Homage: The Age of the Diva

Status of copy at Case Memorial Library
Personnel: Renée Fleming, vocals; Orchestra of the Marjinsky Theatre; Valery Gergiev, conductor.
Contents: "Poveri fiori" from Lecouvreur / Cilea — "Dobrá! Já mu je dám! ... Jak je mi?" from Dalibor / Smetana — "Pochudilis mne budto golosa" from Oprichnik / Tchaikovsky — "Vissi d'arte" from Tosca / Puccini — "Ich ging zu ihm" from Das Wunder der Heliane/ Korngold — "Le ciel rayonne, l'oiseau chante ... Ô légère hirondelle" from Mireille / Gounod — Orchestral interlude and "Wie umgibst du mich mit Frieden" from Die Liebe der Danae / R. Strauss — "Tsvetï moi!" from Servilia / Rimsky-Korsakov — "Tacea la notte ... Di tale amor" from Il trovatore / Verdi — "J'ai versé le poison dans cette coupe d'or" from Cléopâtre / Massenet — "Mamičko, mám těžkou hlavu ... Kdo to je?" from Jenůfa / Janáček — "Ich soll ihn niemals, niemals mehr sehn" from Die Kathrin / Korngold. Recorded at Marjinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg 30 June, 8 and 10 August 2006.

Featured Book: Tchaikovsky by David Brown (cont'd)

Status of copy at Case Memorial Library
Mr. Brown writes about the Marche slave: "Tchaikovsky, at Nikolay Rubinstein's request, had set about a piece for a charity concert in aid of victims of the war that had broken out between Turkey and Russia's fellow Slavs in Montenegro and Serbia — a war into which it seemed Russia might herself be drawn. Not normally a political animal, Tchaikovsky nevertheless experienced a surge of patriotism, and within five days an eight-minute Slavonic March was not only composed but scored. At the concert a month later it created a sensation. As one person present recorded: 'The rumpus and roar that broke out beggars description. …' No piece demonstrates more powerfully Tchaikovsky's super-professionalism in responding to commissions. The Slavonic March is not a great piece, but it is a prodigiously well-targeted one. Adapting three Serbian folktunes, and incorporating a portion of the Tsarist national anthem in the middle in preparation for a full-blown restatement before the final furore-prompting coda, it is no surprise the piece was rapturously received. …" (p. 123).

Featured Book: Tchaikovsky by David Brown (cont'd)

Status of copy at Case Memorial Library
Mr. Brown writes about the 1812 Overture: "Back in June [1880] … news arrived … of a commission for a piece to grace an Exhibition of Industry and the Arts which would take place in Moscow the following year … [H]e delayed until October before starting, by which time it had been agreed his contribution would instead be to celebrate the opening of the new Cathedral of Christ the Saviour … built to commemorate the events of 1812, when the Russian army and people … had driven the invading French forces of Napoleon out of Russia. … The opposing sides are represented by their national anthems, the French by the 'Marseillaise', the Russian by their national hymn 'God save the Tsar', which, at the work's triumphalist end, combines with Tchaikovsky's own jogging cavalry tune (plus bells … and even real cannon) to bring this celebratory piece to the loudest of possible conclusions. In addition to this borrowed material, there is a Russian folksong, an extract from Orthodox chant … and an adaptation of part of a duet for two women from Tchaikovsky's own first opera, The Voyevoda" (pp. 223-224).

Featured Book: Tchaikovsky by David Brown (cont'd)

Status of copy at Case Memorial Library
Mr. Brown writes about the Suite no. 1: "Probably the most famous suites are those composed by Bach in the late baroque period … namely, his French and English Suites for keyboard. These are made up mainly from dances of the time. … Tchaikovsky's four orchestral suites are, by contrast, a very diverse bunch. Nevertheless, the first does reveal Bach as a formative influence, for it opens with an introduction and fugue, and closes with a gavotte, a baroque dance. … But the pièce de résistance, though by far the shortest movement, is the cute Marche Miniature (no. 4). Scored for the upper woodwind, with only very discreet contributions from the violins, plus triangle and bells, it is an irresistible confection that would have fitted perfectly into the Nutcracker to come. … As for the final Gavotte, here Tchaikovsky was deliberately choosing to model himself on a stately baroque dance, but his music has nothing to do with Bach style; indeed, in its discreet piquancy, it could perhaps be an ancestor of that famous gavotte to come some thirty-eight years later in Prokofiev's Classical Symphony" (pp. 191-192).

Featured Book: Tchaikovsky by David Brown (cont'd)

Status of copy at Case Memorial Library
Mr. Brown writes about the Symphony no. 6: "Earlier in this book I observed that, for me, Tchaikovsky composed three supreme masterpieces. Two I have identified: the opera Eugene Onegin and the ballet The Sleeping Beauty. The third is this B minor symphony, his Sixth, the Pathétique. The originality and power of this piece are prodigious; it is also one of Tchaikovsky's most consistent and perfectly composed" (p. 417). "Certainly the speed and the assurance with which the Sixth Symphony, as near a perfect masterpiece as music can offer, came into the world is itself prodigious, and the result is not only Tchaikovsky's ultimate masterpiece, but one of the half-dozen greatest symphonies composed since the death of Beethoven" (p. 418). "Tchaikovsky was no doubt conditioned by his own programme in composing the Pathétique, but the symphony that resulted can still have a tremendous impact on the innocent listener simply because, whatever the extramusical prompt of the moment, Tchaikovsky was still devising it above all as a devastating but coherent listening experience" (p. 423).

