#classical music

vincentguazi-art:

Turned them into a meme

Chop-chop would like to see Franz being thrown out from the building

Idea from @incorrect-composer-quotes

and that’s how we like it! thanks for tuning in!

When Shostakovich began composing his First Violin Concerto in 1947, he was enjoying a period of relative calm. World War II had distracted Stalin’s government from show trials and purges, leaving artists slightly less harassed than usual. In 1942, Shostakovich unveiled his Leningrad Symphony, which won a Stalin Prize and was played across the allied world as a symbol of solidarity in the fight against the Nazis. A number of other official plaudits followed, and in 1947 Stalin ordered that the Shostakovich family be given a nicer apartment and a dacha in the countryside.

Alas, by the time Shostakovich completed the violin concerto in 1948, the situation had changed completely. Having defeated the enemy without, the Soviet government soon resumed its incessant witch hunts for enemies within. In the arts, literature was the first target after the war, but by 1948 it was music’s turn. With little warning, Shostakovich and other leading Soviet composers found that many of their works that were once praised were now banned. The rationales given were ludicrous; Shostakovich and other composers were forced to listen to long harangues from cultural apparatchiks laden with virtually meaningless terms like “formalism” and “socialist realism.” Despite having sincerely tried to understand these terms for the past two decades, many composers came to the conclusion that social realist works were simply the ones in favor at the moment and formalist ones were not. It would have been laughable if only so much had not been at stake.

Shostakovich finished his violin concerto anyway, although it would not be premiered until after Stalin’s death in 1955 (the violinist for the premiere would be the great David Oistrakh, featured below. Shostakovich dedicated the concerto to him). This was not the first time such things had happened, nor would it be the last. The concerto he wrote took the suffering of his absurd and treacherous world and transmuted it into something beautiful and profound.

Shostakovich at this time had become increasingly interested in baroque musical forms. Perhaps in emulation of some baroque concertos, Shostakovich wrote his violin concerto in four movements organized slow-fast-slow-fast instead of following the usual three-movement pattern, fast-slow-fast. The opening Nocturne is a somber, meditative soliloquy for the soloist, accompanied by dark-hued orchestral timbres.

After this introspective night music, the ensuing scherzo is a wild, frenetic dance. In this movement, Shostakovich introduces for the first time what would become his musical signature: the notes D-Eb-C-B (in German, these notes are called D-S-C-H, a cypher for Dmitri SCHostokowitsch, the German spelling of Shostakovich’s name).

Technically, the first appearance of this figure is D#-E-C#-B, but it later morphs into the more usual form. The inclusion of this motif suggests an autobiographical intent. We cannot know what Shostakovich was thinking when he wrote this passage, but one of Shostakovich’s comments to his friend Maria Sabinina after being forced to read a speech at this time seems to resonate:

“And I got up on the tribune, and started to read out aloud this idiotic, disgusting nonsense concocted by some nobody. Yes, I humiliated myself, I read out what was taken to be ‘my own speech.’ I read like the most paltry wretch, a parasite, a cut-out paper doll on a string!!” This last phrase he shrieked out like a frenzied maniac, and then kept on repeating it.

Not long after the appearance of Shostakovich’s musical signature, the music arrives at a boisterous, klezmer-inspired central episode.

Though not Jewish himself, Shostakovich noted that “My parents considered anti-Semitism a shameful superstition, and in that sense particularly I was given a very good upbringing.” Unfortunately, not all Soviets were so enlightened. Becoming increasingly paranoid, Stalin had begun an anti-Semitic campaign during WWII which intensified in 1948. Regarding the persecution, Shostakovich remarked “…how ‘this’ had started with the Jews but would end up with the entire intelligentsia.” The revelations of the atrocities of the holocaust further fueled Shostakovich’s interest in Jewish music. His inclusion of klezmer-inspired music in this concerto and a number of other works that followed may have been another veiled protest against the regime.

The third movement is a passacaglia, a type of baroque theme and variations in which a bass line is repeated as new melodies and textures are introduced above it. The bass line in this case is a heavy, oppressive figure introduced by the cellos and basses, as horns play pulsing figures and arpeggios above it. After a quieter variation for winds, the soloist enters with an expressive melody. An increasingly tense series of variations follows, until the solo violin takes up the bass line itself before returning to its original melody. The following variation features chant-like repeated notes reminiscent of the elegy from Tchaikovsky’s Third String Quartet.

