Beethoven Violin Concerto in D Major transcribed for Piano as Op. 61A

The piano concerti of Beethoven are among the best known works in the classical repertoire. The Violin Concerto in D major. Op. 61, written in 1806, is also a favourite. Beethoven’s own transcription for the piano,however, of this concerto has been neglected. It was better received than the original violin concerto as it required much more presence of the soloist. Beethoven transcribed a number of his works and he was not the only one to do so. Johann Sebastian Bach and Vivaldi and Telemann have transcribed many of their works. There is a good site which gives details about famous transcriptions. It is www.classicaldiscoveries.com. The transcription for piano was written a year after the original in 1807 but published in early 1808. It was immediately accepted by the keyboard virtuosi of the time and was championed by pianist and composer Muzio Clementi. The original composition for violin was called “A Symphony for Violin and Orchestra”, a title justified perhaps in light of the virtuosity required by the solo part. The transcription for piano, on the other hand, is much more demanding. Daniel Barenboim playing and conducting the English Chamber Orchestra http://youtu.be/PcIhbYp_hS8

Beethoven E Flat Major Piano Concerto No. 0 Wo04

This piano concerto sketch was done by Beethoven in 1783 when he was just thirteen. Piano fragments and sketches by Beethoven have been orchestrated by Willy Hess Soloist: Camelia Sima Jena Thuringia Philharmonic David Montgomery http://youtu.be/PomqutCkk4w http://youtu.be/8LVAI5s3P1M http://youtu.be/FE8S1fMzSs0 The work has three movements: Allegro Moderato/Larghetto/Rondo Allegretto. There is much influence in this piano concerto of Franz Joseph Haydn as he was teaching Beethoven music theory and composition at this time.

Celibidache's New World with Munich

Here is a 1991 Munich performance that beats the New World readings of Toscanini, Karajan, Mehta, Rudolf Kempe and Karel Ancerl but does not beat the readings of Sir Georg Solti, Leonard Bernstein, Istvan Kertesz and Carlo Maria Giulini. http://youtu.be/_9RT2nHD6CQ

A Southern Pacific Voyage

Write up on top southern Pacific cruises. Southern Pacific cruises will offer unparalleled beauty of nature and exotic cultures in the islands. Most preferred destinations in the Southern Pacific Ocean are the Indonesian island of Krakatau, Fiji, Tahiti and Tonga. Mixed passenger and cargo vessels sail to these places. There are other luxury expedition cruise vessels too. Some of the well known cruise operators are Adventure Life, Yatama Tours, Paradise Adventures, Princess Cruises and the Moorings. You can take a cruise to the Krakatau Island which is well known for its ancient volcano. This is one of the seven hundred islands of Indonesia. Anak Krakatau has the most ferocious volcano in the world and it is still active. Visitors are allowed to climb the smaller Child of Krakatau. It takes about an hour to climb. You can enjoy the great panorama while climbing. The sunrise is beautiful at the top of the first level. You can observe black lava stones that have been deposited from several past eruptions of the volcano. Its eruption in 1883 has been recorded as the most violent volcanic event of all times. There was an explosion of about one hundred and fifty megatons of trinitrotoluene when the magma blasted the sea water and turned to steam. Its blast was heard even four thousand kilometers away in India to the west and Australia to the east. The Volcanic Explosive Index of the eruption was a colossal 6 on the scale. You will also be taken to the neighbouring Rakata Island to snorkel and explore the majestic coral reefs. You can visit the Baduy Tribe and witness their daily activities. Taking a cruise holiday in Fiji is an exciting way to experience this exotic region which is still relatively virgin territory in nature as it has not been affected much by the explosion of tourism development. It is simply awesome to take a cruise through these tropical volcanic islands of Fiji with their amazing coral gardens. The gateway to Fiji is the Yasawa Island with its crystal clear waters. The Fiji Archipelago is made up of over three hundred islands. You will get a chance to visit the limestone caves on the Yasawa Island group which itself is made up of around twenty volcanic islands. Some of these islands have mountains that are rising close to six hundred meters in height. The beaches are sandy. These cruises include trips to the villages where you can mix with the locals and take part in their cultural ceremonies and traditions. These villages are not polluted with modern technology. The Southern Pacific Islands of Tahiti are rich in exotic sounds as well as sights. These islands have also given inspiration to great writers like Robert Louis Stevenson. The green forests and high mountain peaks make up the exotic landscape. There is plenty of opportunity to explore the lovely forests. The climate is warm in Tahiti. You will be comfortable with loose-fit clothes. Sarongs and swimsuits are quite suitable to wear onboard during the day. While packing for the voyage, it is important to remember hats, sunglasses and sunscreen lotion. It is better to avoid over-exposure to the sun. Many people have hailed Tahiti as one of the most romantic places on earth. The cruises to Tahiti offer great sights of mountainous peaks and majestic valleys. You will get a chance to explore lagoons in a glass-bottom boat and trek into the hills for a great view of the French Polynesian Sea. There are many options for water activities during the Tahiti cruises. You can do windsurfing, jet skiing, parasailing and snorkelling. You can take a cruise to Tahiti at any time of the year. The cruises are of a fortnight’s duration. Most of them leave from Papeete which is the capital of French Polynesia. The favoured sailing season to the Kingdom of Tonga in the Southern Pacific is between April and November. The weather in this period is warm and tropical. The Vavau Island group in the Tonga Kingdom is a good sailing holiday destination. You can see some of the most beautiful islands in the world while cruising here on luxury yachts. This area is known as the `friendly’ islands region as you get a warm welcome and experience pleasant hospitality from the locals here. You will be able to see many humpback whales from these islands. During your cruise, you can see vast sea life that includes whales, turtles and marlins. You can snorkel inside the caves near the coral reefs and participate in the village feasts where you will be served food on banana leaves. The water at the shores is so clear that you can spot the anchor on the bottom at a depth of even thirty meters. The power catamarans to cruise to Tonga Islands are available from almost anywhere like the Virgin Islands, the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Seychelles and Thailand. Read more: http://trifter.com/asia-pacific/a-southern-pacific-voyage/#ixzz2Y3I09NQr