Featured Book: Tchaikovsky by David Brown (cont'd)

Status of copy at Case Memorial Library
Mr. Brown writes about Sleeping Beauty: "The idea for a ballet to be based on a folktale as told by the seventeenth-century French writer Charles Perrault, had come from Vsevolozhsky [the Intendant of the Imperial Theatres] in May 1888, and the scenario would be basically his. Tchaikovsky was quickly captivated by it, in September conferring with both Vsevolozhsky and Marius Petipa (today remembered as one of ballet's legendary choreographers), during which everything was worked out down to the finest detail. Tchaikovsky's excitement was such that in October he could not resist making a start on the music, though it was only in January 1889 that he could begin composition in earnest. Yet in little more than a fortnight a very substantial part of the ballet was sketched. … The scoring, however, took much longer than that of Swan Lake, for Tchaikovsky now wanted his music to be presented with much more variety of colour and texture than in the earlier ballet. … Though The Sleeping Beauty has never been able to match the popularity of Swan Lake, it is arguably (dare I say it?) the finer piece" (p. 348).

Featured Book: Tchaikovsky by David Brown (cont'd)

Status of copy at Case Memorial Library
Mr. Brown writes about the Serenade for Strings: "The term 'serenade' has been given to many different musical styles and forms, but in this instance Tchaikovsky was applying it to a four-movement piece that is essentially a mini-symphony. The difference here lies in the nature of the music from which it is formed, and which does not seek to emulate the grandeur, either in scale or content, of a full-blown symphony; instead it is very direct in its material, and uncomplicated in its workings, aiming not to excite or move deeply, but simply to give delight in the best possible sense of the word. And this is exactly what it achieves. It is dependent above all on Tchaikovsky's supreme melodic gift, but this does not for one moment mean that it is a simplistic piece, or that Tchaikovsky will not unobtrusively draw in his more sophisticated skills where appropriate. We can hear this straight away in the first movement, described as Pezzo in forma di Sonatina ('Piece in the form of a Sonatina', that is, 'a little sonata'), a label that perfectly describes Tchaikovsky's unpretentious but captivating movement. …" (p. 226).

Featured Book: Tchaikovsky by David Brown (cont'd)

Status of copy at Case Memorial Library
Mr. Brown writes about Romeo and Juliet: "Tchaikovsky … composed Romeo and Juliet as a sonata structure. It may seem odd that a composer, when turning a stage play into a musical organism, should cast it in a form where the preordained course of musical events is unlikely to have any plausible parallel to the narrative sequence of the play. But the point of music by itself (i.e. not as in opera, where it is tethered to a text …) is that it can concentrate single-mindedly on the essence of the play. More precisely, it can focus, on the one hand, on the prime players whose characters and emotional responses create the play's train of events and, on the other, it can suggest … the context in which they act and react. In fact, though music may conjure certain of the landmark events … we learn little from Tchaikovsky's music of Shakespeare's actual plot except that its outcome is catastrophic. Instead, Tchaikovsky encapsulates the two conflicting forces of the play (the love of Romeo and Juliet on the one hand, and the bitter mutual hostility of their families on the other) in two savagely contrasting kinds of music. …" (p. 51).

R.E.M.: Murmur

Status of copy at Case Memorial Library
Jon Pareles wrote in the New York Times: "Last night at the Waldorf-Astoria, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, who proved that hip-hop was more than party music with their 1982 hit 'The Message,' became the first hip-hop group to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. … Joining the rappers as new members of the Hall of Fame were the poet-turned-punk-rock-pioneer Patti Smith, the three-member girl group the Ronettes, the hard-rock band Van Halen and the Georgia college-town rockers R.E.M. … Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam paid tribute to R.E.M., saying he had, by his calculations, listened to their album 'Murmur' 1,260 times in the summer of 1984. Referring to R.E.M.’s hard-to-understand singer, Michael Stipe, he said, 'One of the reasons I was listening so incessantly was I had to know what he was saying,' Mr. Vedder said. 'He can hit an emotion with pinpoint accuracy or he can be completely oblique, and it all resonates.' R.E.M. performed with its original drummer, Bill Berry, who had retired after suffering a brain aneurysm in 1997" ("Hip Hop Is Rock 'n' Roll," 3/13/07).

