RedStateEclectic

Break on through to the Other Side

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Ray Manzarek, keyboardist of The Doors, may have finally broken on through to the other side, having passed away yesterday.

One of my absolutely favourite groups.

 

Also listen to this:

 

A Little Beethoven

From Beethoven's piano concerto No. 5.

 

Misa Tango Kyrie

Remarkable music by Martin Palmeri, not only for the aficionado of tango music.

 

Pictures at an Exhibition

... is the title of a suite in ten movements composed for piano by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky in 1874.

 

Take a look at these pictures at an exhibition in Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum.

Siciliano

Relax and enjoy:

 

Tea for Two

I'm having a lovely tea break. Take one, too, and have a tea, maybe for two.

The tune in 1927:

 

And in 1978:

 

See also My Cup of Tea, and Richard Wagner - Your Cup of Tea?

Reverie

I was wondering how to translate "Träumerei" into English. Consulting the dictionary, I discovered the German word is accurately reflected in these meanings of the English term reverie:

1. a state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing: lost in reverie.

2. a daydream.

3. a fantastic, visionary, or impractical idea: reveries that will never come to fruition.

4. Music. an instrumental composition of a vague and dreamy character.

The source.

 

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Rosewood Music

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Do enjoy this wonderful performance by the most talented Isaac Parks.

I like Isaac's rendering so much, in having the pleasure of posting it, I am not deterred at all by a touch of the unseasonable, the tune being usually associated with Christmas. Actually, the lyrics do not make any reference to Santa or any other feature exclusively characteristic of Christmas; and in an often snowy February like this year's (in Germany) it is as true as ever:

Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh

The entire lyrics.

 

For other masters of the xylophone (or the marimba in Isaac's case), one of my favourite instruments, see the posts Paganini Caprice No. 24 and Apt To Be Just a Little Too Square. Oh, and also Plonk, plonk, plonk ...

Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune

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Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (pronounced [pʁelyd a lapʁɛmidi dœ̃ fon]), known in English as Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, is a symphonic poem for orchestra by Claude Debussy, approximately 10 minutes in duration. It was first performed in Paris on December 22, 1894.

The source.

The source.

Unwinding with Camille Saint-Saëns

I need to unwind to get to bed at a reasonable hour. For that I'd try almost everything - even a Klavirski concert u G-dur, stav I.