SteveMc 2,674 Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 On 10/4/2018 at 7:59 AM, Disco Stu said: Has anyone heard Jonathan Leshnoff's Clarinet Concerto? I've been listening to the Marine Band recording off and on this year and I kind of think it's extraordinary. One of my favorite classical pieces of the decade? Well, I have now! Quite good indeed. Anything else you would recommend from Leshnoff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 7 minutes ago, Steve McQueen said: Well, I have now! Quite good indeed. Anything else you would recommend from Leshnoff? I'm quite new to him myself! I haven't had time to devote to any of his symphonies, but I really enjoy his percussion concerto: Jurassic Shark and SteveMc 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,072 Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 Percussion concertos are fun! Have you guys heard Glass' concerto for two timpanists? I especially like the cadenza movement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMc 2,674 Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 I think I did awhile back, will have to revisit it. I also attended the premier of a Percussion Concerto written by Brian Del Signore, the principal percussionist of the Houston Symphony. Wrote a review of the concert for one of my courses. Here is what I said: Spoiler The concert got underway when conductor Brian Runnels and Houston symphony Principal Percussionist Brian Del Signore took the stage for the World Premiere of Mr. Del Signore’s Concerto for Percussion, with the composer as soloist. The piece follows the traditional three movement, generally fast-slow-fast concerto form, though dynamics vary even within the movements. It is a Post-Modern work, perhaps Post-Modern Romantic. As Mr. Del Signore mentions in the program notes, he did not strive for extreme musical complexity, though some rhythmic and harmonic choices seemed quite interesting. He did, however, attain a good deal of originality. The orchestration for the piece is rather vast. A full orchestral percussion section complements the extensive array of percussion at the soloist’s disposal, which includes gongs, to (what I believe to be) a rack of tom-toms, to chimes, and a marimba and vibraphone. Both percussion sections included instruments I don’t think I’ve ever seen or even heard before. Timpani and brass are also prominent in Del Signore’s score, which also includes parts for piano. The first movement seemed to be in fluid sonata form. It opened with a quite thunderous passage emphasizing a full variety of solo and orchestral percussion, timpani, and brass. This segues to the more placid secondary and closing themes, an evolving, more melodic, but not quite lyrical, section where the soloist plays the marimba against a string backdrop. A development section follows, generally quite loud, employing a full array of percussion, and going through several thematic and rhythmic ideas. The recapitulation presents the ideas of the exposition in a somewhat truncated form, leading to a coda where a new idea emerges: Del Signore calls for cello bows to be played across the sides of the vibraphone bars, creating a very interesting ethereal sound. This atmosphere does not last, however, and the movement comes to a powerful, resounding close with a final orchestral and percussive crescendo, which ends rather abruptly, which seemed to have left some of the younger members of the audience in awe. For the second movement, Del Signore opens with an extended cadenza for marimba. The tempo is generally slower, but it soon increases a bit as the orchestra comes back in for a rhythmically intense passage. The energy of this portion fades away slightly as the movement goes on, being interspersed with allusions to the thematic material of the cadenza. The third movement starts off with a full fff fanfaric theme and development. While Del Signore mentions the presence of several allusions and quotations of other works in the program notes for the concerto, I was only able to detect this here, as the central fanfare motive of the third movement clearly owes a great deal to “The Grand Gate of Kiev” from Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. This segues into what I feel is the highlight of the composition, as the strings take center stage musically, playing an evolving, harmonically rich theme that brings to mind some of the colors and textures found in the string writing of Horner and Morricone. Del Signore then adds the ethereal bowing technique for the vibraphone bars from the coda of the first movement to create a quite striking soundscape. A brief chromatic cadenza is then played on the vibraphone, before, out of the blue as it were, a bag of ping-pong balls is randomly spilled over the instrument. Then, there is a restatement of the passage for marimba and orchestra from the first movement, which builds back up to the third movement’s fanfaric opening theme. To conclude the piece, Del Signore draws on material that sounds a great deal like the percussive batteries and brass statements that opened and concluded the first movement, if somewhat brighter, bringing things full circle and ensuring the piece ends with a quite literal bang. Del Signore’s work and performance was quite entertaining. The audience was vocally appreciative, giving him and the orchestra sustained applause. Del Signore appeared quite in his element playing his music on his instruments. There were some