Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez is one of the most popular works written for the guitar (in this case, with orchestra), popularized in part by Miles Davis’s hauntingly atmospheric tribute to it in Sketches of Spain. Rodrigo wanted the concerto to conjure up ”the fragrance of magnolias, the singing of birds, and the gushing of fountains” in the gardens of Aranjuez, a town just south of Madrid. The second movement adagio is shrouded in mystery; for some listeners, it may bring to mind the music Morricone wrote for those Sergio Leone spaghetti Westerns.

The Cádiz-born Manuel de Falla (1876 – 1946) is perhaps Spain’s best-known and most revered composer (you know a composer has rank when a country puts him or her on its money!).  Among his most captivating works are the ballet El amor brujo (Love the Magician), which includes the fearsomely sensual “Ritual Fire Dance,” and the no-less seductive Noches en los Jardines de España (Nights in the Gardens of Spain) for piano and orchestra.

The great French composer Olivier Messiaen called Isaac Albéniz’s Iberia “the masterpiece of Spanish music.”  Composed of four books of music for solo piano, Albéniz’s genius requires no less brilliance from the work’s performers — it is, in fact, one of the hardest works in the repertoire. For the listener, it’s an entirely different and irresistible experience, a beguiling dance- and song-inspired audio guide to some of the country’s most beautiful places.

Iberia is the name of another famous work celebrating the magic of Spain, but this time, the composer is Frenchman Claude Debussy.  Like a tourist who appreciates the beauty of a place even more than the sometimes jaded native, Debussy captures the exotic glories of his country’s next-door neighbor with a dazzling three-panel fresco of audio paintings for orchestra. Local color is immediately apparent with the dancing, castanet-led “Par les rues et par les chemins” (“In the Streets and By-ways”), which opens the triptych. Part Two, “Les Parfums de la nuit” (“The Fragrance of the Night”), is sexy, moon-lit and hypnotic. The woozy brass at the end of  the ”Le matin d’un jour de fete” (“The Morning of the Festival Day”) suggests the aftermath of alcohol-assisted reverie.

Iberia, by the way, is the central part of a larger work by Debussy called Images.  The opening movement of the latter (“Gigues”) looks north to England and Scotland for its inspiration; the final movement, “Rondes de Printemps” (“Spring Rounds”), which borrows from a couple of French folk songs, is more of a home-grown affair.  Neither of those other countries did so well at the World Cup (understatement in the case of France), but that’s no reflection on Debussy’s magnificent achievement.

So this Fourth of July weekend, if you find yourself with sagging spirits — or if you’re an optimist who just wants to stoke the fires further — listen to Aaron Copland’s Third Symphony. For me, the most exciting version of Copland’s Third Symphony is Leonard Bernstein’s 1990 recording with the New York Philharmonic for DG, and James Judd’s budget-priced recording with the New Zealand Symphony for Naxos is a worthy alternative. The great American composer finished writing what’s frequently called “The Great American Symphony” in 1946, and he said that its rousing, heroic tone was a reflection of the “euphoric spirit of the country.” The most destructive war in history was over, the country had finally emerged from the long night of the Great Depression, and America had been a beacon to the free world in dark times. There was plenty to celebrate! Listening to the symphony today, Copland’s words about it came to mind, and I felt sad thinking how different that “euphoric spirit” is from the America we are living in today.

What amazes me most when I listen to his Third Symphony is that although it is grandly patriotic — he once thought to call the piece “For the Day of Victory” or “For the Spirit of Democracy” — it is also universal. Perhaps more than any work by Copland, this is a unifying, all-embracing work. There are moments of extreme tenderness and vulnerability, but also climaxes of shattering power. It celebrates the ordinary citizen — the regular guy — with the extraordinary splendor of the famous “Fanfare for the Common Man.” Its finale is as triumphant as music can be, but it comes after some dark, scary and violent episodes. Victory may be assured, but it will not be easy.

I know that listening to Copland’s Third Symphony won’t put the unemployed back to work, or create renewable energy, or clean up the financial mess. But, at least for me, hearing this amazing work will continue to keep my own hope alive for a better future for our country.

