KK 3,307 Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Speaking of Reich, my current muse: SteveMc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romão 2,274 Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 On 9/11/2018 at 10:11 PM, Jurassic Shark said: Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov is mandatory. Indeed. But I'm growing fonder and fonder of Khovanshchina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,086 Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 3 hours ago, Romão said: Indeed. But I'm growing fonder and fonder of Khovanshchina It really has some beautiful moments. Are you familiar with the incomplete Sorochintsy Fair? It contains an awesome version of Night on Bald Mountain, with choir! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romão 2,274 Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 35 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said: It really has some beautiful moments. Are you familiar with the incomplete Sorochintsy Fair? It contains an awesome version of Night on Bald Mountain, with choir! I have the one in this cd Jurassic Shark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 Here's a random question that would require a lot of research potentially: Who was the first composer to take a programmatic work (ballet, opera, incidental music, film score) and specifically publish a suite of music to be separately presented in concert as "pure music" (to use a phrase I despise)? I thought perhaps Mendelssohn with his Midsummer Night's Dream, but apparently presenting the orchestral interludes as a separate suite did not originate with him and he never officially gave it his blessing. Obviously Tchaikovsky is probably the most famous, and Prokofiev and Copland in the 1920s - 40s are huge touchstones in that genre for me personally. I'm sure opera overtures were being played in concert long before, but that seems more like a "proto" version of what I'm talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Illustrious Jerry 3,356 Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 Claude Debussy: Tarantelle Styrienne (arr. Ravel) To date one of my favourite Debussy works. Originally written for piano (good) and orchestrated by Maurice Ravel, the full orchestral sound is perfect for this piece, adding more colour and variety to the original piece. publicist 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,086 Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 8 minutes ago, Disco Stu said: Here's a random question that would require a lot of research potentially: Who was the first composer to take a programmatic work (ballet, opera, incidental music, film score) and specifically publish a suite of music to be separately presented in concert? I thought perhaps Mendelssohn with his Midsummer Night's Dream, but apparently presenting the orchestral interludes as a separate suite did not originate with him and he never gave it his blessing. Obviously Tchaikovsky is probably the most famous, and Prokofiev and Copland in the 1920s - 40s are huge touchstones in that genre for me. The opera overture comes to mind, which we know can lead a life quite separated from the complete opera, and often served as a thematic highlight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 1 minute ago, Jurassic Shark said: The opera overture comes to mind, which we know can lead a life quite separated from the complete opera, and often served as a thematic highlight. Heh, I added a sentence to the end of my post like 60 seconds before you replied. Jurassic Shark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Score 770 Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 25 minutes ago, Disco Stu said: Here's a random question that would require a lot of research potentially: Who was the first composer to take a programmatic work (ballet, opera, incidental music, film score) and specifically publish a suite of music to be separately presented in concert? I thought perhaps Mendelssohn with his Midsummer Night's Dream, but apparently presenting the orchestral interludes as a separate suite did not originate with him and he never gave it his blessing. Obviously Tchaikovsky is probably the most famous, and Prokofiev and Copland in the 1920s - 40s are huge touchstones in that genre for me. If you are using the word "suite" in the literal sense (i.e., a collection of several pieces, more than one), then I don't know for sure, but if you include the case of only one piece being extracted (as some people do here, where they call JW's single concert pieces "suites"), then Mozart planned the ouverture to Don Giovanni to be played also as a stand-alone piece. He even wrote a different ending, specifically intended for concert performance. You can hear the concert version here: The concert ending (where it starts to differ from the opera score) starts at 5:36. This is the original one as written by Mozart, while also other composers have written other concert endings for that. This is the earliest example that I am aware of. In the 20th century, don't forget several examples by Stravinsky (Firebird, Pulcinella, Histoire du Soldat, pieces from Petrushka etc.). EDIT: I saw your edit just now! Let me add that Wagner also planned some excerpts from the Tetralogy to be played in concert (most famously, the Ride of Walkyries, which greatly impressed Tchaikovsky). