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Getting to experience a Stanley Kubrick movie on the big screen is always a treat, especially in 2017. But when you throw in a 50-peice orchestra performing a live score, that experience suddenly becomes even more jaw-dropping.

Such will be the case on April 8 when the musicians of the Wordless Music Orchestra take the stage at the Kings Theater in Brooklyn to accompany “Barry Lyndon.” The original score, which has been newly transcribed by composer Frank Cogliano, will be performed in its entirety and synced live to the film.

Read More: How Live Film Scores Are Finding New Life in the Age of Netflix

Last Tuesday night, members of the Wordless Music Orchestra performed a preview concert of selections from the one-night-only event, and you can check out a first look at their arrangements in the video below.

Songs performed include Handel’s Sarabande, the third movement of Vivaldi’s Cello Concerto in E Minor,...

It's just after 6 p.m. on a Friday, and Duff's – a noisy heavy-metal bar adorned with autographed memorabilia and jagged-looking instruments in Williamsburg, Brooklyn – has just opened its doors to the sober, work-weary masses. In the center of the room, a woman clad in a black dress and high heels is headbanging atop a carpet adorned with Iron Maiden's corpse-mascot Eddie. The music is "Bleed," an angular, machine-gun–like aural assault that's little over seven minutes long, by Swedish extreme-metal growlers Meshuggah. Bargoers sip their beer in the back,...

The Royal Opera, London Philharmonic Orchestra and Curve present the world premiere of Ravi Shankar’s only opera Sukanya which tours venues across the UK in May 2017. With a libretto by Amit Chaudhuri, the semi-staged opera is directed by Suba Das and conducted by David Murphy, with soprano Susanna Hurrell in the title role, bass-baritone Keel Watson, Brazilian baritone Michel de Souza, the BBC Singers and the full force of a 60-strong London Philharmonic Orchestra. The Orchestra is supplemented with Indian classical instruments including the sitar, shennai, tabla, mridangam and ghatam. The innovative Aakash Odedra Company provide the choreography and dancers and Tony Award-winning 59 Productions are providing production design.

Shankar was composing his pioneering opera Sukanya at the time of his passing, an opera exploring the common ground between the music, dance and theatrical traditions of India and the West. Conductor and collaborator David Murphy – who worked with Shankar for many years,...

The new 2K digitization and restoration of Jean-Luc Godard's Masculin Féminin (1966) that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival is exclusively playing on Mubi in most countries around the world May 22 - June 21, 2016.Over opening credit titles that proclaim the film to be a French production, the “La Marseillaise,” the French national anthem, is heard being whistled off-screen. Then, spelt out with grating gunshots, the film’s title: Ma – Scu – Lin FÉMININ: 15 Faits PRÉCIS.It’s Paris. 1965. Sex, violence, revolution—change is in the air. Two youths, one male and one female, meet in a small cafe and begin a love affair. Paul (Jean-Pierre Léaud) is a passionate idealist who is driven by poetry and literature and is becoming increasingly indignant with the commercialization (read: Americanization) of the world around him. Madeline (Chantal Goya) is a hard worker who has a stable job at a magazine and is pursuing her...

Music lovers will love to watch BBC Two’s “First Night of the Proms 2015,” which is currently streaming on FilmOn. The television program gives viewers an in-home concert of classical music. The program takes place in the Royal Albert Hall and will also mark the 150 anniversaries of two Nordic composers and the world premiere of “Dadaville” by British composer Gary Carpenter. The event also features soloist Lars Vogt as he performs Mozart’s “Piano Concerto No. 20.” Other performances by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus include William Walton’s “Belshazzar’s Feast,” Jean Sibelius’ version of the classic Belshazzar story, and Carl Nielsen’s “Maskarade.” The BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus is [ Read More ]

The post Watch First Night of the Proms 2015 on FilmOn appeared first on Shockya.com.

Kate’s Classical Corner: Hannibal, Ep. 3.07, “Digestivo”

As a classical musician, I can’t help but be influenced in my interpretation of Hannibal by its amazing score and soundtrack, composed and compiled by music supervisor Brian Reitzell. This is not intended to be a definitive reading of Reitzell or showrunner Bryan Fuller’s intentions in regards to the music, but rather an exploration of how these choices affect my appreciation of the given episode. Read my review of “Digestivo” here.

Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467, II. Andante by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1785): Mason entertains Hannibal and Will

(15:06)

This lovely piece is a fitting choice to accompany Mason’s dinner—he’s always trying to ape Hannibal and Hannibal is a fan of Mozart—but it’s made all the better by being a reference to The Spy Who Loved Me. In this Bond film the villain, Stromberg,...

Fillip Cornershop Satiediously, vol. 2 (Unheard Universe)   Following up on last year's initial Satie volume, Cornershop now delivers a unique reading of Satie's notorious "Vexations," the one-page piece which Satie said should be performed with repeats until it totaled 840 times through the printed text (or perhaps not; debate has raged since its 1949 publication). Cornershop brings the piece in at a monumental 48 hours (more traditional performances of the 840-times length range from 18 to 28 hours). 

As I was wondering how Cornershop could achieve such a performance without the aid of caffeine, which in turn would mitigate against his chosen slow tempo, I noticed a splice after the 168th time through and then, in turn, after the 336th. Shortly after the latter, and concurrent with my wife's threat of divorce, I had to stop listening, but a little math revealed to me that 1 through 168 and 169 through 336 were precisely the same length, so it appears...

Complete list of winners and nominees of the 2014 Grammy Awards, held in Los Angeles at the Staples Center on Sunday February 8. Winners will be updated as they're announced during the telecast and pre-telecast. Record Of The Year “Fancy,” Iggy Azalea Featuring Charli Xcx “Chandelier,” Sia **Winner** “Stay With Me (Darkchild Version),” Sam Smith “Shake It Off,” Taylor Swift “All About That Bass,” Meghan Trainor Album Of The Year **Winner** “Morning Phase,” Beck “Beyoncé,” Beyoncé “X,” Ed Sheeran “In The Lonely Hour,” Sam Smith “Girl,” Pharrell Williams Song Of The Year “All About That Bass,” Kevin Kadish & Meghan Trainor, songwriters (Meghan Trainor) “Chandelier,” Sia Furler & Jesse Shatkin, songwriters (Sia) “Shake It Off,” Max Martin, Shellback & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift) **Winner** “Stay With Me (Darkchild Version),” James Napier, William Phillips & Sam Smith, songwriters (Sam Smith) “Take Me To Church,” Andrew Hozier-Byrne, songwriter (Hozier) Best New Artist Iggy Azalea Bastille Brandy Clark...

Maxim Vengerov/New York Philharmonic/Long Yu Avery Fisher Hall, January 22, 2015

This week, Chinese conductor Long Yu is leading the New York Philharmonic in subscription concerts for the first time (his previous appearances at the orchestra's helm were non-subscription Lunar New Year celebrations). Meanwhile, Maxim Vengerov, once the most spectacular violinist on the scene, continues his comeback from an injury. Thursday night their paths intersected at Avery Fisher Hall in a Russian program that indicated each is on the right path.

Reports of earlier concerts in Vengerov's comeback were somewhat disheartening. Rumor has it that he's been focusing on the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, which opened the concert, because it's relatively easy for him. In a way, this is hilarious; this work, written in 1878, was intended for Hungarian virtuoso Leopold Auer, but Auer turned down the opportunity to premiere it, calling it "unplayable." But compared to the slashing Prokofiev concertos on which Vengerov built his reputation,...

This past weekend, Sherlock Holmes fans from all over the world gathered in New York City to celebrate Holmes’ birthday at the annual Bsi Weekend, hosted in main part by The Baker Street Irregulars, a Sherlockian literary society founded by Christopher Morley in 1934. As a longtime Holmes fan myself, this was my third year attending, and, as before, I had a great time with Sherlockian friends old and new, discussing and honoring the great detective, his faithful chronicler Dr. Watson, and the peripheral cast of characters (including the original Bsi, Holmes’ group of street urchin informants) created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

I first attended the Bsi Weekend in January 2012 after organizing a Sherlock Holmes Night at The National Press Club and learning in the process about our local Sherlockian scion society, The Red Circle, and the Bsi Weekend celebrations. And in honor of the Bsi and Sherlock Holmes, today...

Czech Philharmonic/Jirí Bělohlávek with Jean-Yves Thibaudet Janáček: Taras Bulba Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 2 Dvořák:Symphony No. 9, "From the New World" Carnegie Hall Nov. 16, 2014

Since I previewed this Sunday afternoon concert, I'll skip repeating the background information -- except to note that I've since learned this was the group's first NYC appearance in ten years -- and get right to considering the performance itself. To give away the conclusion up front, in my notes, I used the words "perfect" and "wonderful" a lot.

