Sunday Classics

Bryn Terfel and Anthony Michaels-Moore as Falstaff and Ford in Act II, Scene 1 of Covent Garden's Falstaff, 2003Excerpt 1 (three performances)Is it a dream? or reality?Two enormous hornsare growing from my head.Is it a dream? Master Ford!Master Ford! Are you sleeping?Excerpt 2 (three performances)The time is fixed,the trick fullly planned;you're cheated and swindled!And yet they'll say that a jealous husband is a madman!Excerpt 3 (three performances)I'll explode.

RAVEL: Sonatinei. Modéréii. Mouvement de menuetiii. AniméLeon Fleisher, piano.

Leon Fleisher plays a piece we've heard a lot (most recently endorsed by mezzo Susan Graham!),"Clair de lune" ("Moonlight") from Debussy's Suite bergamasque, from this July 1956 Epic Debussy-Ravel LP.by KenNo, no, Fleisher hasn't died -- at least not that I know.

Clifford Curzon plays the first two sections of Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy, in a 1949 Decca recording. You'll find the rest of the performance below.by KenA couple of weeks ago we celebrated "Fantasy Week at Sunday Classics" with a fantastic roundup that included the Choral Fantasy (for piano, soloists, chorus, and orchestra) of Beethoven, the Hungarian Fantasia (for piano and orchestra) of Liszt, and the Scottish Fantasy (for violin and orchestra) of Max Bruch.

SCHUBERT: "Der Wanderer" ("The Wanderer"), D. 493

WAGNER: Lohengrin: Act I: Royal Herald, "Gott richtet euch nach Recht und Fug" ("God will pass rightful judgment on you") . . . King Heinrich, "Mein Herr und Gott" ("My Lord and God")

by KenIn Friday night's preview we revisited Beethoven's Choral Fantasy (for piano, soloists, chorus, and orchestra) and Liszt's Hungarian Fantasia (for piano and orchestra) in anticipation of turning our attention today to Max Bruch's Scottish Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra.With this installment we have concluded our survey of the three works of Bruch known to most music lovers.

Homero Francesch is the piano soloist in this performance of Beethoven's Choral Fantasy with Leonard Bernstein conducting the Vienna Philharmonic and Vienna Jeunesse Choir.by KenWe have a great musical fantasy coming up Sunday -- Max Bruch's Scottish Fantasy for violin and orchestra, so I thought tonight we would review the two wonderful fantasies we've already heard.THERE WAS, FOR ONE, LISZT'S HUNGARIAN FANTASIAWe first heard it in the August 2010 post "The piano-and-orchestra Liszt -- the

by KenIn our earlier post about Wagner's Flying Dutchman we heard the Norwegian sea captain Daland return home from a perilous voyage bringing a guest, none other than the Flying Dutchman to meet (and hopefully entrance) his daughter, Senta. Then we left the two potential lovers alone for their long scene, and I would have liked to return for the end of Act II, as Daland returns.