It's Friday and I am Ready for my Weekend!

I had a great day off yesterday.  Even with all my usual payday chores and errands I managed to work in a nap and an 8 hour sleep session.  As a result, I feel well rested going into Friday truck night, then it is on to the Weekend!  I have no specific plans, but time off is time off and I plan on enjoying myself!  But first, I have some Music and some Men to share with you today.  

Here of late I have come to really appreciate the works of Czech Composer Bedrich Smetana.  I have to great live performances for your listening pleasure today.  First up down below,  you will find the opening concert of the 2015 Prague Spring Concert Series with the NDR Sinfonieorchester Hamburg,
Thomas Hengelbrock Conducting.  Their performance?  One of Bedrich Smetana's greatest symphonic triumphs, his salute to his Czech homeland 'Ma Vlast (My Country)'.  It is a marvelous suite and a beautiful performance.  Over on my tumblr is one of Smetana's more intimate works.  The Seoul String Quartet Concert was held at Chamber Hall of Seoul Arts Center on December the 8th, 2011 as they perform Smetana's String Quartet Number 1 "From My Life".  The Seoul String Quartet members are Violin Wayne Lin; Violin A-Rah Shin; Viola Hung-Wei Huang & Cello Sangmin Park.

As for visual excitement, it is Friday after all, so of course we want to feed that active imagination you all possess.  You will find nutrition aplenty posted down below in this week's sexy edition of Fantasy Fuel.  Over on my tumblr, you will find the Hottie of the Day! offers you an 'Inviting Island in the Sun'.  Thanks for the visit, see you again real soon.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!   

At Long Last...

... I have finally gotten all my chores and errands done for this pay day, but lord knows it was not easy this week.  I have yet to sleep, but at least all I have left is the laundry.  I will do that tomorrow once I have had some rest.  As it is I am one tired puppy, but I did not want you guys to think I had abandoned you to other blogs.  I just ran outta time, lol.  I did manage to gather some excellent photographs both days which I combined in a mega Post: "Thursday Combo, Splashy Sexiness and Denim Delights Just For You!". You can cruise on down the page to peruse the bonteous beauty to behold in the 48 gorgeous photographic portraits found there.  As for Music, I was in a very Vivaldi mood when I went to look for a selection for today.  Therefore you will get a slight overdose of Antonio Lucio in 17 of his 39 Bassoon Concerti beautifully recorded by Klaus Thunemann and I Musici in a 2 CD set available here.  The play list below includes tracks;

1. 1-3 Concerto In A Minor, Rv 497 La Mineur A- Moll
2. 4-6 Concerto In C Major, Rv 473 Ut Majeur. C-Dur
3. 7-9 Concerto In G Major, Rv 493 Sol Majeur.G-Dur
4. 10-12 Concerto In C Major, Rv 471 Ut Majeur.C-Dur
5. 13-15 Concerto In A Minor,Rv 500 La Mineur.A-Moll
6. 16-18 Concerto In D Minor, Rv 481 Re Mineur.F-Moll
7. 19-21 Concerto In B Flat Major, Rv 504 Si Bemol Majeur. B-Moll
8. 22-24 Concerto In G Minor, Rv 496 Sol Mineur. G- Moll

The other disc containing 9 additional Concerti is waiting your listening pleasure over on my tumblr.  While you are there be sure to check out 'A Perfect Pit Stop", Your Hottie of the Day! Thanks for the visit, see you again soon.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

A Much Better Place

I am in a much better place now than when last we spoke.  It turns out not everyone forgot my birthday although it seemed like it at the time.  It's funny how depression works that way.  I got several bd greeting on facebook here I have not been spending much time lately, but that was nice.  Will did remember, just after I went to work wehn he got up for the evening. He brightened my day with a bd greeting via text while I was at work.  So by the time I got home from work, I felt somewhat better than I had been.  Then time got away from me as it has a want to do on payday and I had no chance to tell you I was being a silly ninny and had gotten over myself. 

When I logged on to Skype last night, there was a greeting from one of my original contacts with whom I had not spoken in forever.  He happened to be online and we had a nice long visit to catch up with each other.  I also added the Skype app to my phone so that those of you who do not have unlimited free long distance or live nearby can now call me via Skype and get me on my new phone.  You can find me on Skype by searching for uncle.gerry, the we can chat via voice or IM without either of us bothering the phone companies for their time. 

