Music

Saint-Saëns wrote three violin concertos, but only the Third (Op. 61, 1880) is taken seriously, and even that is rarely programmed. What survives in the active repertoire are the two shorter showpieces: the Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (Op. 28, 1863) and the Havanaise (Op. 83, 1887). Both were written for Pablo de Sarasate, the Spanish violin virtuoso who had a way of inspiring composers to write things that sounded brilliant and felt effortless — then turned out to be extremely difficult. ...

Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) is one of the strangest cases of posthumous reputation in classical music. He was, in his lifetime, considered one of the finest musical minds in France — a child prodigy who reportedly offered at his debut to play any of Beethoven’s 32 sonatas from memory as an encore, a composer of five piano concertos, three symphonies, thirteen operas, and the Organ Symphony. By any reasonable measure, he was on track to be remembered alongside Beethoven and Brahms — a name in the permanent canon, a bust in the conservatory hallway. ...

Saint-Saëns’ Ascanio premiered at the Paris Opéra in March 1890 — a grand opera in five acts set at the court of François I, following the Florentine sculptor Benvenuto Cellini and his apprentice Ascanio through courtly intrigue, a king’s possessive mistress, and a girl hidden in a reliquary to escape a forced marriage. The opera is rarely staged today. What survives in regular repertoire are the ballet movements Saint-Saëns later transcribed for flute and piano. ...

The Goldbergs end where they began — the Aria returns verbatim after thirty variations. In the 1981 Gould, the returning Aria sounds lonelier than the opening one. It seems nothing changed. You did.

Schiff is the thinking pianist’s pianist — no showmanship, every phrase deliberate. His 2017 live recording at the Pierre Boulez Saal is the Goldbergs given back to Bach: legato, transparent, unmannered.

Radu Lupu (1945–2022) was famously reclusive — few recordings, almost no interviews, a public career conducted as if publicity were a mild embarrassment. He won the Leeds, the Van Cliburn, and the George Enescu competitions in the late 1960s and then largely refused to behave like someone who had. At the keyboard he never pushed a phrase toward you. His recording of Schubert’s final piano sonata, D.960 — the opening movement’s long, suspended melody arrives without urgency, as if he simply found it there and decided not to disturb it. ...

At twenty-two, Gould persuaded Columbia Records to let an unknown Canadian record Bach for his debut. The result was fast, angular, and completely sure of itself — ornaments cut like percussion, canons that snap, thirty variations in under forty minutes, and Gould humming audibly throughout the whole thing.

Gould recorded this in September 1981, three weeks before he died at fifty. The 1981 Goldbergs are slow, breathing, inhabited — where the 1955 was argument, this is something closer to acceptance.

Though I found myself reluctant to admit my attachment to mainstream pop, my favourite album over the summer of 2024 would have to be Short N’ Sweet—given the unhealthy playing repeats of a few of its singles. Here are two reviews explaining why it might just be the biggest hit of 2024: Vinyl cover of Short N’ Sweet. Original full-size picture available here—I mean, look at this remarkable visual presentation of the album’s aesthetic concept: the nostalgic pastel setup, the vivavious blush and hair, and the goofy face. ...

Apple music classical has a marvelous collection of Vladimir Horowitz’s piano recitals—all the years, all the remarkable concert halls and performance: Vladimir Horowitz: The Unreleased Live Recordings 1966-1983 This recording CD costs minimum of $250 on Amazon, but now it’s free and available in highest possible stereo quality on Apple Music Classical. Run, Rach lovers. Vladimir Horowitz: The Unreleased Live Recordings 1966-1983 is an extensive collection of 50 CDs, documenting Horowitz’s live performances across 17 years. This set includes performances from the world’s most prestigious and iconic venues (mainly across the United States and Europe), including Carnegie Hall in New York City, Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., and the White House; and Royal Festival Hall in London, for the queen. ...