Latest news with #Mozart
Tom's Guide
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
5 best classical arrangements for testing your headphones
I love classical music. I was raised on a diet of Mozart, Bach, and Mendelssohn. Giant orchestras that fill concert halls, pianists whose fingers dart across keys, brass sections that make your gut rumble. Classical music is huge — and I think it's a great way to test the best headphones. There's nothing like classical music to put a pair of headphones through a trial by fire. There's a lot going on, and it can be easy for finer details to get lost. The soundstage is generally super wide, given the physical width of an orchestra. There's plenty of depth, and instrument separation is important so that you can hear every part of the ensemble. But what classical music tracks and recordings do I use to test out the headphones that land on my testing table? From Holst to Stravinsky, let's find out. (Please note — not all of my favorite recordings are available on YouTube, so you can listen through Apple Music Classical with the links I've attached. Not that YouTube does any of these pieces of music justice anyway. Bon Appétit!) Qobuz is the testing streaming service that we use here at Tom's Guide. It features the best sound quality of any streaming service that we've tested, and it works out to be cheaper than Spotify if you pay for a year's subscription all at once. Part 1 of Bach's "Kyrie of the Mass in B minor" is a piece for orchestra, solo singer, and choir. The result is a moody, moving, and involving piece of classical music that can really put a pair of headphones to the test. I could write thousands of words about the piece itself, but instead, I'll just go over why it's so good for testing headphones. The most obvious and noticeable testing element is the multi-layered choir that sings the piece. It's a mixed gender choir, so a pair of headphones needs to be able to place each voice and their harmonies well enough that you can tell each section is composed of multiple individual voices. The orchestra needs to be similarly separated so that you can hear each instrument, from the strings to the woodwind. Depth is important too, as is dynamic range. It's a track that changes volume frequently, and covers the entirety of the hearable frequency range to reveal a pair of headphones' weaknesses. It's also a stunningly beautiful piece of music. Listen on Apple Music Classical Anyone who watched Fantasia as a kid (which I assume is almost everyone) is going to recognize "Night on Bald Mountain." It's the moment a mountain transforms into the devil, ushering souls into the underworld as the sky swirls and lava bubbles. The piece itself is a tour de force of late 19th-century orchestra, with incredible swells and changes in pitch and volume for even the most devilish of dancefloors. This particular piece is very good for showcasing dynamic range. There are quiet moments that counterpose the louder moments, giving them more impact. I need to be able to feel the change as well as hear it. The drums and crashing cymbals should be impactful and scary, the great horn swell unnerving. There's a lot to get wrong for a pair of headphones here, but when it gets it right, it's wonderful. I profess to a certain amount of devilry — and I can't get enough of Bald Mountain's orchestral might. Listen on Apple Music Classical Copeland's "Billy the Kid" feels like you're watching a movie. It's just a few lines of dialogue away from being a motion picture in and of itself — but that doesn't make it any less capable of telling a story. From the moment the "Allegro Molto" begins to the second it finishes, you're whisked away to the wild west, on the road with Billy the Kid and his gang of miscreants. That means there's all the more detail for a pair of headphones to get stuck into, but also a lot to trip them up. I want the string sections to feel effortlessly smooth, and the brass section needs to feel triumphant. There's delicacy needed here too, and the headphones have to be able to let me hear every part of each playful wind note. Once the 7:45 are up, I should be ready for the next piece, and the third leg of Billy's journey. Headphones that lack energy will make me want to switch over or give up. Listen on Apple Music Classical The deeply unnerving style of Igor Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" is one of my favorite pieces of music. It moves and shifts like sand in a bowl, with plenty of short solos for a pair of headphones to relish. I love the sudden tonal shifts as the ballet continues, from calm and unsettling to big and brash. Headphones that can't keep up make the experience feel flat and boring. This is a recording that does well with a big soundstage. The orchestra is deep and wide, and in order to get the full effect, the headphones need to be able to give you great spatial imaging. I want instrument separation to be excellent