DarthHornPlayer

Tenuto is a sign used first for note value, it essentially means hold and it means to hold the notes full value. In music that has a slow tempo the tenuto marking can be used to emphasize a note. Quasi accent if you will. I teach my students to lean into a note but not a full accent. A tenuto can be written under a slur marking which I think the last poster was talking about. This means legato tongue. You can also use a tentuo marking with a dot over it which also means legato with a touch of space between the notes. DHP \@()

Yes!! That Violin solo at the end is one of those rare gems! It would be the last Violin solo that Strauss would ever write, Strauss often used the violin to depict his wife, might that of been a goodbye to her? So simple a tune yet so beautiful. If you listen to the last piano sonata of Beethoven's you will find a very simple tune in the last movement. If you listen to im abendrot you will hear Strauss quote a passage from Death & Transfiguration at the very end (horn solo), something he had written when he was very young. It is the sort of thing that brings tear to my eyes, but most people wouldn't even recognize it. Music will do that to us huh? As far as orchestration, Korsakov, Ravel and Berlioz were masters. They all knew how to use the orchestra. Ravel, IMO, is a pure genius, he created a sound that was his and his only, a very tall order as a composer during the turn of the century. Check out Daphnis and Chloe if you haven't already. Put it on with headphones, turn down the lights and go to another world. Berlioz was ahead of this time, doing things with orchestra colors that others wouldn't do until 30 years later. Korsakov, IMO, doesn't belong in the same group as the other two. Scherazade is of course a masterpiece, but after that there isn't much. He did write a lot of opera which I am unfamiliar with. Russian opera has always been a tough sell. Wagner wrote much music and much of it is opera and much of that is huge, big sounds, big sets. I think the climax of Tristan as being the climax of all opera, in that there isn't much time for intimacy. I would check out the Seigfried Idyll, Wagner's very nice attempt at chamber music. Bruckner, like Bach wrote to honor God, he wasn't very much interested in what other composers were doing. I think Bruckner is revered just like Mahler. Many find Mahler too long, but I think Bruckner can be also hard on the ear, especially making it all the way through his symphonies. There are many quiet moments but usually the payoff is well worth it. Bruckner's mixed choral/orchestral works are worth a listen also.

I have played almost all the Mahler symphonies. I can tell you as a symphony musician playing a Mahler symphony is a sacred event. On the calendar it is a like a Birthday. You look forward to it all year. Mahler's symphonic production is usually split into three stages, the first stage or Wunderhorn symphonies, are works that feature the voice and big choruses, the first being the exception. The middle stage are the 5th, 6th and 7th symphonies, these are purely orchestral works and some of the most amazing music ever written. I think the 6th symphony is most personal of all the symphonies. The later stage includes the 8th and 9th symphonies and Das Lied von die Erde. The Das Lied was written after the 8th, remember that there was great superstition about a 9th symphony. Many greats died after they wrote their 9th...Beethoven and Schubert being the two big ones. Mahler put off a 9th and wrote the Das Lied. The 10th symphony wasn't finished but I find it is almost a completely different world, a glimpse of what Mahler's music would of sounded like had he lived longer, and more importantly through world wars and that horror. We think of Mahler symphonies are being huge events with many musicians on stage. Most of the time he wanted 4 of each woodwind, 8 horns, 5 trumpets and 4 trombones, but I can honestly tell you that some of the most intimate moments come in Mahler symphonies. I will give you two examples, one being the third mvt of the 4th symphony and the other the great Ich bin der Welt from the Ruckert Leider. If you really want to enjoy Mahler at its finest, and I can assure you that there is plenty to enjoy in the symphonies, you really must check out Mahler songs. Ich bin der Welt is Mahler's sort of goodbye to the world, it is painfully amazing, just like Strauss' Four Last Songs, which if you haven't heard you need to add them to your listening list. Have fun!! DHP

I'm not sure what other projects you have going on, but this JW horn tribute needs to be on the top of your list. It really is amazing. So do you play these right out of the scores? They work so well for horn ensemble. That Jurrasic Park choral sounds like it was written for horn quartet. There is so much great music out there of JW's, the sad part is that most of it is locked away and it won't be until after his dead when will get to see it on paper. Do you use scores, or do you transcribe all the parts of recordings? Look forward to seeing more! Kevin

So did you write all this music out? Do you actually have this arranged for 12 horns? DHP

Marc WOW, that was amazing. JW knows the horn more than any composer and in my opinion could write as well for it as did Mahler and Strauss. There is some excellent playing there, especially the low horn. Are you playing a Holton here? I would of loved a bells up at the end of ET too. LOL Congrats! DHP

