Tag Archives: classical music

Massenet: Meditation from Thais

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By: Brendan

Massenet’s Méditation from Thaïs is one of the most beautiful pieces ever composed. Even if you don’t recognize the title, it’s likely you’ve heard it in a movie or commercial – it recently appeared on the soundtrack to Liberal Arts. You can download a recording featuring Scottish violinist Nicola Benedett and French pianist Julien Quentin at the Gardner Museum Music Library.

Massenet – Méditation from Thaïs (mp3 download page)

Benedetti was also featured on a recent Tiny Desk Concert, performing the theme from Schindler’s List and the Chaconne from Bach’s Partita for Solo Violin. I also love her version of Spiegel Im Spiegel.

Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2

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By: Brendan

Another highlight of the upcoming WV Symphony 2013-2014 season is Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2. You can download a version of it below, as performed by the Harlow Symphony Orchestra…

Rachmaninov – Piano Concerto No. 2 (mp3 download page)

Richard Strauss: An Alpine Symphony Mp3!

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By: Brendan

Richard Strauss’ exhilarating symphonic tone poem, An Alpine Symphony, transports you along on a climb to the top of the Alps. It’s an often overlooked masterpiece and you can download it free thanks to Deutsche Welle. It was difficult to find credit, but I believe this recording is by Kent Nagano with the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester.

Richard Strauss – An Alpine Symphony (mp3 download page)

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3: Eroica

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By Brendan

I am very excited to learn that Beethoven’s revolutionary Symphony No. 3: Eroica will be tackled by Grant Cooper and the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra next year. This thunderous work is as exciting as any Rock music. It was also the subject of one of my favorite movies — I think it fitting that Ian Hart has played both Beethoven and John Lennon. You can stream or download 53 minutes of awesomeness conducted by Kurt Masur with the National Orchestra of France here (mp3 download page). If you prefer to go through iTunes, this link includes Symphonies 3 and 5.

Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto Free Download

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By Brendan

I have loved this music, particularly the adagio, since hearing it in a movie in the mid-90s. Clarinetist Umesh Shankar has generously made Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto available in its entirety for free download along with many other works. There are two versions, the second seems to have less background noise…

Umesh Shankar – Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto (download page)

Free Piano Music Downloads!

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By: Brendan

Having Enjoyed Tristan Allen’s I-V and Soothing Images by Bing Satellites, I have been on the hunt for piano music…

Alexandre Franke has several albums available for download. My favorites so far are Little Winter Concert and Echoes and Frames.

Among many other works, Marcin Brzozwski has made Chopin’s Prelude Op. 28 No. 4 available as a free download.

Not sure about BlondBlood’s artist name, but pretty piano pieces abound on his Jamendo page.

Dado’s …Cinque Pezzi Facili… (Five Easy Pieces) is gorgeous.

I also enjoyed Kendra Springer’s Hope.

Pamela Sklar: A Native American-Jazz Tribute

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A Native American-Jazz Tribute is the new album by Pamela Sklar. Inspired by Native American music, world, classical and jazz, this improvised chamber music for mixed instruments features flute, piccolo, alto flute and bass flute. The album is a beautiful showcase of Native American flute melodies blended with jazz rhythms.

BUY @ AMAZON

Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 Free Download!

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Guest Post By: Brendan

The West Virginia Symphony will present Anton Bruckner’s triumphant Symphony No. 8 on March 1st and 2nd. To whet your appetite, I found the following performance from Berlin’s Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester.

Bruckner – Symphony No. 8 (mp3 download page)

Buy Tickets to WV Symphony

David Zinman: Schubert Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6

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David Zinman and the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich have recorded a subtle but spectacular album of Schubert’s Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6. This album is so beautiful, elegent and serene that I’ve left it on repeat in my car stereo for over a month, enjoying the listening experience far too much to properly review it. Strangely, I wasn’t immediately captivated by the album. Yet it quickly grew from pretty background music to a comforting presence and is now, in my view, a gorgeous, beloved recording.

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David Zinman Official Site