drawbacks, though. Throughout the piece, but particularly in the first movement, there were long, awkward pauses in the music that felt quite abrupt and detached from the overall musical structure and texture and appeared almost as if they were written merely to give the soloist a chance to walk from one end of his rather sprawling percussion set up to the next. Also, the brass seemed to overwhelm the other instruments at times, though this may well be a consequence of the hall’s acoustics. Reservations notwithstanding, Del Signore’s work was still very enjoyable, and one which I would not mind hearing again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon Hill 4,234 Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 Check out Corigliano's percussion concerto. Here's a good masterclass he did on it. Disco Stu and KK 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 Sidenote: If all goes to plan, I should be attending two Richmond Symphony concerts this coming Spring that feature Copland on the program. The first will be that classic (and great) repertoire-filler Billy the Kid Suite, but I'm most excited about seeing them perform the fantastic, and far less commonly performed, Music for the Theatre, his first Koussevitzky commission at age 24!. I'm still hoping to one day be able to see the third symphony performed live, I kind of just have to wait for the Richmond Symphony to program it, being the only orchestra anywhere near me, which might never happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,072 Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 Here's a fine specimen from Norway, courtesy of @Marcus: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KK 3,307 Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 32 minutes ago, TGP said: Check out Corigliano's percussion concerto. Here's a good masterclass he did on it. That one's a whole beast of its own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holko 9,526 Posted October 6, 2018 Share Posted October 6, 2018 Been at a Budapest Bár concet again yesterday, Liszt's Rhapsody No. 2 is always a highlight! Jurassic Shark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post SteveMc 2,674 Posted October 6, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted October 6, 2018 New release: karelm, Omen II and Bespin 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bespin 8,480 Posted October 6, 2018 Share Posted October 6, 2018 Ah ha.... interesting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bespin 8,480 Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 13 hours ago, Steve McQueen said: New release: Currently listening to it. It remembers me, I still mourn the death of my Charles Aznavour 😕 SteveMc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMc 2,674 Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 I rather like F-sharp minor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Illustrious Jerry 3,356 Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 Frederick Delius: Koanga: La Calinda Alexander Borodin: Piano Quintet in C minor: Andante Locrius 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,331 Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 Good recording. These days I seem to prefer chamber orchestras. The sound is less bombastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Score 770 Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 I've been exploring Morricone's non-film music recently. I came across this interesting set of three pieces for children's choir, titled "Il silenzio, il gioco, la memoria" (= Silence, game, memory), based on three texts by the Italian musicologist Sergio Miceli (who was a friend of the great composer and wrote important books and essays on his works). I find the second piece, "Zum Beispiel" (the "game" part) particularly interesting. It starts at 7:18 and ends at 11:25. In the central section of that piece, the 25 boys forming the choir sing the same modal melody, but they must individually delay their entrances (by an amount fixed by the composer), creating a sort of 25-parts canon that achieves a nicely chaotic effect (that mimics the noise of a crowd of children playing and shouting outside, I guess). It's a good example of the kind of experimental (albeit tonal!) writing that Morricone applied to his most unconventional film music as well. Enjoy (the audio file is not great, unfortunately): SteveMc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omen II 1,235 Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 Damn! 😮 SteveMc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMc 2,674 Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 Great performances all around there and on the album. Love the Suite No. 1 Fugue especially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 Episode, a very obscure Copland piece for solo organ from 1941. It's an interesting little piece, I especially like it from 3:51 - end below. Lovely melody that gets wonderfully disrupted with dissonant stabs at 4:42. There's only one other recording to be found on Youtube and the organist takes the piece WAY too fast. This one I linked sounds just right to my ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KK 3,307 Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 Been enjoying watching Adams coach two pianists on Hallelujah Junction. Such a cool guy: https://musaic.nws.edu/videos/john-adams-hallelujah-junction Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Loert 2,511 Posted October 11, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted October 11, 2018 Something makes me think that JW takes a lot of inspiration from this piece: justaguy, _deleted_ and karelm 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 I’ve had a few beers, the power’s still out, and I’m listening to Copland’s Third loud enough for the neighbors to hear on my battery powered speakers. The Oue/Minnesota Orchestra recording remains stunning. SteveMc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,072 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Love that symphony! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loert 2,511 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 15 hours ago, Disco Stu said: I’ve had a few beers, the power’s still out, and I’m listening to Copland’s Third loud enough for the neighbors to hear on my battery powered speakers. The Oue/Minnesota Orchestra recording remains stunning. As John Adams might say, Copland's Third has a long shelf-life. Disco Stu 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_deleted_ 203 Posted October 15, 2018 Share Posted October 15, 2018 Kodály: Concerto for Orchestra 👻 SteveMc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karelm 2,913 Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 Did you know there was an opera written about the Apollo 11 moon landing? Unfortunately, as far as I know, there is no recording yet but I admire this composer and hope it is eventually recorded. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_on_the_Moon_(opera) For example take a listen to an excerpt from this cantata of his which I find thrilling: http://www.jonathandove.com/works/orchestra/hojoki/ Both works were composed the same year (2006) and I find the cantata thrilling and lyrical. Interestingly, Dove's Moon opera is more about Buzz Aldrin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_deleted_ 203 Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 On 10/12/2018 at 4:55 AM, Loert said: Something makes me think that JW takes a lot of inspiration from this piece: Yeah, maybe from the orchestration of this piece. But I prefer JW🤷♂️ 👻 On 10/18/2018 at 7:56 AM, karelm said: Did you know there was an opera written about the Apollo 11 moon landing? Unfortunately, as far as I know, there is no recording yet but I admire this composer and hope it is eventually recorded. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_on_the_Moon_(opera) For example take a listen to an excerpt from this cantata of his which I find thrilling: http://www.jonathandove.com/works/orchestra/hojoki/ Both works were composed the same year (2006) and I find the cantata thrilling and lyrical. Interestingly, Dove's Moon opera is more about Buzz Aldrin. I hear some Jupiter in the first few minutes of Man on the Moon. Interesting🤔🤗 👻 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabulin 3,511 Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holko 9,526 Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 Beethoven's Egmont Overture to commemorate the '56 Revolution of Independence on this national holiday. The main radio office was the place the fight broke out, so for a few weeks broadcast came from a mobile truck, where they could only play a few records they found in the Parliament building - the Anthem, an operetta and the Egmont Overture, and mostly they played the latter because of its mood, so it has become inseparable with the events, often pops up in documentaries, too. SteveMc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 This beautiful, crisp autumn morning I'm listening to Purcell's King Arthur, the Deller recording. Goodness gracious the passacaglia is perfect. PERFECT! (although this performance is a little fast for my taste, I couldn't find the Deller recording on Youtube which is much more appropriately plodding in tempo) SteveMc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMc 2,674 Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 1 hour ago, Holko said: Beethoven's Egmont Overture to commemorate the '56 Revolution of Independence on this national holiday. The main radio office was the place the fight broke out, so for a few weeks broadcast came from a mobile truck, where they could only play a few records they found in the Parliament building - the Anthem, an operetta and the Egmont Overture, and mostly they played the latter because of its mood, so it has become inseparable with the events, often pops up in documentaries, too. The opening of this is one of the greatest things ever written. I was in awe when I heard it for the first time. Holko 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMc 2,674 Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 Some Nino Rota I listened to this morning. Rather good to say the least. Broadly neoclassical with a few more daring moments and some romanticism thrown in for good measure. Rota does seem to create some interesting textures with the instrumentation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karelm 2,913 Posted October 24, 2018 Share Posted October 24, 2018 In honor of this being Halloween week, I would like to recommend Derek Bourgeous' Chamber of Horrors: Four Demonic Dances for Orchestra! Broo hoo ha ha ha ha... Disco Stu 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMc 2,674 Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 More Rota. Nice and soothing, this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karelm 