The cat through the roof was so funny

Gustav Holst is an interesting figure. The Planets is perhaps the greatest orchestral work by an English composer. You can walk into any cd store and see 5-8 recordings of this work. Probably more than Beethoven 5! Holst also wrote what is perhaps the most famous band piece of all time his suite for band. Other than that he is known for almost nothing else! I find that amazing. I have played the entire planets only once in the orchestra. It is a massive work that requires a very large orchestra and a choir in the last movment. It is interesting to note that planets are not in order from the sun, but the most distant ones are saved for last. I think it is interesting how Holst treats the planets. Mars is the most violent planet with our "hero" getting it in the end while Venus is the peaceful planet. We now know that the opposite of those two planets is true. You can't deny the greatness of Jupiter. There are some great tunes in there. Many think of this as the centerpiece of the work and climax, but I think that happens at the end of Saturn. A massive build of dissonance resolving in a beautiful way, like Saturn emerging from behind some distant heavenly body anchoring the solar system with its great rings. Holst's writing is very unique and I think that the modern day composers owe a lot to this work. You can hear how it was used by JW in his many outer space works. Holst does an amazing job of depicting the icy worlds of beyond. I suggest everyone take a listen! Enjoy! DHP \@()

I can assure you that I have heard and played many times the two suites for band. I do believe I even mentioned that in my post. St Paul's Suite?? You can put that next to the Planets?? DHP

Two people have mentioned Holst's other works, but none by name....I've always thought of myself as an avid classical music lover, so please let me know what masterpieces I'm missing. Thanks DHP

Holst....a one hit wonder? Perhaps, but if you go to the record store the Planets section will be bigger than Beethoven. Im not sure how we can call a composer great based on only one work....and if we take away Mars and Saturn then what? Perhaps you know more Holst than I...is it good? Its also funny that Holst not only wrote one of the most popular pieces of orchestra, but also for wind band. If that makes him great I don't know. Prokofiev was a genius....can you imagine a piano class with He, Rachminoff and Scriabin?? WOW. You only have to listen to the first piano concerto to know this guy was genius. Too bad he died on the same day as Stalin...nobody knew he was dead for 3 days because the paper didn't print it......such is the life of a Russian composer huh? DHP \@()

In some resepects its more easier to compose to film. You already have a general direction to take. Absolute music has really no direction except whats in the composers head. Its amazing that Brahms didn't need anything to start composing. Mahler's symphonies also take an absolute approach. Orchestration is somewhat of an aquired taste. Schumann was considered not the best, but could anyone really say anything bad about a Rheinish symphony compared to what is churned out today? Someone mentioned Mussorsky and all his "troubles" still not a bad mind. I would also consider Borodin....who composed on the side. His music is just a refined as any composer of his time. There is not a person in this room who doesn't recognize the main theme from the dances. Someone mentioned Ravel...yes a genius, and JW though so too as much of Hook attests to. I would mention this on a higher level. Composers who could right for solo instruments and make them sound different. Writing for piano perhaps...and don't forget those rare perfomers, who could bring out orchestral colors from only a piano keyboard...truly amazing! In my opinion, a real composer only needs one course in orchestration. Much comes in trial an error. Many times things can be copied, but the true test will always be how one uses rhythm, harmony, and melody. LOL..Ill take Stravinksy for rhythm, Debussy in harmony and Greig in melody! DHP \@()

hmmmm I took a listen and didn't hear anything out of place. This is track 2 on the cd right? Its seems at 3:05 the trumpet is finishing up his syncopated phrase and then the horns take over....is this right? DHP \@()

Its funny you bring up Mahler, as a horn player there is no other composer, save for maybe Brahms or Strauss, that is more fun to play. The horn parts in JW's music are always amazing, and he is one of the few composers who really understand the horn, and when I say composers Im not just talking about movie composers, but all classical composers. JW really understands what makes the instrument sound good. The are challenging to play,but are always worth it in the end. I can think of many famous classical composers, who could not write for the horn and did not know what we could do well. I really enjoyed Echenbach, and while I never went to see him, (kinda stupid since I lived in Dallas for 2 years), I did hear him conduct the Philharmonic and it was amazing. Im learning the horn concerto right now. Every bit of it is JW and the writing fits the instrument to a tee. I hope to perfom it someday. DHP \@()

Its kinda funny reading a review like this. I have actually worked with Michael several times, once on a JW show. You have to be into his dry sense of humor. I will also mention that much of the time for symphony orchestras, what is on the program, especially for pops concerts, is up to how hard the music is to find, and how much it costs. There is much JW music out there that is rental only and very hard to find. Symphony orchestras just don't have that kind of $$$ to throw around, especially if they have to rent quite a bit of classical music......a set of rental parts and score to a Shostakovich symphony can costs upwards of a 1000.00 bucks! The all-JW concert that I participated in had much of his best music....SW suite, Superman, ET, but many pieces were missing, mostly because they are hard to find. Ill say that most of the arrangments, if not JW's, are for the most part good. LOTR fortunatly has never crossed my stand,but you would be surprised what does make it into folder just because its cheap and the library owns it! Pirates is a good example, and I can say that I have played that piece more than 30 times just this year! YIKES. It isn't fair sometimes, but those are facts. You might say that the NY Phil and Philly have the budgets, but I would say to that...they hardly ever do pops shows. I remember a time at Tanglewood having to go backstage to ask one of the BSO members a question. It was before a JW show and all the musicians were moping around, looking like they wanted to be somewhere else. I have often felt that. Its nice to see the joy and excitment that music brings to the members here. Always remember what it takes in order for live music to exist. Never take that for granted. Thanks DHP \@()