SUNDAY MORNING CLASSICS ON TBP

A collaboration of: “The Classic Music Mafia”
SMC, nkit, Austrian Peter, and Steve C.

Every Sunday morning we present selections for our TBP family to enjoy.

We present symphonies, ensembles, quartets, octets, etc.

Not all of our music is strictly ‘classical’. We may stray a little, but we strive to make all of our selections ‘classy’.

We offer tips on proper ‘symphony etiquette’ and even some selections that are a bit light-hearted and fun aimed at a younger audience. Those pieces will be so designated, and might be a good way to introduce kids to a world of music that they might not have been exposed to or think of as old and ‘stuffy’.

A full symphony will run as long as it will. We don’t want to cut a symphony short. However, we also include some shorter pieces that we try to keep under fifteen minutes in length. You can sample each and hopefully find one or more that pleases you.

We hope that you enjoy our Sunday selections.

Symphony No.5 Mahler – London Symphony Orchestra – Ion Marin (encore Elgar Salut d’amour)

Gustav Mahler, (7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th century Austro-German tradition and the modernism of the early 20th century.

While in his lifetime his status as a conductor was established beyond question, his own music gained wide popularity only after periods of relative neglect, which included a ban on its performance in much of Europe during the Nazi era.

After 1945, his compositions were rediscovered by a new generation of listeners; Mahler then became one of the most frequently performed and recorded of all composers, a position he has sustained into the 21st century.

In 2016, a BBC Music Magazine survey of 151 conductors ranked three of his symphonies in the top ten symphonies of all time.

The International Gustav Mahler Institute was established in 1955 to honor the composer’s life and achievements.

Classical Gas – Mason Williams

“Classical Gas” is an instrumental musical piece composed and originally performed by Mason Williams with instrumental backing by members of the Wrecking Crew.

Originally released in 1968 on the album The Mason Williams Phonograph Record, it has been re-recorded and re-released numerous times since by Williams.

This song appeared as a video on the Smothers Brothers’ television show, for which Williams was a writer.

This song won Grammy awards in 1969 for Best Instrumental Composition, Best Contemporary Pop Performance, Instrumental, and Best Instrumental Arrangement.

Dave Edmunds, who released his version of this song on his 2015 album “Rags & Classics”, explained that it’s a very difficult song to play, even for a seasoned guitarist. Said Edmunds: “On Mason Williams’ version he’s got the whole orchestra and the drums, and it’s going from 5/4 to 3/4 to 4/4 – it’s all over the place.

Here for you to enjoy.

The Godfather – Orchestral Suite // The Danish National Symphony Orchestra (Live)

The Orchestral Suite was penned by Nina Rota.

It is performed here by the Danish National Symphony orchestra under the direction of Sarah Hicks.

The filming of this beautiful music is also extraordinary.

An apt submission for the Music Mafia, I presume.

Britten: The Young Person’s Guide to the orchestra [HD]

The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra is a 1945 musical composition by Benjamin Britten with a subtitle Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell.

It was based on the second movement, “Rondeau”, of the Abdelazer suite.

It was originally commissioned for the British educational documentary film called Instruments of the Orchestra released on 29 November 1946, directed by Muir Mathieson and featuring the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Sargent; Sargent also conducted the concert première on 15 October 1946 with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic in the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, England.

The work is one of the best-known pieces by the composer, and is often associated with two other works in the context of children’s music education: Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals and Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf.

This work, in the composer’s own words, “is affectionately inscribed to the children of John and Jean Maud: Humphrey, Pamela, Caroline and Virginia, for their edification and entertainment”.

Instrumentation:

The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra is scored for symphony orchestra:

Woodwinds: piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets in B flat and A and two bassoons.

Brass: four horns in F, two trumpets in C, three trombones (two tenors and one bass) and bass tuba.

Percussion: timpani, bass drum, cymbals, tambourine, triangle, snare drum, temple blocks, xylophone, castanets, tamtam, and whip.

Strings: harp, first and second violin, viola, cello, and double bass.

Michel Legrand & Phil Woods

Michel Legrand & Phil Woods Quartet July 1, 2001 22.

Festival International de Jazz de Montreal, Spectrum of Montreal, Montreal, Canada

Michel Legrand – piano,
Vocals Phil Woods –
Alto sax Eric Lagace –
Bass Ray Brinker – Drums

Watch What Happens

The Classic Music Mafia – Adding some class to this joint one Sunday at a time.

Heaven help us…

Click to visit the TBP Store for Great TBP Merchandise