For the perfect encore, listen to Dudley Buck’s enormously entertaining “Festival Ouverture on the Star Spangled Banner.”

I was walking around the hills behind the Stanford University campus at sunset, listening to the piece on my Sony Walkman, and when the huge, glowing chords that bring the work to a close stopped ringing in my ears I was completely overwhelmed with a sense of love and spiritual joy.  For the next few days I listened to parts of it again and tried to learn more about it.  Then I had the crazy idea of having a huge party at the house I was living in off campus and inviting everyone I knew to hear it.  I was getting ready to graduate and move back to New York City, so I figured it might make for a strange and wonderful way to end my time in college.

There were probably 75 friends at the house that I shared with four roommates in nearby Los Altos when I announced that we should all crowd into the living room and listen to Mahler’s Third Symphony.  No one — including me — really knew who Mahler was, but to my astonishment everyone was silent for the entire time the Vienna Philharmonic and Claudio Abbado were making that magnificent noise on our stereo.  The room was dark except for one lamp, and people were scattered on the couches and chairs and floor, many holding and hugging each other, some making out, more than a few a little drunk.  But when it was over people were clapping like we had been in a concert hall.  We had all had a collective religious experience.  And for all intents and purposes, the Ecstatic Living Room was born.

Here is a clip of the great Leonard Bernstein leading the Vienna Philharmonic in the first movement:

A year later, I was back in New York City without a clue what I wanted to do with my life.  As the first day of summer approached, I thought nostalgically about that party a year ago. So I took out my Mahler 3 recording and listened to it while looking out over the Hudson River from the 18th floor apartment I was living in with my brother.  Once again, when the huge finale, which Mahler meant to depict the love that God had for his creation, came to an end, I felt utterly transformed.  From that time on I marked the first day of summer by listening to Mahler’s Third.  I look forward to it like kids look forward to Christmas morning.  It’s my special day of reflection and inspiration and renewal.

Mahler originally called this vast six-movement work “A Summer Morning Dream,” and his program for the long first movement once featured the heading, “Pan Awakes – Summer Marches In.”  But even if you didn’t know this, you might think of this as a summery kind of piece.  It’s big and bold and intense, like a hot summer day, when nature is literally exploding with life all around you.

The idea behind the symphony is simple but monumental: Mahler wanted to depict nothing less than the entirety of evolution, from inanimate nature (movement 1) to, five movements later, the consciousness of God’s all-encompassing love.  To achieve his ends Mahler stayed close to his key idea that a symphony should embrace everything that the world had to offer — life in all its paradox, beauty and contradiction.  It has huge climaxes as well as intimate and incredibly tender moments;  it has military marches and sublime hymn-like melodies; it has moments radiant with hope and other moments of primordial terror.

On the last pages of the score, Mahler told the musicians that the playing should be “saturated with feeling.”  For me, this is the point where I have not failed to cry each and every time I’ve heard the piece.

Monday, June 21 is the first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, so why not take the opportunity on that day — or anytime this summer — to discover Mahler’s Third Symphony.  One of several great recordings of the work is a Philips disc from 1988 with Bernard Haitink leading the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, which is available for download on iTunes.  Listen alone, or with a friend, or with a houseful of people.  It may just blow your mind; it might even change your life.

1. A few works of classical music that you adore:

Verdi’s La Traviata; Bizet’s Carmen; Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet

2.  Classical music recordings that you treasure:

Callas‘ Traviata; Turandot with Pavarotti and Sutherland

3.  Favorite non-classical musicians and/or recordings:

Alannah Myles; Anastacia; Tiziano Ferro; Whitesnake; John Butler

4.  Music that makes you cry – any genre:

It can happen with any genre, any piece, any time when it collides with personal matters…

5.  Definitely underrated work(s) or composer (s):

Salieri

6.  Possibly overrated work(s) or composer (s):

Out of respect to art and the creative process, I wouldn‘t say such a thing. Art and music always stay subjective and a question of taste.

