Over to Barcelona this week for a concert recorded this past February 22nd by Radio Nacional Espana, featuring Pianist Miquel Villalba in music of Satie, Ravel, Poulenc and Montsalvatge.

Broken up between two players, the concert goes something like this:

Ciclo de Cámara. Concierto celebrado en L´Auditori deBarcelona el 22 de febrero de 2012.

Part 1: POULENC: 3 Mouvements perpétuels.
MONTSALVATGE:3 Divertimentos para piano.
MILHAUD: Saudades doBrasil, Op. 67.
MONTSALVATGE: Sonatine pour Ivette.

Part 2: SATIE: 3 Gymnopédies.
RAVEL: Sonatine.
MONTSALVATGE: 4 Diàlegs amb el piano.
Miquel Villalba, Piano.

Good concert and one that definitely ranks high in the Anti-Road Rage Wednesday lexicon.

Enjoy.

Over to Switzerland this week for a concert recorded live just yesterday (December 7th) by the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra led by Conductor/Pianist Christian Zacharias. The Piano chores are taken over for this concert by Marc Pantillon who does a nice job with the Poulenc Aubade for 18 instruments and Piano. In addition to the Poulenc the concert starts off with the Prokofiev Symphony number 1 (Classical) and ends with the Bizet L'Arlesienne Suite.

As always, the concert is complete (I did cut out the half hour intermission) with the first half (Prokofiev and Poulenc) on the top player and the Bizet on the bottom player. For you note keepers, here's the rundown from Radio Suisse Romande:

Transmission directe du concert donné à la salle Métropole à Lausanne
dans le cadre des concerts d’abonne-ment de l’Orchestre de Chambre deLausanne
Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne
Marc Pantillon, piano
Direction: Christian Zacharias

- S. Prokofiev: Symphonie no 1, en ré majeur, dite «Classique», op. 25

- F. Poulenc: Aubade, concerto chorégraphique pour piano et 18 instruments, op. 25
- G. Bizet: L’Arlésienne. Musique de scène pour le drame en trois actes homonyme d’Alphonse Daudet. (extraits)

Announcements are in French. But don't let that stop you. It's anti-Road Rage Wednesday and you need all the help you can get.

(The del Valle Brothers, serving up very tasty Poulenc with a side of deFalla)

(believe me, if I didn't absolutely have to . . .)

This week's concert takes us back over to Spain to an Orchestra I'm not familiar with, a conductor I'm not familiar with, a Piano duo I'm not familiar with and one Spanish composer I'm not familiar with.

Well, what is life without adventure . . right? I was very pleasantly surprised by just how good this band sounds, Orquesta Sinfonica de la Region de Murcia and how good this conductor (Jose Miguel Rodilla) is and the piano duo of Luis and Victor del Valle really did some nice stuff to the Poulenc double Piano concerto, as well as an encore of pieces from La Vida Breve by deFalla. And I've got to do some research on Manuel Manrique de Lara, whose Symphonic poem Agamenon had me wanting to find out more about this composer.

All in all, what a good concert is supposed to be all about - pleasant surprises and discoveries.

It comes from Radio Nacional Espana from one of their daily matinee concerts recorded on November 6, 2009. I'm really rather blown away by the fact that RNE cranks out three of these concerts a day; one in the morning, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. And, even though some of the concerts are beamed from other parts of the world, most of what you hear is homegrown with mostly local talent. There is something to be said about the state of Arts and Culture in Spain right now and it's pretty high.

As always, the concert is complete - in addition to the de Lara and Poulenc pieces, the second half of the concert is the Tchaikovsky 4th Symphony. A familiar work, but with a fresh perspective.

So here's the rundown:

Matinés de Radio Clásica
Orquesta Sinfónica de la Región de Murcia.
Concierto celebrado en el Auditorio y Centro de Congresos Víctor Villegas de Murcia el 6 de Noviembre de 2009.

MANRIQUE DE LARA: Agamenón. POULENC: Concierto para dos pianos y orquesta en Re menor. CHAIKOVSKY: Sinfonía nº 4 en Fa menor, Op. 36. Luis y Victor del Valle (p.), Orq. Sinf. de la Región de Murcia. Dir.: Jose Miguel Rodilla.

Top player (up there) is the de Lara and Poulenc (and de Falla encore). Bottom player (down here) is the Tchaikovsky.

Announcements are in Spanish, so is the orchestra, so are the performers. The music is universal.

Something to take on the road with you.