Beautiful Music

The intricate and complex sound of the lute is today’s Beautiful Music selection. Lutenist Paul O’Dette is one of today’s most gifted performers on the instrument, and he brings to life his Renaissance era counterpart, English musician John Dowland.    

Harp is such a lovely instrument — its sound is so soothing and uniquely exquisite. Today you can enjoy a variety of Beautiful Music from the baroque era played on the harp.  

Today’s offering of Beautiful Music in Difficult Times commemorates an especially difficult loss of a beautiful musician, Karen Marie Marmer. The violinist died earlier this week at age 63 of cancer. She and her husband, violinist Jorg-Michael Schwarz, co-founded the early music group Rebel, which is often featured on Sunday Baroque. Here are a few

As a musician, there is something so deliciously satisfying about playing in a big, resonant space in which the notes sail out and seem to carry into eternity. Today’s Beautiful Music offering is one of those magnificent experiences — saxophone player Branford Marsalis plays live at Grace Cathedral. It’s the first movement of a solo

You may have heard the shocking news last week that Nantes Cathedral in France suffered a devastating fire, believed to be the result of arson. The destruction included the 400 year old organ. Today’s offering is a performance of music by Johann Sebastian Bach on that organ: Beautiful Music on a beautiful instrument, so cruelly

Beautiful Music today by a composer whose name may be unfamiliar: Johann Sigismund Kusser. He was born in Hungary in 1660, and worked in various places such as Germany, Ireland, and France. These are Kusser’s Orchestral Suites.    

The poor viola! Such a beautiful sounding instrument, yet often the butt of silly jokes. Today you can enjoy one of today’s finest violists playing music by Johann Sebastian Bach: Nokuthula Ngwenyama plays Bach’s Chaconne from the Partita #2 for solo violin.                

Today’s offering is Beautiful Music played on a Beautiful and special musical instrument!  Domenico Carlo Maria Dragonetti (1763 – 1846) came along a little after the Baroque era; he was an Italian double bass virtuoso and composer. This is his music, played on Dragonetti’s own instrument by the stellar musician and teacher Chi-Chi Nwanoku, who

Beautiful Music today, featuring the Beautiful Artistry of legendary singer Leontyne Price from a 1980 recording. She’s singing the sumptuous aria WHERE’ER YOU WALK from George Frideric Handel’s musical drama SEMELE.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KmgW4RN5-0

Although my parents were not musicians, they loved music and had a varied collection of LPs in our home. One I remember well was the Chopin International Piano Competition recording featuring pianist Garrick Ohlsson. He was the first (and to date only) American to win the competition. I played that recording over and over, mesmerized