The Whole Music Experience

Jon Manasse (Clarinet) & Seattle Symphony Mozart and Spohr Clarinet Concertos Harmonia Mundi I leap at the chance to review Mozart (1756-1791) recordings because as far as healing music goes, Mozart’s falls at the top of the list. I became a fan of Mozart in recent years because I had to grow into his music and experience life fully before this repertoire made sense to me. Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A Major K622  is one of my favorite classical music pieces, if not one of my favorite all-around music pieces period. The second Adagio movement inspired another one of my favorite concertos, Maurice Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major (which is mostly reflected in the second movement). Both Mozart and Ravel were master orchestrators and employed instrumental voices to their fullest capabilities. As a former Seattlelite, I felt pleased to discover a Mozart recording with Seattle Symphony on board and Maestro Gerard Schwartz at the helm. Guest soloist Jon Manasse seems...

Alex Hargreaves Prelude Adventure Music Release date: 2-16-2010 Often when an extremely talent young musician comes on the scene, someone drags out a comparison to Mozart (one of the most famous child prodigies of all time). However, we forget that wunderkind types have always existed though they are labeled “Indigo” and “Crystal” children these days. These virtuosic youth take our breath away with their incredible talents and in some cases, maturity beyond their years. Fiddler-violinist Alex Hargreaves, still in his teens, has already astounded renowned Americana musicians such as Mike Marshall (who produced Hargreaves debut Prelude ), Darol Anger (appears as a guest musician) and David Grisman to name three. Hargreaves comes off as a fireball, playing those rousing staccato passages as well as, the more feeling lyrical ones. And he possesses the musical emotional maturity of a musician twice and maybe three times his age (17). He plays with confidence and poise and h...