For my old folks out there, a bit of nostalgia with André Rieu performing Vangelis' "Conquest of Paradise". And with this, I wish you all a good evening and a fine weekend!

Probably my last post for today. I found someone testing the organ at the Votive Church of Vienna (Votivkirche) and managed to take a short video, plus a few pictures. Have a nice evening!

For today's afternoon coffee, I propose a fragment from "Summer 3" by the British composer Max Richter, from his 2022 work "The New Four Seasons - Vivaldi Recomposed". Some purists dislike it because a Moog synth from the 70s might feel like blasphemy, among other reasons, though I can't help but ask myself, "What would Vivaldi do differently today?".

Today I say goodnight with one of my favourite pianists, Yuja Wang, playing Variations on the Turkish March during a concert in Odeonsplatz, Munich. Münchner Philharmoniker, conducted by Valery Gergiev, July 16, 2017

This post is mostly self-serving, because I'm a big Jonas Kaufmann fan. I found a video from 1997, when he was (obviously) very young, singing "Credo" from Schubert's Mass No. 6 in E-flat major, D 950. (He appears from 1:08.) It was recorded in Münster in Zwiefalten (a must-see Baroque church) during the Festival "Herbstliche Musiktage" in Bad Urach (a very well-preserved medieval city in southern Germany, which I highly recommend). NDR Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sylvain Cambreling, with Jonas Kaufmann (tenor), Juliane Banse (soprano), Hermine May (altus), Deon van der Walt (tenor), and Hermann Prey (bass).

For a quick afternoon espresso, a short but beautiful moment with Khatia and Gvantsa Buniatishvili improvising on Astor Piazzolla's "Libertango".

For a quick espresso, I have a history page from 1971 with Alexis Weissenberg, Berliner Philharmoniker and Herbert von Karajan performing the ending of Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto 2.

If you follow this account but you're also into techno music, maybe you should check out the Symphony of CAOS. In this video, Martin Garrix' "Animals".

Watch nature welcoming autumn and listen to Gautier Capuçon playing Elgar’s Cello Concerto. Here is the first movement, with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Antonio Pappano. (London, Barbican Centre, 2024) Have a beautiful Sunday!

If you need to slow down for a bit, then Max Richter's "On the Nature of Daylight" is exactly what you need. (In case you don't know why it sounds so familiar, you might have heard it in Shutter Island or Arrival.)

Anyone knows Zhao Lei's "Tarararara"? I clearly listen to it for the trumpet parts because I don't speak Chinese, but others might enjoy it too.

Having my noon coffee while watching the rain, it seems like a proper moment for Martha Argerich playing Ravel's "Jeux d'eau". (1977)

Regarding last night's post. It seems I have 15 genuine followers, so I'll keep going for now because I've started to doubt that even 10 people are enjoying this. Lately, besides the reply bots that spam everything and tell people to kill themselves and whatnot, I encounter an avalanche of bots that give bunches of likes to spam the notification section. They might not all be bots, but to me, it's impossible to tell them apart. I'll end by thanking those who proved themselves to be real by zapping. This wasn't my intention, but it helps tremendously to pay for the hosting server. Most days I get about 42 Sats, and I wanted to know if it makes sense to pay ~35k Sats for another year, and then some for extra space, because it will soon run out. Peace ✌️ View quoted note →

A joyful morning with Sarasate's "Zapateado", played by Midori Goto (violin) and Robert McDonald (piano). Carnegie Hall, 1990.

I have to ask at this point. Do I have at least 10 authentic followers? And by authentic, I mean folks who zapped me at least once in the last six months or so, not bots or who-knows-what. It feels pretty empty around here, and if that's the case, I should just terminate this account.