Chopin 2010

Deutsche Grammophon released over a dozen Chopin recordings this year, here's a Spotfiy playlist: Chopin 2010 (197 tracks, 13 hours) that features all of them. It seems that these recordings are available to Spotify users in all countries but the UK at this moment, but usually they would be playable in a couple of weeks, like the Carlos Kleiber box-set.

Carlos Kleiber: Complete DG Recordings on Spotify

(Spotify Link,12 CDs)

I have updated my Beethoven playlist to add in the Symphony No.7 by Kleiber.

And an interesting read: Carlos Kleiber: Not a great conductor.

The Spotify Schumann Bicentennial Playlist

"Today it is more important for me to present material from a number of different aspects, to derive new properties from it, than to compose closed forms. To choose a historical example: Schumann, rather than Brahms." - Wolfgang Rihm

Robert Schumann was born 200 years ago tomorrow, he is the composer I love the most. Lieder like Du bist wie eine Blume is so hauntingly beautiful that it hurts, the tormented cello concerto is heartfelt romantic and deeply tragic at the same time, and no other composer writes piano music like Schumann. Chopin is the greatest dreamer in music, he brought the world most wonderful nocturnes, and preludes that lead to the beginning of nothing: they end before the beginning of the end even starts. Schumann is the most poetic daydreamer, only people who dream in daydreams can ever compose pieces with such an dreamy aura like Träumerei.

This playlist is my tribute to this great composer, and I hope it helps other Spotify users to explore Schumann's music. It consists of four parts:

1, The works with opus numbers. Schumann wrote almost exclusively for solo piano at the beginning, composed over one hundred lieder in his "year of songs"(1840), and many of his chamber music in 1842. So this part is quite easy to be divided into separate genres if you want to. This part is sorted by opus numbers. I tried to choose the best recording for the works that I'm familiar with, for the piano music alone we have Arrau, Anda, Kempff, Richter, and many other maestros. What a feast!

2, The works without opus number, alternative editions and arrangements. This including the violin concerto, some early fragments for piano and orchestra, the unfinished ”Zwickau" symphony, the cello concerto arranged for violin and re-orchestrated by Shostakovich, Carnaval orchestrated by Ravel, and Paganini's 24 Caprices for Violin with Schumann's piano accompaniment. According to the Cambridge Companion To Schumann,  it is the last works that Schumann finished in the asylum. The Concerto Without Orchestra played by Horowitz is majestic.

3, Historical performances. I only chose one modern recording for each composition, but there are some elder recordings that must be heard by true Schumann lovers too. This includes the 1951 live recording of the piano concerto from Cortot and Fricsay, the Frauenliebe sung by Elly Ameling, and a very rare Dichterliebe with Horowitz as accompanist.

4, Modern works that associated with Schumann: Wolfgang Rihm's piano trio Fremde Szenen, Kurtag's Hommage À R. Sch, Peter Ruzicka's Vier Fragmente über Schumann, Heinz Holliger's Gesänge Der Frühe and Romancendres, a "reconstruction" of Schumann's Cello Romances destroyed by Clara, and a suite of Luigi Nono's Prometeo, in which the beginning of Schumann's Manfred is quoted nine times.

In the end of the playlist I put the recording of four songs that were in the original version of Dichterliebe but later excluded. I can hardly think of a better closing track other than Mein Wagen rollet langsam.

Here's the Spotify playlist: Robert Schumann: Bicentennial Edition (1057 tracks, 2 days) Happy 200th Birthday Robert, may your songs always be sung.

If you want a quick introduction to Schumann's works, check out this 2-CD set by Deutsche Grammophon on Spotify: Schumann Gold

And here's an very interesting documentary on Youtube, Schumann's Lost Romance presented by Steven Isserlis:

The Contemplative Liszt

It's the Children's Day, let's celebrate it by introducing one of the most beloved-by-kids composers of all time.

Franz Liszt might be best known for his flamboyant and bombastic showpieces, like the Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 in Tom and Jerry, or the finale of Les Preludes that introduced many cartoons. Personally I find his quiet, introspective music much more interesting. The largely contemplative tone poem Orpheus was his son-in-law Richard Wagner's favourite for that reason, the two large scale sacred works, Via Crucis and Christus are some of Liszt's most daring and original compositions I've heard, and deeply moving. I also collected many reflective solo piano pieces in the playlist, like The Blessing of God in Solitude, The Fountain of the Villa d'Este and, of course, the majestic B Minor sonata, by some of the best Liszt interpreters like Claudio Arrau. Sadly Iren Marik was removed from Spotify after I made this playlist, I replaced her recordings with alternatives, and left her links there, let's hope Spotify brings them back soon.

Here's the Spotify playlist: The Contemplative Liszt (62 tracks, 7 hours) Looking forward to your suggestions for more works of this kind to add into the playlist. And since one of the key words that brought most traffic is "best music to study to", I will add that this playlist is perfect for studying too:)

Dark Hope: Renée Fleming Sings Pop In Pop Style

"Singing in the lowest part of my voice was key to making this work."

