Seems as though almost everytime I hear classical music on tv or in movies or wherever,I tend to hear many of the same works such as "1812 Overture".Beethoven's 9th" and a couple others including the same old lullaby and that piece that usually goes with someone waking up in the morning.I think you probably now the one I mean.Are there any particular pieces you wish would be given more exposure through these mediums?(Footnote:being a big Beatles fan,I got a kick out of use of "1812 Overture" in their "Help!" movie.The same film also featured "Ode to Joy")
There are a host of great classical bits and bobs out there that deserve more attention, you could take just about any section of Smetana's "Ma Vlast" and use it to great effect for example.
Interesting topic, I think it was late last year I was at a concert which featured, amongst other things, ‘Kol Nidrei’ by Max Bruch, with a brilliant young cellist from Russia, it’s a work I have loved for many years but very rarely hear performed. It’s like a miniature concerto for solo cello and orchestra, it’s only about 10 minutes, but like most of Max Bruch’s beautiful music, it’s sadly neglected, only really his Violin Concerto No. 1 in G is known to a wide audience, but for me he was one of the truly great romantic German composers, but has just fallen out of fashion for some reason. Especially there’s a truly miraculous theme which comes in at just after the 5 minute mark. Though Bruch was a protestant, it’s based on Hebrew melodies.
Also, here’s one you will know and like, LG, likewise last year I went to a concert featuring a performance of the Beethoven ‘Choral Fantasia’, which for some reason is very neglected considering it’s by one of the towering geniuses in the history of western music, you rarely see it on a concert programme. It’s a bit of an oddity as it’s like a piano concerto, but with a huge and extended choral finale, it’s really fantastic and the way the finale builds up I’m surprised it isn't performed more frequently - for example when they are performing the 9th Symphony it would make a short but superb first half of the concert before the interval. Check out this great performance by Daniel Barenboim and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus ….
^^I don't know much about Bruch, but what I have heard mostly on CBC-2 before they disappeared I enjoyed.
That Beethoven piece does seem to have slipped between the cracks, I suppose so many other of his greatest works just take center stage when it comes to concert performances.
I'll play it later today TS, been a while since I listened to any Beethoven piano bits.
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