One of my all time favorite pieces of music is Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina (translation: Lord, My God, Assist Me Now), by Il. Padre G. B. Martini, who lived from 1706-1784. Personally, I like it with string quartet, not piano and a bigger choir and the tenor line almost staccato not legato (the "smoother" versions are like saccharine - they make me hostile because they defeat the entire point).  I wish I could find a fantastic, flawless performance for you - especially one that was … [Read more...]

Jay Chou is one of my favorite musical artists (even though iTunes doesn't have much of his music on it the last time I checked). Anyway, at roughly 2:20 into the video ... most of America's pop royalty lack the musical education and technique to do this. The clip is from the film The Promise.  The two characters are having a piano duel with one playing something and the other having to repeat it or best it. Here is some of his more popular pop-music / adult contemporary: … [Read more...]