Countertenor Nicholas Spanos

In search of countertenor versions of the late 19th century French chanson repertoire, I encountered the gorgeous voice of Nicholas Spanos. His repertoire embraces all the usual standbys of modern countertenors - Baroque and older opera, with a good showing of French chanson, some Handel oratorio in English, Spanish folk songs, and Schubert lied. As well as possessing a beautiful timbre and well-chosen vibrato, Spanos is also a very handsome fellow (a necessary trait for fame in this media age, I am sorry to say), with the properly "exotic" tall-dark-handsome look of a leading tenor heartthrob. In short, I hope to see much more of this young singer in the future!  Check out plavos's channel on Youtube for the extensive collection of his repertoire.
Now if only I could hear him sing "Lascia ch'io pianga"......

The Short but Promising Life of Ernst Mielck

Ernst Mielck was a Finnish pianist and composer whose life was entirely spent in the last third of the 19th century. He died of tuberculosis two days before his 22nd birthday, leaving a small oeuvre of approximately 30 works. The Finnish critic Flodin, a contemporary of Sibelius, called him "the Finnish Schubert." During his brief career Mielck wrote songs for four part choir, orchestra pieces, chamber music, and works featuring his own instrument, the piano. As with the premature death of Mozart, we will never know what the mature Mielck would have produced; at the time of his death, his compositions had just won international notice, and even favorable comparison with Sibelius, considered a rival by critics. It is interesting to note that Mielck did not begin playing or composing music until he was 10, making his career and development by the time of his death even more remarkable. 

The few recordings I can locate are available through Naxos Music Library: the String Quartet, op.1; the Fairy Tale Symphony, op.4; the Konzertstuck for Violin, op.8, and two songs for baritone on poems by Fontane, without opus. Scores for one of the songs, Heimat, and the String Quartet are available through IMSLP, as well as 3 works for piano and 4 songs for choir. These pieces, however, have been scanned in color and are consequently difficult to reproduce in a printed copy. I transcribed several of the partsongs and the Sarabande, one of Mielck's last works, in a clean and reproducible copy.  Mielck's music is late-Romantic and as accessible as that of Sibelius, with the piano music idiomatic and brilliant as might be expected from a composer who was first a pianist. What I have seen of his oeuvre tends to be melancholy, but this may not be representative of the (only slightly larger) entire collection. 

Here is a recording of the Symphony from youtube: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wCb3ggMAD8 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8R7h1qEUPxc 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DosihHqf61o 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCyi9vkxJc8 

and the Violin Concerto: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9yxF6AATH0&feature=related 


Sources: Grove, Naxos, additional links available from wikipedia