Musical memories

There is music, and then there is MUSIC. When I was interviewing William & Mary's legendary choir director, Frank Lendrim, for my "Classical Hour" show for the college's radio station WCWM in 1984, I asked him what music he would recommend to the listeners for some "simply beautiful music". He hardly hesitated before saying that Beethoven's slow movements are where it's at. MUSIC.  Listen to the second movement of his Violin Concerto and I think you'll agree with Dr. Lendrim. I'll send you to a recording by David Oistrach , because he seems to be most violinists' favorite. On the other hand, you can never go wrong with either  Jascha Heifetz or Itzhak Perlman . This entire piece is a joy from beginning to end, showing off the beauty of the instrument as it scales the heights and depths of the instrument. The orchestra supports the soloist and adds other colors with the woodwinds, brass and timpani.  My newest discovery among the plet...

  Martha Argerich plays the Schumann Piano Concerto in Amsterdam Most of Robert Schumann's music puzzles me. Perhaps because he was insane; or maybe I'm crazy. Or perhaps it is because he composed his music to go straight to the heart and my head often gets in the way of this kind of listening. Whatever it is, I am often at a loss as to what the music is trying to say. His Kinderszenen are easy enough to appreciate, but I've read few critics who have praised either his concerto for violin or the cello concerto. The Piano Concerto in a-minor , on the other hand, is one of the most frequently played and most lovely piano concerti in the concert repertoire. It is often called a woman's concerto, perhaps because the half-hour long work is not as strenuous to play as some of the other piano concerti in the repertoire.  My first introduction to the piece came at William & Mary when the first movement was to be played by a student pianist, Steven Budd, who had won that yea...