If you have any interest in recordings from the early LP days that were for the most part never available on CDs, particularly by pianists and violinists - the YT Channel PianistsandMore is definitely worth browsing through.

Lots of interesting recordings you probably never knew existed as well as many that will revive distant memories for those of a certain age.

One example I’ll explore soon is a recording of duo pianists Chasins and Keene.

Op donderdag 15 juni 2023 om 12:19:59 UTC+2 schreef JohnGavin:

> One example I’ll explore soon is a recording of duo pianists Chasins and Keene.

Keene is one of those highly interesting American pianists we never heard of in Europe. Please, let us know.

Henk

Op donderdag 15 juni 2023 om 12:30:18 UTC+2 schreef HT:
> Op donderdag 15 juni 2023 om 12:19:59 UTC+2 schreef JohnGavin:
> > One example I’ll explore soon is a recording of duo pianists Chasins and Keene.
> Keene is one of those highly interesting American pianists we never heard of in Europe. Please, let us know.
>
> Henk

PS Many thanks! Love to see Frager's Prokofieff #2 and a lot of Pennario.

Henk

On Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 3:30:18 AM UTC-7, HT wrote:
> Op donderdag 15 juni 2023 om 12:19:59 UTC+2 schreef JohnGavin:
> >
> > One example I’ll explore soon is a recording of
> > duo pianists Chasins and Keene.
>
> Keene is one of those highly interesting American
> pianists we never heard of in Europe. Please, let us know.

You didn't miss anything. Abram Chasins and
Constance Keene were a marriage of sewing
machines.

dk

Op donderdag 15 juni 2023 om 12:41:04 UTC+2 schreef Dan Koren:
> On Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 3:30:18 AM UTC-7, HT wrote:
> > Op donderdag 15 juni 2023 om 12:19:59 UTC+2 schreef JohnGavin:
> > >
> > > One example I’ll explore soon is a recording of
> > > duo pianists Chasins and Keene.
> >
> > Keene is one of those highly interesting American
> > pianists we never heard of in Europe. Please, let us know.
> You didn't miss anything. Abram Chasins and
> Constance Keene were a marriage of sewing
> machines.

I don't know about Chasins. Wasn't he also a composer? Constance Keene on the other hand is one of the most elegant Mendelssohn performers I know. It's an art that seems lost.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onbI47nveR0

Henk

On Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 12:41:04 PM UTC+2, Dan Koren wrote:
>
> You didn't miss anything. Abram Chasins and
> Constance Keene were a marriage of sewing
> machines.
>
> dk

Well, that was predictable, wasn't it?

Please, RMCR particpants, keep in mind.

NO ONE is permitted to make any recommendations in the keyboard realm without supplication to DK first.

Noone is permitted to have any enthusiasm that's not pre-endorsed by the RMCR dictator.

Otherwise it's 'metronomic', 'sewing machine' etc. Short shrift.

Obversily people are required to write entire essays explaining why they're not bowled over by DK recommendations.

On Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 3:48:48 AM UTC-7, HT wrote:
> Op donderdag 15 juni 2023 om 12:41:04 UTC+2 schreef Dan Koren:
> > On Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 3:30:18 AM UTC-7, HT wrote:
> > > Op donderdag 15 juni 2023 om 12:19:59 UTC+2 schreef JohnGavin:
> > > >
> > > > One example I’ll explore soon is a recording of
> > > > duo pianists Chasins and Keene.
> > >
> > > Keene is one of those highly interesting American
> > > pianists we never heard of in Europe. Please, let us
> > > know.
> >
> > You didn't miss anything. Abram Chasins and
> > Constance Keene were a marriage of sewing
> > machines.
>
> I don't know about Chasins.

It takes a sewing machine to marry another one.

> Wasn't he also a composer?

Yes, for a very low value of "composer".

> Constance Keene on the other hand is one of
> the most elegant Mendelssohn performers I
> know.

Yes, she was. And this is precisely one of the
reasons her Rachmaninov is so shitty. It was
of course very highly reviewed by the music
industry cabal. Chasins said it was "better"
than Richter's, and described the latter as
a "miniaturist". Can you connect the dots?