The Janáček tone poem opened the program. It's not a favorite of mine (actually, it may be my least favorite piece by this composer), but Bělohlávek and his band can't be faulted. Tempos were a bit on the quick side (23 minutes total), welcomingly limiting the bombast somewhat, yet everything was still crystal clear. Early on the concertmaster, Josef Špaček Jr., demonstrated his magnificent combination of warm tone, supple phrasing,...

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Aug. 26, 2014

Price: DVD $24.95, Blu-ray $29.95

Studio: Olive Films

William Carter falls for Catherine McLeod in I've Always Loved You.

A beautiful young concert pianist is torn between her attraction to her arrogant but brilliant maestro and her love for a farm boy she left back home in Frank Borzage’s 1946 drama romance I’ve Always Loved You.

Set in the world of classical music, a domineering maestro (Philip Dorn) exerts a Svengali-like control over Myra, a talented young pianist (Catherine McLeod). Frustrated by Leopold’s domineering nature, the girl abandons her professional career and marries a humble farmer (William Carter). Years later, haunted by regret, Myra returns to face her former mentor, to prove that she was, and continues to be, a better musician than he ever credited her with being.

Legendary pianist Arthur Rubinstein performs the pieces heard in the film (by Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart, Wagner,...

Fort Worth, Texas — For a time in Cold War America, Van Cliburn had all the trappings of a rock star: sold-out concerts, adoring, out-of-control fans and a name recognized worldwide. He even got a ticker-tape parade in New York City.

And he did it all with only a piano and some Tchaikovsky concertos.

The celebrated pianist played for every American president since Harry Truman, plus royalty and heads of state around the world. But he is best remembered for winning a 1958 piano competition in Moscow that helped thaw the icy rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Cliburn, who died Wednesday at 78 after fighting bone cancer, was "a great humanitarian and a brilliant musician whose light will continue to shine through his extraordinary legacy," said his publicist and longtime friend Mary Lou Falcone. "He will be missed by all who knew and admired him, and by countless people he never met.

This text was begun in mid-to-late 2010. I posted two work-in-progress excerpts on my personal blog in December of that year. Following Scott's death, I decided that it was time to revise and complete it.

***

More often than not, innovation resembles deficiency. Jean-Luc Godard couldn't tell a story, Yasujiro Ozu never learned the 180 degree rule, Robert Bresson didn't know how to direct actors, D.W. Griffith first didn't understand that the audience wanted to see the whole actress and not just her face and then didn't understand how you were supposed to make a talkie—and, toward the end of his career, Tony Scott made movies the wrong way, never letting an image hold long enough for the viewer to figure out just exactly what was going on.

The party line on Tony Scott is that he was a "stylist," a man who made popular, "technically accomplished" and therefore insubstantial films; he...

Probably some of you were a little too busy with, er, other things on your mind while reading Fifty Shades of Grey to realize author E.L. James was giving you the perfect playlist for your very own, um, enjoyment. Or if you’re that great a multi-tasker, in between buying that complete set of restraints and riding crops, you’ve already downloaded all the Thomas Tallis, Bach and more that accompanies Ana and Christian’s adventures in and out of the “Red Room of Pain,” For the rest of us, Emi has actually compiled a bunch of those songs into Fifty Shades of Grey – The Classical Album (alas, that means no Britney Spears or Kings of Leon will be included).

“I am thrilled that the classical pieces that inspired me while I wrote the Fifty Shades Trilogy are being brought together in one collection for all lovers of the books to enjoy,...

The cheese-loving inventor has written a concerto for the Proms – without any help from his dog

Without being rude... your creations have a reputation for not always working as planned (1). How can you be sure your Concerto (2) will not end in tears?

Don't worry – me and Gromit will be backstage to keep an eye on things in person. What could possibly go wrong?

A concerto normally specifies which instrument(s) it has been written for. My Concerto in Ee, Lad does not do that. Is this a deliberate attempt to redefine musical form?

I just couldn't decide what to write it for – spoons, paper and comb, kazoo … So in the end I thought I'd just write it for all of them. With the odd cow bell thrown in for good measure.