as well — otherwise, the track feels like one bed orchestral mush as the instruments and the sections are squished together. Listen on Apple Music Classical What list of classical music would be complete without something from Beethoven on it? And yes, before you ask, I did have to put it number 5 on this list, because, you know. It's the fifth symphony. It's also excellent for testing out headphones. This particular recording of Beethoven's most famous work is great for testing soundstage and instrument separation as well. There's a lot going on in any one part of the symphony, and your headphones need to make sure that it's not being blended up by bad audio tuning or less-than-stellar hardware. It's a stunning symphony from start to finish, and only the best headphones can do it justice. Listen on Apple Music Classical
CTV News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Austrian pianist Alfred Brendel dies at 94: spokesman
Pianist Alfred Brendel joins the Berliner Philharmoniker playing Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat Major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, at Carnegie Hall in New York, in this Jan 27, 2006, file photo. (AP Photo/Stuart Ramson, file) London, U.K. — Austrian pianist Alfred Brendel, widely regarded as one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century, died in London on Tuesday, his spokesman said. He was 94. 'He died peacefully... and surrounded by his loved ones,' spokesman Thomas Hull told AFP. Tributes began pouring in to Brendel, described by some as 'a musical giant'. Brendel, who had lived in London for more than 50 years, had a reputation for being modest, self-effacing and intensely self-critical. He gave only short, quick bows when entering or leaving the stage of his always sell-out recitals. The Guardian newspaper said once he was never one 'for fireworks and histrionics'. Brendel began playing the piano at the age of six and had little formal training after the age of 16. He was best known for his performances of the great European composers such as Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms and Liszt. An Austrian citizen, born on Jan. 5, 1931, in Wiesenberg in northern Moravia, now the Czech Republic, Brendel spent his childhood travelling throughout Yugoslavia and Austria. Following the Second World War, the family moved to Graz in Austria, where Brendel studied at the city's conservatory. When he retired from concert performances in Vienna in December 2008, he was asked what he would miss most. 'The adrenalin,' he said. And 'in spite of all those obnoxious coughers and the mobile telephones and hearing aids going off,' he would miss the public, too, Brendel said. The Royal Philharmonic Society mourned the passing of 'a musical giant with the tenderest touch' in a post on the social network X. 'His performances will blaze in memory; his recordings will inspire for generations to come.'
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Majestic, rigorous and sheer fun: the best of Alfred Brendel's recordings
In the two decades before he retired from concert-performances in 2008 at the age of 77, Alfred Brendel was arguably the best known classical pianist in the world. Yet regard for his playing was never by any means universal; what his many admirers found as searching, considered and profound in his interpretations, others heard as colourless and lacking in spontaneity. But Brendel's lasting popularity is evidenced by his recorded legacy, which is certainly extensive enough for generations to come to make their own assessment of his stature. In a recording career that stretched well over half a century, he made more than 100 albums, which included three complete cycles of the Beethoven sonatas. As his career burgeoned, Beethoven, and the other great composers of the Austro-German tradition - Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Brahms - were increasingly the focus of Brendel's recital repertory, but a glance at a chronology of his recordings reveals how wide his musical interests really were. If it is Brendel's discs of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert that will be treasured above all, there is much else to be discovered among the myriad recordings he left us. The recordings that follow, therefore, are very much a personal choice; another day, it might be entirely different. Busoni: Fantasia Contrappuntistica (1953) Busoni was a composer who fascinated Brendel, but he recorded very little of the piano music, with the exception of this early performance of the Italian musician's most challenging solo work. Mussorgsky, Balakirev and Stravinsky (1955) A sampler from early in his career of some of the Russian repertoire with which Brendel was never associated later in his life. Liszt: Opera Transcriptions (1958) Liszt, especially the great B minor Sonata, remained part of Brendel's repertory for much of his career, but early on he spread