> It's an art that seems lost.
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onbI47nveR0

Not really. "Elegance" is relative to culture and
to social norms, and changes over time. Today's
elegance is: https://youtu.be/wbnpo_IbxMk

It is time to recognize what this group really is:
a society of gerontophiliac and necrophiliac
musical archeologists.

dk

On Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 3:48:48 AM UTC-7, HT wrote:
>
> Constance Keene on the other hand is one of the
> most elegant Mendelssohn performers I know. It's
> an art that seems lost.
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onbI47nveR0

According to Bard:

"Constance Keene was Jewish. She was born to Jewish
parents, Max and Rose Keene, in Brooklyn, New York, on
February 9, 1921. She was raised in a secular Jewish
household, but she was always proud of her Jewish
heritage.

Keene's Jewish identity was reflected in her music. She
was particularly drawn to the music of Jewish composers,
such as Sergei Rachmaninoff, Felix Mendelssohn, and Franz
Liszt. She also spoke out about the importance of Jewish
music, and she was a strong advocate for the arts in the
Jewish community.

In 1997, Keene was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors, the
highest honor in American performing arts. In her acceptance
speech, she spoke about her Jewish heritage and the importance
of music in her life. She said, "I am a Jew, and I am a musician.
These two things are inseparable in my life. My music is my prayer."

Constance Keene was a proud Jew and a gifted musician. Her
playing will be remembered for generations to come."

Does anyone notice a few ..... ahem .... inaccuracies? ;-)

dk

Op donderdag 15 juni 2023 om 13:16:39 UTC+2 schreef Dan Koren:
> On Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 3:48:48 AM UTC-7, HT wrote:
> >
> > Constance Keene on the other hand is one of the
> > most elegant Mendelssohn performers I know. It's
> > an art that seems lost.
> >
> > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onbI47nveR0
> According to Bard:
>
> "Constance Keene was Jewish. She was born to Jewish
> parents, Max and Rose Keene, in Brooklyn, New York, on
> February 9, 1921. She was raised in a secular Jewish
> household, but she was always proud of her Jewish
> heritage.
>
> Keene's Jewish identity was reflected in her music. She
> was particularly drawn to the music of Jewish composers,
> such as Sergei Rachmaninoff, Felix Mendelssohn, and Franz
> Liszt. She also spoke out about the importance of Jewish
> music, and she was a strong advocate for the arts in the
> Jewish community.
>
> In 1997, Keene was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors, the
> highest honor in American performing arts. In her acceptance
> speech, she spoke about her Jewish heritage and the importance
> of music in her life. She said, "I am a Jew, and I am a musician.
> These two things are inseparable in my life. My music is my prayer."
>
> Constance Keene was a proud Jew and a gifted musician. Her
> playing will be remembered for generations to come."
>
> Does anyone notice a few ..... ahem .... inaccuracies? ;-)

Keene was certainly a gifted musician. So the rest must be also true.

Henk

Op donderdag 15 juni 2023 om 13:10:25 UTC+2 schreef Dan Koren:
> On Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 3:48:48 AM UTC-7, HT wrote:
> > Op donderdag 15 juni 2023 om 12:41:04 UTC+2 schreef Dan Koren:
> > > On Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 3:30:18 AM UTC-7, HT wrote:
> > > > Op donderdag 15 juni 2023 om 12:19:59 UTC+2 schreef JohnGavin:
> > > > >
> > > > > One example I’ll explore soon is a recording of
> > > > > duo pianists Chasins and Keene.
> > > >
> > > > Keene is one of those highly interesting American
> > > > pianists we never heard of in Europe. Please, let us
> > > > know.
> > >
> > > You didn't miss anything. Abram Chasins and
> > > Constance Keene were a marriage of sewing
> > > machines.
> >
> > I don't know about Chasins.
> It takes a sewing machine to marry another one.
> > Wasn't he also a composer?
> Yes, for a very low value of "composer".
> > Constance Keene on the other hand is one of
> > the most elegant Mendelssohn performers I
> > know.
> Yes, she was. And this is precisely one of the
> reasons her Rachmaninov is so shitty. It was
> of course very highly reviewed by the music
> industry cabal. Chasins said it was "better"
> than Richter's, and described the latter as
> a "miniaturist". Can you connect the dots?
> > It's an art that seems lost.
> >
> > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onbI47nveR0
> Not really. "Elegance" is relative to culture and
> to social norms, and changes over time. Today's
> elegance is: https://youtu.be/wbnpo_IbxMk
>
> It is time to recognize what this group really is:
> a society of gerontophiliac and necrophiliac
> musical archeologists.