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Illustrious Jerry 3,356 Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 This conversation reminds me- didn't Holst rewrite the Planets after the premier received bad response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 54 minutes ago, Score said: If you are using the word "suite" in the literal sense (i.e., a collection of several pieces, more than one), then I don't know for sure, but if you include the case of only one piece being extracted (as some people do here, where they call JW's single concert pieces "suites"), then Mozart planned the ouverture to Don Giovanni to be played also as a stand-alone piece. He even wrote a different ending, specifically intended for concert performance. You can hear the concert version here: The concert ending (where it starts to differ from the opera score) starts at 5:36. This is the original one as written by Mozart, while also other composers have written other concert endings for that. This is the earliest example that I am aware of. In the 20th century, don't forget several examples by Stravinsky (Firebird, Pulcinella, Histoire du Soldat, pieces from Petrushka etc.). Yeah I'm thinking of the tradition that (as I understand it currently at least, looking to be proven wrong) starts with Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, etc. of suites of smaller pieces that reflect a larger work. Again, I think of 18th century opera overtures as being the proto version of it but separate somehow. I think of the concert arrangements that Williams publishes for his film scores as consciously existing in this tradition. Incidental music for the stage definitely existed before the 19th century (I think of people like Purcell), but were the composers actively working to have that music presented separate from the original work like Tchaikovsky and contemporaries did? EDIT: My mind is being blown as I discover that the orchestral suites for Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty probably weren't selected/published by Tchaikovsky himself! Nutcracker was though. This is changing my perception. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marian Schedenig 8,208 Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 2 hours ago, Disco Stu said: Yeah I'm thinking of the tradition that (as I understand it currently at least, looking to be proven wrong) starts with Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, etc. of suites of smaller pieces that reflect a larger work. Again, I think of 18th century opera overtures as being the proto version of it but separate somehow. I think of the concert arrangements that Williams publishes for his film scores as consciously existing in this tradition. Grieg did it too (assuming the Peer Gynt suites were arranged by him?). And Sibelius was all over repurposing tons of his own incidental music as concert pieces and suites. Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream, as far as I recall, was a concert overture first. The incidental music came later. So even if Mendelssohn himself didn't arrange that into a suite, he first repurposed one of his concert pieces as the overture for the play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 Ok I'm moved on from that nonsense, just found a longform John Mackey piece I haven't heard before! Yes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Illustrious Jerry 3,356 Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 Edvard Grieg: March of the Dwarfs (Lyric Piece) Edvard Grieg is not the most common name in classical music, but his music in undeniable. Most notably excerpts from his Peer Gynt Suites (In the Hall of the Mountain King, Morning) are among his work. This piece, one of 66 'lyric pieces' he wrote for piano was one of few he orchestrated. It's an 'allegro con fuoco' almost, a very lively and firy piece and a good one at that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post karelm 2,914 Posted September 18, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted September 18, 2018 22 hours ago, The Illustrious Jerry said: This conversation reminds me- didn't Holst rewrite the Planets after the premier received bad response. No! The Planets was well received but had multiple premieres. For example the first performance in 1918 with Adrian Boult conducting omitted several movements because the instrumentation varies widely such as a chorus only in the last few minutes of Neptune. This was a "private performance" not really with a large audience and the orchestra was practically sight reading the very complex score (only two hours to rehearse). Today, this would probably be considered a read through. Holst did add instrumentation later such as the organ part after the first reading, so maybe that is what you are referring to. Basically he understood he would have an organ at his disposal after he composed the work so added a part for the grand instrument. SEPARATE TOPIC! I think Karen Tanaka is a very interesting composer. This work is quite striking and worth hearing. In fact, this entire album is very good. I thought every single work was complex, refined, interesting, unique, and captivating. I always associate Ifukube with Godzilla but this disc shows a more lyrical and balletic side to him. The Illustrious Jerry, Nick Parker and Marian Schedenig 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Parker 3,040 Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 Thanks, @karelm, fun piece! First time I heard this composer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Illustrious Jerry 3,356 Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 Thanks @karelm for help on clarification. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loert 2,515 Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 My entertainment for tonight: SteveMc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted September 20, 2018 Share Posted September 20, 2018 Due today: https://www.amazon.de/Newton-Howard-Concertos-Bramwell-Limelight/dp/B07H3DN6F4/ref=sr_1_1?