The tracklist of the new release from the accomplished soprano Renée Fleming is full of surprises. Check out the Amazon page for detailed information and an interesting interview. Personally I like her approach in this recording, you know it could be a train wreck like her Perfect Day at the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution... Singing pop songs in operatic style usually sounds terrible, especially those truly great pop songs. To me pop singing is all about seeking the the perfection of imperfection, songs like Perfect Day should be sung in Lou Reed's talking-into-a-walkie-talkie style, and Frank Sinatra is a master because he knows which notes are better to be left out. And what do you think a great tenor like Ian Bostridge would learn from Bob Dylan, a man condemned as "can't sing" by many music fans? "Just the way he uses his voice is spectacularly subtle." Full audio interview is here. 

Here's the Spotify playlist: Dark Hope (19 tracks, 1 hour). I put the original recordings at the end. To keep it simple I only goes for the original artists, though Ms. Fleming might have the Jeff Buckley version in mind when she did Hallelujah. She did it well, but this live performance from k.d.lang remains my favourite.

EMI & Virgin Classics: May Highlights On Spotify

Click the images below to open the albums in Spotify. Check out more information at the official page on the EMI site.

Gustav Mahler - the Complete Works 150th Anniversary Edition

(Spotify Links: 16CDs Set, 2-CD Set of Adagios)

Mahler: Sympony No.2 "Resurrection"

(Spotify Link)

Brahms: Piano Concerto No.2, Klavierstücke Op.76

（Spotify Link)

Shhh! Nigel Kennedy Quintet feat. Boy George

(Spotify Link)

Classical Legends - In their own words

(Spotify Link)

100 Best Verdi

(Spotify Link)

And "Robert Schumann - 200th Anniversary 4 themed collections comprising Schumann's greatest works." Spotify links: Lieder, Piano Music, Chamber Music, and Orchestral Works. I promise you that I'm going to post my own Schumann playlist on his 200th birthday next month.

Thank you EMI, for getting your new releases on Spotify so soon:)

Brahms: WoOs, Transcriptions and Four-Hand Piano Arrangements

Brahms transcribed most of his orchestral and chamber music into four-hand piano arrangements, a form in which most people got to hear and play those music during Brahms' lifetime. It is very interesting, and often revealing, to hear his texturally dense orchestral works in the striped down piano version, The first piano was actually planned as a sonata for pianos. No.15 of the Op. 39 Waltzes for piano four-hand is one of the most lovely tunes that Brahms, or any composer ever written. There are many gems in the WoOs and transcriptions in other forms too. Check out the previous playlists of Brahms' works with opus numbers if you missed them.

Here's the Spotify playlist:

Brahms: WoOs and Transcriptions (228 tracks, 12 hours)

Brahms: Four-Hand Piano Music (167 tracks, 13 hours)

KZ Musik: Music Composed In Nazi Camps

"KZ MUSIK is the most up-to-date and complete CD encyclopedia of musical works composed by musicians imprisoned in the Nazi camps between 1933 and 1945.  The composers were imprisoned, deported, murdered – some even survived – but all were of different national, social and religious backgrounds."

The official site: http://www.kz-musik.de/Intro_E.html

The Spotify playlist: KZ Musik (142 tracks, 7 hours) I added in Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time at the end.

Also check out Entartete Musik: Music Banned By The Third Reich if you missed it. Peace.

Pavarotti and His Pop Star Friends

Pavarotti did many charity concerts with pop artists, and some of the collaborations are excellent. Though I'd rather see him get some kicks from Caravan with Van Morrison, or support the old and husky Joni Mitchell in a soulful Both Sides Now, other than listen to him doing O Sole Mio with a unequal Bryan Adams.

Since one of the albums is made for Cambodia and Tibet, please allow me for some political rant here. I am native Chinese and have never been to Tibet, but I know that Tibet was not always part of China, and I respect Tibetans' culture and their own choices. One thing I don't understand is: for all the pro-Tibet activists, why just say "Free Tibet" but not "Free China"? How could it be possible for the Tibetan to freely express their opinions and vote when all the other PRC citizens still can't? Why don't they dare to admit the real problem of Tibet is that China is not a democracy? Wouldn't it be ridiculous if America was under the totalitarian regime and the Europeans just claim for the rights of native Americans in Alaska? I cannot help but to think that, in some foreigners' minds, the image of the Tibetans are overly romantic: a highly spiritual race living in the roof of the world, communicate with Buddhas and fighting the evil Communists invaders. The truth is, Tibetans suffer from the current status of China as much as every other Chinese people does, and the only peaceful way to free Tibet is to stop the CCP dictating and brings religions liberty and the right to vote to all Chinese people.

Rant over. Here's the Spotify playlist: Pavarotti & Friends (82 tracks, 5 hours) I don't understand why the best song, It's A Man's World with James Brown, is not include in the CD release. Do check out the gorgeous video below.

The Poet Speaks: Poetry and Speeches on Spotify

Spotify is not only the best online music collection, it also offers many great recordings of historical speeches, audiobooks and poetry read by the poets. You can hear Dylan Thomas reads The Speech Of Oedipus At Colonus, T. S. Eliot reads The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock, W.B. Yeats reads Lake Isle of Innisfree, and many more, includes Anna Livia Plurabelle from Finnegans Wake  read by James Joyce himself and remixed by DJ Spooky.  And beware, Oscar Wilde has an old witch's voice... For the speeches playlist, I also put in the classic radio shows from the young, hungry, pre-"Citizen Kane" Orsen Welles, who was then still eager to make his mark on the world.

Here's the Spotify playlists: The Poet Speaks (497 tracks, 23 hours) and Historic Voices & Great Speeches (728 tracks, 3 days).