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What is the last piece of classical music you listened to?


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Toccata and fugue in D minor is a good improvisation work that is surely by Bach, but done after an existing theme, which is surely not by Bach.

 

Does it make sense?

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On 2/24/2019 at 8:33 PM, The Illustrious Jerry said:

BARTOK: Violin Concerto No. 1-2

Isabella Faust, violin

Daniel Harding and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra

 

 

No. 2, it's almost a kissin cousin to Miklos Rózsa's violin concerto, betraying the hungarian folk roots of both. More 'conventional' than Bartok's barnstormers, both are still full of brilliant timbres and contrasts. 

 

Also, does anyone know if the great Vaughan-Williams piece 'Oxford Elegy' exists without narration?

 

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Yesterday: Maurizio Pollini plays Chopin

An excellent album. Lovely selections. Great Saturday morning material.

 

Today: Phillips' Mozart Edition: String Quartets 1-15

Maybe a little too much Mozart; four discs of fairly good but all too typical Mozart writing. 

 

Past Week: Mozart: Piano Concertos 24-27

A+. I prefer Mozart's 20-23 though.

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^ I plan to listen to them all...sometime. 

 

 

 

Charming. Goes to show how much Korngold has in common with "jazz harmony".

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PROKOFIEV: Piano Concertos No. 1-2

I am currently going through a Prokofiev cycle of sorts. To begin, I'm starting with the BBC Philharmonic's recording of his complete piano concertos. These first two works were at times alla grave, although often molto espressivo . The overall mood of the orchestra backing the piano is powerful, but very appropriate and defining for Russian works of the early 20th century. 

 

Prokofiev has always been a bit of a dark horse composer for me. He's not neccesarily the most popular, but his compositions are right up there with the greats. My love for his work started from a very young age with his symphonic children's suite Peter and the Wolf, which ended up being my first classical CD bought with my own money (I was quite proud). Now more recently I've revisited Prokofiev's work as a whole and have come to love titles such as Romeo and Juliet and For The Love of Three Oranges, as well as the symphonies. Now I'm trying to do the most extensive listening I can, checking off the symphonies, suites, and concertos in a rather fun musical experience.

 

Happy listening!

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2 hours ago, The Illustrious Jerry said:

PROKOFIEV: Piano Concertos No. 1-2

I am currently going through a Prokofiev cycle of sorts. To begin, I'm starting with the BBC Philharmonic's recording of his complete piano concertos. These first two works were at times alla grave, although often molto espressivo . The overall mood of the orchestra backing the piano is powerful, but very appropriate and defining for Russian works of the early 20th century. 

 

Prokofiev has always been a bit of a dark horse composer for me. He's not neccesarily the most popular, but his compositions are right up there with the greats. My love for his work started from a very young age with his symphonic children's suite Peter and the Wolf, which ended up being my first classical CD bought with my own money (I was quite proud). Now more recently I've revisited Prokofiev's work as a whole and have come to love titles such as Romeo and Juliet and For The Love of Three Oranges, as well as the symphonies. Now I'm trying to do the most extensive listening I can, checking off the symphonies, suites, and concertos in a rather fun musical experience.

 

Happy listening!

 

If I may give a suggestion, check the piano sonatas as well, especially the last ones (the 7th is the most famous, mainly for its exciting finale), and many piano solo pieces such as the Toccata, Sarcasms... in addition to the obvious orchestral warhorses (the Scythian Suite and the Alexander Nevsky Cantata are also pieces that you don't want to miss)!

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12 hours ago, The Illustrious Jerry said:

Nice @publicist! I'd highly recommend exploring other Borodin's works, especially his symphonies, string quartets, and piano works.

 

I just listened to Intrada's new 'American Tail', so i'm deeper in Borodin than ever!

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In my opinion, the Symphonic Ode is the greatest American composition to come out of the 1920s.  It's just awe-inspiring.  I could (and have) listen to it over and over and over.

 

Because Copland has such a mastery of musical flow (la grande ligne!) it's always difficult to zero in on specific parts to demonstrate how wonderful a piece overall is.  I highly recommend listening to the whole thing.

 

But if you want to sample, please listen to the second section of the piece.  This section is just face-meltingly amazing.  A perfection of imaginative melodic development, orchestration, and musical narrative.  I defy you to not let it keep playing!  The third section is gorgeous and aching.

 

4:22 - 8:58

 

This masterpiece has sadly only been recorded four times.  It's notorious for requiring a lot of rehearsal time to get the rhythms and transitions down.

 

Of the four recordings, the ones by Copland himself and Tilson Thomas are recommended.  The recordings by Schwarz and Wilson are pretty poor IMO.

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I still don't think it makes sense to have two.  It's not like people weren't using the other one just to say what they've been listening to.  I certainly used it for that often.

 

I'm exclusively using the original thread in future.

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2 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

I only just noticed this is a different thread than the classical music thread I'm used to.... why was a second one needed?

The justification is that the original has become more of a place to share and recommend more obscure works.

The only advantage with having two threads is that it divides the load, makes the threads load easier.

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Then I think people were perceiving a snobbishness that wasn't there.  Of course you're free to talk about Eine Kleine Nachtmusik or whatever in that thread!  Nobody would've looked down on that in my experience at least.

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7 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

Sorry if I caused offense.  I thought I clarified myself in a way where it would be clear nothing was meant personally.

None taken, I continue to post in both threads. Thanks for the recommendations, especially on the Copland front. I was trying to dive into his work while you were on leave, but decided to wait until you got back. 

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GERSHWIN: Rhapsody in Blue

WALTON: Crown Imperial

MOZART: Piano Concerto No. 21

 

That piano concerto is undoubtedly the best of Mozart's many, IMO. What an Andante, cushioned in between two other amazing movements!

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