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1537440307&sr=1-1-mp3-albums-bar-strip-0&keywords=james+ehnes karelm 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karelm 2,914 Posted September 20, 2018 Share Posted September 20, 2018 3 hours ago, publicist said: Due today: https://www.amazon.de/Newton-Howard-Concertos-Bramwell-Limelight/dp/B07H3DN6F4/ref=sr_1_1?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1537440307&sr=1-1-mp3-albums-bar-strip-0&keywords=james+ehnes Ooh! Very cool...I also love Aaron Jay Kernis so this is instabuy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marian Schedenig 8,208 Posted September 20, 2018 Share Posted September 20, 2018 JNH and Kernis on one album? Interested! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted September 20, 2018 Share Posted September 20, 2018 This album is a delight The Illustrious Jerry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Illustrious Jerry 3,356 Posted September 20, 2018 Share Posted September 20, 2018 Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor: VII-Allegro The whole quartet is one of my favourite of Beethoven's SteveMc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loert 2,515 Posted September 20, 2018 Share Posted September 20, 2018 One of the pieces I'm currently learning: Jurassic Shark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,086 Posted September 20, 2018 Share Posted September 20, 2018 7 minutes ago, Loert said: One of the pieces I'm currently learning: Love his piano concertos, especially the recordings with Demidanko! Loert 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karelm 2,914 Posted September 20, 2018 Share Posted September 20, 2018 I've mentioned this composer several times in this thread but not this work. Wow, it is so intense at the end. This is also a good use of electric guitar and drum kit in a symphony but unfortunately, only this movement is on youtube. They aren't used in pop music fashion but as symphonicly. He sadly died way too young at the age of 50 from a heart attack. I find his music intense, mesmerizing, distinctive, and taut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Illustrious Jerry 3,356 Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 Can anyone recommend a recording of Leo Delibes' Flower Duet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMc 2,674 Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 15 hours ago, karelm said: I've mentioned this composer several times in this thread but not this work. Wow, it is so intense at the end. This is also a good use of electric guitar and drum kit in a symphony but unfortunately, only this movement is on youtube. They aren't used in pop music fashion but as symphonicly. He sadly died way too young at the age of 50 from a heart attack. I find his music intense, mesmerizing, distinctive, and taut. Interesting. The electric guitar as symphonic texture bit is intriguing me. Does he use it to play melody or add color to the orchestration? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Illustrious Jerry 3,356 Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 Carl Orff: Carmina Burana: Veris leta facies (The Merry Face of Spring) Carmina Burana, the magnum opus of German composer Carl Orff, is most known for its stunning O Fortuna chorus. However, this the 3rd excerpt from this choral spectacular (of which I got to see performed by the Canadian National Academy Orchestra three years ago ) is such an interesting piece. The quirky riffs at the beginning are so unique and oddly engaging and a simple two note bridge carries the morose choir through a series of lines. Truly spectacular! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karelm 2,914 Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 9 hours ago, Steve McQueen said: Interesting. The electric guitar as symphonic texture bit is intriguing me. Does he use it to play melody or add color to the orchestration? Think of it sort of like Marius Constant's use of electric guitar in the Twilight Zone theme. It is treated as a symphonic instrument so don't expect 1980's rockabilly stuff. It blends orchestrally. Sort of how Ravel, Prokofiev, or Vaughan Williams used the saxophone. It is used very selectively and clearly noticed but still blends. SteveMc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loert 2,515 Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 Some more Strauss for tonight's listening: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 This album was released earlier this year. Very happy to have the rarely recorded orchestra-only arrangement of the Organ Symphony, which Copland officially designated his "Symphony No. 1". I honestly adore both versions. This and the Piano Concerto are my favorites of the music he composed in his 20s, particularly the first and second movements which are essentially perfect IMO. I hope that Chandos continues this series! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,086 Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 Have you checked out John Wilson's concert performance of Korngold's suite from Robin Hood? A very fine performance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 This weekend I also sought out George Antheil's 3rd Symphony and was NOT disappointed. I've listened to it twice already and plan on returning to it often. What is it with early-middle-20th-century American composers and absolutely brilliant 3rd symphonies? Copland, Schuman, Harris, and now Antheil. That mid-30s to mid-40s period was wonderful for American music. As far as I'm aware, this is the only recording of it! 1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said: Have you checked out John Wilson's concert performance of Korngold's suite from Robin Hood? A very fine performance! I have! A favorite Youtube video. Jurassic Shark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,086 Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 