Andrew W. K.: I Get Wet

Status of copy at Case Memorial Library
Melena Ryzik wrote in the New York Times: "Mr. W. K. — the initials stand for his real last name, Wilkes-Krier — is a connoisseur of excitement, as anyone who has seen his hair-flinging performances or videos can attest. Lately he's been exuberant about ideas, like the nature of coincidences and paradoxes and solipsism. … Known mainly for his good-time anthems — his most popular include frat-boy classics like 'It's Time to Party,' 'Party Hard' and 'Party Til You Puke' — and for wearing head-to-toe white, Mr. W. K., 27, has recently decided to sell himself as an idea man. Over the last year he has been rejecting concert requests in favor of giving talks on topics of his own devising. On Monday he will perform the first third of a nine-hour extemporaneous lecture cycle called 'The Joy Trilogy' at a small comedy theater in Chelsea, and on Friday he will discuss 'pure fun and total love' at the South by Southwest music conference. …Next month he is to embark on Andrew W. K.'s High-Way Party Cruiser Tour … giving addresses and putting on parties at clubs across parts of the West Coast and Canada."

Alicia Keys: As I Am

Status of copy at Case Memorial Library
Contents: As I am — Go ahead — Superwoman — No one — Like you'll never see me again — Lesson learned (feat. John Mayer) — Wreckless [i.e., reckless] love — The thing about love — Teenage love affair — I need you — Where do we go from here — Prelude to a kiss — Tell you something (Nana's reprise) — Sure looks good to me.
Chuck Arnold wrote in People: "When you've set the bar as high as Alicia Keys has with her Grammy-winning first two studio albums, 2001's Songs in A Minor and 2003's even better The Diary of Alicia Keys, you've got a tough act to follow. But the singer-pianist continues to scale artistic heights on As I Am. While not veering too much from the Keys playbook — classic R&B with an ear to contemporary hip-hop, heavy on the ballads — it hardly strikes a bad note. Highlights include the hit first single 'No One,' a soulful declaration of love and devotion; 'Like You'll Never See Me Again,' a lush, lighters-in-the-air slow jam; and 'Lesson Learned,' a blues-streaked collaboration with John Mayer" ("Music: Critic's Choice," 11/19/07, p. 53).

Robin Thicke: The Evolution of Robin Thicke

Status of copy at Case Memorial Library
Kristen Mascia wrote in People: "With his hit 'Lost Without U' (off his second CD, The Evolution of Robin Thicke), Alan Thicke's son, 20, is the first white male artist to top Billboard's R&B singles chart since George Michael in 1988. ON TOPPING THE R&B CHARTS 'Growing up in Los Angeles and having a lot of interracial friendships, I don't really see it as black or white music. I happen to love Radiohead as much as I do Biggie Smalls. Most people [who've heard but not seen me] are surprised I'm white. In the beginning people thought I was D'Angelo or Maxwell. They couldn't quite figure it out.' ON THE TERM 'BLUE-EYED SOUL' 'I've always stayed away from boxes trying to categorize me. But the reality is that I do have blue eyes and I consider myself a really soulful person.' ON GETTING THE THUMBS-UP FROM BONO 'I walked into a meeting at Interscope Records to play my new music for Jimmy Iovine, the president, and Pharrell … and Bono is sitting on the couch, so I'm totally freaking out. Bono ends up giving it his full seal of approval'" ("Catching Up with Robin Thicke," 3/12/07, p. 51).

Pylon: Gyrate Plus

Status of copy at Case Memorial Library
Robert Christgau wrote in Rolling Stone: "Pylon were a rocky little dance band from Athens G-A, comprising — get this — a singer, a guitarist, a bassist and a drummer. They sounded like no one else, except maybe Gang of Four a little, and none of them, so far as is known, ever played in another band. Since their great Hits compilation now sells for triple its original price, this reissue of their 1980 debut is manna — especially because it leads with the definitive 'Cool'/'Dub' single foolishly omitted from said debut and adds a dandy EP. Where are the songs, some naive young people will cavil, thus permitting the beat-wise hipsters at DFA to riposte, 'What the **** you think these are?' Plectrists Randy Bewley and Michael Lachowski's simple lines display untoward rhythm and melody, respectively. Curtis Crowe bangs away so obdurately it's hard to understand why he didn't become rich. Vanessa Briscoe Hay barks and brays whatever incantatory phrases seem called for. Timeless. Cool" ("Reissues & Rarities: Debut from Eighties dance-rock band who taught R.E.M. a thing or two," 12/13/07, p. 137).

LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver

Status of copy at Case Memorial Library
Nate Chinen included this album in his New York Times ten-best list for 2007, and wrote: "Along with one of the year's great songs — 'All My Friends,' a dose of self-reflection both wistful and defiant — this savvy dance-punk epic advances an irresistibly kinetic agenda. It's a band effort, though James Murphy still suggests an opposition party of one" ("Music: A Jazzman's Farewell and a Rock Manifesto," 12/23/07).
Also found on Mr. Chinen's top ten list:
Roses by Bill McHenry ("Throughout his gorgeous and uncompromising new record the tenor saxophonist Bill McHenry threads his melodies as if through a fabric").
Back East by Joshua Redman ("This tenor and soprano saxophonist has never sounded more at ease than he does here, engaging with a few different bass-and-drum teams").
And, on his list of top songs: "Umbrella" from Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad, "Your Own Worst Enemy" from Bruce Springsteen's Magic, and "Lesson Learned" from Alicia Keys's As I Am.