Bach’s Chaconne, by Andrés Segovia

Saying that Andrés Segovia was to the classical guitar what Jimi Hendrix was for electrical guitar wouldn’t be an overstatement. Both were self taught and redefined how to play their instruments. Both are still remarkable for their killer techniques.

Xenakis, or The mathematics in music

Among the great contemporary composers, Xenakis was the most influenced by mathematics. Some said his computers were the real authors of the musical pieces. That’s wrong: Xenakis art is in his choice of themes, in how computers are programed.

Beethoven’s Fidelio, directed by Nikolaus Harnoncourt

Usually it is not highlighted that Beethoven depicted the social and political transformations resulting from feudalism fall and capitalism ascent. Fidelio shows the loss of the feudal power of a prison governor, versus a minister, representing a centralized state.

Bach’s Cello suite BWV 1007, with Pablo Casals

The performer is a composer’s partner, for he or she choses how to transform musical ideas into sounds. Pablo Casals was more than that for the Cello Suites, as he saved them from the limbo they were till 1936.

Allegro non troppo, by Bruno Bozzetto

In the early years of the 20th century, two students cut the classes to to watch Allegro non troppo: one of us bloggers and a college colleague, very savvy, that knew it was a good movie. It was suprising and unforgettable: the movie was excellent, very creative. It was an afternoon session: mothers couldn’t take their eyes of the screen, while their children run between the cinema chairs…

Music pieces by Sibelius, Debussy and Stravinsky (among others) were so well associated to animations, that one could not believe the latter were created to be played along the former.

Schubert’s Ave Maria, with Andrea Boccelli

The famous Schubert’s Ave Maria wasn’t created by Franz Schubert. The original song is also a prayer to the Virgin Mary, but this version is an adaptation of the words of the Hail Mary prayer to the Schubert’s melody.