Is Gromit pissed off you didn't ask him to collaborate with you?

I suspect an element of professional jealousy...

When I was growing up, New York 's best (now long-defunct) classical radio station, Wncn, played only American composers' music each Fourth of July. With the classical world dominated by Europeans, this was a welcome and educational corrective. In the history of American music, independence wasn't achieved until the 20th century; 19th century composers such as John Knowles Paine and George Whitefield Chadwick studied in Europe and blatantly imitated European models. Listening to their music "blind," few would guess they were Americans. There was Revolutionary War-era vocal writer William Billings, but his originality was more a lack of proper technique. Continuing Wncn's tradition, here's a look at true American classical. music. 

There is a bit of chauvinism in this article, as "American" here refers not to all the Americas (North, Central, and South) but rather the colloquial usage in the United States to mean that country's residents (hence, the Mexican Carlos Chavez,...

Sviatoslav Richter: The Teldec Recordings (Teldec/Warner Classics)

This three-cd set returns to print some fairly fascinating items from the discography of the most venerated pianist of his generation. It’s an import from England that’s distributed by Naxos; at its $24.99 list price, it’s a great bargain, and thus easily worth acquiring even if you already have one of its discs.

Baroque authenticists may sneer at Richter’s playing, on disc one, of J.S. Bach’s Piano Concertos in D major, Bwv 1054, and in G minor, Bwv 1058, accompanied by the Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto conducted by Yuri Bashmet. I enjoy it, with some qualification. Richter plays Bwv 1054 rather sternly, though with quiet elegance in the slow movement; in the outer movements, though, his rhythms are foursquare, lacking the vivacity we now expect in this repertoire, and though he does play a few ornaments, he’s pretty restrained in that department.

Associated Press Hyung-ki Joo, left, and Aleksey Igudesman.

Here’s how violinist Aleksey Igudesman and pianist Hyung-ki Joo perform Bach. With blissful expressions on their faces, they start with the gentle strains of Prelude in C—then John Malkovich interrupts, Igudesman falls to his knees in prayer and the piece somehow erupts into tango master Astor Piazzolla’s “Libertango.”

Known as Igudesman & Joo, the duo lampoons the perceived stuffiness of classical music using daffy comedy skits and genre-blurring music mashups.

Everett A scene from “Rhapsody in Blue,” 1945.

Some sounds come at you through your innards before they reach your ears. Like the subway rumble half felt underfoot on a Manhattan street, certain instruments announce themselves first as a physical sensation: a low timpani roll, a pulsating tuba beat, a quiet sustained tremolo note in the double basses.

On April 1, Yale in New York, an innovative concert series curated by clarinetist David Shifrin, celebrates the multi-faceted repertoire of works written for low instruments.

We take John Barry’s non-Bond retrospective into the 80s, with some of his epic scores of love, lust and loss…

John Barry’s love affair with cinema is well documented. One could not imagine such a torrent of melodic invention pouring forth with such vibrant intensity if he was not enraptured by the cinematic experience: the darkened periphery of the auditoria; the hushed reverence of another world; the minutiae of human emotion playing out on the big screen. Everything he did, from The Beat to Enigma, represented a direct and synchronous passion for lyrical expression alongside the visual language of film.

The young Prendergast got his love of film from his father, Jack Xavier, who was a cinema projectionist in the silent movie era and would subsequently own a chain of cinemas in the North East. One of Barry’s earliest memories was being carried on his dad’s...

It’s your choice as to the reason for the googly-eyed reaction to this week’s sneak peek of the Haven September 2 episode with guest star Cristian de la Fuente (In Plain Sight, Brothers and Sisters): 1- It’s Cristian de la Fuente, 2 – It’s Cristian de la Fuente Doubled, 3 – All Haven sneak peeks make us googly-eyed, 4 – The lovely Bach Brandenburg Concerto playing on the radio, and/or 5 – Well, you’ll see:

The official description reads: “Christian de la Fuente plays a straight-laced banker who is hiding a dark and shocking double life as a serial killer with a twist.” Nice! Now check out this tv spot:

Oh. Kay.

Cristian spoke with the media recently about the part. SciFi Vision asked him if he could tell us a little more:

(I)t was a great challenge and I don’t want to give too much about the character because...

