Staying on the theme of Spring (we’ll be here for a while) …
I don’t need to tell you that Spring is more than just a change of season – it’s a rebirth after death, warmth after cold, light after darkness.
It can also be so much more complex than that. Edvard Grieg‘s work, “Last Spring”, was inspired by the poetry of Aasmund Olavsson Vinje. The title sounds like the work will be a nostalgic daydream … however, the word “last” in this case refers not to the previous year, but the sense that this will be the poet’s final spring on earth. Bittersweet indeed.
Like many of Grieg’s most famous works, it was originally written for piano, and later arranged it for orchestra (in this case, just strings) by the composer.
When enjoying art, music, literature, etc., it’s so easy to get fixated on big names – the Picassos, Beethovens, or Dickens (Dickenses?). Over-indulgence of these big names often means little gems get overlooked. José Silvestre White Lafitte was an Afro-Cuban virtuoso violinist who left us only a few composed works. He lived a long life, traveled the world, and received accolades for his violin playing. Here is his “La Bella Cubana”, a habanera, which (likely) captures the sound of 19th century Cuba in a more authentic way than some more famous 20th century American examples.
The music is great. The video, however, changes camera angles WAY too often. The piece ends at 5:45, and after that it’s a fade-out replay.
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