his net much wider, as this collection shows. Schumann: Works for oboe (1980) Brendel recorded relatively little chamber music, but he did make some discs as an accompanist, including a Winterreise with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and this jewel-like collection in which he partnered the greatest oboist of the age, Heinz Holliger. Mozart: The Piano Concertos (1980s) The cycle of the Mozart piano concertos that Brendel recorded with Neville Marriner and the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields was one of landmark discs of the 1980s. Haydn: 11 Sonatas (1986) The essence of Brendel's Viennese style, utterly lacking in affectation and mannerisms. Schubert: Piano Sonatas D958, 959 & 960 (1988) Schubert's late sonatas always seem to bring the best out of Brendel, his intellectual rigour, his sense of lyricism and sometimes sheer fun. Brahms: Piano Concerto No 1 (1987) In later years especially, Brendel did not play much of Brahms's solo piano music, but he performed the concertos, as this magnificent account of the First, with Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic shows. Beethoven Piano Concerto No 5 (1988) A majestic, live performance of the Emperor Concerto, with Kurt Masur conducting. Beethoven: Diabelli Variations (1990) As masterly as all his Beethoven performances were, it often seemed as if the Diabelli Variations brought the very best out of Brendel, with their quickfire changes of mood, moments of introspection and wicked humour. Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Opp 90, 101, 106,109, 110, 111 (1993) A compilation from the second of Brendel's three Beethoven sonata cycles, released just as he was about to begin a third, digital cycle for Philips. Schoenberg: Piano Concerto (1996) After the early years Brendel played very little 20th-century music, but Schoenberg's concerto did remain part of his repertory; this recording, with Michael Gielen conducting, is one of at least two that he made.
San Francisco Chronicle
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Review: San Francisco Opera's ‘Idomeneo' dazzles with powerful voices and striking visuals
Mozart's 'Idomeneo' will never be the composer's most popular work, but it is a great opera, full of fire and vivid characterizations. Merely 24 years old when he wrote the score, Mozart poured everything he had into 'Idomeneo,' and San Francisco Opera's excellent new production, which opened on Saturday, June 14, at the War Memorial Opera House, showed the work's dramatic power and musical beauty thanks to a fully committed cast. This is the kind of opera that Mozart dreamed of making, filled with first-rank singers down to the secondary roles. But after its Munich premiere in 1781, 'Idomeneo' had only one subsequent private performance in Vienna. It wasn't until the 20th century that the work entered the standard repertory, thanks in no small part to San Francisco Opera's groundbreaking 1977 production. 'Idomeneo' takes up the story of the titular king of Crete's return from the Trojan War. Beset by storms, he offers a rash vow to the god Neptune to sacrifice the first person he sees on shore if he and his crew should arrive safely home. Naturally, Idomeneo is greeted by his son Idamante. The prince is in love with Ilia, a captured Trojan princess, and she responds to his ardent wooing. But the princess Elettra expects to marry Idamante and is furious to discover he's considering an alliance with his enemy. Though shorn of its ballet and several arias, as is customary in modern presentations, this is a big show that the Opera is staging. Australian director Lindy Hume's production relies for its sense of scale on cinematographer Catherine Pettman's dramatic filmed images of the Tasmanian coastline. The visuals are artfully projected onto Michael Yeargan's spare set by projection designer David Bergman. Following this prompt, costume designer Anna Cordingley has buttressed the shoulders of the king's royal mantle with feathers, possibly a reference to the Palawa/Pakana first people of Tasmania, to whom the production team pays respect in the program book. Otherwise, the costuming is modern dress and predominantly black and gray, effectively showcased by Verity Hampson's original lighting, revived for these performances by Justin A. Partier. Hume's direction focuses on the characters' emotions and interrelationships, and she pulls strong acting performances from all of her seasoned principal singers. Tenor Matthew Polenzani conveyed the king's anguish and regret in a manner that felt authentic and lived. He's completely comfortable with the role's vocal demands, and if his florid runs in the centerpiece aria 'Fuor del mar' (Saved from the sea) were smudged, that's partly because Mozart unkindly put most of them in the singer's midrange. Projecting a firm sound out into the War Memorial auditorium took precedence. On Saturday, we learned from Opera General