Abstraction XVIIITitle: Abstraction XVIIComposer: Greg SmithInstrumentation: PianoPerformer: Greg Smith (October 2023)Product medium: MP3 audio Related products: – Abstraction XVIII (score) Sample:
Beethoven and foodWhen he [Beethoven] came to Vienna, he knew nothing at all of the fine art of cooking. He cared little about good food, his favorite dish being a mess of macaroni with plenty of cheese on top. He liked, too, the simplest kind of stew, and fish from the Danube. Ignaz Seyfried reported that Beethoven […]
A performance can be greater than themI remember a few years ago being at a summer academy in the south of France, with Dominique Merlet. The whole atmosphere was great there, as we were a group of like-minded people, keen to learn, work and share ideas in the gorgeous setting of a little medieval French village. The concert at the end, […]
Shostakovich on music“There can be no music without idealogy … We, as revolutionaries, have a different conception of music from the composers of other [non Soviet-Russia] countries. Lenin himself said the “Music is a means of unifying people”. It is not a leader of the masses, perhaps, but certainly an organising force … I think an artist […]
A new take on the harpsichord soundHarpsichordist Jane Chapman performs both early music and Avante music, including using techniques to use distortion on the harpsichord! “Many early music people are interested in contemporary music, too, and many composers are also interested in early music instruments because they don’t have the baggage of the [classical and romantic periods]. Increasingly, younger generation composers […]
Behind the ScreenTitle: Behind the Screen (silent film soundtrack) Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: Piano Product medium: PDF score (45 pages) Background: Written by: Vincent Bryan, Charlie Chaplin, Maverick Terrell Starring: Eric Campbell, Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance Film released: 1916 Sample:
A successful day“If I have been of service, if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good, if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought and action, if I am at peace with myself, it has been a successful day.” Alex Noble, cited at Brainy Quote
The Queen Stands at Your Right Hand – Psalm 64 (65)Title: The Queen Stands At Your Right Hand Text: Psalm 44 (45): 10-12. 16 Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: SATB and piano Product medium: PDF score and part Related products: – The Queen Stands At Your Right Hand – Piano solo (mp3 recording) – The Queen Stands At Your Right Hand – Piano (score) Sample:
Examination findingsSome curious answers for the Society of Arts published in the Musical Times (English Journal), July 1888: The Examiner’s report on the papers worked by the candidates in the recent Theoretical Examinations of the Society of Arts shows some very curious facts. … Mistakes in spelling have not been accredited with loss to to the […]
Prokofiev is evictedSergey Prokofiev was once evicted from his apartment for playing the same chord 218 times. A tally was kept by the downstairs tenant. Source: Lawrence, Christopher (2001) Swooning. Sydney: Random House, p.69.