This mournful music fades seamlessly into the cadenza, an extended passage for the soloist unaccompanied by the orchestra. In the concertos of the previous century, cadenzas were normally placed just before the end or at the climax of the first movement. Instead, Shostakovich places his cadenza between movements, making it seem untethered, as if we have passed into some netherworld that is neither here nor there. Suspended in this liminal space, the soloist seems even more alone and isolated. The cadenza becomes faster and more intense as it progresses, recalling ideas from the previous movements, including the DSCH motif. Climaxing with the return of the klezmer theme in the violin’s highest register, the cadenza then accelerates into the finale.

Shostakovich titled the last movement “burlesca,” an indication that fits the music’s darkly comic atmosphere. Its mad, virtuoso fiddle music brings the concerto to an unsettling, but thrilling conclusion.

Source:
Houston Symphony / Calvin Dotsey / Nov 20, 2017.
Link:Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1

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orpheustheviola:

mikrokosmos:

doing-it-for-debussy:

“Too many pieces of music finish too long after the end.”  - Igor Stravinsky

“I am sure my music has a taste of codfish in it.” - Edvard Grieg 

“Never look at the trombones. It only encourages them.” - Richard Strauss

“He’d be better off shovelling snow than scribbling on manuscript paper.” - Richard Strauss on Schoenberg

“I liked your opera. I think I will set it to music.” - Ludvig van Beethoven

“I have written a chorale both sober and suitable. In it I have put everything I know about boredom. I dedicate this to those who do not like me.” - Erik Satie

“ Mr. Wagner has beautiful moments but bad quarters of an hour.” - Gioacchino Rossini

“What a good thing this isn’t music.” - Gioacchino Rossini on Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique 

“Oh how wonderful, really wonderful opera would be if there were no singers!” - Gioacchino Rossini

“In opera there is always too much singing.” - Claude Debussy

“Bring me coffee before I turn into a goat!” - Johann Sebastian Bach

“Listening to the 5th Symphony of Ralph Vaughan Williams is like staring at a cow for 45 minutes.” - Aaron Copland 

“The audience expected something big, something colossal, but they were served instead with some agitated water in a saucer.” - Louis Schnieder on Debussy’s La Mer

“He gives me the impression of being a spoilt child.” - Clara Schumann on Liszt 

“What a giftless bastard!” - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky on Brahms

“Handel is only fourth rate. He is not even interesting.” - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

“Bach on the wrong notes” -  Sergei Prokofiev on Stravinsky 

And, saving the best for last…

“Lick my ass up and down” -Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 

Feel free to add more! (Also please don’t think that I agree with all of these, I am a huge fan of Symphonie Fantastique and La Mer!!)

“I am in the smallest room in my house. Your review is in front of me. Soon it will be behind me.” - Max Reger

Whoever thought that classical musicians/composers were old, boring, dead people clearly do not understand the amount of salt there is to go around here.

Mozart literally wrote two pieces entitled ‘Lick me in the Ass’ and ‘Lick My Ass Nice and Clean’ and the lyrics to the latter, translated from the original German, are probably:

Lick my ass nicely,
lick it nice and clean,
nice and clean, lick my ass.
That’s a greasy desire,
nicely buttered,
like the licking of roast meat, my daily activity.
Three will lick more than two,
come on, just try it,
and lick, lick, lick.
Everybody lick his own ass himself.

musicainextenso:

Thank you for joining us this week. It was a really beautiful farewell event for us and I’m very thankful for having such great people as friends.

For this final post you can read my final conclusions and the message of our Artistic Director, Melinda Beasi.

