|
|
|
Alternatives to MP3
Although MP3 is the most popular format for encoding music, it is by no means the only one. There are two basic methods for compressing audio – lossless and lossy, and for each of these methods there are many formats. Lossless compression means...
In The Music Business...
Living in Nashville, I meet a lot of people who are "in the music business."
But 99% of them are not really in the music business. It's not because they're not making a living at it...lots of people have other ways of paying the bills. In fact,...
MP3/Music Downloading Guide
Downloading music off the internet can be a tedious and usually
boring task. This article will show you how to find online music
faster and more precisely then ever before. There are a few
different ways of obtaining music over the net, however...
Music Testimonials: Another High-Value Pre-Seller
In my experiences, most independent musicians do very little, if
anything, in the interest of generating advance exposure for
their upcoming new music releases. This is, most likely, due to
not having a strong enough budget in most cases.
...
Musicians: How to find band members
Looking for band members is never an easy task. You may first want to ask yourself what exactly you're looking for - whether it is to join an existing band or find individual members to start your own band. Obviously, both have their differences and...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hungary’s Bartok Legacy
Hungary’s Bartok Legacy
Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com
To read this entire feature FREE with photos cut and paste this link:
http://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/classic/vegas/hungary/hungary.html
Las Vegas is on the classical map!
Tonight's guest performance by the Hungarian National Philharmonic adds another world-class orchestra to the list of those that have graced our city's cultural scene. Led by conductor and music director Zoltán Kocsis, the group performed works by Bartók, Mozart, and Dvorák before a full house at UNLV's Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall.
Hungarians must be gifted dancers. The orchestra opened with the "Dance Suite" by Béla Bartók, but unless you're really good on your feet, you might want to sit this one out. The tempo changed constantly, and there were many brief pauses followed by sudden changes in rhythm and mood. I could barely keep up! Bartók made great use of many different instruments in this 1923 work. It started in a rather mischievous mood, featuring low bassoon and a brief tuba solo. The sound was sparse at first but soon filled in with the violins providing a pretty melody. The trombonists played some rather whimsical glissandos, using their slides to glide up or down from one note to another. Most orchestras tend to feature the French horns more, but in the Hungarian National Philharmonic, the trombones were ever-present, and their rich tones filled the hall.
Classical composers are such thieves! I've lost count of how many have ripped off old folk tunes for their works. Okay, I'm kidding - but old songs have long provided inspiration for wonderful orchestral adaptations. The evening's second piece was a suite of five songs from Bartók's "Twenty Hungarian Folksongs". In 1933 the composer added orchestral accompaniment to these five and stated, "These are not arrangements, but original compositions even though they made use of old folk melodies." Yeah, tell it to the judge, Béla.
What's a folk tune without a singer? Soprano Júlia Hajnóczy lent her clear voice to the five songs, entitled 'In Prison', 'An Old Bitter Song', 'Wedding Song I', 'Lament', and 'Wedding Song II'. She sang in Hungarian, of course, and it was too dark to follow the words in the program, but what struck me was the mood of each piece. The sad songs were beautiful and poetic but not at all dark, and the happy wedding songs were playful and intimate rather than exuberant and celebratory. The line "I am pretty Jani, aren't I, I am meant just for you" says it all. Perhaps Hungarian peasants were much more even-tempered than we might guess. Had these folk adaptations been written by Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich, we would have been dancing in the aisles one minute and looking for razor blades the next. Nobody does manic depression like the Russians.
Harold L. Weller, conductor of the Las Vegas Philharmonic, was right: there's no really good way to situate a piano for a piece like this next one. Maestro Kocsis is also an excellent pianist, and his podium was replaced at center-stage by a grand piano for Mozart's 'Concerto No. 17 in G Major'. Maestro Weller was talking about the problem of getting full volume from the instrument, but I was thinking about how it looked. I'm used to the conductor facing away from us, but when he's sitting at a piano, it seems rather strange. The upside, however, was
the fun I had watching him play and conduct at the same time. As his eyes and hands constantly switched from one task to the other, he reminded me of a lady commuter trying to apply makeup in her rear-view mirror.
Ah, Mozart. The concerto sounded like a dance as much as the Bartók pieces did. Written in the three-movement style of the day, Wolfgang's concerto started "allegro," light and moderately fast, then relaxed in an "andante" second movement, then sped up again for the third movement - in this case "allegretto," accelerating to "presto" for the energetic finale. This translates into "dancing in the parlor, refreshing ourselves with a glass of wine, and then dancing out on the lawn." The concerto was played by an ensemble of strings and winds from the orchestra, with no percussion. The alternation between ensemble play and solo piano was smooth and precise and didn't break the flow of the music. We've all heard Mozart's wonderfully identifiable sound; I describe it as "All Europe in a good mood." I even saw some of the orchestra's musicians swaying to the gentle rhythms when they weren't playing. Mozart will do that to you. In my mind his music evokes elegant gatherings of happy Hapsburg aristocrats who don't care how hungry the even-tempered peasants are.
The Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra was formed in 1923 as the Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra. Bartók's "Dance Suite" was commissioned that year in commemoration of the official union of the adjoining cities of Buda and Pest (probably because no one liked the name "Pest"). Zoltán Kocsis became conductor and music director in 1997 after 14 years heading the Budapest Festival Orchestra. More information is available at the Philharmonic's excellent website, www.hunphilharmonic.org.hu/index.asp?lang=EN. This link should get you to the English-language version (the one without all the accent marks).
