Marc Andreessen RSS Feed:The people united will never be defeated

[David Sandusky]

My RSS Feed is a Thinker and Has Just Posted the Following:

Marc Canter titles a new blog post, calling for revolution in the virtual streets, "The people united will never be defeated."

Which presents a great opportunity for a late Saturday night music recommendation.

The phrase "The people united will never be defeated" is a translation of "El pueblo unido jamás será vencido", originally from mid-century Colombian politician Jorge Gaitán, who was, inevitably, assassinated. It later became a song written by Sergio Ortega and performed by the Chilean group Quilapayún, and was used in various political protest movements in South America.

But that's not why I'm writing about it.

In 1975, the great contemporary American composer Frederic Rzewski composed a set of 36 variations for solo piano under the name "The people united will never be defeated." His composition is probably the preeminent American work for solo piano in the 20th century, and is likely to stand over time as a peer to Beethoven's similar "Diabelli Variations".

Since we are currently -- despite everything you hear -- in the golden age of classical music, there are several modern and complete recordings of Rzewski's work available on CD. The two I recommend are:

• American pianist Stephen Drury's version. His CD includes the original song itself followed by the complete piano work, and is an excellent performance.
  
  
• Canadian pianist Marc-André Hamelin's version. Hamelin is probably the best pianist of his generation, and so anything he records is worth buying, this included.
  

Both are recorded in fully modern sound and are recommended for anyone who likes music, even if you don't think you like modern classical music. Just sit back with a glass of your favorite wine or Scotch, and enjoy.

Happy listening!

[Background information drawn from Wikipedia.]






click here to read more from and support Marc Andreessen and his interests