What are you listening to?

[movieman1957]

Excellent choice Charlie. Certainly one of the most recognizable openings of a concerto.

[movieman1957]

I saw a little blurb in the Wall Street Journal that said "Abbey Road" was the biggest selling VINYL recording last year. Almost 35,000 copies for a 40 year old album that was remastered on CD and has already been a big seller (relatively speaking) for all its life.

[Professional Tourist]

The Psalms of David.

[knitwit45]

Thanks, PT for this labor of love.

[movieman1957]

In case you were out to lunch or someone failed to report it there are two deaths from 2009 that I didn't know about.

1. Eric Wolfson. Co-founder of The Alan Parsons Project and frequent lead singer. He had a mellow and gentle voice that was well suited to a certain type of their music. He often co-wrote songs with Parsons.

2. Alicia de Laroccha. Famous and acclaimed pianist. She was 86.

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(Apologies to Dewey if you covered it there.)

[Professional Tourist]

Alicia de Laroccha. Famous and acclaimed pianist. She was 86.

Alicia de Larrocha was popular with New York audiences. I saw her in concert once while she was still in her prime, and once when she was past it.

[youtube][/youtube]

[feaito]

Eliane Elias, Eliane Elias, Mancini and Mancini....

[charliechaplinfan]

I've dug out Ella's songbooks, I don't have them all but I have Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen, Rodgers and Hart, Johnny Mercer and Cole Porter. Plan to listen to them all again.

[feaito]

During lunch time I found the Rhino-TCM CD (1996 edition) of David Raksin's Musical Score for the 1952 film "The Bad and The Beautiful" at a bargain price and now I'm playing it in my PC. Good stuff!

[movieman1957]

Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 1.
Elgar's Enigma Variations.

Christopher Cross's little known album "Rendezvous."
Justin Hayward's "A View From The Hill."

On your ipod do you listen to albums or are you on a perpetual song shuffle? (Shuffle.)
How many songs on your ipod? (About 3400.)

[MissGoddess]

I listen to "Boston Pete" Crooners at work. I would love to listen to the radio programs but I can't turn up the volume loud enough to make out the dialogue, so it's music only here. I want to get a new iPod or mp3 player soon so I can download more tunes and radio shows. On the one I have presently, I've been listening to Julie London. I like the sound of her voice, it's nearer my own "key" and so I can sing along. She's also very relaxing to me.

[MichiganJ]

A few things I'm listening to:

The newest remasters of the Hendrix albums: Electric Ladyland, Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love. Great albums, but I hear no difference from these new "mixes" than the 1997 editions.

Big Squeeze--The Very Best of Squeeze--import collection with a disc of great hard-to-find b-sides

Bebel Gilberto--All in One

Funk Classics: The 70's and Pure Funk--Brick House thru Super Freak, with Pick Up the Pieces, Tell Me Something Good, Get the Funk Out My Face, etc. in between

Haydn's Piano Trios (Beaux Arts Trio)

Chausson's Symphony in B flat (Orchestra Symphonique et Lyrique de Nancy/Jérome Kaltenback

CPE Bach Symphonies for Strings (English Concert/Pinnock)

Antonio Caros Jobim & Elis Regina--Elis & Tom

Dorothy Dandridge--Smooth Operator

Duke Ellington & Cab Calloway--Cruisin' With Cab

My wife has the ipod. I only use it when mowing the lawn and have a Lawn Mowing Playlist, which I shuffle.

Too embarrassed to say how many songs in the Mac's ITunes, but we're well over 200 days.

[feaito]

Bebel Gilberto--All in One

Loved this CD Kevin, especially the renditions of "Bim Bom", " Cançao de Amor" and the ultra-exciting "Chica Chica Boom Chic". Notwithstanding the foregoing, my favorite Bebel Gilberto album is her debut album which contains three of the best all time Bossa Nova-style songs I've ever listened to: "Tanto Tempo", "Samba de Bençao" and "So Nice-Samba de Verao", plus the excellent samba "Close Your Eyes".

Antonio Carlos Jobim & Elis Regina--Elis & Tom

A unique materpiece, arguably Elis' and Jobim's best album ever, with incomparable versions of landmark classics, most notably "Aguas de Março" my wife's favorite song.

Have you listened to the album Elis made with Toots Thielemans? It's very good too.

I also recommend Eliane Elias' albums and Maysà's (Matarazzo) albums, especially her rendition of "Meditaçao" (Meditation).

[movieman1957]

A few things I'm listening to:

My wife has the ipod. I only use it when mowing the lawn and have a Lawn Mowing Playlist, which I shuffle.

Too embarrassed to say how many songs in the Mac's ITunes, but we're well over 200 days.

I never ceased to be amazed at the breadth of your listings.

I've always liked the Beaux Arts Trio as well. I have several of the Beethoven Piano Trios by them. I also have them doing Beethoven's Triple Concerto. (At least I think there is an old LP somewhere in the house.)

[jdb1]

Menachem Pressler, founder and pianist of the Beaux Arts Trio is, IMO one of our greatest classical pianists. He rarely gets the accolades he deserves because he has chosen to play in an ensemble rather than as a soloist. He is a revered teacher, and is consistently lauded by his peers. I was lucky enough to attend a solo concert of his some years ago -- his musicianship and technique are most impressive. I suppose he is retired now (must be in his 80s at least). I don't have too much patience with most of today's young pianist, who embrace the current "if it's fast and loud, it must be good" school of musicianship. They should reserve that line of thinking for "American Idol," not Carnegie Hall.

Just my piano-loving two cents.