So let's get the Weekend rolling with some really wonderful Music by Felix Mendelssohn with the complete 8 book set of his Songs Without Words for Piano performed by Rena Kyriakou.  The play list reads as follows:

Book 1, Op. 19b (1829-1830)
00:00:00 No. 1 in E major
00:04:38 No. 2 in A minor
00:06:50 No. 3 in A major
00:09:16 No. 4 in A major
00:11:32 No. 5 in F-sharp minor
00:14:14 No. 6 in G minor

Book 2, Op. 30 (1833-1834)
00:16:49 No. 1 in E-flat major
00:21:32 No. 2 in B-flat minor
00:23:48 No. 3 in E major
00:26:01 No. 4 in B minor
00:28:56 No. 5 in D major
00:31:20 No. 6 in F-sharp minor

Book 3, Op. 38 (1836-1837)
00:35:05 No. 1 in E-flat major
00:37:06 No. 2 in C minor
00:38:51 No. 3 in E major
00:41:05 No. 4 in A major
00:43:27 No. 5 in A minor
00:45:54 No. 6 in A-flat major

Book 4, Op. 53 (1839-1841)
00:50:07 No. 1 in A-flat major
00:53:46 No. 2 in E-flat major
00:55:53 No. 3 in G minor
00:58:40 No. 4 in F major
01:01:40 No. 5 in A minor
01:04:40 No. 6 in A major

Book 5, Op. 62 (1842-1844)
01:07:21 No. 1 in G major
01:10:24 No. 2 in B-flat major
01:12:21 No. 3 in E minor
01:16:11 No. 4 in G major
01:17:37 No. 5 in A minor
01:20:56 No. 6 in A major

Book 6, Op. 67 (1843-1845)
01:23:14 No. 1 in E-flat major
01:26:17 No. 2 in F-sharp minor
01:28:36 No. 3 in B-flat major
01:31:10 No. 4 in C major
01:33:05 No. 5 in B minor
01:35:06 No. 6 in E major

Book 7, Op. 85 (1834-1845)
01:37:19 No. 1 in F major
01:40:10 No. 2 in A minor
01:41:07 No. 3 in E-flat major
01:43:31 No. 4 in D major
01:47:14 No. 5 in A major
01:49:15 No. 6 in B-flat major

Book 8, Op. 102 (1842-1845)
01:51:35 No. 1 in E minor
01:54:32 No. 2 in D major
01:56:46 No. 3 in C major
01:58:17 No. 4 in G minor
02:00:30 No. 5 in A major

Meanwhile over on my tumblr, join Love Derwinger & Roland Pöntinen at the Pianos for their performance of Mendelssohn's Double Piano Concerto in A Major.  The Soloists are accompanied by The Nieuw Sinfonietta Amsterdam under the baton of Lev Markiz.

Then everyone's favorite thing about Friday's here at Nichevo is the posting of Friday's Frisky Fellas who are on display down below to supply you with plenty of Fantasy Fuel for the Weekend.  Then the 'Silver Stud' Hottie of the Day! over on my tumblr invites you to spend a moment in Paradise with him.  Thanks for stopping by on your travels on web, see you again soon.  Until next time as always, Enjoy

And Then The Phone Rang...

I think I made it to Friday.  Let me check that Thursday is ACTUALLY  over...  Last we spoke I was saying my Pay Day was to be jam packed with activity.  Boy was it ever.  I thought it would never end.  I had made good progress through my list. So much so, I eliminated the last errand as it had become unnecessary.   I was winding down getting ready to head off to some much deserved rest.  And then the phone rang...

It was my boss of course saying some waste-oid had called in for some flimsy excuse or another (For a waste-oid, almost any one will do!) and wanting me to cover the shift.  I did it of course, but by the time I did get around to getting that much needed rest, it was nigh onto 10 PM.  As a result, both my body clock and my schedule are kinda whacked today.  No matter, after truck night, I have the weekend off and all will be OK!  Luckily as I began my process to put this post together, a beautiful thing popped up in my You Tube Subscriptions In Box.  I would thus like to share it with you now.  

Today's Musical Moment is the first recording ever released of the Sonata for Cello and Piano by Dimitri Shostakovich.  The recording is by the Moscow Radio House from 1959 and features the Composer himself at the Piano and Mstislav Rostropovich as the Cellist.   It is a monaural recording, yet the mystery of Shostakovich and the rich masterful tones of Rostropovich ring out  in this marvelous classic recording.  Fast forward a few years and you will find this performance of the Shostakovich Cello Concerto Number 1 by  Eugene Ormandy and The Philadelphia Orchestra with  Yo Yo Ma as the Soloist to be equally intriguing.  You may hear that recording over on my tumblr.  