Champion of Champions

Ravishankar Jayadratha Shastri was born on 27th May 1962 at Bombay. His father, Jayadratha Shastri, is a renowned doctor. He studied in Don Bosco School at Matunga. He graduated from R.A. Podar College at Mumbai. Early in his career, Ravi Shastri was mainly a slow left arm orthodox leg break bowler. After Sachin Tendulkar, he was the youngest player to have been selected for Mumbai at 17 years and 292 days. He started playing domestic first class cricket in 1980. He played for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy and even led them to the championship. He has also played for Glamorgan County. Ravi Shastri made his test debut on 21st February 1981 against New Zealand in the first test at Basin Reserve, Wellington. He played his last test against South Africa on 26th December 1992. He played in 80 tests, scoring 3,830 runs with a highest score of 206 and taking 151 wickets and 36 catches with 11 centuries and 12 fifties. He has played 150 one day matches, scoring 3,108 runs and taking 129 wickets and 40 catches with 4 centuries and 18 fifties. He has played 523 first class matches, scoring 19,585 runs with 40 centuries and 104 fifties. He has picked up 763 wickets and has taken 235 catches. He made his one day debut against England at Ahmedabad on 25th November 1981. He played his last one day match against South Africa on 17th December 1992. His statistics prove that he was one of the greatest Indian all rounders. He was a right hand bat and a left arm bowler. His all round cricket abilities with the bat and the ball made him a constant in the Indian cricket team in the nineteen eighties. He started as a bowler and used to bat around the tenth spot. Within a short span of time, he grew in his batting stature so much that he was opening the innings for India. Ravi Shastri was a member of the 1983 winning squad at the World Cup in England but he was not playing in all the matches. He made his mark in the 1985 Benson and Hedges Championship of Cricket in Australia where he picked up the Man of the Series Award for his 182 runs and 8 wickets. He was declared as the `Champion of Champions’ for his consistent performance. Ravi Shastri is also famous after Sir Garfield Sobers for hitting six sixes in an over but in a domestic match while Sobers had done that in a test match. Later, Herschelle Gibbs of South Africa and Yuvraj Singh of India have repeated this feat. Ravi Shastri captained India in one test match which India won, giving him a 100% captaincy record. However, the best captains for India have been Ajit Wadekar, Kapil Dev Nikhanj and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. In his debut test series in New Zealand, Ravi Shastri took three wickets in four balls in his first test in the second innings. He also took seven wickets in the third test to be awarded the man of the match. He took fifteen wickets in his first series which was the highest for both the sides. Ravi Shastri has a record partnership of 235 runs with Syed Kirmani for the seventh wicket against England. His best innings was 107 not out played overseas at West Indies against an attack that included Courtney Walsh, Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose and Ian Bishop. He also has a double hundred to his account, 206 made against Australia in Australia. Ravi Shastri was essentially a defensive batsman with a trademark `chapati’ shot. It was a flick off the pads. He could be aggressive when required. His height of 6’3” gave him a good reach and an upright stance. He retired from first class cricket in September 1994. Since then, he has been a leading commentator for many sports broadcasting television channels. In 2007, he was made the Manager of the Indian side that toured Bangla Desh. He was given the Arjuna Award in 1984.

