (2001) by Lukas Foss et al.
This is an odd compilation in that it combines performances of Foss’ work by others with two by himself. I don’t really know why they aren’t all by himself, but whatever. I was unfamiliar with Foss and I must say his music is interesting, if far less radical than the 20th century music I normally …
The Port Chicago Mutiny (1989) by Robert L. Allen
I was actually completely unaware of the occurrence of the Port Chicago explosion or subsequent “mutiny,” so this book was quite eye-opening.
Dvorak Piano Trios Nos. 1 and 2 (1989) by the Raphael Trio
This collects Dvorak’s two least-regarded piano trios. I didn’t know that while I listened to it, and, now that I know, I’m not quite surprised. The music is certainly pleasant, but one can understand why people haven’t gone crazy over this music, which seems to me as if it could easily have been written in …
The Songs of Henri Duparc (1989) by Sarah Walker, Thomas Allen, Roger Vignoles
For reasons I can’t quite articulate, I find lieder tough to get into. My first reaction is to be a little surprised that this guy’s status in the canon rests on this.
Variations, interlude et final; Prelude elegiaque; La plainte, au loin, du faune; Sonate (1989) by Paul Dukas, performed by Margaret Fingerhut
This is a quite surprising collection. Dukas – who apparently destroyed much of his output – used to be somewhat dismissed when it came to his piano music but I find what’s here – both the famous sonata variations and the less famous other two works – to be great, if not exactly life-changing. It’s …