Then Friday would not be Friday with just a bit of Fantasy Fuel which you will find posted down below.  There is also the Hottie of the Day! who wants to take you on a Picnic in the Park over on my tumblr.  Thanks for the visit, stop in tomorrow for another Fabulous Live Saturday Evening Concert, see you then.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

Joshua Bell Live

Well I finally got all my chores and errands done making it possible to now listen to some excellent Music.  And ogle some magnificent Men in the course of enjoying the rest of my day off, lol.  Your featured Artist today is American Violinist Joshua Bell, one of the premier Violinists in the world today.  (It does seem I have been on a Violin Concerto binge this week.  Does it not?) I have two live performances to share with you today.  Here in these pages I have Joshua Bell in concert with the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America under the baton of Valery Gergiev in their performance of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D Major, Opus 35.  While over on my tumblr, you may catch Josh's live performance of the Sibelius Violin Concerto in D Minor, Opus 47 with the Oslo Filharmoniske Orkester under the baton of Vasily Petrenko live from the Konserthus in Oslo.  Do remember to see what deliciousness is on the denim menu in Men In Jeans post down below and check out the view of the Hottie of the Day! over on my tumblr.  Thanks for hanging about waiting for me to show up, see you again soon.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

Pay Day On the Run!

It's pay day, so I have had a busy day already.  I still have more to do, but the list is not nearly as long as last week.  So this is just a pit stop on my rounds today.  While I was out and about I heard a Telemann Oboe Concerto on the Performance Today program on WRR.  So naturally I went to You Tube to find some Telemann to post today.  Your featured selections therefore are 5 Oboe Concerti by dear old Georg Philipp.  The play list includes concerti in E, C, D and F Minor with a finale in D Major.  Heinz Holliger is your Soloist accompanied by Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields.  While over on my tumblr you may hear  Otto Sauter, Franz Wagnermeyer, Kenji Tamiya as Soloists with the Krupfälzisches Kammerorchester Mannheim under the baton of Nicol Mattin in their performance of Telemann's Overture for Trumpet and Oboe in D Major.  Before you head over there, be sure to cruise by the denim dynamite in the Men in Jeans post down below this one, then head on over and check out the Hottie of the Day!.  Thanks for the visit, see you again soo.  Now I am off with my lists to the shopping wars, yippee!  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

As you can tell from the time stamp on this post, I am running slightly behind today.  It is Pay Day with an especially long list of chores and errands that had to be accomplished.  I came home from work this morning, napped for a couple of hours then got up to get things rolling.  The day took off like a lit fuse and exploded into activity that kept me occupied and on the run to almost 6 this evening.  I am just glad that with the new schedule, I now am off on Pay Day.  I used to have to do all this stuff and make it to work on time at 5.  All without being a stressed out SOB.  Now that I am finally home, I can chill, catch up on all my shows and try to catch up on some rest.  I have a 10 hour work day tomorrow, so I will need to get at least a little rest.  Anywho, let's get to the Music so I can proceed to chillax.  

Your featured selection today is Piano Trio No.7 in B-flat major, Op.97 "Archduke" by Ludwig von Beethoven.  Today's performance is from a Classic 1956 recording of a trio of Russian All-Stars in Emil Gilels on Piano, Leonid Kogan on Violin and Mstislave Rostropovich on Cello.  You may also hear a live performance of Beethoven's 'Gassenhauer' Clarinet Trio by Paul Meyer, Julian Steckel and Éric Le Sage over on my tumblr.  Then be sure to check out 'Nature Boy', Your Hottie of the Day! while you are there.  Thanks for stopping in, see you again soon.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

Technical Difficulties

I have been having some issues with my computer which has caused quite a bit of consternation with poor performance and strange/weird events as I am trying to accomplish anything.  So while I was at work on Wednesday night, my in house super geek (Will, of course) set about to diagnose and resolve my issues.  I expected to come home from work, post the blog then set about all the myriad pay day chores and errands I had on tap.  Well, some of the peskiness that has been plaguing my computer's performance proved to be more elusive than we perceived at first.  So instead of posting the blog, Will was still running tests, scans and variously messing with my computer, so I headed out to do some chores and errands.  