7.  Live music performance (s) you attended – any genre – that you’ll never forget:

My first rock concert: Bonfire; Arabella in London with Hampson and Mattila

8.  A few relatively recent films you love:

Das Leben der Anderen

9.  A few films you consider classics:

As Good As It Gets; Traviata by Zeffirelli

10.  A book (or two) that is important to you (and why):

Eat, Pray, Love – it helped

11.  Thing(s) about yourself that you’re most proud of:

I did everything by myself… also the mistakes

12.  Thing(s) about yourself that you’re embarrassed by:

I can‘t remember names!!

13.  Three things you can’t live without:

iPod, telephone and computer

14.  “When I want to get away from it all I…”

Go out into nature, best on horseback

15.  “People are surprised to find out that I…”

If I would tell you, the surprise is gone

16.  “My favorite cities are…”

Paris, Vienna and Geneva

17.  “I have a secret crush on…”

Bruce Willis

18.  “My most obvious guilty pleasure is…”

Chocolate

19.  “I’d really love to meet…”

Carlos Saura

20.  “I never understood why…”

Opera-singers must be “divas“

Complied and edited by Albert Imperato. For permission to post or print this interview write to aimperato@21cmediagroup.com.

At a certain point, the size and scale of an event can become so vast that those qualities take on a life of their own, and it is no different with classical music, where some great works have  become defined, at least in part, by their sheer size and, to a certain degree, their spectacle.

So for those who plan to watch the entire Olympics, some of it, or none of it, we offer a list of super-sized classical music and opera to enjoy long after the games are over.  Each of the works share with the Olympic Games a nobility of spirit and grandness of conception.  The performers who take on these works need to be on top of their game – like champion athletes – if they hope to meet the challenges that the composers have laid for them.  For the listener, the challenges of taking all this music in will vary, but the rewards are many and far-lasting.

Gustav Mahler – Symphony No. 8 (download on iTunes or buy on Amazon): All of this Austrian composer’s nine symphonies are larger than most by other composers, and most convey a sense of epic journey, especially in terms of their emotional and dynamic range. But none is bigger in scope than his Eighth Symphony, which is nicknamed “Symphony of A Thousand” because of the number of people required to perform it. The score calls for a truly huge orchestra, organ, multiple choirs and soloists (and, believe it or not, a mandolin). The vast first movement is an ocean-sized chorus of voices invoking the “Creator Spiritus” — the creative force, the spirit of life, the energy of the cosmos. However you translate it, the listener is meant to be swept away in a torrent of massed sound. Mahler, in fact, said these were no longer human voices, but “the planets revolving around the sun.” Milchael Tilson Thomas won a few Grammies recently for his new recording of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony with the San Francisco Symphony. Naxos’s budget-priced version has gotten stellar reviews as well.

Giuseppe Verdi – Aida (download on iTunes): One of the grandest of all grand operas, most staged productions of this work heavily underline the spectacular elements of the story with lavish sets extolling its exotic setting (ancient Egypt) and huge casts of extras portraying the warring parties. The famous “Triumphal Scene” is something of a show within a show. Here, hundreds of performers — chorus members, dancers, and occasionally (to the dismay of animal rights activists) even horses, lions and an elephant or two! — occupy the stage as the Egyptian victors parade their Ethiopian captives in front of the ecstatic people of Egypt.

Ludwig van Beethoven – Missa Solemnis (buy on Amazon): Running close to 90 minutes, this work is famous for being difficult — and not just for the audience to sit through and comprehend! Chorus members are required to sing long stretches of extremely challenging music, often to the accompaniment of a large orchestra playing at full throttle, and the demands it makes on the performers are akin to training for a marathon. Many amateur choirs cannot hope to master the material, and even the greatest professional choirs continue to find the music daunting. Written at roughly the same time as his Ninth Symphony, the Missa Solemnis stands like Mount Everest amongst choral works, an awe-inspiring, sometimes terrifying, symbol of the power of faith and hope and human possibility.

