Great Performances - Barenboim, Yo-Yo Ma and Perlman

This is a new weekly blog series I cooked up while having lunch. Each week, I will highlight a great performance that I have stumbled upon online.This is a performance of Ludwig van Beethoven's Triple Concerto in C Major, op. 56 for violin, piano and cello. It's a beautiful collaborative work that showcases Beethoven's ability to balance several weaving passages.This clip features three giants of the concert world: Daniel Barenboim (piano/conductor), Itzhak Perlman on violin and Yo-Yo Ma on cello.Watch how Barenboim cues in the orchestra with his body language. Also, look at how confident and comfortable the trio is with each other. They don't need to look at each other much. They cue each other in very subtly.

September 3, 2020 note: Looks like the videos were removed from Youtube, so here’s a video of Anne-Sophie Mutter with Maestro Barenboim and Yo-Yo Ma:

World Music Exploration 2010/11 Week 6 - Astor Piazzolla

This week is Group Class Week for my students. That is, they get a group class in lieu of their regular lesson. Not only does it give my students a chance to interact and socialize, but it gives me time to catch up (or at least attempt to) on paperwork. At the group classes, they will be exploring the Argentine bandoneon player and composer Astor Piazolla.

He lived from 1921 - 1992. Although he was born in Argentina, he moved to New York at a young age.

Thanks to a scholarship, Piazolla studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. Boulanger taught many prominent American composers, including Aaron Copland and Phillip Glass. She encouraged Piazolla to explore his Argentinean heritage through music.

Piazolla developed the nuevo tango style, a fusion of Argentine folk music, jazz and contemporary angst. His jazz combo, the Quinteto Tango Nuevo, has performed throughout the world.

This video features Antonio Agri, Hector Console, Horacio Malvicino, Leonardo Marconi, Nestor Marconi and Yo-Yo Ma performing Libertango , a violently passionate tango:

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