Author: whskyjack

Mayday Serendipity

Hey it is the first of May, you know what begins today.

So this work seems appropriate.

Enjoy, no matter how you celebrate today, Jack

Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (L. 86), known in English as Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, is a symphonic poem for orchestra by Claude Debussy, approximately 10 minutes in duration. It was composed in 1894 and first performed in Paris on 22 December 1894.

The composition was inspired by the poem L’après-midi d’un faune by Stéphane Mallarmé. It is one of Debussy’s most famous works and is considered a turning point in the history of Western art music. Pierre Boulez considered the score to be the beginning of modern music, observing that “the flute of the faun brought new breath to the art of music.

Wikipedia

A translation of the French poem that inspired Debussy

Sunday Serendipity

Back when I took that music appreciation course in college the teacher was never able to answer the question of why we should value the arts. I’ve never seen it properly answered, it usually ends up being a long winded “Because” statement.

IMO, todays selection goes a long way toward answering that question. It is a classical form, influenced by Jazz, an American art form that blends African and European musical traditions composed by a grandson of a Ukrainian Jew, with a piano solo performed by a young woman from China, backed up with an orchestra from Austria.

It is a demonstration of the world as it should be, rather than the one we see in the bombed out neighborhoods in Mariupol.

Enjoy, Jack

Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin

Performed by Camerata Salzburg

Yuja Wang on piano