Episodes in Virtuosity: Martha Argerich
When I began this article I intended to wax philosophic about the value of expanding your aural pallet and aesthetic appreciation. I intended to write a broad and sweeping argument about the worth of the classical masterworks and the idea that this music was composed before my own lifetime and will inevitably be enjoyed long after I am gone. However, I am not that good.
The only real point that needs to be made here is that Martha Margerich has the capacity to achieve any musical idea she desires, and the artistic sensitivity to use her technique to create some of the most beautiful music I have ever had the pleasure to hear.
The piece was composed in 1901 by Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) and is entitled Jeux d'eau – which translates to fountains. The original broadcast of this performance was on July 31, 1977.
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As everybody probably knows already, R.E.M. has announced that they are breaking up. I never was hugely into the band, but as I thought about it upon hearing the news, I found that their music has been more present in my life than I realized. So in tribute, I'm sharing some of the moments to which R.E.M. provided the soundtrack.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah has a new album, Hysterical, out today. I thought it would be fun to share an interview I did with the band back in September 2005. They played a show at my college, and I got to talk with singer Alec Ounsworth, guitarist Lee Sargent, and drummer Sean Greenhalgh afterwards. What you are about to read originally appeared in a publication called Mindset, which is part of the radio station WVFI at the University of Notre Dame (with a few minor edits for grammar and formatting).
Weekly Roundup is back in its regular Sunday timeslot and ready to give you the usual quota of awesome new songs and videos. So let's do this!