Richard Strauss’s influence on the Second Viennese School (Schoenberg, Berg and Webern) has been discussed on several occasions over the years, even more so in the last few. Alex Ross from the New Yorker states: “… I believe it’s still underrated, not least because the eternal politics of twentieth-century historiography — radical vs. conservative, etc. — keep getting in the way.”

In this interesting blog (with musical examples), he draws parallels between the universes of Strauss and Schoenberg, the latter having adulated the first in his youth, not so surprisingly.

You can read it here…

Ensemble Caprice is coming back from a short but intense tour in the US. They were in Washington a few days ago with their Vivaldi and the Gypsies program and their raw energy and wonderful artistiry certainly convinced the critic of the Washingtonian...

“That the experience was anything more than an intellectual exercise is due to the electrifying performances of the group’s best musicians. Lead violinist Julie Triquet gave virtuosic flourish to many of the Romani melodies, in which the technical demands at breakneck speeds were no less formidable than Vivaldi’s, requiring pitches to bend and slide, and the tone to growl and complain. The group showed admirable unity as the tempo was likewise distorted, slowing down and speeding up, the changes guided especially by the expert beat of percussionist Ziya Tabassian.”

To read the full review…

The trumpet has taken so many forms throughout musical history that it makes it more difficult to really understand how this instrument works. The latest issue of La Scena Musicale offers an article that attempts to demystify that instrument that led soldiers to war and accompagnied the entry of kings.

You may read it here, on page 48-49.

Nothing like hearing the instrument to better understand it. You can do so here, with Paul Merkelo (principal trumpet of the OSM) and Luc Beauséjour, performing a series of baroque transcriptions.

An article on the conductor from Classical Iconoclast…

An article by Norman Lebrecht when Sanderling retired…

You missed Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, as performed last night by the OSM last night, for the inauguration of the Maison symphonique ? Don’t worry about it! You can watch it all on line, here…