Director Matthew Shilvock that mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack, in the role of Idamante, performed a little bit under the weather, but I doubt the audience would have known without the announcement. She may have felt that her energy was down, but even at 90%, she has more than enough power and vocal agility to put over her part. In dramatic terms, she was a powerful presence, especially in her recitatives and her entrance aria, 'Non ho colpa' (I'm not guilty). But the evening's singing laurels went to Ying Fang as Ilia and Elza van den Heever as Elettra. In a part stuffed with gorgeous melodies designed to show off a lyric soprano, Fang made an indelible impression, her voice in pristine condition, beautiful and well controlled. In a much broader role, van den Heever commanded the stage in her three highly contrasting arias. Hers is a huge voice, but she brought delicacy and warmth to her seductive Act 2 'Idol mio' (My dearest). Then she showed off her Straussian power by exploding from silence into her rafter-shaking final aria, rushing out to stunned applause from the audience. Out of a number of small roles, tenor Alek Shrader as the king's advisor, Arbace, must be mentioned. Hume has him deliver one of the two arias Mozart wrote for the character, and the opportunity paid off, as Shrader sang with the confidence and tonal sweetness for which he has been noted. John Keene's chorus has a lot of work in the show and performed brilliantly. Music Director Eun Sun Kim, for whom there are no superlatives left, led a tautly dramatic performance from the pit. In Mozart's expansive score, the orchestra has several moments to shine, and these musicians did.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Met Opera attendance dropped in spring as tourism fell, coinciding with immigration crackdown
NEW YORK (AP) — Metropolitan Opera season attendance dropped slightly following the Trump administration's immigration crackdown that coincided with a decrease in tourists to New York. The Met sold 72% of capacity, matching 2023-24 and down from its 75% projection. 'We were on track to continue to improve,' Met general manager Peter Gelb said Friday. 'We were disappointed by the sales in the last two months of the season — our projections were much higher and I attribute the fact that we didn't achieve our sales goals to a significant drop in tourism." New York City Tourism & Conventions last month reduced its 2025 international visitor projection by 17%, the Met said. International buyers accounted for 11% of sales, down from the Met's projection of 16% and from about 20% before the coronavirus pandemic. 'It's unfortunate, but this is the times in which we live,' Gelb said. The Met said factoring ticket discounts, it realized 60% of potential income, down from 64% in 2023-24 but up from 57% in 2022–23. 'We were able to sell an equal amount of tickets the last year, but there were more discounted tickets,' Gelb said. 'This really was the result of the last two months of the season.' There were 76,000 new ticket buyers, a drop from 85,000 in 2023-24, and the average age of single ticket buyers was 44, the same as in the previous season and a drop from 50 before the pandemic. Subscriptions accounted for just 7% of ticket sales, down from 12-15% before the pandemic, Gelb said economic uncertainty impacted sales for next season. 'The stock market jumping up and down made people feel insecure,' he said. 'In one week we saw an enormous decline in our advance for next season. Then it picked up again.' Met music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin earned $2,045,038 in the year end last July 31, up from $1,307,583, in the previous fiscal year, according to the company's tax return released Friday. Gelb earned $1,395,216, roughly the same as his $1,379,032 in 2022-23,and he also accrued $798,205 listed as retirement or deferred compensation. Assets declined by about $40 million to $467 million, primarily because of an endowment draw following the pandemic. Among individual productions last season, the highest percentage of tickets sold were for the English-language version of Mozart's 'The Magic Flute' and a new staging of Verdi's 'Aida,' both at 82%, followed by the company premiere of Jake Heggie's 'Moby-Dick' at 81% Other new productions included Strauss' 'Salome' (74%), John Adams' 'Antony and Cleopatra' (65%), Osvaldo Golijov's 'Ainadamar' (61%) and Jeanine Tesori's 'Grounded' (50%). The best-selling revivals were Puccini's 'Tosca' (78%), Tchaikovsky's 'Pique Dame (The Queen of Spades)' and Puccini's La Bohème (77% each), Beethoven's 'Fidelio' and Rossini's 'Il Barbiere di Siviglia' (76% each) and Mozart's 'Le Nozze di Figaro' (71%). Lagging were Strauss' 'Die Frau ohne Schatten' (68%0, Verdi's 'Rigoletto' (64%), Offenbach's 'Les Contes d'Hoffmann' and the German-language version of Mozart's 'Die Zauberflöte' (62% each) and Verdi's 'Il Trovatore' (59%).
