So you want a classical fairytale playlist that lasts just over an hour?

Here are some small delights. Frank Bridge composed grim music during the Great War, but this small fairy tale piano suite feels almost like an escape.

Felix Mendelssohn composed music for Shakespeare’s play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” twice in his career. First, as a 17-year-old in 1826, he wrote a concert overture, and later in 1842, a few years before his death, he wrote incidental music for a production of the play, incorporating the existing overture. Chailly’s Gewandhaus performance is lively and effective. Listen to that donkey clarinet in the overture! 

Von Weber’s Konzertstück portrays the story of a medieval lady longing for her absent knight, agonizing over his safety, excitedly anticipating his return, and finally rejoicing in their reunion. Martin Helmchen’s entrance in this piece might irritate some people (it did me), but the continuation makes it one of the most meaningful interpretations of Weber’s note spinning I have ever heard.

To chill out, try the 1817 A major nocturne by John Field. His Nocturnes were the benchmark for Chopin’s nocturnes from about 15 years later, and No. 4 is the most Chopinesque of the series.

Enjoy this program!

Frank Bridge (1879 -1941)

A Fairy Tale Suite (1917)

Track 01 The Princess

Track 02 The Ogre

Track 03 The Spell

Track 04 The Prince

Ashley Wass, piano.

Recorded 2005

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809-1847)

A Midsummer Dream Incidental Music Op.61

Track 05 Overture

Track 06 Scherzo

Track 07 Intermezzo

Track 08 Nocturne

Track 09 Wedding March

Gewandhausorchester Leipzig

Riccardo Chailly, conductor.

Recorded 2013

Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1828)

Track 10 Konzertstück Für Klavier Und Orchester F-Moll Op. 79 (1815/1821)

Martin Helmchen, piano.

Konzerthaus Orchester Berlin, 

Christoph Eschenbach, conductor.

Recorded 2021

John Field (1782-1837)

Track 11 Nocturne no.4 in A-major (1817)

Elizabeth Joy Roe, piano

Recorded 2015

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3Hz40zdFVoqDT1NYytxAyM?si=300ad4ffc15148b1(HTTP link)

75 years Donaueschingen Festival 1921-1996

If you are a fan of contemporary classical music, you might be interested in the playlist 75 Jahre Donaueschinger Musiktage 1921-1996, which contains 12 CDs of recordings from the oldest music festival dedicated to new music. The Donaueschingen Festival, founded in 1921, has been a platform for promoting unknown and controversial talent and experimenting with new forms of expression. The CD box covers 75 years of musical history, from the early 20th century to the late 1990s, featuring works by composers such as Paul Hindemith, Igor Stravinsky, Arnold Schönberg, Wolfgang Rhim and many, many others… 

For many years, this box has been out of production, but luckily is still available on Spotify and other platforms (for other platforms, like  Tidal and qobuz, click here). The tracklist is quite extensive, so if you want to search the Composers and performers check this Discogs list. Strange enough, the year the work was composed is not on Discogs, but you can read it in the title of the Spotify metadata. 

I hope you will join me on this musical journey and discover some of the gems of the Donaueschingen Festival! 

https://open.spotify.com/album/4CCNxU0PAoLsPgSW67WcNa?si=YcsVHIZ8SoKYEo2ZVY9kfw

(HTTP link)

Erich Kleiber's Staatskapelle Berlin recordings, 1927-1928

I know this is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I really love historic recordings. They give me a romantic “historic sensation” of listening to the same sounds as someone who bought these recordings a long time ago. Just like old books, they transport me to a different era.

With YouTube and Spotify, the amount of historic recordings available is staggering. What you miss, though, is the physical 78 rpm disc and some of the romanticism that comes with it. But at least you have the chance to hear rare records like these 1927-1928 recordings of conductor Erich Kleiber (1890-1956). He is now mainly known as “the father of” Carlos Kleiber, but he was a well-respected “kapellmeister” in his own time, with a focus on the works of Richard Strauss and Alban Berg. The latter displeased the Nazis, which was one of the reasons he immigrated to Argentina in 1936.

A 3-CD box with historical recordings can be a bit overwhelming, so I made a 50-minute selection of the performances I liked best. A thrilling Johann Strauss Fledermaus overture, matched by one of the best performances I know of Rossini’s William Tell overture. I chose the 1928 recording of Smetana’s Moldau. It is sonically less “open” than the 1927 recording, but it has some thrilling moments. The Merry Wives of Windsor by German composer Otto Nicolai and the Roman Carnival overture by Berlioz complete this set. I hope you will enjoy this selection!

The metadata is: 

Track 1 JOHANN STRAUSS II (1825–1899) Die Fledermaus – Overture

Staatskapelle Berlin, Spring 1927.

Track 2 GIOACHINO ROSSINI (1792–1868) William Tell – Overture

Staatskapelle Berlin, July 1927

Track 3 BEDŘICH SMETANA (1824–1884) Vltava (Die Moldau) from Má vlast

Staatskapelle Berlin, April - December 1928

Track 4 OTTO NICOLAI (1810–1849) The Merry Wives of Windsor – Overture

Staatskapelle Berlin, June 1927

Track 5 HECTOR BERLIOZ (1803–1869) Roman carnival overture – Overture, Op. 9

Staatskapelle Berlin, 1927

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6Oat7voRVKzWE665Zw0Jyj?si=f7880c17a61f448b(HTTP link)

One of the original 78 rpm sides.