Richard Wagner – “The Ring Cycle” (buy 2 CD “Ring Excerpts” or
the budget-priced single CD of “Ring Without Words” on Amazon): Clocking in at approximately 16 hours of music, the four myth-inspired operas of Wagner’s “Ring Cycle” come together to make pretty much the largest work of musical art ever created. Countless books have been written to describe what Wagner’s “Ring” is all about, but the truth is, it’s about everything that human beings experience and think about in life: nature (and how man interferes with it), love, loyalty, greed, redemption — the list goes on and on. Though written between 1848 and 1874, today’s listeners will be amazed at how many of our current problems and issues are touched upon. In this digital age, you can buy the whole “Ring” at a budget-price, but a great way to start is to just hear excerpts, which include one of the most famous and viscerally exciting things ever composed: the “Ride of the Valkyries.”

In 2009, the world celebrated the bicentennial of Haydn’s death (he was born in 1732 and died in 1809), but I don’t think he received the kind of shout out that he deserved.  Chatting with artists and writers I work with, I have yet to find one person who doesn’t like “Papa” Haydn’s music, even if it has never been as well-known as Mozart’s (Mozart, it should be pointed out, revered the elder composer and his music and dedicated a set of string quartets to him).  A writer friend of mine compared Mozart to a smoothly paved road noting that, by comparison, Haydn’s music was more like a scenic country road – bumps and all.

Haydn spent much of his creative life on the country estate of his patrons, the wealthy Hungarian Esterházy family, and in that relative isolation he said that he was “forced to become original.” Lucky for us! Haydn nonetheless achieved fame across the continent, especially in London where his two extended visits met with an enormous outpouring of public affection.  It’s no exaggeration to say that in in his two trips there he was greeted and treated like a rock star.

I’ve been a bit of a Haydn junkie since first discovering his music 25 years ago.  The reasons are pretty simple: the world can be a fairly rotten place, but Haydn’s music is exactly the opposite – it’s charming, earthy, (mostly) joyous, imaginative, clever and inexhaustibly fresh. Heck, it’s even fun.

If I had to pick one genre of Haydn works for my desert island I’d go with the symphonies. Our panel of experts below tell you a bit about their favorites (responses are in alphabetical order, to avoid bruised egos!), and some recommended recordings follow that.

Marin Alsop, conductor (music director, Baltimore Symphony): Choosing a
favorite Haydn Symphony is a bit like choosing your favorite child. I love Symphony No. 49, La Passione. It breaks ALL the rules and foreshadows the Romantic revolution around the next bend! Extremely emotive and moving!

Leif Ove Andsnes, pianist: I love the “Clock” Symphony, No. 101. The first movement is one of the deepest and at the same time most joyful pieces he ever wrote. The serenity of the opening, then when it turns to major in the Allegro section – such an exploratory atmosphere! The themes and rhythms are exhilarating.

Here is a YouTube video of Sir Roger Norrington conducting the first movement of Haydn’s “Clock” Symphony.

Jonathan Biss, pianist: If I’m forced to name a favorite Haydn Symphony, it’ll have to be No. 102. In terms of invention, it is probably no more remarkable than any of the great symphonies, and while its humor runs the gamut from the urbane to the slapstick, others are more uproarious. What makes 102 unique is the stunning, almost ostentatious use of orchestral color. From the florid cello obbligato in the slow movement, to the timpani rumbles that decorate runs in the finale, I can think of no other work where he exploited the possibilities of the orchestra in such a unique fashion.

Leon Botstein, conductor (music director American Symphony and Jerusalem Symphony): There’s no such thing as a bad Haydn Symphony, but I’m especially fond of the late ones – Nos. 98, 99, 100, 102. These have all the complexity, drama and imagination that are the hallmarks of mature Haydn.

Jeremy Geffen, artistic administrator (Carnegie Hall): Symphony No. 99 in E-flat major. I heard this symphony first while a viola student at USC. At that time, as now, the piece seemed bursting with distilled joy – a Falstaffian humanity. Every time I hear the work I feel as if it is the first day of spring, and think of the wonder of that first encounter.