I came back a couple of hours later and Will was still messing with things so I headed out for the rest of the chores, which proved to be time consuming and problematic in themselves.  I did not return home until nearly 5 PM from all the external chores and errands.  I still had some things to do around the house and one thing led to another.  Will had finished working on my computer and it seemed to be working fine, but time got away from me.  Therefore I decided to forgo yesterday's post and try to make up for it today.  

To that end, earlier today I posted a Men In Jeans collection and a Fantasy Fuel collection to catch you up on your eye candy.  After all, I would not want you guys to wither away from a lack of fine man art to admire, now would I?  Then I have some great Music lined up for your today also.  

Your Musical Moment for today features the Oboe Sonatas of Georg Philipp Telemann.  Included in the play list are Partia, for violin (or flute/oboe) & continuo in G major (KCM No. 2), TWV 41:G2; Trio for oboe, harpsichord & continuo in E flat major (Essercizii Musici No. 12/24), TWV42:Es3; Sonata for oboe & continuo in E minor (Essercizii Musici No. 11/21), TWV 41:e6; Sonata for oboe & continuo in A minor (GMM No. 50), TWV 41:a3; Zischet nur, stechet, ihr feurigen Zungen!, sacred cantata for voice, oboe & continuo (HGD), TWV 1:173; Solo, for oboe & continuo in B flat major (Essercizi musici No. 5/9), TWV 41:B6 and Dies ist der Gotteskinder Last, sacred cantata for voice, oboe & continuo (HGD), TWV 1:356.  Today's performers are Paul Goodwin, Baroque Oboe, Primary Artist; John Toll, Harpsichord; Susan Sheppard, Baroque Cello; Nigel North, Archlute, Theorbo and Lynden Cranham, Baroque Cello.  You may enjoy more Overtures, Sonatas and Concerti from Telemann recorded by Musica Alta Ripa over on my tumblr.  If the two collections linked to above are not enough to satisfy your Man Art craving for the day, Brett Mycles, Your Hottie of the Day! may just be the fulfillment you desire.  Thanks for the visit, be sure to stop in over the weekend for another Fabulous Live Performance on the Saturday Evening Concert.  Until next time as always, Enjoy

Another Busy Day

It is another busy pay day for me today so I shall not dally here long.  As I have not looked at the news as yet I will reserve my witty reparte' for another time and move directly into the Music and the Men.  Your featured composer today is Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti.  Donizetti is more widely known for his operatic works where he stood alongside Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini in reputation and popularity.  His most famous work is the opera Lucia di Lammermoor which is still a popular presentation today.  However we are going to explore some of his lesser known works with this recording of his instrumental concerti by Camerata Budapest, I believe. The complete play list may be found in the video description.  You may also here Donizetti's String Quartet Numbers 3 in C Minor and 5 in E Minor over on my tumblr.  As for the Men, this week's edition of Men in Jeans is chock full of Muscle, Mischief, Machismo or any combination thereof.  There is also a very bootylicious J R Mattherws as your Hottie of the Day! also on my tumblr.  Now I have to get going on my schedule of chores and errands to get done before I head off to work.  Thanks for cruising through, see you again on the morrow.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

Speedily Traveling On Past...

My but isn't this week just rushing on by?  As usual I am running behind and trying to catch up to myself.  None the less, although I have myriad things to do, taking a moment to commune with my peeps is time well spent.  Even if I have nothing to say, I always have the Music and the Men with which to fill in the blanks.  I still need to make the menu and the shopping lists for this week as well as having to do the actual shopping before going to work at 5.  My work is cut out for me, so I best be getting to it.  But first, the Music and the Men:

Your Musical Moment for today features the Capriccio ou Etude per il fortepiano written in 1789 by Luigi Cherubini.  Today's performance finds Pietro Spada at the Piano with his marvelous interpretation of Cherubini's work.  You may also hear Cheurbini's String Quartet in E Flat Major with a performance by the ensemble Quartetto David over on my tumblr.  

For your visual appreciation, I have a corral full of the cute, the cuddly and the smoking hot all decked out in Denim in this week's edition of Men In Jeans.  For even more Denim Deliciousness check out the Ripped and Rugged Hottie of the Day! over on my tumblr.  Now I really must turn to, get my stuff together and get things done.  Thanks for stopping in, see you again soon.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!