My Own Music

I began playing the treble (alto) recorder last year, but stopped shortly after due to dislocating a finger. I was discouraged from continuing my practice since my finger is now a little stiff, but I fortunately made a friend who rekindled my desire to play the instrument, so I've begun practicing again. I've had a lot of fun, and began just in time to play 'Happy Birthday' for another friend of mine. Here's a recording of my amateur performance; hopefully the first of many! :-P

Music I Like

If you're familiar with my past websites, blogs, and social media you'll know that I was rather fond of new wave music, and anything a little leftfield. Honestly, though, for the past two or three years I've found it all so boring. Sometimes a long-dead spirit consumes my body; he exchanges mountains of money for a few records I end up not listening to very much. I don't often listen to pop music right now, but there are a few songs I'll play. Most of the time I listen to Western classical music, so here are some compositions/performances I like:

Scriabin, Piano Sonata No.5; Garrick Ohlsson
Scirabin, Piano Sonata No.9; Garrick Ohlsson
Scirabin, Piano Sonata No.5; Marc-André Hamelin
Scriabin, Vers la flamme; Vladimir Sofronitski —I don't know where this recording was first made available, but the one I listen to is on a CD called "Scriabine et les Scriabiniens" which also contains recordings of Scriabin's work by Samuil Feinberg, Heinrich Neuhaus, Alexandre Goldenweiser, and Scriabin himself! Scriabin's performances were recorded in 1910.
Scriabin, Poem of Ecstasy; Donald Johanos and Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Scriabin, Poem of Ecstasy; Evegeny Svetlanov and USSR State Symphony Orchestra
Rautavaara, Harp Concerto; Marielle Nordmann and Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
Rautavvara, Cantus Arcticus; Christoph Poppen and Deutsche Radiophilharmonie
Karol Szymanowski, Symphony No.3 "Song of the Night"
Akira Miyoshi, Ondine; Tadashi Mori, Orchestra Radio Specifically Organised for 'Ondine', and NHK Studio of Electronic Music —I bought this record a few years ago, got a good deal on it too. It's a "poetic drama" which tells the story of Fouqué's romantic tale 'Undine'. The novella was adapted into a series of poems and dialogue by Eriko Kishida, sister of Kyoko Kishida, cousin of Shin Kishida, and daughter of Kunio Kishida (you might call them a very talented family). Anyway, I'm rather fond of this record. Miyoshi extensively utilises the Ondes Martenot to create sound effects that add an extra dimension to the drama. Having read the novel —but not understanding Japanese— I can say the music alone does a wonderful job of keeping the pace of the story, and accentuating the emotional peaks from Fouqué's masterwork. If even one person asks me to scan the booklet —which contains complete Japanese text, an English translation, full credits, and more.— I'll do so without hesitation.

Another Japanese, funnily enough, adaption of Undine that I like is Toshio Kawanami's Ondine for soprano and orchestra. Well, on some of my listens to this piece I've teared up a bit upon hearing the final exclamation: 'Undine!'. You won't tell anyone, will you? It comes in three movements.  Mvt. 1  Mvt. 2  Mvt. 3

I will probably post more later, but it's dreadfully dull tracking links then formatting them for HTML.