Alan Gilbert, conductor (music-director designate, New York Philharmonic): How about 48, 45, 90, 99 and 103 for starters? These are just a few that would make my list as I don’t particularly feel like choosing one over the other! Among his other incredible qualities, Haydn’s ability to write a last movement like nobody’s business puts him in a category all his own.

Paavo Järvi, conductor (music director, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra): When I think about Haydn I think of my Dad. We played four-hands symphonies since I was ten, paying from the score! I love Haydn and Johann Strauss and both of them make me think of my father. Of all of the Haydn Symphonies that I love – and I love them all – I’ll choose No. 82, “The Bear,” which I recently conducted. I can’t help to think how wrong people are to think of Haydn as slightly gray and not exciting and a bit pedestrian. I can’t understand that reputation! His music is insanely entertaining. His music is like the orchestra bursting out laughing, but, at the same time, it’s perfection! Mozart and Beethoven called him Pape for a reason: you don’t call just anyone Papa!

Alex Ross, New Yorker critic: I’m partial to Haydn’s “Sturm und Drang symphonies, and especially the “Trauersymphonie.” The main theme of the first movement – rising fifth, rising fourth, falling semitone – is a rather scary entity, somehow putting me in mind of a gallows. Haydn spins out a customarily elegant argument from the idea, but it retains its threatening edge.

David Patrick Stearns, Philadelphia Inquirer critic: Symphony No. 100, “Military.” I love all of them because they so cleverly continue their thematic development in all regions of any given movement, and that’s definitely the case here. Also, Haydn was a creature of his own empire, so marches and such were a part of his landscape. And in second movement of this symphony, it’s so clever the way he turns a military march into high art – but without any undue grandeur or pretention. I believe the form is theme and variations. My favorite recording is Eugen Jochum with the London Phil on DG. But I hope that Roger Norrington will take it on soon, because I think he’s maybe the best Haydn conductor alive.

Howard Kissel, New York Daily News blogger and actor: Symphony No. 88: It has a gravity that reminds you he was Beethoven’s teacher, but a levity that reminds you he is Haydn.

Some box set recommendations:

If you have to own them all (and I wouldn’t discourage anyone from doing so), conductor Adam Fischer’s complete set does not disappoint, and is available in a lovely budget-priced boxed set from Brilliant Classics.

Haydn’s so-called “Sturm und Drang” (meaning “storm and stress” and related to a pre-Romantic literary movement emphasizing creativity inspired more by more personal, subjective feelings than reason) symphonies are very colorful, diverse and sometimes even a bit strange. Trevor Pinnock’s budget-priced set with the English Concert is always lively and vividly recorded.

Haydn’s most famous works, the so-called “Paris” Symphonies and “London” Symphonies are fabulously entertaining from first note to the last. Conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt is masterful in the former; and Eugen Jochum is full of character with the latter.

Symphonies 73 – 75: I absolutely love “La Chasse” (The Chase – no. 73), especially the opening movement. Roy Goodman and the Hanover Band have a great one.

Sir Charles Mackerras and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s kick up some dirt with their rousing performances. Either 101 and 104, “London” or 100, “Military” and 104, “Drumroll” will do the trick.

For a terrific and handsomely-produced introduction to Haydn and his music, Harmonia Mundi’s “Haydn Celebration” (book + 2 CDs) features many photos and illustrations and a not-too-long biographical essay about Haydn’s life and works.

Over the years I’ve had many “Winter Solstice” parties, some entirely by myself, some with many friends, most with copious amounts of chilled vodka.  Probably the biggest of these parties occurred at the downtown loft of my pal and Ecstatic Living Room partner, Glenn Petry.  I bet there were 75 people  there, and after a few hours of drinking and eating I remember giving a brief spoken introduction to the piece and then letting it rip over Glenn’s stereo as everyone listened intently and went along with the ride.  When the piece roared to its conclusion the crowd gave a huge ovation as if we were listening to a live orchestra.  Glenn’s apartment had been transformed into an Ecstatic Living Room.

