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He certainly knew what to do with Liszt’s music to bring it fully to life.

Although he could percuss with the best of them (Steinway described his playing as "thunderous" and "exciting"), ultimately, Horowitz sang through his instrument. He played with an unorthodox technique, his fingers nearly flat and low to the keys.

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Happy birthday to Vladimir Horowitz (1903-1989), the most consistently brilliant piano virtuoso of the 20th century. Charismatic and high-strung, he devoted his life to music. “The important thing is to transform the piano from a percussive instrument into a singing one." - Horowitz

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“This recording is pure nostalgia for me, not only for those long-ago studies immersed in the ‘French School’, but for the evocative nature of the music. ... all of them magically conjure up a vivid picture of a Paris that has all but disappeared." - Janina Fialkowska, 2019

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Sounds and Scents - Evoking memories of Paris as a piano student of Yvonne Lefébure in the late 1960s is the heart of “Les sons et les parfumes,” a 2019 Atma album by Janina Fialkowska. Her recent decision to retire from the concert stage make her playing of these French pieces yet more poignant.

I agree! He is certainly one of my favorite violinists, and his Beethoven and the Brahms Concerto with Klemperer are very good!

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Born in Edmonton (1967), Rolston Shaw is in demand as a masterclass instructor. Notably, she has given Canadian and North American premieres of cello works by composers Turnage, Golijov, Tavener, and Rautavaara. “I love working with composers; the music is by definition fresh,” she said.

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Cello! Recently, I was reminded of the award-winning Canadian cellist Shauna Rolston Shaw. I heard her often on CBC Radio when I lived in Detroit. She has been recording since 16, and these discs are my favorites. Today, she is Professor of Cello at the University of Toronto.

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It's today, and I almost missed it. Don't be a drip, go get yourself a latte-americano-espresso-frenchpress-mocha. There is still time.

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Cape Ann Museum @capeannmuseum.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Happy belated National Coffee Day, Laura!

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Reposted by Timothy Weir

Summer’s over and it’s time to say goodbye. 💔 But the fun’s not over! “Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea” is about to become “By D.C”! 🌊 The exhibition is traveling to The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. and will be on view from Oct. 24, 2026–Jan. 24, 2027.

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Reposted by Timothy Weir

Erin Hanson @erinhansonartist.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Crystalline light filters through the boughs of a fiery maple tree in Kyoto, Japan. Crystal Maple by Erin Hanson, 2019 Oil on canvas 36 x 48 in www.erinhanson.com/portfolio/cr... #autumn #kyoto #oilpainting #impressionism #treeclub #landscape @bsky.art #art

Crystalline light filters through the boughs of a fiery maple tree in Kyoto, Japan. The slowly moving waters of the Arashiayama river reflect the light from above. The brush strokes fit together like a mosaic of stained glass, breathing color and motion into the scene.

Crystal Maple
by Erin Hanson, 2019
Oil on canvas
36 x 48 in

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On Rudolf Barshai's birthday - "This set (recorded in Cologne, 1992-2000) is a monument to the most important friendship of Barshai’s life. The WDR SO, clearly searchingly rehearsed, plays up to – and beyond – its reputation. Urgently recommended." - Tully Potter, Gramophone Magazine 2025

A perfectionist, Barshai grew tired of Soviet meddling in music and emigrated to the West in 1976. He became a British citizen and a renowned orchestra conductor. This 2015 20-CD collection by ICA Classics covers the exceptional breadth of his career. It is still in print.

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Happy birthday to musical Renaissance man Rudolf Barshai (1924-2010). Born in Russia, he was a virtuoso violist who played with Gilels, Richter, Oistrakh, Kogan, and more. A founder of the Borodin Quartet (1945), he formed the Moscow Chamber Orch. (1955) and led it for 20 years.

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Happy Positivity Monday! Focus on what is good.

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I saw Yuja Wang in recital in Detroit (CMS series) around 2010. She was jaw-dropping even then.

