How About Some of the Great Women Performers of the Past Century? Do Read On...
Most of you may well be aware of the following women contemporaries of our time. More specifically , do you know of their following offerings? I suggest the following offerings as examples of their singular levels of attainment; actually, as certification of the reality that these women are not just wonderful performers, but 'forces'...
Martha Argerich - her performance of the Scarlatti Sonata (K.141), or
the Prokofiev Toccata -
Cleo Laine - She may be around 91 as I write, as Dame Cleo Laine; however, do seek her historic duet with a flutist, in the scat-singing version of "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing," or
"Turkish Delight" with her late husband, let alone some of the other unforgettable duets this husband/wife chemistry produced -
Constance Keene - know her? She walked away from the concert stage in order to teach at the Manhattan School of Music for many years. But listen to her 1964 recordings of the Rachmaninoff Preludes (she gives us all of them), and know that Artur Rubinstein was overwhelmed by her offering, stating that he could not imagine their being played better, even by the Composer himself. For example, listen to the "E" flat prelude (opus 23, no.6), or the "G" minor prelude; or, the Weber Rondo op.24.
Constance Keene was the only woman pianist Horowitz ever chose to replace him in a recital, due to illness - the only woman pianist the legendary Russian virtuoso openly admired -
Two examples of unfettered beauty exist in performances by a soprano named Anna Moffo, in offerings of what the human voice can create through vowels, not words, putting this instrument into direct familial cohabitation with the mechanical instruments we are all so familiar with; specifically,
"Vocalise", by Rachmaninoff ( with Leopold Stokowski conducting); and, "Bachiana Brasileira" No.5 by Villa-Lobos, followed by Yuja Wang performing the "Vocalise" on the piano, with the resultant 'bel canto' reality on a percussion instrument.
Enjoy!
Martha Argerich - her performance of the Scarlatti Sonata (K.141), or
the Prokofiev Toccata -
Cleo Laine - She may be around 91 as I write, as Dame Cleo Laine; however, do seek her historic duet with a flutist, in the scat-singing version of "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing," or
"Turkish Delight" with her late husband, let alone some of the other unforgettable duets this husband/wife chemistry produced -
Constance Keene - know her? She walked away from the concert stage in order to teach at the Manhattan School of Music for many years. But listen to her 1964 recordings of the Rachmaninoff Preludes (she gives us all of them), and know that Artur Rubinstein was overwhelmed by her offering, stating that he could not imagine their being played better, even by the Composer himself. For example, listen to the "E" flat prelude (opus 23, no.6), or the "G" minor prelude; or, the Weber Rondo op.24.
Constance Keene was the only woman pianist Horowitz ever chose to replace him in a recital, due to illness - the only woman pianist the legendary Russian virtuoso openly admired -
Two examples of unfettered beauty exist in performances by a soprano named Anna Moffo, in offerings of what the human voice can create through vowels, not words, putting this instrument into direct familial cohabitation with the mechanical instruments we are all so familiar with; specifically,
"Vocalise", by Rachmaninoff ( with Leopold Stokowski conducting); and, "Bachiana Brasileira" No.5 by Villa-Lobos, followed by Yuja Wang performing the "Vocalise" on the piano, with the resultant 'bel canto' reality on a percussion instrument.
Enjoy!
posted by LH at
11:17 AM
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