The first movement bears the heading “Dreams of the Winter Journey,” and it’s flickering strings and mysterious air conveys the feeling of a night-time sleighride through a vast, snow-covered expanse.  The second movement, “Land of Gloom, Land of Mists,” is an achingly beautiful and sweepingly romantic slow movement.  Its centerpiece is a gorgeous horn solo, which eventually leads the massed strings to a huge climax.  After a strange, ghostly scherzo, Tchaikovsky regroups for a what becomes a rousing and celebratory finale, which you can sample here:

Once winter has fully arrived, one of the other great symphonies that I can hardly wait to blast on my stereo is Vaughan Williams’ Sinfonia Antarctica, the British composer’s Seventh Symphony.  I’m listening to it tonight, an icy night (6 degrees Fahrenheit and dropping) in upstate New York.

Quite remarkably, Vaughan Williams was in his 80s when he tackled this truly awe-inspiring work. His experience writing the score to the film Scott of the Antarctic (1947) was so compelling that the composer decided to explore the subject further in a symphonic treatment of the story. Vaughan Williams captures not only the forbidding, unfathomable beauty of the frozen landscape but also the heroism of the intrepid yet tragically doomed explorer Robert Falcon Scott (1868-1912), who perished with members of his team just short of the South Pole (the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen was the first to reach this “Last Place on Earth” just days earlier). Vaughan Williams provides short snippets from various literary sources at the headings of each movement to underline the spiritual meaning behind Scott’s quest, none more telling than Scott’s last journal entry at the head of the final movement: “I do not regret this journey; we took risks, we knew we took them, things have come out against us; therefore we have no cause for complaint.”

Vaughan Williams’ Sinfonia Antarctica is what I affectionately call an “IMAX in sound,” brilliantly scored to evoke the majesty, desolation and mystery of the Ice Continent. A wind machine helps whip up blizzard conditions, and a combination of harps, vibraphone, deep bells, and celesta (a piano-like instrument whose hammers hit metal plates instead of strings) – with a wordless women’s chorus and solo soprano – casts a decidedly otherworldly spell (something that likely influenced Danny Elfman in his various film scores, especially for the Tim Burton films, and Bernard Hermann in his music for Hitchcock films, especially the famous Dali-designed dream sequence in Spellbound).

The shattering climax of the piece is a truly thunderous entry by the organ in the third movement “Landscape,” which conjures up vast slabs of ice shearing from the cliffs and plunging into the frigid seas (you’ll hear it at around the three minute mark in this YouTube video clip). There’s nothing that I know in all of music that conveys the menacing power of winter more than this.

And in case you’re interested, here are a few recommended recordings of these pieces:

The dynamic young Russian conductor Vladimir Jurowski delivers a potent Tchaikovsky First in a new recording with the London Philharmonic.

Buy on Amazon
Buy on iTunes

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There are several great recordings of VW's "Antarctica" including this powerful one led by Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink.

Buy on Amazon

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I also enjoy this Naxos recording by Kees Bakels and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. And for $8.99, it's the most afordable way to get to Antartica.

Buy on Amazon
Buy on iTunes

But the past two years have been different, and thanks to the generosity of my family I’ve spent two consecutive Christmases in the Dominican Republic.   I could go on and on about how fun my family is to spend time with, and how incredibly funny and loving they all are.  They really understand that life is about having a good time and enjoying each other’s company.  That’s not a very difficult thing to do at a place like the Sanctuary resort in Cap Cana, where our daily regimen consisted of a lavish breakfast buffet, hours lying in the sun on a beachside lounge, lunch and afternoon drinks by the pool, a brief pre-dinner cocktail party, and then a big family meal either at one of the restaurants at the resort or at the nearby beach club or marina.  The Cap Cana area is one of the “up and coming” resort areas of the D.R., and the resort itself is breathtaking in every way.  The landscaping was impeccable and lavish, the buildings meant to capture high colonial Spanish style.  And of course, there’s the beach itself and that brilliant, shimmering blue of the Caribbean Sea.  The picture here can only hint at the overwhelming sensation of warmth that envelops you as you look out over the water to the horizon.

