BROADCASTS.com

 
Polkastra
from "Apolkalypse Now"
(Ancalagon LLC)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
More On This Album

Polkastra An eclectic and international cast of characters including a Canadian folk fiddler, the Met's contrabassoonist, an Israeli accordionist and percussionist, a jack-of-all-trades bassist, a French Horn playing record store clerk and an internationally renowned violin soloist met in a New Jersey studio to record a polka album just for fun. An idea that began as a lark quickly grew into an eccentric, virtuosic and energetic exploration of the roots of polka: folk, country, classical and jazz. Polkastra is a unique world music project that celebrates both the joy of music and the power of dance to unite cultures. From the American Midwest and the North of Canada to the mountains of Bohemia and the deserts of Israel - Apolkalypse Now poses the important question "Would you like sauerkraut, poutine, goulash or hummus with that?"

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Polkastra/85797268829

http://www.polkastra.com


Ama Deus Ensemble, Valentin Radu
from "Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 & Die Ruinen von Athen"
(Lyrichord)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at Rhapsody
Stream from Rhapsody
More On This Album

The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 “Choral” The last complete symphony composed by Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1824, the Ninth Symphony is one of the best-known works of the Western repertoire, considered both an icon and a forefather of Romantic music, and one of Beethoven's greatest masterpieces. The composer struggled for more than ten years before completing the work, and turned to the mighty Missa Solemnis while he considered his final symphony. Using voices in an orchestral symphony had never been attempted before. Beethoven finally decided to incorporate part of the Ode an die Freude (“Ode to Joy”), a poem by Friedrich Schiller, with text sung by soloists and a chorus in the new symphony's last movement. It is, indeed, the first example of a major composer using the human voice on the same level with instruments in a symphony, creating a work of a grand scope that sets the tone for the Romantic symphonic form. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

 

Smetana Quartet
from "Beethoven: String Quartets Nos 11-16 incl. Grosse Fuge / Smetana Quartet"
(Supraphon Music a.s.)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at Rhapsody
Stream from Rhapsody
More On This Album

Album Notes
Smetana Quartet Plays Late Beethoven (3 CDs) L. van Beethoven: String Quartets No. 11 in F minor, Op. 95, No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132, No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 131, No. 12 in E flat major, Op. 127, No. 13 in B-flat major, Op. 130, Grosse Fuge in B flat major, Op. 133, No. 16 in F major, Op. 135

The Smetana Quartet (1945-1989) played Beethoven's quartets 1490 times over the course of their career! The recordings which make up this complete collection are from the years 1961-70, and the performances were played from memory! The recordings glow with youthful energy and tireless searching. The Smetana Quartet has been called perhaps the best ensemble of the years 1960-80.


London Symphony Orchestra, Bernard Haitink
from "Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 8"
(LSO Live)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at eMusic
Buy at Rhapsody
Stream from Rhapsody
Buy at Amazon MP3
More On This Album

Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93 The work was begun in the summer of 1812, immediately after the completion of the Seventh Symphony. At the time Beethoven was 41 years old. As Antony Hopkins has noted, the cheerful mood of the work betrays nothing of the grossly unpleasant events that were taking place in Beethoven's life at the time, which involved his interference in his brother Johann's love life. The work took Beethoven only four months to complete, and was dedicated to the banker Count Moritz Fries, who, according to Karl Holz, paid Beethoven a regular subsidy for some years until his bankruptcy in 1825. The premiere took place on February 27, 1814, at a concert at which the mighty Seventh Symphony (which had been premiered two months earlier) was also played. Beethoven was growing increasingly deaf at the time, but nevertheless led the premiere. Reportedly, "the orchestra largely ignored his ungainly gestures and followed the principal violinist instead". Critics immediately noted that the Eighth did not reach the heights of its predecessor, launching a long tradition of complaining that the Eighth Symphony is not something different (more heroic, more emotive) from what it is. However, many listeners seem to be able to enjoy the symphony anyway, and it appears frequently today on concert programs as well as on recordings. When asked by his pupil Carl Czerny why the Eighth was less popular than the Seventh, Beethoven is said to have replied "because the Eighth is so much better." A critic wrote that "the applause it [the Eighth Symphony] received was not accompanied by that enthusiasm which distinguishes a work which gives universal delight; in short-as the Italians say-it did not create a furor." Beethoven was angered at this reception because he considered the Eighth "much better" than the Seventh.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._8_(Beethoven)

http://www.lso.co.uk