For music schools, the end of a course of study, frequently brings about a performance of a concert in which the music student is expected to show what he/she learned during, say, a 4-year course of study leading to a degree in Music Performance. As such, the concert takes place, parents, friends, teachers, and admirers show up, and after the concert, student can occasionally face a huge anti-climax. Wow… all that work… all that preparation, and after 75 minutes of the performance, Poof… it’s all over.

That’s where My Classical Notes can come in via our new Alliance with Stanford Music:

I talked with Stanford’s Music department about the concept of providing an opportunity for selected students, staff, teaching groups, and even guest lecturers to be featured in this blog. As a result, if a staff member just concluded an interesting assignment in Berlin, or if a senior student in Music composition recently won an international award, that person may be featured here, so that our readers learn a bit more about this person’s accomplishments.

Our first guest as part of this Alliance is Nick Hersh.

Nick is a senior in Cello and Conducting at Stanford. In March he gave his Cello recital, and at the end of April, he conducted a performance of Mozart’s Requiem. He conducted the performance of this work that Mozart composed shortly before he died. The Requiem was performed at the Stanford Church, and I had arranged to interview Nick, just as he was getting ready to go to the final dress rehearsal with his performing group. Click below to hear that interview:

Stanford Music Alliance with “My Classical Notes”

Click below to hear 5 minutes of the amazing Requiem by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as performed by Nick Hersh, conducting at the Stanford Church:

On February 17, 2010 I met pianist Berenika, after she completed three concerts in the Santa Rosa, California area. While I was unable to attend her performance, I wanted to meet her, and talk about music and her career.

Berenika turned out to be delightful person: Expressive, confident, excellent communicator, with a strong sense of her professional direction.

Please click on the bar below to hear the interview, and here’s a picture of me with her.

It is interesting to see the great conductor, Carlos Kleiber, in Rehearsal. Yes… he is a young man at that time. Watch carefully, as he asks the Clarinet player (in German) to try to imitate a crying sound, while not *forcing* the instrument’s sound…

And below you can see Kleiber again in Brahms 4th symphony: At a point he becomes impatient, and he seems to say: “Now folks, here’s a very clear downbeat; kindly come in on the beat…”

You may also hear this podcast at iTunes by clicking on the following:

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=337927692&subMediaType=Audio

A wonderful example of the use of expressive melody is the Sarabande from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Solo Cello Suite number 1. Click below to enjoy Mischa Maisky’s performance.

Here is the way that another amazing composer, Johannes Brahms, was able to use “Expressiveness in Music”. This is the opening movement of Brahms’ “A German Requiem”. He composed this work in memory of his mother. Click to start:

Your thoughtful comments are welcome.

For the past 98 years since the death of this influential composer, many biographies,musical studies, PhD Theses, and other books have been written and read about Mahler, the man and his compositions. As such, I really feel somewhat humbled to be adding to this body of work, in particular because it is in the form of a podcast that lasts only a few minutes. However, every great part of history has both very long and somewhat shorter contributions…

Yes… I could talk with you about Mahler for several days. But let’s get started so that I can tell you some basics, and a few new things that you may not have known before…