Sunday Drive: Chopin, Nocturne, Op. 9, No. 2

Gleaming Waters by Henry Scott Tuke, 1911

As performed by Vadim Chaimovich, 2010:

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Sunday Drive: Debussy, Clair de Lune

As performed live by Liberace, 1983.  Somewhere along this same time, I took my mom to see him when he brought his show to our town.  I knew she would enjoy it, but didn't think I would get much out of it - Liberace was very old hat by that time . . . and besides, he was more a than a little, um, flamboyant.  You know what I mean, fellas?  I wasn't comfortable with that.  Just keep it to yourself, I thought.

But we went, and both of us had a grand time.  He truly was Mr. Showmanship - a consummate entertainer, and from the moment he stepped onto the stage in a glittering sequined suit and fur-lined cape, he enthralled everyone in that huge arena, individually and collectively, and held them spellbound until he played his last note.  Virtuosity.  Spectacle.  Magic.  

I've never seen anything like it, before or since.  Not a dull moment in the whole show, musically or visually, and the outfits kept getting more and more flamboyant - oh Mary, don't ask!  But never a hint of vulgarity, and the audience just begged for more, blue-haired ladies and manly men alike.

So this is for you, my darling red-haired Mama. I miss you so.

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Sunday Drive: Beethoven, Moonlight Sonata

From the video description by pianist Paul Barton:

Mongkol is a 61-year-old former logging elephant. His captive-held life was spent hauling trees in the Thai forest. His body shape is deformed through hard labor, he lost his right eye and tusk in this brutal logging practice. Mongkol was rescued and brought to Elephants World to spend the rest of his days relaxing peacefully in freedom by the River Kwai. I discovered Mongkol is an extremely gentle, sensitive elephant who enjoys music, especially this slow movement by Beethoven which I play to him occasionally in the day and night.

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Sunday Drive: Liszt, Consolation No. 3

A beautiful piece played on Liszt's own piano by a handsome young man.  How refreshing.

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Sunday Drive: Claire de Lune

As performed exquisitely by Adrien de la Salle, a Frenchman living in Montreal:

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Jewel of Jazz: Beegie Adair

When M.P. and I are enjoying our Sunday dinners, or any other time we want soothing sounds, we often listen to Mantovani and the like on Pandora or YouTube.  Lately, a lot of soft jazz recordings by pianist Beegie Adair have been showing up in my YT feed, and I finally got around to looking up this woman I never heard of before. (Country boy here is not a fan of amorphous pure jazz per se, but I can enjoy the "easy listening" variety based on old standards.)

Come to find out, Adair was something of a star of the Nashville music scene, where she began her career as a session musician in 1961, and over the years played on recordings by many famous singers, country-western or not.  Wikipedia says she recorded over 100 albums in her lifetime, 35 of them with her Beegie Adair Trio, consisting of herself, bassist Roger Spencer, and percussionist Chris Brown.  She was also an adjunct professor of jazz studies in the school of music at Vanderbilt, one of the most prestigious private universities in the South.  Her late husband was an associate professor of music there.

Adair died in January 2022, leaving a huge legacy of wonderful recordings for us and future generations to enjoy.  Here's a sample.

"Fly Me to the Moon":

"Someone to Watch over Me":

"Make the World Go Away":

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Sunday Drive: Clair de Lune, Liberace

I took my mom to see him in concert back in the 1980s.  He was a master musician and a fabulous showman.  We had a great time.

Rest in peace, darling Mama.

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Sunday Drive: I Got Rhythm

The amazing Peter Nero performs the Gershwin standard at lightning speed on the Ed Sullivan Show in November of 1965.

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Sunday Drive: Chopin, Waltz in C-sharp Minor, Op. 64, No. 2

The great Vladimir Horowitz performs at the White House before President and Mrs. Carter on February 26, 1978. 

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Sunday Drive: Schubert, Serenade

As transcribed for solo piano by Franz Liszt, and most beautifully performed by Khatia Buniatishvili:

Sunday Drive: Liszt, Consolation No. 3

The well-known piano solo by Franz Liszt, as performed by Daniel Barenboim - and I dedicate this post to the victims of mindless hatred and violence in Pittsburgh, and all over this troubled world.

Sunday Drive: The Tennessee Waltz

Today would have been my parents' seventy-first wedding anniversary.  Allen Dale, a virtuoso of old-time piano, plays one of their songs:

Sunday Drive: Siboney

As performed by Cuban piano legend Rubén González:

Sunday Drive: O Sacred Head Now Wounded

O sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded with thorns, Thine only crown;
How pale Thou art with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn!
How does that visage languish, which once was bright as morn!

What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered, was all for sinners’ gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior! ’Tis I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor, vouchsafe to me Thy grace.

What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, dearest friend,
For this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever, and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never outlive my love for Thee.

Be Thou my consolation, my shield when I must die;
Remind me of Thy passion when my last hour draws nigh.
Mine eyes shall then behold Thee, upon Thy cross shall dwell,
My heart by faith enfolds Thee. Who dieth thus dies well.