This past Monday Alessandro Marangoni (Second Life avatar “Benito Flores”) had a live performance on the Music Academy onLIVE show at SLCN.tv in Second Life.

For those who missed this performance you can watch a recording of the show below.

If you enjoyed this Marangoni’s performance, then you must check out his albums on the Naxos label:

• ROSSINI, G.: Piano Music, Vol. 1 (Marangoni) - Peches de vieillesse, Vols. 7, 9 (8.570590-91)
• ROSSINI, G.: Piano Music, Vol. 2 (Marangoni) - Peches de vieillesse, Vol. 6 (8.570766)

The acclaimed young Italian pianist Alessandro Marangoni (Second Life avatar “Benito Flores”) will be joining Benton Wunderlich in his weekly show Music Academy onLIVE on SLCN.tv in Second Life. The show will be recorded live on February 23, 2009, 16:00 - 17:00 (American Time - Second Life Time) at the Main Auditorium on Utwig Sim.

During the show, American composer David Schwartz will interview “Benito” about his new Naxos recording of Rossini’s Piano Music, Vol. 2 - Péchés de vieillesse, Vol. 6 (8.570766) and “Benito” will play excerpts from the recording during the interview.

Alessandro Marangoni is recording Rossini’s complete piano music for Naxos. The first volume, Péchés de vieillesse (8.570590-91) has already been critically praised.

Benito Flores

Here is an article from Anne is a Man of Naxos Classical Music Spotlight Podcast Episode: Introducing Bright Sheng

This composer of Chinese descent is not easy to place, just as, host Raymond Bisha compares, the Belgian composer Olivier Messiaen…

… making orchestras is one thing, but developing a repertoire is much, much more difficult…

… he brings in his Chinese roots, he also learns from the western musical tradition. The result is profoundly Chinese…

Read more.

Here is a review from The Opinionated Arpeggist by Robert on Naxos Music Library

… It’s better than I could have imagined and, to quote Harrison Ford, I can imagine quite a lot…

… Head to the site and stream the BIS recordings of his piano music…

… You get my point. You want it, you can hear it. In a couple of clicks…

Read more.

Here is a review from Audiophile Audition by Charles T. Downey on DVORAK - Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”

We have been hearing Marin Alsop go through the Dvořák symphonies with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the eighth and the sixth this past season…

… once again Alsop puts an overly heavy mark on the score, tending to shave time off…

… By report — for example, Alsop’s podcast interview — she has studied the scores of these 19th-century composers very closely…

Read more.

Here is a review from BaltimoreSun.com by Tim Smith on COPLAND, A.: The City

The film, made by Ralph Steiner and Willard Van Dyke and scripted by urban planner Lewis Mumford, examines the most unattractive aspects of modern metropolitan life and promotes an environmentally friendly, government-spearheaded alternative…

… with his usual care and expressiveness, comes through as vibrantly as the camerawork. This is particularly true in the brilliant urban scenes…

… extras include the complete 43-minute film with its original soundtrack and narrator, and a short film from 2000 about the development of Greenbelt. Among those interviewed in the latter is an original 1930s resident…

Read more.