The view from the beach at the Sanctuary in the Dominican Republic

In the old days I would always travel with a bag of CDs or even cassettes (yes, I’m THAT old) because having the right music around when you’re on the road is crucial to setting the mood.  You really can’t fully comprehend the eloquence of Elgar until you hear the finale of his mighty First Symphony blazing in your ears as you stand at the center of a buzzing Trafalgar Square.  But oh, the iPod – how did we live without it?  After loading a few special Christmas selections beforehand, I was fully ready this time for a week on a tropical island.  Along with jazz classics like Getz/Gilberto, I had a handful of classical titles on my playlist, which I list here for those either lucky enough to be heading to a beach in the coming weeks, or cold enough to be looking for a little (and virtual) escape to a tropical paradise.

Debussy: La Mer and Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun (Bernard Haitink with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra on Philips Classics)

La Mer is the most beautiful musical depiction of the sea ever written. The light reflecting on the water, the wind whipping up the surf, the awesome power of the ocean – all of this comes to life in this three-movement masterpiece.  And if there’s a more relaxing way to spend ten minutes than listening to the Prelude of a Faun under a gently swaying palm tree I would like to know what it is!

Buy on iTunes
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And here is something to whet your appetite (this is from a performance of by Valery Gergiev and the London Symphony Orchestra).

Ravel:  Daphnis et Chloé (Myung-Whun Chung conducting on DG)

This “ballet for orchestra” is Ravel’s most lavish score, a love story between a Shephard (Daphnis) and a Shephardess (Chloé) set in the Greek Isles, complete with a  kidnapping by Pirates, an appeal to the God Pan, and a final ecstatic dance of celebration.  The stunning “Daybreak,” featuring chirping birds and glistening waterfalls, is one of the most glorious and rapturous moments in all of music.

Buy on iTunes
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Rimsky-Korsakov: Sheherazade (Charles Mackerras conducting the London Symphony Orchestra on Telarc)

This five-movement symphonic suite is a musical magic carpet ride to Arabia and the world of the 1001 Nights.  It’s a dazzling score with beguiling Oriental flavorings, depicting episodes from the tales of adventure related by Sherharazade,as she uses her master story-telling skills to save her life from the the bitter Persian King whom she beguiles and ultimately marries.

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1. A few works of classical music that you adore:

There are so many! Eugene Onegin. Everything by Rachmaninov! Piano Concertos by Mozart – No. 23 is my favorite, particularly the second movement.

2. Classical music recordings that you treasure:

There are millions! Alexandre Tharaud’s Rameau Suites; Perahia’s Bach albums; Caballé singing Trovatore, especially “D’amor sull’ ali rosee”

3. Favorite non-classical musicians and/or recordings:

Ella Fitzgerald; Bill Evans; Take Six.

4. Music that makes you cry – any genre:

Some of the ones I mentioned in the first question, especially the second movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23, and Caballe singing “D’amor sull’ ali rosee” from Verdi’s Il Trovatore. And Maria Callas singing “Addio del passato from the third act of La Traviata.

5. Definitely underrated work(s) or composer (s):

I like Hummel’s music, such as his Piano Concertos. He was a dear pupil of Mozart.

6. Possibly overrated work(s) or composer (s):

Verdi sometimes. Sometimes he goes for facility, but Falstaff, Otello and La Traviata are undoubtedly masterpieces.

7. Live music performance (s) you attended – any genre – that you’ll never forget:

Philippe Caubère is a French actor who did many plays that he wrote himself – improvisations telling us his story and his experience with Ariane Mnouchkine who is a famous theater director in Paris. She has a company called La Theatre de Soleil that is justifiably famous.

8. A few relatively recent films you love:

I’m actually too busy to go to the movies very often, but I saw and loved Slum Dog Millionaire.

9. A few films you consider classics:

Anything by Frank Capra, especially It’s A Wonderful Life.

10. A book (or two) that is important to you (and why):

Stefan Zweig’s memoir The World of Yesterday is difficult to describe but people should read it! Balzac’s Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes. I loveHamlet – it’s written centuries before Freud, but is so amazing in its psychological insight.

