The cello is a most wonderful instrument -- one of my favourites.

And we have been blessed with some great players -- Fournier, Cassals, Du Pre, and today Yo Yo Ma carries the candle.

The soundtrack to Crouching Tiger is utterly captivating. His playing is truly magical here.

Always brings an inner sadness when I listen to it, because it was what I listened to at the end of the days last Christmas when mum was in hospital.

Hey ho.

Tags: music
Current Mood: melancholy
Current Music: Tan Dun - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - The Eternal Vow from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

This track just popped up on the iTunes shuffling list

So I went looking on the web to discover when it actually was recorded. And found http://www.rocksteadycrew.com/

Which tells me:

"During these spectacular performances Charisma Records approached the Rock Steady Crew with a record deal. The record “Hey You, The Rock Steady Crew” was in the top ten charts in Great Britain and sold over a million copies. The Crew, however, saw very little of the proceeds. Due to their lack of knowledge of the music industry at such a young age, the company took advantage of the Crew and would not allow them any creative input toward their own project. When Charisma Records went out of business and was sold to Virgin Records, the group was put on hold indefinitely. During this time, the crew's management told them not to dance in clubs. They tried to convince them that it was in their best interest not to dance they way they love to. Just for fun. Suddenly the Crew was on the outside looking in. By this time they had lost much of their fame and notoriety. They found themselves at a dead end with no plans for the future. Regardless, the Crew never split up, but they took some time to regroup and they went their separate ways."

Dont you just love record companies?

Tags: music
Current Mood: angry
Current Music: Various Artists - Electro Breakdance 2 - Rock Steady Crew / (Hey You) The Rock Steady Crew

Talk about half-baked presenters like Clarkson versus the great writers like Setright and others, reminded me of the lack of any great musicians in the classical world today.

As you can see, I'm listening to a cd of Horowitz. He was staggering, almost beyond belief in his technique. And his musicality was never in question, being the definitive player of many composers.

I remember his last concert in London. It was the closest I have come to a religious experience -- the audience were on our feet as the slight, aged gentleman came onto stage, armed with an oversized white handkerchief. He seemed genuinely bemused at the audience reaction. His first couple of pieces were a little reticent, but he rose to the occasion. Soon the genius was in full flow. It was spellbinding, and yet profoundly sad -- the end of an era.

We wont see their like again.

Tags: music
Current Mood: pensive
Current Music: Vladimir Horowitz - Horowitz Encores - The Stars and Stripes Forever (arranged by Horowitz)