Josef Lev Podcasts
Czech music educator, composer and opera singer
- baritone
- opera, vocal music
- Czech Republic
- singer, composer, music teacher, opera singer
Last update
2024-05-13
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Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast
What did Dmitri Shostakovich intend to portray in his music? There is probably no more debated a question in all of 20th century Western Classica lMusic than this one. On the surface, it seems to have an easy answer. Shostakovich portrayed his own thoughts and feelings in his music, just as any other composer would. And that is certainly true. Shostakovich, above anything else, was truly one of the great composers in history. HIs mastery of form, meldoy, strcuture, pacing, and his ability to find a near universal expression of grief and passion is practically unparalelled among composers. That much is clear to those of us who love Shostakovich’s music. But everything else, including that thorny question of what his music MEANS, is much, much, much less clear. Practically Shostakovich’s entire life was lived under the shadow of Soviet Russia, and naturally his musical career was lived under that shadow as well. This means that a sometimes impenetrable layer of secrecy, mystery, and doubt always lies under the surface of Shostakovich’s music. In 1960, Kruschev, who had been loudly trumpetting Shostakovich’s name to Western Press as an example of a free Soviet artist post the excesses of the Stalin regime, decided that Shostakovich should be the new head of the Russian Union of Composers. The catch was that Shostakovich would need to join the Communist Party in order to take the job. Shostakovich, who had long resisted becoming a full Party member, agreed. Shostakovich was clearly disappointed in himself, as his friend Lev Lebedinsky wrote this: “I will never forget some of the things he said that night [before his induction into the Party], sobbing hysterically: ‘I’m scared to death of them.’ Why does all this matter? Because just a few days after joining the Commhnist party and after meeting with his friends Isaac Glikman and Lev Lebedinsky, Shostakovich traveled to East Germany -- specifically to Dresden — to work on a film which would commemorate the destruction of the city during World War II. He was supposed to write music for this film, but instead, Shostakovich sat down, and in THREE DAYS, he wrote his 8th string quartet. He would later write to Glikman: “However much I’ve tried to draft my obligations for the film, I just couldn’t do it. Instead I wrote an ideologically deficient quartet that nobody needs. I reflected that if I die it’s not likely anyone will write a quartet dedicated to my memory. So I decided to write it myself. You could even write on the cover: ‘Dedicated to the memory of the composer of this quartet.” Today on the show we're going to explore this remarkable piece together - join us!
Jess is joined by violinist Ionel Manciu to chat about some of their favourite records and share their lives in music. Including a revelation of Ionel's past life as a Moldovan pop star, John Adams conjuring raindrops from the piano, a classic by Amy Winehouse and a piece by Arno Babadjanian that stopped Jess in her tracks. Playlist: GEORGY SVIRIDOV: The Bells of Dawn [Dmitri Hvorostovsky (baritone), The Grand Choir ‘Masters of Choral Singing’/Lev Kontorovich (cond)] AMY WINEHOUSE: Love is a Losing Game ARNO BABADJANIAN: Piano Trio in F sharp – 2nd mvt ‘Allegro’ [David Oïstrakh (violin), Sviatoslav Knushevitsky (cello) Arno Babadjanian (piano)] JOHN ADAMS: China Gates [Bruce Brubaker (piano)] ASTOR PIAZZOLLA: The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires – Invierno Porteño “Winter” [Lara St John (violin), Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela/Eduardo Marturet] ANOMALIE: Métropole RACHMANINOV: Symphonic Dances, op.45 - no.2 Tempo di Valse [Berlin Philharmonic/Simon Rattle (cond)] DINICU: The Skylark (Ciocarlia) [Gheorghe Zamfir (pan flute)]