The members of the Purcell Quartet on this recording were Robert Woolley, Richard Boothby, Catherine Mackintosh and Catherine Weiss. Corelli would have been proud of their way with these masterworks. I play them often.

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During the early 1990s, England’s Purcell Quartet recorded a successful series of sonatas for strings by Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) on Chandos Records. The architectural nature of the music and stately, refined playing of the Purcells make this ideal Sunday morning listening.

I'm sure the recent full moon contributed.

Timothy Weir @tgweir.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

That is a can’t miss recital.

Timothy Weir @tgweir.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Michael Tilson-Thomas recorded orchestral arrangements of overtures from six of Gershwin’s most acclaimed Broadway shows in 1977. Ella made her legendary recording of the Gershwin Songbook with Nelson Riddle (in photo) in 1959. It was the most ambitious of her Songbooks series.

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Timothy Weir @tgweir.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Of Thee I Sing - Let’s celebrate the birthday of the American composer George Gershwin (1898-1937). I’ll be listening to two favorite Gershwin albums from my collection with Ella and MTT. George scored 22 Broadway musicals and revues, many with his brother, lyricist Ira Gershwin.

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Happy birthday to the man from Toronto. Glenn Gould (1932-1982) would have been 94 today. He introduced thousands of us to Bach’s music on the piano. Some say you gave us Bach's keyboard AND vocal works simultaneously. Go ahead, hum on, Glenn, from your low-ride chair. We’re still here listening.

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While sets of his 15 symphonies by Barshai, Haitink, Petrenko, and others rest on my shelves, I’m celebrating him today with his concertos for cello and piano with Argerich, Hamelin, and Schiff. С днём рождения

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Happy 120th birthday, Dimitri Shostakovich (1906-1975). The world-renowned composer of the Soviet Union was 11 at the time of the Russian revolution and spent much of his life composing music under Stalin’s rule. His music could be intense, rhythmic, witty, and tender by turns.

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Happy Friday. Take a sip and a bite of your day. Wherever you are, find something in your surroundings to appreciate.

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Timothy Weir @tgweir.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I don't miss the "9 to 5," but I sure like the one Dolly, Lily and Jane made of it.

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No, but the anxiety it creates might burn a few calories.

Timothy Weir @tgweir.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Happy 81st birthday to beloved choral-music composer and chorus master Sir John Rutter (b. 1945), whose compositions and work with choirs have done much to sustain the English choral tradition. His musical language is lyricism, and his choral works reflect his gift for melody.

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Of all the Chicago bluesmen, the West Side's Magic Sam remains a favorite.

Yes. Just after Muddy plugged in, but before Chess Records is founded in June 1950 by the Chess bros.

Blue - You can’t ask for a more evocative blue painting by Marc Chagall than this one. It combines some of his favorite elements, particularly the two lovers’ floating heads against a moon(fish)lit night sky. It is “Le Paysage Bleu” of 1949, a gouache painting at the Von der Heydt Museum, Germany.

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Davis - the other one. Love what this man could do with a hundred or so musicians at his disposal. Both of these sets are winners. If you have to pick one, go for Boston (minus Tom Scholz and Brad Delp). It's got the killer Sibelius symphony cycle that all music lovers should own.

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TELEMANN Quatuors Parisiens // NEVERMIND

I first heard them on the radio, then in the 1997 Sony release by Barthold, Sigiswald and Wieland Kuijken of Belgium with Gustav Leonhardt. Two decades later came this fine Alpha version by baroque chamber group Nevermind. youtu.be/KtTu-1d31ls?...

youtu.be

YouTube video by Alpha Classics

Going to Paris - Georg Philipp Telemann wrote much music, but little more sublime than his two sets of six Paris Quartets of 1730 and 1738. They are scored for flute, violin, viola da gamba (or cello), and continuo.

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Amen to such good fortune(s)!