Suzanne Bona

Maria Antonia Walpurgis lived from 1724 to 1780. The electress of Saxony and daughter of the elector of Bavaria was a trained musician, and an avid singer and composer with a particular interest in opera. “Chi non mai partì dal lido” is an aria from Talestri, regina delle amazzoni, a 1760 opera by Maria Antonio […]

I love being able to share live concert recordings. It’s special to see the symbiosis between the performers, and often you can hear repertory and performers who are less readily available on CD. Today’s Beautiful Music is by Wilhelmine von Bayreuth — from her Flute Sonata in a minor. She was an avid musician like

The 18th century Manuscript of Joseph María García includes approximately 300 dances from Mexico. This is Beautiful Music from the manuscript — Eight Pieces for Guitar played on the baroque guitar by Manuel Mejía. Baroque Guitar Music in New Spain~ Manuscrito Joseph Maria Garcia (Chalco, México. 1772) – YouTube    

Today’s Beautiful Music is a lilting overture by Maria Teresa Agnesi, a Milanese composer who lived from 1720-1795. She wrote her serenata Ulisse in Campania in 1768, and this is from a live performance given in 2010 by La Donna Musicale. Ulisse in Campania: Overture II. Maria Teresa Agnesi – YouTube www.ladm.org Maria Teresa Agnesi

Today’s Beautiful Music offering is a complete live performance of George Frideric Handel’s magical opera ALCINA, with luminous American soprano Nicole Cabell singing the title role. The 2016 performance in Geneva was conducted by Leonardo García Alarcón, an Argentinian harpsichordist and organist who specializes in baroque music. The other roles are sung by Monica Bacelli,

Flowers of the Forest is an old Scottish lament used for funerals and memorials, dating back at least to the early 16th century. On this Memorial Day holiday, these are several Beautiful renditions of Flowers of the Forest, in honor of the fallen. The Flowers of the Forest – YouTube Flowers of the Forest (Dark

Venetian musician Antonio Caldara composed today’s Beautiful Music. He was a talented singer and multi-instrumentalist who was born into a music family. This is Antonio Caldara’s setting of DIES IRAE (Latin for “Day of Wrath”) performed by the Czech Philharmonic Chorus of Brno and the Czech Chamber Soloists, led by Petr Fiala. Antonio Caldara –

On this Memorial Day Holiday weekend, Beautiful Music by Francois Couperin. Harpsichordist Blandine Verlet plays “Les Pavots” (The Poppies), one of the composer’s keyboard solos. You can also read more about the poppies of Flanders Fields.         Couperin “Les Pavots” Blandine Verlet, 2011 – YouTube The Poppies of Flanders Fields | Discovering

The weather may be heating up, but this is a cool autumn breeze courtesy of the Early Music Society of Hong Kong. They’re giving a live performance of the AUTUMN Concerto from Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons from the Chung Chi Chapel in 2017. This Beautiful Music features solo baroque violin player Gary Ngan. Vivaldi Autumn/

Today’s Beautiful Music is by Louis-Gabriel Guillemain (1705-1770). The Giga Presto movement from Guillemain’s Sonata for 2 violins in A minor, Op. 5 is played by violinist Sallynee Amawat and Marjolaine Lambert from a performance they gave in 2014 at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. You can also listen to my recent conversation with Sallynee