Zite could be Your Personalized Magazine

Zite is an App that is available on iOS. This App could become your customized magazine. It could be added free on iPad. If you have been keeping an eye out for an online magazine with a content that can be customized to your preferences, Zite is the answer to your search. It is a social feed aggregator and pulls content from your own feeds and popular web based applications. It is quite similar to Flipboard which has been considered as Apple’s App of the year. The user interface of Zite is somewhat like a print publication. The whole design of the magazine is well organized. When you start up, the App will ask you to sync your Twitter and Google Reader feeds. You can then find a page with a whole range of customizing content. If you are a tech buff, you can choose feeds exclusively related to technology. You can even micro manage the feeds by selecting particular brands like Google, Apple or Microsoft and read stories that are related only to those brands. An important feature of Zite is that it displays all the content in its own windows. This gives the App a print publication feel. You can play YouTube videos on the App but the App struggles with HTML 5 based content. Another great feature of Zite is its quick learning capability. If you like a particular article, the App adapts and offers similar content to you.

An Adventure in the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea is all deep blue and sparkling! On the cruise, you will be experiencing the salty northern winds in the lovely sunlight. The most prominent destinations on the Baltic Cruise are Helsinki, Turku, Aland Islands, Stockholm, Tallinn and Riga. The Major cruise operators are the Tallink Grupp, Silja Lines, Viking Line, Azura Cruises, Lindblad Expeditions and Ocean Princess Cruises. Tallink Grupp is a major shipping company operating in the Baltic Sea. It owns eighteen ships that cruise under the brand names of Tallink and Silja Lines on six separate routes. The Tallink and Silja Lines ships have good cafes and restaurants, bars, duty-free shopping, sauna bath and swimming pools. Baltic Sea cruises run between May and August because the weather is cold during the rest of the year and not comfortable for cruising. Sailing to the Baltic Sea is mostly to and from Helsinki which stretches across many peninsulas and islands. The city is a hub for most of the Baltic Sea cruises. Carl Ludvig Engel’s architecture in the Senate Square is magnificent. The floral markets are full of colors and fragrance. Sailing has become a way of life in Scandinavia. The Baltic Sea has become an important part of the Nordic region. Helsinki is considered as the `daughter’ of the Baltic Sea. It is Finland’s capital and its largest city. The marketplace is close by to the harbor. Another important attraction in Helsinki is the Suomenlinna Fortress, also known as the Gibraltar of the North, which has guarded the entrance to the city for centuries. The Helsinki Cathedral is also symbolic of the city. It was designed and completed in 1852 by the famous architect, Carl Ludvig Engel. A third of the city is made up of green areas and parks. The first port of call on the Baltic adventure is Turku from Helsinki. The archipelago and the Aurajoki River are the main sights at Turku. The world’s largest cruise liner, Oasis of the Seas, was constructed at the shipyard outside Turku. In summer, people get together for a picnic on the Aurajoki River. Along this river, you will come across the Turku Castle which has become a national monument since the fifteenth century. Turku is the oldest city in Finland and is regarded as the official Christmas City in the country. The next stop on the cruise is Mariehamn, the capital of the Aland Islands. The islands belong to Finland. The surprising thing to note is that the spoken language is Swedish and not Finnish. You can do cycling, fishing and kayaking on these islands. Mariehamn is only few hours away from Stockholm which is the next port of call. Stockholm has many palaces to offer. One such famous one is Drottningholm which is the residence of the royal family. Stockholm is also famous for its Blue House where the Nobel Prize functions are held. The city is characterized by cobbled stone streets and rows of boutiques and antique shops. The Stockholm Archipelago stretches for more than sixty kilometers to the east. Stockholm is sometimes referred to as the Venice of the North. It is surrounded by clean and green islands. It has become a very popular cruise destination and each year, there are more than three hundred liners that enter this city. The internal harbours in Stockholm are all adequately equipped for the arrival of cruise ships and their locations in central are responsible in making this city a popular cruise destination. The next port of call is Tallinn which is the largest city and capital of Estonia. Its old town has been listed as a World Heritage site by UNESCO. It is also ranked as one of the top ten digital cities in the world. Tallinn is regarded as one of the well preserved cities in Northern Europe. It has become an important and a popular cruise stop for ships. Its Pirita Beach has a good view of the Gulf of Finland. The final port of call on this Baltic adventure is Riga. This is also a popular port in the Baltic Sea region. About a hundred cruise ships dock at the port every year. Riga is the largest city and the capital of Latvia. Riga is also the largest city of the Baltic States. There are many buildings in Riga with mediaeval style of architecture. The old town has several cathedrals housing one of the world’s most ancient and historic pipe organs. The Baltic Sea is big and bold and has always drawn many adventurers to it. When you take a cruise to the Baltic Sea and visit the magnificent ports of Northern Europe, you will realize why people keep coming back to this part of the world.