Ólafur Arnalds – Saman
An evening pause: So beautiful it makes me wish I could play this instrument.
Hat tip Danae.
Tag: entertainment
The Dixie Dregs – The Bash
An evening pause: Yow!
Hat tip Diane Wilson.
John Williams – Olympic Fanfare
An evening pause: I think I’ve posted this previously, but I can’t find it, and so what. It’s worth listening to again.
Hat tip Danae.
Yuja Wang – Mozart’s Turkish March
An evening pause: I don’t know the piece well enough to be sure, but I think that she is doing a lot of really amazing improvisation here. And make sure you look of admiration on the face of the musician behind her as he watches her play.
Hat tip Diane Wilson.
Phil Salazar & the Kin Folk – A Week In January
An evening pause: Watch how each player carefully watches the lead player, listening to the song, and then joins in carefully so as to not overpower the melody, but adding instead a layer that accentuates its beauty.
Hat tip Edward Thelen.
John Philip Sousa – Semper Fidelis
An evening pause: For Memorial Day. And yes, you’ve heard this endless times before, but watch it here as it is played. It will bring it to life again.
Hat tip Edward Thelen.
Laura Stiles – Work Hard, Play Hard
An evening pause: Stiles is an engineer at Blue Origin, as well as a master sky-diver. You can see the full video of the record skydive here.
Somehow, this seems appropriate on the day Diane and I are returning from two weeks in Wales.
Hat tip Rex Ridenoure.
Hércules Brass Ensemble – Tico Tico
An evening pause: Alejandro Vázquez, trumpet solo. Provides a fascinating contrast with yesterday’s pause.
Hat tip Danae.
New Russian Quartet – Shostakovich Polka
An evening pause: This piece comes from a 1930 Soviet propaganda ballet, with music by Dmitri Shostakovich. It tells the story of a Soviet-era soccer team traveling through Europe in the 1920s, which provides the setting for the propaganda. I like the musical give-and-take. It is almost like two people arguing.
Hat tip Diane Wilson.
Jason Achilles – Billy Joel (is not my lover)
United States Navy Concert Band – Dvorak’s “Song to the Moon”
An evening pause: From the opera Rusalka. The soloist is Musician 1st Class Susan Kavinski.
Hat tip Danae.