Classical Music

Olivier Messiaen's Turangalîla Symphony is well worth a listen. The work’s name is Sanskrit, made up of two words: "Turanga" denotes time, surging ever onward, held back by "Lîla", which signifies "play", articulating the flow of time with drama. Together they encompass the compound notions of oppostion, creation and destruction, and love. The work owes its existence to the conductor Sergei Koussevitsky, who commissioned Messiaen to write something for the Boston Symphony, with complete... Read Full Story

Happy 53rd birthday to Yo-Yo Ma! May you hear beautiful music all year long. P.S. You seem like you would make a really nice uncle. Wanna be ours? Source Source Subscribe in a reader Read Full Story

To give the devil his due, I should report that Radio Canada is pulling out all the stops to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra: live broadcast of a concert on Espace Musique, television and the net plus a program giving highlights of the orchestra's history. Check it out at 8 p.m. EDT here. Read Full Story

The latest BBM market ratings are out, and efforts by the CBC and Radio Canada to change programming haven’t resulted in a huge surge in listeners. You’ll remember that both networks have cut the classical music content of their offerings on Radio Two and Espace Musique over the last little while, and added more “diverse” music in an attempt to appeal to a younger demographic. In Montreal, the new statistics—measuring the period between April 14 and June 8, 2008—show the dedicated, non... Read Full Story

Two important headlines this morning: Clinton and Obama Agree to Draw Straws: Campaign against McCain Begins in Earnest and CBC to Showcase Good Music: Classical Component Gets Boost Of course, it is April Fool’s Day, and I don’t expect either headline to be realized, more's the pity. As for the picture of the fossil fish’s rear half: that’s in honour of what the French call April Fool’s Day, Poisson d’avril. There are various explanations for this. The sun is entering the fish sign... Read Full Story