Ahira's Hangar

He will answer your questions about classical music here.

I will begin with a simple question:

Is Bach's Saint Matthew's Passion a good piece of music to hear live? (After hearing Bach's Great Mass in concert, I am worried that any other piece by Bach might be a big let down. ) How would you rate it in terms of quality against the Great Mass?

Ah, so this is what you meant!

The SMP is one of Bach's great masterpieces. Which, in my book, makes it one of the great masterpieces of all music history. Live or Memorex, hear it whenever you can!

To me, it's main difference is that there's a "narrator." Recitative is the style of singing where the person almost speaks the words, with sparse chordal accompaniment. It's used to introduce the next piece, which, as in the Mass, can be a full (or even double) chorus, duet, aria, whatever.

Right off the bat, the opening chorus is gorgeous! The orchestral opening is haunting.

Much later, they've tied up Jesus, and are taking him away. Some people start yelling "Let him go! Stop! Don't tie him up!" ([i]"Lasst ihn, haltet, bindet nicht!") I tell you, in my recording, the first time I heard this part, I jumped!! Literally! Powerful moment, performed and recorded perfectly!

What is the difference between a philharmonic orchestra and a symphony orchestra?

Duchess,

Not classical per se, but my favorite piece for piano is Gershiwn's Rhapsody in Blue. The one for solo piano, not the one for piano and orchestra.

If possible, I will literally stop whatever I am doing and listen to that piece whenever I catch it playing.

That one has been one of my favorite classical pieces for years, too.

Plenty of people play Bach on the piano. Andras Schiff is great. Keith Jarrett too. Gould is, of course, legendary, but hasn't recorded much other than the Goldberg Variations.

If you are not a Chopin fan, you need to go get some. NOBODY can move the soul so much in 2-3 minutes!! Incredible stuff! Idel Biret on the Naxos label is excellent, and Naxos is budget priced.

Prokofiev has very exciting piano music! Lots of recordings on Naxos that are great, as well as classic performances on things like DG Orginals, Two-fers (I think that's the Philips label?), and other mid-priced re-releases.

Is Prokoofiev the guy who wrote Peter and the Wolf? if so, that is the only piece of his music that I have ever heard.

New question:

Who is Leonard Slatkin? After a search lasting a couple of years, he is our new maestro in Detroit for the Symphony Orchestra.

I did find this:

but just because he says that he is internationally renowned, doesn;t mean that he actually is?

Yes, Prokofiev wrote Peter and the Wolf. Another thing you may know is his 3rd piano concerto. The reason you might know it is that Amy Irving played it in the move The Competition. And if you haven't seen that movie, go rent it! It also has Richard Dreyfuss.


Slatkin did tons of extremely good work with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Mahler was a biggie for them. They recorded on Telarc, which is a great label.

Duckie posted this link over in Vespers on the Watch. There are several classical composers listed among other artists I don't recognize, but I have no idea of the artists on most of the classical ones. I have not checked out the quality, since it's pretty much pointless on my dial-up connection, but thought there may be some good works in here for those who can download them.