Alphabet associations - I

[Nick Armstrong]

Waltraute - The right language.

Re the third singer...maybe more motorway than road perhaps.

In the absence of mezzo-sopranos named Junction or Hard-Shoulder, I think it is

Jennifer Lane

and she and Dame Janet and ASvO have all sung the role of the

Waldtaube in Gurrelieder...

[Nick Armstrong]

Jennifer Lane comes to mind?

Indeed she did Don

[Don Petter]

Indeed she did Don

Not much of a contribution from me, and I had to leg it across country to get in ahead of you. Everyone else did the hard work.

Anyway - your triumphal Waldtaube wins you the coveted X!

[BetweenTheStaves]

Well done, Caliban. Gosh..that didn't last very long. Must try harder next time

[Simon]

Well done Caliban!

I must protest, bts. It was Schoenberg - - therefore outwith my musical thinking bracket!

[BetweenTheStaves]

Well done Caliban!

I must protest, bts. It was Schoenberg - - therefore outwith my musical thinking bracket!

LOL....have you heard Gurrelieder? Very much unlike some of his (to me) more dissonant stuff. Gurrelieder I find quite magical ....

[Nick Armstrong]

your triumphal Waldtaube wins you the coveted X!

Arghghgh... I forgot there were strings attached to finding the answer!! Will have to think a little (*struggles to dispel the vaguely alcoholic Christmas Eve mist*)

[Simon]

No bts - to my knowledge I haven't the Schoenberg Gurrelieder. I do very much like Verklarte Nacht, but sadly the other stuff of his has left me cold. But I know that there are other less dissonant works of his that I should try, and Gurrelieder may of course be one. I'll see what I can find on the Naxos site...

Meanwhile, as I shan't be around now for a day or two, may I wish you all on here a very Happy and Peaceful Christmas.

Best wishes,

S-S!

[Nick Armstrong]

OK gang. What is the X which unites the following:

A currently-seasonal composer
The firstborn of a famous musical father
A piano concerto premiered under the baton of Gustav Mahler

?

With which festive enquiry I wish a Merry Christmas to all

[Don Petter]

Well, I got two out of three pretty quickly (one myself and another with some 'research') but no luck with the other as yet. I think I'll sleep on it ...



(Couldn't change first for sixth, could you?)

Happy Christmas!

[BetweenTheStaves]

Well, on this very cold Christmas morning with a clear blue sky, I would like to start by offering

Piano piece by Ferruccio Busoni, composed in 1909 and added to the Elegien of 1907. The orchestral version of 1909 is subtitled Des Mannes Wiegenlied am Sarge seine Mutter/The Man's Lullaby at his Mother's Coffin – Busoni's mother died on 3 October 1909. The work was first performed under the baton of Mahler, at his last concert, in New York on 21 February 1911.

[Nick Armstrong]

Well, on this very cold Christmas morning with a clear blue sky, I would like to start by offering

Piano piece by Ferruccio Busoni, composed in 1909 and added to the Elegien of 1907. The orchestral version of 1909 is subtitled Des Mannes Wiegenlied am Sarge seine Mutter/The Man's Lullaby at his Mother's Coffin – Busoni's mother died on 3 October 1909. The work was first performed under the baton of Mahler, at his last concert, in New York on 21 February 1911.

True. But that's not the concerto in question :-)

PS Ho Ho Ho

[Don Petter]

Well, on this very cold Christmas morning with a clear blue sky, I would like to start by offering

Piano piece by Ferruccio Busoni, composed in 1909 and added to the Elegien of 1907. The orchestral version of 1909 is subtitled Des Mannes Wiegenlied am Sarge seine Mutter/The Man's Lullaby at his Mother's Coffin – Busoni's mother died on 3 October 1909. The work was first performed under the baton of Mahler, at his last concert, in New York on 21 February 1911.

bts,

I presume you are holding back the 'X' here - fair enough. My suggested X relates to a concerto composed in 1908 and premiered with Mahler in 1910.



[Didn't see Caliban and his fiendish ho-ho-hoing before I posted this!]

[Don Petter]

I may have a problem here, Houston ... although I have found several references for the Mahler premiere referred to above, in which the composer was soloist, I have just turned up one saying that the premiere was actually with the composer's pupil as soloist in October 1908 in Berlin, and the Mahler occasion in New York was the second performance. Who do we believe? (The Piano Society votes for New York as first, for what it's worth.)

[Nick Armstrong]

I may have a problem here, Houston ... although I have found several references for the Mahler premiere referred to above, in which the composer was soloist, I have just turned up one saying that the premiere was actually with the composer's pupil as soloist in October 1908 in Berlin, and the Mahler occasion in New York was the second performance. Who do we believe? (The Piano Society votes for New York as first, for what it's worth.)

Well if it's the one I'm thinking of, it's the Mahler performance I was referring to. Going to be offline for 12 hours now, Christmas family duties you know!