Hearing the orchestra play Antonin Dvorak's 'Symphony No. 3 in E Flat Major', and reading the program notes, I couldn't help thinking of wine tasting. The Symphony is said to contain influences of Richard Wagner (a really "big" cabernet), and Dvorak's work in general reportedly hints at his admiration for Beethoven (a complex burgundy), but what I tasted most in this piece was the peppery zinfandel of Tchaikovsky. The first movement contained powerful horns and sweeping strings, and with its constant shifts from intense to calm and back, it reminded me of the 1812 Overture without the cannons. The movement ended big with a rather climactic final chord reminiscent of the Swan Lake ballet suite. Like wine tasting, it's all rather subjective: "Did you taste the chocolate and blackberries in the finish?" Yeah.
During the pause, Maestro Kocsis (now only conducting) leaned back against the podium rail
To read this entire feature FREE with photos cut and paste this link:
http://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/classic/vegas/hungary/hungary.html
Rob LaGrone, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent – Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To book travel visit Jetstreams.com at www.jetstreams.com and for Beach Resorts visit Beach Booker at www.beachbooker.com
About the Author
Rob LaGrone, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent. Join the Travel Writers Network in the logo at www.jetsettersmagazine.com Leave Your email next to the logo for FREE e travel newsletter.
|
|
|
|
|
| Yahoo! Music - Internet Radio, Music Videos, Artists, Music News ... |
| Visitors may create a personal Internet radio station with Lauchcast and listen to music based on their own and other listener's tastes. |
| music.yahoo.com |
|
| All Music Guide |
| Comprehensive guide to recordings in every genre. Cross-indexed source of reviews, essays, and ratings; all available online, on in-store kiosks, ... |
| www.allmusic.com |
|
| MTV - Music Videos, Shows, Celebrity News, Movies, Games, and Photos |
| MTV is the ultimate destination for music and pop culture. We have the latest music videos, band info, entertainment news, photos, album previews, ... |
| www.mtv.com |
|
| Music Videos, Songs, Internet Radio, Free Music Downloads - AOL Music |
| Offers music news, artist bios, discographies, photo galleries, downloads and videos. Covers multiple music genres. |
| music.aol.com |
|
| MSN - Music: Home |
| http://music.msn.com/music/newthisweek;new this week;Gwen Stefani's "The ... Mary J. Blige takes home most honors at Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas ... |
| music.msn.com |
|
| Free MP3 music downloads - Free Music Downloads - MP3 Downloads ... |
| Download.com Music is your source for legal and free MP3 downloads. Download MP3s from thousands of artists. |
| music.download.com |
|
| MySpace |
| Progressive / Alternative / Indie. MySpace Music Video Fresh Pick: Bloodlined Calligraphy (Last Goodbye). Rock the Bells Hip Hop USA Tour (Nov 11-Dec 22) ... |
| www.myspace.com |
|
| College Music Society |
| It is a consortium of colleges, conservatories, universities, and independent musicians and scholars. Dedicated to gathering, considering, and disseminating ... |
| www.music.org |
|
| Apple - iPod + iTunes |
| Complete line of flash memory and hard drive-based music, video, and media content players. Includes technical specifications, video clips, interactive demo ... |
| www.apple.com |
|
| Music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Music theory, within this realm, is studied with the pre-supposition that music is ... Amateur musicians compose and perform music for their own pleasure, ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| Worldwide Internet Music Resources |
| Categorized links to musicians and ensembles, composers, research sources by musical topic, the business of music, and performance-related subjects ... |
| www.music.indiana.edu |
|
| BBC - Music |
| Vote in 6 Music's roundup of the best singles of 2006! ... The Man In Black - a true American icon, and one of the giants of country music. ... |
| www.bbc.co.uk |
|
| Pandora Internet Radio - Find New Music, Listen to Free Web Radio |
| Pandora is the music discovery service that helps you find new music based on your old and current favorites. Create custom internet radio stations, ... |
| www.pandora.com |
|
| Yahoo! Music UK - Free Music Videos, Internet Radio, Music Charts ... |
| The latest official UK music charts, talent and music industry news and special areas. Includes chart commentary and music news round up. |
| uk.launch.yahoo.com |
|
| Napster |
| Add Music to Your IM, Email and Web Pages ... To see the terms for our Music Store and Subscription Service, click HERE. © 2003-2006, Napster, LLC. ... |
| www.napster.com |
|
| Read About Music News, Billboard Charts, Music Videos & Ringtones ... |
| Billboard.com is the music entertainment industry source for music news, information, and the popular Billboard Music Charts. |
| www.billboard.com |
|
| Lycos Music - Music Home |
| Comprehensive search engine by Lycos. Site also has news, reviews and information on players, encoders and rippers. |
| music.lycos.com |
|
| Welcome - Music India OnLine |
| Has a large collection of music and songs classified by type, language and region. All downloads are streamed through RealAudio. |
| www.musicindiaonline.com |
|
| calendarlive.com - MUSIC |
| Concerts, album reviews, pop, jazz and classical music news from the Los Angeles Times. |
| www.calendarlive.com |
|
| CLASSICAL MUSIC ARCHIVES - CLASSICAL MUSIC |
| Contains thousands of classical music files in MIDI format as well as live recordings. New contributions are solicited. A search engine is included. |
| www.classicalarchives.com |
|
|