Wednesday

I completely forgot that I had to be at work at noon yesterday.  I was blissfully sleeping my day away when the boss called at 11:55 wondering where I was.  I have a habit of arriving at least 15 minutes early for a shift and he was worried I had forgotten, which I had.  I still made it there by 12:18.  However after working all day, when I got home from work, I did not feel like doing anything, so I didn't do much.  I did manage to whip out a quick meal of panko breaded Talapia filets with some fries.  However that only took a half an hour in the oven and it was a done deal.  After that, it was major veg time.

So in order to make up for a lack of a post yesterday, I went looking for something musical you would enjoy from a composer of which you may never have heard.  I know I had not until I heard a piece by him on Venice Classic Radio last night.  Thankfully, You Tube as usual came through with a selection of works by Sigismund Thalberg from which to choose.  Sigismond Thalberg (January 8, 1812 – April 27, 1871) was a composer and one of the most distinguished virtuoso pianists of the 19th century.  

Thalberg was born in Pâquis near Geneva, Switzerland, on January 8, 1812. According to his birth certificate, he was the son of "Joseph Thalberg" and "Fortunée Stein", both from Frankfurt-am-Main, but the names in the birth certificate are now regarded as fictitious.

The identity of Thalberg's mother is now generally accepted as Baroness Maria Julia Wetzlar von Plankenstern. She was born Julia Bydeskuty von Ipp, from a Hungarian family of a lower rank of the nobility. In 1820 she married Baron Alexander Ludwig Wetzlar von Plankenstern. 

Thalberg's father is believed to have been Prince Franz Joseph von Dietrichstein who also held the title 'von Thalberg'. Prince von Dietrichstein was unable to marry Thalberg's mother as he was already married (to Alexandrine Countess Schuwalow in 1797).

In November 1835 Thalberg arrived in Paris. He performed on November 16, 1835, at a private concert of the Austrian ambassador Count Rudolph Apponyi. On January 24, 1836, he took part in a concert of the "Society of the Paris Conservatoire concerts", playing his "Grande fantaisie" op.22. Thalberg was praised by many of the most prominent artists, among them Rossini and Meyerbeer.

Your Musical Moment for today features one of Thalbergs works from this period, his Les Soirées de Pausilippe, Op. 75. Hommage à Rossini : 24 pensées musicales.  Loosely translated as 24 musical thoughts as a tribute to Rossini.  Today's performance was recorded in the Concert Hall of Slovak Radio, Bratislava, on 22nd and 23rd October, 1995. [Marco Polo, HNH International Ltd, 1997] with Francesco Nicolosi at the Piano.  You may hear more of Thalberg's marvelous music on my tumblr. That is where you will find his Piano Concerto in F Minor, Opus 5 with a performance once again by Francesco Nicolosi on the Piano accompanied by the Razumovsky Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Andrew Mogrelia.

 Now to accompany all this beautiful Music, I must have some Art in the Male Form which will be its equal in beauty if not in form.  I think I have accomplished that with this week's collection of hunks and hotties in this edition of Wet Wednesday.  You will find them splashing about playfully in the pools, beaches and baths of the world and on display below the play list.  For more wonderful wetness, cruise over to my tumblr and take a gander at David R Morin who is your Hottie of the Day!.  Thanks for the visit, see you again soon.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!