Vilnius'

Ciurlionis composed these works for string quartet in 1901 and 1902 mostly while studying under Salomon Jadassohn at the Leipzig Conservatory. The canons and fugues move from serious and contemplative to bursting with joy. These are my personal favorites of his musical compositions. I never tire listening to them.

Baltic Books @ Amazon.com

This 2CD set by Chick Corea - recorded in Quebec - contains several tracks called Chick Talks. During the first, he explains, "I have to begin by getting a feel for this piano…I have no plan for this evening", so I was prepared for free improvisations and a scholarly lecture. But when Corea says "Welcome to my living room" we are transported from the concert hall to an intimate solo recital that is coloured by his relaxed, conversational introductions. How Deep is the Ocean? eventually emerges empirically from a collection of apparently unrelated phrases, after which Corea comments, "I don’t know where that came from". Although there is a lot of improvisation in this piece, all of the other pieces are premeditated. Corea prefaces each batch of tunes with background details and personal reminiscences.