11. Thing(s) about yourself that you’re most proud of:

My fruitcake – I have a wonderful, simple recipe. I’m a very good baker. And my new long nails! I used to bite them, but it’s great to get rid of an addiction!

12. Thing(s) about yourself that you’re embarrassed by:

I won’t tell you!

13. Three things you can’t live without:

A view, flowers and humor.

14. “When I want to get away from it all I…”

Go to the sea.

15. “People are surprised to find out that I…”

They don’t find out anything about me. I keep it secret.

16. “My favorite cities are…”

New York and Paris.

17. “I have a secret crush on…”

I won’t tell you! Okay, I wouldn’t call it a crush, but I loved the young William Holden – especially in Picnic with Kim Novak.

18. “My most obvious guilty pleasure is…”

Pastries.

19. “I’d really love to meet…”

Peter Ustinov. I just love him. He was brilliant and very, very funny.

20. “I never understood why…”

People have to obey silly rules.

BONUS QUESTION:

21. Question you wish someone would ask you (and the answer to that question):

Q: I don’t like questions!

A: [silence]

For more on Dessay, including discography and upcoming calendar, visit www.natalie-dessay.com.

A prolific recording artist, with releases on both major and independent labels, Rousset has a distinguished discography that includes the complete harpsichord music of Couperin, Rameau, d’Anglebert and Forqueray, the great keyboard works of J.S. Bach, and a host of baroque operas – including lesser known French works and important scores that he discovered.

1.  A few works of classical music that you adore:

Monteverdi Eighth Book of Madrigals; Mozart Così fan tutte; Schumann Piano Concerto; Debussy Pelléas et Mélisande

2. Classical music recordings that you treasure:

Harnoncourt/Gruberova Concert arias/Mozart; Gardiner Idomeneo/Mozart, S.Richter Waldszenen/Schumann; Abbado Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune/Debussy

3. Favorite non-classical musicians and/or recordings:

I’ll have to get back to you on this one!

4. Music that makes you cry – any genre:

So much in Mozart; second movement of Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto; Brahms’ Deutsches Requiem

5. Definitely underrated work(s) or composer (s):

Leonardo Leo, a great composer

6. Possibly overrated work(s) or composer (s):

Vivaldi and Donizetti

7. Live music performance (s) you attended – any genre – that you’ll never forget:

Krystian Zimmerman piano recital in Menton festival (when I was a child) and Les Troyens by Berlioz in Paris conducted by Gardiner with Susan Graham and A.C. Antonacci.

8. A few relatively recent films you love:

Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut; Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises

9. A few films you consider classics:

Fellini’s La dolce vita; Godard’s Pierrot le fou; Lynch’s Mulholland Drive; Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard

10. A book (or two) that is important to you (and why):

Proust’s A la recherche du temps perdu. Why? Because it teaches me to live better.

11. Thing(s) about yourself that you’re most proud of:

Being sincere and truthful (it has cost me some effort!)

12. Thing(s) about yourself that you’re embarrassed by:

Getting angry too easily

13. Three things you can’t live without:

My harpsichord, a lover, and a project for the future

14. “When I want to get away from it all I…”

Go to my place in Tuscany in the hills and dream

15. “People are surprised to find out that I…”

Am more tender than they expect me to be.And that I actually press my own olive oil with the olives I grow!

16. “My favorite cities are…”

Paris, San Francisco and Florence

17. “I have a secret crush on…”

Chocolate

18. “My most obvious guilty pleasure is…”

Sweets

19. “I’d really love to meet – or to have met…”

Montaigne

20. “I never understood why…”

I insisted being a musician, but now I guess I have to keep on…

BONUS QUESTION:

21. Question you wish someone would ask you (and the answer to that question):

Q: Do you think human being is going to survive the crisis of civilization we are living now?

A: Our civilization is like an adult in his 40s having his crisis and having the choice of getting fat or having plastic surgery or just deciding to concentrate on “higher” matters, like philosophy, arts and ethics. Everything is still possible, but getting fat is probably the most likely.Valuing the head, the intelligence, and not the body is something requiring great maturity, I suspect.