Murray Perahia Plays Bach Concertos Murray Perahia/Academy of St. Martin in the Fields J.S. Bach: Keyboard Concertos Nos. 1-7; Concerto for Flute, Violin & Harpsichord; Brandenburg Concerto No. 5; Italian Concerto (Sony Classical)

It's hard to believe that it's been a decade since the first of these instant-classic 2000-2003 recordings were issued. By then, while it was still not unusual for pianists to buck the authentic-performance movement where Bach is concerned in the solo works, piano in the concertos had become rarer.

read more...

Photo: New Line Cinema Last week, I got a lot of people riled up when I called Terrence Malick's film The New World a "stinker". It seemed the complaints stemmed from the fact people either disagreed or because they didn't appreciate my disregard for the film without accompanying reason. So, when Brad emailed and suggested I revisit the film by watching both the version that was released in theaters and the longer director's cut it was an easy decision to make. I felt if I expect you to read and respect my opinion I should read and respect yours.

Let me begin by admitting I did go a little too far calling it a stinker. In fact, I'll go as far as to say the final forty-five minutes of The New World features some of the finest filmmaking of Malick's career and that's saying something. It's just that the...

Another day, another biopic, although this film is likely to be of a decidedly different type to the one threatened by Elton John (below), and one about a decidedly different order of musician.

Sergei Rachmaninoff was among the pre-eminent composers of the early twentieth century- among the last of the great romantics. Rachmaninoff was renowned for the beauty of his melodies, his thunderous rolling harmonies and lavish virtuoso piano arrangements. It is frequently asserted that his Piano Concerto No 3- written, initially, for a lucrative concert tour of America- is among the most technically challenging pieces ever composed.

Given his extra-ordinary accomplishments in art, and his association and tutelage under some of the greatest musicians to have lived, not to mention the struggles he endured as a consequence of the Russian revolution, it is with some reservation that the news that a film about the great man’s life is...

The Biggest Moments of 2010End of Year RecapAs we make our way through busy streets to find last-minute gifts and attend holiday parties, it's time to look back at the most memorable moments of 2010.We saw Haiti suffer a devastating blow, sex scandals that rocked the church, many marriages, engagements and babies — and let's not forget all the comebacks, viral videos, TV drama and more. As we reminisce, let us not forget, but make peace with the tragedies that shook us to our core, and make permanent memories of the celebrations that brought us incredible highs.Though the headlines didn't always make us proud, we hope to make 2011 a more prosperous, joyous, successful year than 2010 ever was. Cheers to the end of an amazing year, and the beginning of the new one...Bridal BlissWe're happy to report that the couples who tied the knot this year outnumbered the married pairs that called it quits.

Here's a story to drive you bananas; at the Toyoka Chuo Seika fruit factory, unripened bananas imported from the Philippines are subjected to 24 to 30 days of Mozart's classical music resulting in what the company calls sweeter, fuller bananas.

Specifically, bananas enjoy Mozart's String Quartet 17 and Piano Concerto 5 in D major, among other works, as they ripen in the company's fruit factory.

It has been theorized that Mozart's music is rich in "ink noise" or "1/f noise" which is a high frequency sound above 8,000 Hz, said to have relaxing and rejuvenating effects on humans.

Since the debut of the "Mozart bananas," last July, sales have been up compared to last year's "non-Mozart listening bananas," selling locally for about .50 a bunch.

A Japanese fruit company has launched 'Mozart Bananas', which are ripened to the sound of the composer's work. Fruit from Hyogo Prefecture-based firm Toyoka Chuo Seika has recently been shipped to supermarkets in the area, The Japan Times reports. The bananas are ripened for one week in a chamber boasting speakers playing String Quartet 17 and Piano Concerto 5 in D major among other work. Hyogo representative Isamu Okuda said: "We thought it would be a good investment, which would set us apart from the pack." A second company in the Fukushima Prefecture, Ohara Shuzo, also (more)...

London, July 2 – ‘Queen of Soul’ Aretha Franklin and former Us secretary of state Condoleezza Rice will be sharing the stage for a duet performance in Philadelphia next month.

The pair will perform songs such as ‘Natural Woman’ and ‘Say a Little Prayer’ for a fundraising event for inner city children on 27 July at the Mann Centre for the Performing Arts.

Franklin and Rice would be the guests of the Philadelphia Orchestra and conductor Rossen Milanov.

Rice would play with the orchestra for Mozart’s Piano Concerto in D minor and then join Franklin to perform.

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