1 minute ago, Disco Stu said: I have! A favorite Youtube video. I'm still waiting for him to release a Korngold album, and I wouldn't mind if they included this live recording. Omen II 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omen II 1,235 Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 55 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said: I'm still waiting for him to release a Korngold album, and I wouldn't mind if they included this live recording. Agreed 100%. I reckon John Wilson to be the best interpreter of Korngold's film music there is. I have been lucky enough to see him conduct several of Korngold's film scores in concert over the years and every time he has surpassed even Charles Gerhardt's reference recordings in my opinion. The first time I saw him conduct live was in a concert of golden age film music given by the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 2007, where he programmed The Sea Hawk, The Adventures of Robin Hood and gave the UK concert premieres of Escape Me Never and Tomorrow from The Constant Nymph. I have also seen him conduct Kings Row with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Incidentally, the John Wilson Orchestra in this concert included several members of the London Symphony Orchestra who will no doubt be making an appearance next month at the same venue under the baton of John Williams! Jurassic Shark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,086 Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 14 minutes ago, Omen II said: The first time I saw him conduct live was in a concert of golden age film music given by the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 2007, where he programmed The Sea Hawk Is there a recording of this? It would be great if Wilson did a complete recording of Captain Blood! I can't believe no-one's done that already, and I don't think the incorporation of Liszt's music diminishes the score. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omen II 1,235 Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 21 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said: Is there a recording of this? Not that I am aware of, I’m afraid. The concert was at the Royal Festival Hall in November 2007. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,086 Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 2 minutes ago, Omen II said: Not that I am aware of, I’m afraid. The concert was at the Royal Festival Hall in November 2007. It would be cool if BBC Music Magazine could release Wilson's live Robin Hood. It wouldn't be the first time they released a proms performance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Illustrious Jerry 3,356 Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 Giuseppe Verdi: String Quartet in E minor: III: Prestissimo Brilliant! SteveMc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karelm 2,914 Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 A very interesting and dynamic composer is the Portuguese composer Joly Braga Santos (1924-1988). Like Penderecki, Scriabin, or Schoenberg, his music falls into completely opposing phases. Symphonies No. 1 through 4 which followed each other quickly are lush, romantic, and dramatic epics similar in style to Respighi, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Maurice Ravel, etc. Some of it could be in a 1950's biblical epic. The early music is gorgeous with long dramatic lines and ecstatic climaxes but full of drama, modality, and folk influences. Most consider his Symphony No. 4 (1950) to be the masterpiece of the early phase but interestingly he abandoned tonality and traditional forms. To this late period belong the works Three Symphonic Sketches, Sinfonietta, the Requiem, his 5th and 6th Symphonies, and Divertimento no. 2. I seem to have an affinity to composers who die too young like Lepo Sumera, Braga Santos, Mahler, Herrmann, etc. Imagine if Braga Santos was still alive, he might be up to Symphony No. 12 and have evolved past atonality to a third major phase. Disco Stu 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 A contemplative Monday morning. On my third listen of just the adagio from Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G. Music does not get more expressive than this. The flute line that breaks the spell of the solo piano is just indescribable. SteveMc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMc 2,674 Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 Ooh, that is sublime. Disco Stu 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 I love how it's so close to this boring, cliched, beautiful waltz, but Ravel just knows how to make it rhythmically interesting ("off") enough to stay on the right side of cloying. Then of course in the second half he sprinkles in touches of dissonance, a touch of spice makes everything nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Illustrious Jerry 3,356 Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 Robert Schumann: Fantasiestucke- III. Warum Gustav Holst: Fugal Concerto for Flute, Oboe, and Strings No. 2- I. Moderato Georges Bizet: L'Arlesienne Suite No. 1- Carillon It's a good day with Schumann, Holst and Bizet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,086 Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 38 minutes ago, The Illustrious Jerry said: Robert Schumann: Fantasiestucke- III. Warum Just because. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loert 2,515 Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Illustrious Jerry 3,356 Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 2 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said: Just because. I'm afraid I don't understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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