Today, on (Friday) May 13th (2022),Musica in Extenso is saying goodbye to its community and friends with the following (really impressive) statistical numbers:

• 3202 followers;
  
• 1985 posts;
  
• blog birthday: 13 August 2011; domain birthday: 27 October 2016;
• a special shout-out for@une-barque-sur-l-ocean (thank you again, Noémi);
  
• the list of our precious guest editors: Curtis Lindsay, Mathieu Cé, Lada Karasková, Editor-in-Chief of Today in Tokyo, Richard Blaquiere, Eric L. Scott, Rylan Gleave, Audrey Mintah, Marisa Ewing, Eric Britt, Matthew Olshefski, Elīza Ķirse, David Pulsford, Zoe Johnson, Breanne Collins and Noémi Baki-Szmaler;
  
• special thanks to: @fitz-fool@dirtyriver@iidsch@yumartist@themusicaldesk@lesser-known-composers@wozziebear​and@frosty–giants​;
  
• also a special shout-out for @pinavirag for the help and support
  

It’s hard to believe we’re finally here at the final entry for Musica in Extenso. It’s been such a spectacular run here, and I think I can speak for everyone in saying that this ending is bittersweet. While it seems clear to us that the blog has run its natural course, I know I’ll miss the camaraderie between our whole staff and our wonderful followers. 

We hope we’ve brought you some joy and perhaps introduced you to some piece of beautiful, thought-provoking music you hadn’t heard before. We also hope we’ve entertained you and given you something special to listen to every day, either new or familiar. Best wishes from all of us to all of you! - Melinda Beasi, Artistic Director

Editor-in-Chief,@cantationem​,@cherryboie& @mikrokosmos​

Thank you for those 11 years. This blog has always been an interesting read, and a good opportunity to discover new composers and works. May your other endeavors be as satisfying and fruitful!

Things that make me feel loved 

( ) Friends 

( ) Family 

( ) Significant other 

(xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) Ola Gjeilo’s music

relax-music-with-gloria:

Music is powerful. Research shows that music can alter a person’s mood and behaviour, as well as their physical body.

The Benefits Of Meditation Music

Physical health benefits of meditation

• Meditation literally grows your brain
• Meditation increases blood flow to your brain
• Meditation reduces cortisol production,
• Meditation reduces blood pressure and heart rate
• Meditation increases neuroplasticity.
• Meditation increases the production of good neurotransmitters including serotonin and dopamine.
• Meditation triggers the parasympathetic nervous system, which enables us to rest and recover from stress.
• Meditation causes muscle relaxation. 
• Meditation slows the ageing process. 

Physical health benefits of meditation

• Meditation reduces stress related conditions such as anxiety and depression.
• Meditation increases stress resilience.
  
• Meditation increases positive emotions
  
• Meditation increases focus and present moment awareness. When we meditate, we stimulate the pre-frontal cortex. 
  
• Meditation increases emotional stability and intelligence.
  
• Meditation increases your capacity to learn.
  
• Meditation increases empathy and compassion.
  
• Meditation increases a sense of connection to your self and others.
  
• Meditation increases your sense of purpose and meaning. 
  
• Meditation improves sociability. 
  

My suggestions for Morning meditation

Morning Meditation

Relaxation music 

The best Piano music

Relaxing Music, calm piano music

Morning Meditation and Relaxation classical music 

Morning meditation playlist

Music is powerful. Research shows that music can alter a person’s mood and behaviour, as well as their physical body.

The Benefits Of Meditation Music

Physical health benefits of meditation

• Meditation literally grows your brain
• Meditation increases blood flow to your brain
• Meditation reduces cortisol production,
• Meditation reduces blood pressure and heart rate
• Meditation increases neuroplasticity.
• Meditation increases the production of good neurotransmitters including serotonin and dopamine.
• Meditation triggers the parasympathetic nervous system, which enables us to rest and recover from stress.
• Meditation causes muscle relaxation. 
• Meditation slows the ageing process. 

Physical health benefits of meditation

• Meditation reduces stress related conditions such as anxiety and depression.
• Meditation increases stress resilience.
  
• Meditation increases positive emotions
  
• Meditation increases focus and present moment awareness. When we meditate, we stimulate the pre-frontal cortex. 
  
• Meditation increases emotional stability and intelligence.
  
• Meditation increases your capacity to learn.
  
• Meditation increases empathy and compassion.
  
• Meditation increases a sense of connection to your self and others.
  
• Meditation increases your sense of purpose and meaning. 
  
• Meditation improves sociability. 
  

My suggestions for Morning meditation

Morning Meditation

Relaxation music 

The best Piano music

Relaxing Music, calm piano music

Morning Meditation and Relaxation classical music 

Morning meditation playlist