2,913 Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 Any fans of Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006) here? He's a very unique composer who is quite twisted but can also be traditional. His 9 symphonies are substantial and deep works with few moments of levity yet simultaneously he showcases a great wit and sarcasm as in his aptly named "A Grand, Grand Overture" which is scored for a modern orchestra in addition to organ and 3 vacuum cleaners, 1 floor polisher, 4 rifles! It actually reminds me of something that would be conducted by Victor Borge - great music disguised as comedy and way over the top. The final moments sound like the conductor lost the ending of the piece and had to improvise. His Concerto for Two Pianos reminds of Bernard Herrmann's Concerto Macabre. They had much in common personality wise and were both straddling film music and concert music at the same time. Arnold's "Fantasy on a Theme of John Field" reminds of me of the sweeping melodies of a Rachmaninoff concerto (that's high praise) and his final Symphony No. 9 is a dark and anguished send off like the final symphonies of Tchaikovsky, Mahler (No. 9 not 10), and Vaughan Williams. Like all great symphonists, I don't recommend starting at the end but rather going in order as the composer takes you on a journey well worth exploring. At times hopeful or wistful but there is a trajectory towards greater introspection and reflection. Sadly he spent his last years with either dementia or schizophrenia. His life is documented beautifully in Tony Palmer's film "Towards the Unknown Region" which is very much worth watching. It was shot a year or two before his death and is a very well made film about a creative artists descent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMc 2,674 Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 I've heard a bit of his music. An enjoyable composer, definitely. I've been meaning to hear those hoovers, though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InTheCity 140 Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 Greetings Jwfans. I am looking to hire a well spoken classical fan to do some album notes for an upcoming album consisting of a piano concerto and an orchestral suite. It was recorded at Abbey Road. After reading through this thread I know many of you would be great choices. Please PM me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bespin 8,480 Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 No recruiting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnome in Plaid 219 Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 Oooh, a new Lachenmann piece... That is not even remotely what I would have expected, but I quite like it nonetheless. The man really can do anything. Also, my favorite Lachenmann piece: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karelm 2,913 Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 This is an absolutely gorgeous album of modern music. The Cello Concerto has a wide range of emotion and is complex and deep and the final two works are absolutely gorgeous! Highly recommended. I can't find it on youtube but here it is on spotify. Dixon Hill and SteveMc 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon Hill 4,234 Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Thank you for sharing that. Indeed a fantastic album so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMc 2,674 Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 22 hours ago, karelm said: This is an absolutely gorgeous album of modern music. The Cello Concerto has a wide range of emotion and is complex and deep and the final two works are absolutely gorgeous! Highly recommended. I can't find it on youtube but here it is on spotify. Very engaging. Currently listening to his Viola Concerto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karelm 2,913 Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Cliff Eidelman's brand new Symphony for Two Pianos and Orchestra composed earlier this year and recorded with the LSO at Abbey Road. Behind the scenes: CD Booklet is here: https://issuu.com/cliffeidelman/docs/181014_completebooklet_symphonyonly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Brausam 214 Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 On 10/5/2018 at 1:19 PM, Disco Stu said: I'm quite new to him myself! I haven't had time to devote to any of his symphonies, but I really enjoy his percussion concerto: Leshnoff was one of my undergraduate music theory professors! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 20 minutes ago, Joe Brausam said: Leshnoff was one of my undergraduate music theory professors! Very cool! He's one talented dude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,072 Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 One of my favorite 20th century symphony movements: Disco Stu 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 Sounds like movie music, though. tt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Bespin 8,480 Posted November 4, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted November 4, 2018 I just made this Aaron Copland Playlist, inspired by the "Composer of the week" BBC series. Great music! SteveMc, Disco Stu and Jurassic Shark 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loert 2,511 Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 Absolutely thrilling! Love the bit from 8:48: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now