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Soundtracks of Our Lives week ending 2 September 2012 CE
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IanB
IanB
6761 posts

Edited Sep 03, 2012, 10:44
Re: Soundtracks of Our Lives week ending 2 September 2012 CE
Sep 02, 2012, 19:53
Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, Daniele Gatti w/ Frank-Peter Zimmermann (violin) - Wagner, Berg, Bach, Strauss & Ravel
I had the good fortune to hear BBC Prom #57 in the flesh*. This young orchestra lit a big fire under a cleverly thought out programme of music from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Bach was Zimmerman's encore and totally relevant to the Berg concerto that preceded it. The crowd went mental (well, mental for a classical concert) and I can't remember the last time I was so moved at a Prom, if ever). Everything rock n roll sounded a bit trite all week by comparison. That will pass but the memory of last Sunday night wont in a hurry. I hope they are back next year with the Mahler.

* the tv broadcast is on the iPlayer but only until 10pm Thursday though the radio version is being repeated next Friday afternoon on Radio 3.

Joni Mitchell - Mingus
One of the few Unsung albums by the sometimes critically Oversung singer-songwriter. This record and Don Juan's Reckless Daughter marked the final break from the bland "Theme From Taxi" jazz inflections on some of her early 70s records. Melodically and in terms of sonics this is an absolutely gorgeous record, the core of the Weather Report ego machine (with Hancock replacing Zawinul)never sounded so selfless in serving the music and at 38 minutes it is the perfect length for an album leaving you wanting to start the record all over again. Sad that it adds up to less than the collaboration that Mingus and Mitchell intended but it is still as fine a tribute to the great composer and band leader as you could wish for.

Alison Balsom - Caprice
The trumpet is not my favourite frontline instrument in a classical context but this is a beautiful record despite some uber safe, don't-frighten-the-Classic-FM-horses repertoire choices. Well worth seeking out for the the Debussy, Tomasi and Rackmaninov pieces alone.

Keith Jarrett - The Survivors' Suite
Skates effortless on a beautiful horizon between clear sky modality and the choppy waters of free improv. If you only own one Keith Jarrett American Quartet record then this is the one. Avoid the common Post Punk position of mistaking the restraint and beauty of the Koln recordings for bourgeois blandness. This dispells any sense of him being in some way suspect or "coffee table". You don't have to wear your radicalism on your sleeve like Cecil Taylor to be testing the edges as a jazz pianist.

John Zorn - The Big Gundown: John Zorn Plays the Music of Ennio Morricone

Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Joel McNealy - Franz Waxman's score to "Rebecca"

Ennio Morricone - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (Remastered)

Ennio Morricone - C'era una volta il west (Remastered)

Nina Rota - La Dolce Vita

The Carl Stalling Project - Music From Warner Bros. Cartoons 1936-1958

The Carl Stalling Project, Vol. 2: More Music From Warner Bros. Cartoons 1929-1957

Morton Feldman - Rothko Chapel
They can play this one at my funeral if they can't find the Looney Toons cds.
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Soundtracks of Our Lives week ending 2 September 2012 CE (1001realapes)
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