Diaz-Jerez is a wonderful Albeniz performer. I wouldn't call his playing elegant. It sounds very down-to-earth to me. It's as startk as the mesas of Spain.

Much has been said of us RMCR-ers. Archeologists, geronto- and necrophiliacs, however, are looking for what they aren't. Some of us, like me, are trying to fill in the blanks in our own past. At the same time, we try to follow recent developments, like the Cliburn for youngsters. Who, in my younger days, could have imagined that Chopin's complete Op. 25 would be performed at such an occasion - and well performed.

Henk

Op donderdag 15 juni 2023 om 13:10:25 UTC+2 schreef Dan Koren:
>
> It is time to recognize what this group really is:
> a society of gerontophiliac and necrophiliac
> musical archeologists.
>
> dk

Of course, that's why you post here 24/7.

JohnGavin a utilisé son clavier pour écrire :
> the YT Channel PianistsandMore is definitely worth browsing through.

Thank you !...

On Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 6:01:15 AM UTC-7, HT wrote:
>
> > > It's an art that seems lost.
> > >
> > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onbI47nveR0
> >
> > Not really. "Elegance" is relative to culture and
> > to social norms, and changes over time. Today's
> > elegance is: https://youtu.be/wbnpo_IbxMk
>
> Diaz-Jerez is a wonderful Albeniz performer. I
> wouldn't call his playing elegant. It sounds very
> down-to-earth to me. It's as startk as the mesas
> of Spain.

"Elegance" is no longer what it used to be. This
was precisely my point. If that wasn't obvious,
just look at Charlie and his consort for a vivid
illustration.

dk

On Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 5:15:35 AM UTC-7, HT wrote:
> Op donderdag 15 juni 2023 om 13:16:39 UTC+2 schreef Dan Koren:
> > On Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 3:48:48 AM UTC-7, HT wrote:
> > >
> > > Constance Keene on the other hand is one of the
> > > most elegant Mendelssohn performers I know. It's
> > > an art that seems lost.
> > >
> > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onbI47nveR0
> > According to Bard:
> >
> > "Constance Keene was Jewish. She was born to Jewish
> > parents, Max and Rose Keene, in Brooklyn, New York, on
> > February 9, 1921. She was raised in a secular Jewish
> > household, but she was always proud of her Jewish
> > heritage.
> >
> > Keene's Jewish identity was reflected in her music. She
> > was particularly drawn to the music of Jewish composers,
> > such as Sergei Rachmaninoff, Felix Mendelssohn, and Franz
> > Liszt. She also spoke out about the importance of Jewish
> > music, and she was a strong advocate for the arts in the
> > Jewish community.
> >
> > In 1997, Keene was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors, the
> > highest honor in American performing arts. In her acceptance
> > speech, she spoke about her Jewish heritage and the importance
> > of music in her life. She said, "I am a Jew, and I am a musician.
> > These two things are inseparable in my life. My music is my prayer."
> >
> > Constance Keene was a proud Jew and a gifted musician. Her
> > playing will be remembered for generations to come."
> >
> > Does anyone notice a few ..... ahem .... inaccuracies? ;-)
>
> Keene was certainly a gifted musician.
> So the rest must be also true.

I find the notion Liszt and Rachmaninov
were somehow Jewish totally brilliant
and beyond imagination! Can you
imagine them wearing kippot and
payot! ROTFL! ;-)

If I had time to spare I would photo
shop kippot and payot on all the
major composers. Imagine how
Bach or Wagner might look! ;-)

dk

Op donderdag 15 juni 2023 om 20:55:32 UTC+2 schreef Dan Koren:

> I find the notion Liszt and Rachmaninov
> were somehow Jewish totally brilliant
> and beyond imagination! Can you
> imagine them wearing kippot and
> payot! ROTFL! ;-)

Payot perhaps not. Kippot have something special and universal at the same time. It's a very elegant way to cover one's head.

> If I had time to spare I would photo
> shop kippot and payot on all the
> major composers. Imagine how
> Bach or Wagner might look! ;-)

Bach would look as impressive as he always did. I've never had much sympathy for Wagner. That wouldn't change.

Henk