Born in Wiesbaden, Germany, in 1994, to German-Korean parents, she started piano at age four. Only three years later, she became a student of professor Irina Edelstein. Since 2009, Gina Alice has been studying piano at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Frankfurt, as a junior student of Lev Natochenny's master class. Since 2012, she has been a student of Bernhard Wetz at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Frankfurt. Tracklist: 01. Von fremden Ländern und Menschen 02. No. 4 in D Major: Andante cantabile 03. Träumerei 04. No. 1 in E-Flat Major: Andante moderato 05. Seascape (Arr. Bill Evans for Piano) 06. Silver Clouds Chasing the Moon (Arr. Wang Jian Zhong for Piano) 07. Opus 08. Gymnopédie No. 1 09. Vladimir's Blues 10. Comptine d'un autre été, l'après-midi 11. Liszt: Widmung, S. 566 (after R. Schumann) 12. No. 2 in E-Flat Major: Andante 13. Wiegenlied, Op. 49 No. 4 (Arr. Cortot for Piano) 14. No. 5 in F-Sharp Minor. Allegro (Bonus track) 15. Canon in D Major (Arr. Yukie Nishimura for Piano) 16. La plus que lente, L. 121 17. The Dance of Waterweeds 18. A Catalogue of Afternoons 19. Encore 20. No. 5 in G Major: Moderato 21. Clair de lune 22. Blonde 23. Merry-Go-Round 24. Intermezzo in A Major. Andante teneramente 25. Adagio cantabile 26. No. 3 in D-Flat Major. Lento placido 27. Kind im Einschlummern 28. No. 15 in A-Flat Major (Bonus track)Purchase the music (without talk) at: Wonderworld (classicalsavings.com) Your purchase helps to support our show! Classical Music Discoveries is sponsored by La Musica International Chamber Music Festival and Uber. @khedgecock #ClassicalMusicDiscoveries #KeepClassicalMusicAlive #LaMusicaFestival #CMDGrandOperaCompanyofVenice #CMDParisPhilharmonicinOrléans #CMDGermanOperaCompanyofBerlin #CMDGrandOperaCompanyofBarcelonaSpain #ClassicalMusicLivesOn #Uber Please consider supporting our show, thank you! http://www.classicalsavings.com/donate.html [email protected] This album is broadcasted with the permission of Katy Solomon from Morahana Arts and Media.
Born in Wiesbaden, Germany, in 1994, to German-Korean parents, she started piano at age four. Only three years later, she became a student of professor Irina Edelstein. Since 2009, Gina Alice has been studying piano at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Frankfurt, as a junior student of Lev Natochenny's master class. Since 2012, she has been a student of Bernhard Wetz at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Frankfurt. Tracklist: 01. Von fremden Ländern und Menschen 02. No. 4 in D Major: Andante cantabile 03. Träumerei 04. No. 1 in E-Flat Major: Andante moderato 05. Seascape (Arr. Bill Evans for Piano) 06. Silver Clouds Chasing the Moon (Arr. Wang Jian Zhong for Piano) 07. Opus 08. Gymnopédie No. 1 09. Vladimir's Blues 10. Comptine d'un autre été, l'après-midi 11. Liszt: Widmung, S. 566 (after R. Schumann) 12. No. 2 in E-Flat Major: Andante 13. Wiegenlied, Op. 49 No. 4 (Arr. Cortot for Piano) 14. No. 5 in F-Sharp Minor. Allegro (Bonus track) 15. Canon in D Major (Arr. Yukie Nishimura for Piano) 16. La plus que lente, L. 121 17. The Dance of Waterweeds 18. A Catalogue of Afternoons 19. Encore 20. No. 5 in G Major: Moderato 21. Clair de lune 22. Blonde 23. Merry-Go-Round 24. Intermezzo in A Major. Andante teneramente 25. Adagio cantabile 26. No. 3 in D-Flat Major. Lento placido 27. Kind im Einschlummern 28. No. 15 in A-Flat Major (Bonus track)Purchase the music (without talk) at: Wonderworld (classicalsavings.com) Your purchase helps to support our show! Classical Music Discoveries is sponsored by La Musica International Chamber Music Festival and Uber. @khedgecock #ClassicalMusicDiscoveries #KeepClassicalMusicAlive #LaMusicaFestival #CMDGrandOperaCompanyofVenice #CMDParisPhilharmonicinOrléans #CMDGermanOperaCompanyofBerlin #CMDGrandOperaCompanyofBarcelonaSpain #ClassicalMusicLivesOn #Uber Please consider supporting our show, thank you! http://www.classicalsavings.com/donate.html [email protected] This album is broadcasted with the permission of Katy Solomon from Morahana Arts and Media.
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- timeline: Composers (Europe). Lyrical singers (Europe). Performers (Europe).
- Indexes (by alphabetical order): L...