Wilhelm Stenhammar - Symphony #2 Year: 1911 - 1915
Stockholms Filharmoniska Orkester/Stig Westerberg
Rating: 4.25 Stars
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Wilhelm Stenhammar - Symphony #2 Year: 1911 - 1915
Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Petter Sundkvist
Rating: 4 Stars
Wilhelm Stenhammar - Excelsior! Year: 1898
Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Petter Sundkvist
Rating: 4 Stars
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In an odd coincidence, I find myself drawn to a lot of second symphonies from the early 20th century. Among these marvels, I find Stenhammar's to be one of the most marvelous. An epic in scope symphony, this one is also immediately heroic and absolutely intriguing right from the start. What I really took today when streaming the Stockholm Philharmonic session, was the brilliantly conceived counterpoint that seems to enhance that heroic aesthetic even further. I then grabbed my physical media, a nice Naxos recording with the Scottish National Orchestra. While the sound was a little better, they didn't seem to maximize the distinction of the counterpoint and missed out on some of the heroic impact. Still a great listen though. The Excelsior! overture comes from a couple decades previous, but already shows a young Stenhammar in confident control of his composition and deployment of orchestral forces. A nice pairing with the symphony.
This is a long yet wonderful collection of four movements, each having its own mood and purpose, yet all held together by a most glorious turn of the century take on classic romanticism. The first movement is marked allegretto appassionato, and that's no joke! Interestingly, the second movement is a simple allegretto, and despite dropping the passion, it may be even more intriguing. The third movement, a lovely adagio, is serene and contemplative. We finish with a Danza funeral, which is at once both lively and somber befitting its marking and closes the piece with less light than the first three movements had led us to believe was coming. Yet, that close is no less satisfying or compelling as we could have hoped. A wonderful piece, well presented.
Carl Friedrich Abel - Symphonies Op. 7 Year: 1767
Cantelina/Adrian Shepherd
#1: 4.25 stars
#2: 3.25 stars
#3: 4.25 stars
#4: 3.5 stars
#5: 3.75 stars
#6: 3.75 stars
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This is a delightful set of pre-classical symphonies. Each of the six is composed of three brief movements. As they are both brief and filled with infectious energy and wonderful melody, they are easily digestible. This is recommendable both as entry level exposure to classical neophytes or as a fun break from the heavies for a pro. It's just not possible to like these tidbits, and the whole disc of 18 total movements flies by with energetic ease.
Jen-Fery Rebel - La Terpischore Year: 1710
Le Concert des Nations/Jordi Savall
Rating: 3.75 stars
While youtubing about, I stumbled upon this innovative yet congenial little French baroque suite. Utterly delightful. Why had I not heard of this guy before?
Another almost stunningly beautiful symphony by Hovhaness here. It is appropriately pastoral as the title would suggest, but also full of wonder and delight. The pacing is totally befitting the subject matter and associated musical programme. The opening andante harkens to the sunrise and you can just see the various wildflowers opening up their petals to the light of the new day. The following Allegro pays a most fitting homage to Copland without losing Hovhaness's distinct voice. A short (3 1/2 minute) third movement marked "senza misura" draws us in with a lovely solo oboe setting us up for a most satisfying Allegro-Andante full of gorgeous counterpoint to finish off 33 1/2 minutes of total wonderment. Mr. Hovhaness published 67 symphonies and I've heard about 1/10 of them. I really must rectify that. Whether with the orchestra in Seattle or Berlin, Schwartz really knows how to conduct Hovhaness.
Franz Joseph Haydn - Symphony #60, "Il Distratto" Year: 1774
Camerata Salzburg/Roger Norrington.
Rating: 4.25 Stars
For some reason, hearing Hovhaness's #60 made me want to hear the only other #60 I know of, from the even more prolific Haydn. This is odd for a classical symphony, having six movements, that no doubt owing to its origin as a piece of music for the stage. As such the music is more directly evocative of specific characters and action than a typically abstract classical symphony. That said, this thing is tons of fun, even by the standards of the always good natured Papa Haydn. No contrapuntal slouch, Haydn introduces us to some especially intriguing compound melodies along the way, as well as some distinctly unexpected changes in direction that keep the listener guessing a bit and fully intrigued and entertained. This is classical music I can't help but bob my head and tap my toe to. Joyous. Norrington really gets the best out of this music.
Joonas Kokkonen - Cello Concerto Year: 1969
Marko Ylönen/Cello
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Sakari Oramu
Rating: 4.25 Stars
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I like Kokkonen
I like cello
I love this piece
This is a tightly but expressively argued piece of music. Ylönen's playing on the solo instrument draws out the story nicely and the integration between soloist and orchestra is beautifully balanced. This whole thing hits my ear just right.
Joseph Jongen - Symphonie Concertante Year: 1926
Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège/Pascal Rophé
Olivier Latry /Organ
Rating: 4 Stars
This is a rather grand Symphonie Concertante by Belgian composer Joseph Jongen. Much of that grandeur comes from the magnificent organ that plays such an integral part of this piece. This is one big ass organ, but it is never overused, never abused; it is always placed at exactly the right moment and given exactly the right level of prominence for each passage in which it appears. The coming and going interplay between the organ and the symphony is positively brilliant. Contrasting that big ol' organ are long quiet passages that require focused attention for their rewards to be revealed. Sure, you could play this as background music, but that would really be missing the point. One unexpected oddity; while this is strictly a European affair, I caught wind of a few very American sounding themes. This provided no dichotomy as all worked together very nicely. A wonderful piece from end to end.
There is so much power in the 8th. So stirring and rousing! Do you have the energy to keep up? Holmboe applies large scale orchestration to maximum effect, so this is so much more than a mere loud bludgeoning of the listener, but rather a most powerful evocation of intense Nordic imagery.
While not by any means subdued, the 9th is a more varied affair, with 5 movements, each changing character. What is consistent from the 8th is that Holmboe again maximizes the impact of his orchestration, just in service of a broader musical palette this time. The proof is in the quiet movements, which I daresay are even more compelling than the bombastic ones.
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