77. ALBAN BERG - Violin Concerto Works included: Alban Berg: Violin Concerto Wolfgan Rihm: Time Chant for Violin & Orchestra Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin Chicago Symphony Orchestra James Levine, conductor Anne-Sophie is back, except she's dropping some modernism this time instead of the classical stuff. I tend to prefer more recent orchestral music (20th & 21st century).
78. ALBAN BERG - Lyric Suite Atonal music from those whacky Austrians. Good times. Dawn Upshaw is an amazing singer that will appear several times on this list. String quartet is the Kronos Quartet, who are bastions of modernism and new music.
79. HECTOR BERLIOZ - Symphonie Fantastique Works included: Symphonie Fantastique Romeo et Juliette Boston Symphony Orchestra Charles Munch, conductor Berlioz was a French composer who was quite misunderstood in his day. He wrote music well ahead and much more developed than that of his peers. Even to this day, he's considered a bit of a curiousity, a reputation he hasn't been able to shake 150 years after his death. Symphonie Fantastique is a really cool piece.
80. LEONARD BERNSTEIN - West Side Story Suite Works included: West Side Story Suite "Lonely Town" from On the Town "Make Our Garden Grow" from Candide Serenade After Plato's Symposium "New York, New York" from On the Town Joshua Bell, violin Philharmonia Orchestra David Zinman, conductor It took me a while to get into Bernstein's music. This is the only disc I have, but I'd like to get more. He wrote some cool stuff. Mostly known for stuff like "West Side Story," he still wrote some incredible "formal" or "classical" music. WSS is a bit more "poppy" and eschewed by some purists, but I like it well enough. I prefer these instrumental versions though. (another album cover the classical industry saw fit to spend 12 seconds on.)
81. FRANZ BERWALD - Piano Trios Works included: Piano Trio no. 1 in E flat minor Piano Trio no. 2 in F minor Piano Trio no. 3 in D minor Franz Berwald was a Swedish composer who should really be better known. His symphonies (which I unfortunately don't own) are incredible. They're every bit as good as Schumann's, but languish in obscurity because he's Scandanavian and not German, French or Russian. The piano trios are quality and Franz Liszt was a big supporter of Berwald's music.
82. VISHWA MOHAN BHATT - In Concert: Bihag & Desh Not everyday that someone invents their own instrument. It's not a totally new invention I guess, but it's certainly the first of it's kind. The mohan veena as he likes to call it is basically a lap slide guitar with a bunch of sympathetic strings. Kind of like a lap sitar with the sound of really Indian-ified twangy guitar. It's really interesting and entertaining stuff.
Leonard Bernstein recommendations For my comments on Leonard Bernstein's career choices, go to: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2520081&postcount=43 If you wish to pick up more Lenny, I would recommend the 1956 cast album of Candide. There are several recordings of this score, but none of them can touch the beauty of the original with Barbara Cook and Robert Roundsville. It's sensational. Columbia Broadway Masterworks SK 86859. For rare Bernstein, try A White House Cantata, an 80-minute recorded concert version of the disastrous 1976 flop 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, which Bernstein wrote with Alan Jay Lerner. It closed after 7 performances and Bernstein chose not to produce a cast recording. It turns out that Bernstein in later years ripped-off parts of this score for some of his more "serious" compositions. Disgraceful. Anyway, we finally have most of it now on A White House Cantata, done with the London Symphony Orchestra and pianist Kent Nagano. It stars baritone Thomas Hampson, who has done several terrific "crossover" albums of Broadway stuff, as the various presidents. Deutsche Grammophon 289 463 448-2.
83. TARUN BHATTACHARYA - Kirvani Indian santoor music. Definately something you don't hear everyday, and in many ways, that's probably for the better. It's good stuff, but definately something to be taken out and played occasionally.
84. TARUN BHATTACHARYA - Faces of Raga More santoor. Indian classical music album covers are usually the only things that rival western classical music album covers for their badness. This one is a prime candidate. This cover looks like it was designed on a Commodore 64.
85. TARUN BHATTACHARYA - Santoor This is the last of the Bhattacharya CDs. It's been fun to pull these off the shelf for a listen. It's been ages.
86. MAYOOKH BHAUMIK - Ancestors #2 This is a tabla solo CD, and a good one at that. They can be tedious at times if you aren't in the mood for them. Mayookh is a good player and a cool guy. We worked together for 3-4 days a couple of years ago and he absolutely ripped it up. Fun guy to hang out with as well. A total nutter. He'll probably be on the star tabla players in 10-15 years.
87. YIORGOS & KONSTANTINOS BILALIS - O Hierarch Nicholas: St. Nicholas Vespers Vespers for the feast of St. Nicholas (December 6) chanted in Greek by Yiorgos and Konstantinos Bilalis, two famous Greek psaltis (chanters.)
That's been the most interesting with my A-Z project. You realize that you have great stuff that you just haven't listened to in a long time. Almost a rediscovery.
I mentioned it earlier in the thread...there is much rocking that will be done in the collection, but for some reason, it doesn't really start until the letter "C." I don't have too much rock in "A"or "B" for some reason. I have noticed that majority of the rock bands I listen to start around the letter "M" and come after that. Don't know why. There is a lot of rock coming in "C" "D" "G" "H" "I" "J." The massive rock explosion though really kicks in at "M."
88. BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA - Higher Ground Great gospel album with some help from Ben Harper and Robert Randolph. This disc finds them doing a bunch of non-standard cover tunes by the likes of Ben Harper, Prince, Curtis Mayfield, etc. Really awesome CD from my fellow Alabamians.
89. BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA - Spirit of the Century Another great record from the Blind Boys. A highlight of which is "Amazing Grace" sung to the tune of "House of the Rising Sun." Very awesome. They tackle another Ben Harper cover and do a great version of "Run On," which most people will no from Moby's Play album.
90. ARTHUR BLISS - Piano Concerto Works included: Piano Concerto Piano Sonata Concerto for Two Pianos Peter Donahoe, piano (1, 2, 3) Martin Roscoe, piano (3) Royal Scottish National Orchestra David Lloyd-Jones, conductor Little known British composer gave the world the masterful Piano Concerto. Once again, it's a dang shame we don't hear this thing more often. It's really good.
91. ARTHUR BLISS - String Quartet no. 1 Works included: String Quartet no. 1 Conversations for Flute, Oboe, Violin, Viola & Cello String Quartet in A major More obscure gems from Arthur Bliss.
92. THE BLUE BOX: BLUE NOTE'S BEST 4-Disc set of highlights of Blue Note's first 58 years (why they didn't wait until 60 years to put it out, I will never know.) The usual suspects are present: Art Blakey, Her Hancock, McCoy Tyner, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Stanley Jordan, Thelonious Monk, Horace Silver, Lee Morgan, Chick Corea, John Scofield, etc.