Alan Hovhaness - Guitar Concerto Year: 1979
Javier Calderon/Guitar
Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Stewart Robinson
Rating: 3.75 Stars
Alan Hovhaness brings his symphonic mysticism to the guitar concerto and creates his typical level of beauty along the way. The first two movements are quiet and heavy on the guitar. It's not until the third that the orchestra really becomes an equal partner in the composition. This is fine; it all works well and any fan of Hovhaness will appreciate this.
Karel Husa - Music for Prague 1968 Year: 1968
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra/Barry Kolman
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Here's a truly powerful piece, Karel Husa's Music for Prague 1968, written immediately after the Soviets rolled their tanks into the Czech captial. I had the good fortune to catch an absolutely stunning live performance by the Dayton (Ohio) Philharmonic in '94. It was so powerful as to be almost overwhelming. Husa himself was planning on being in attendance, but his health prevented it.... he was well into his 80s at the time, so I'll cut him some slack. I would have loved to have shared my applause with him directly.
Conlon Nancarrow - Studies for Player Piano Year: 1950 - 1968
Rating: 3.75 Stars
I recall about 15 years ago acquiring some music composition software. What a great tool.... suddenly I could write and immediately hear all sorts of things I would never be talented enough to play. Little did I know that around the time of my birth and well before the digital age, the eccentric Conlon Nancarrow had developed a similar capability. His fascination with the player piano led him to develop a technique of composing directly onto the piano roll. Suddenly, he was freed from human limitations of speed, precision, or even the number of fingers which could be brought to the keyboard. Now, there was absolutely no limitation to the complexity of what a piano could produce.
As such, these studies make for a fascinating listen. To hear what the mind of a composer can produce in a world without technical limits can be fascinating. Of course, just like my computer compositions, the nuance of human performance is absent, but these are still incredibly interesting exercises.
Elliot Carter - The Four String Quartets / Duo for Violin and Piano
Juilliard String Quartet
String Quartet #1
Year: 1951
Rating: 3.75 Stars
String Quartet #2
Year: 1951
Rating: 3.5 Stars
String Quartet #3
Year: 1971
Rating: 3.25 Stars
String Quartet #4
Year: 1986
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Duo for Violin and Piano
Year: 1974
Rating: 4 Stars
I haven't said this in a while, but this is challenging music. I feel like I've been exposed to, listened to, and grasped so much by now, that not much fazes me any more. This did.
There were two main surprises here.
First, I felt like I had a good grip on Carter's overall structure, but not so much the individual lines (what I would call licks in jazz although this is thoroughly composed) that support or grow out of that structure. It was intriguing how Carter has noticeable breaks within movements but then conversely has threads that reach from one movement to the next; sections layered like a sort of musical scalloped potatoes or a welders bead. But so much of the bits within that structure still seemed random, more like a free jazz performance that eschews integration of individual themes and overall structure. I'm sure there is such a coherence in there; I just didn't hear it. I even pulled up youtubes of these quartets that displayed the score along with the performance and that only confused me further. Maybe I just wasn't in the right frame of mind when I first played these; I look forward to subsequent listens to see if I can bridge the listening/appreciation gap.
The second surprise was that, while I'm particularly fond of string quartets in general, it was the last piece, the Duo for Violin and Piano, that really grabbed me upon first listen. No comprehension problems there! Carter's use of space was stunning. The juxtaposition of integration and distance between the two instruments created a most compelling effect, and the performances were both flawless to my ear.
Johann Sebastian Bach - Cantata BWV 127 "Herr Jesu Christ, wahr' Mensch und Gott" Year: 1725
Collegium Vocale Gent/Philippe Herreweghe
Soprano: Dorothee Mields
Tenor: Jan Kobow
Bass: Peter Kooy
Rating: 4 Stars
While not religious myself, I still find some sacred music to go well with a Sunday Morning. This J.S. Bach Cantata is a wonderful bit of Sunday Morning start. This performance does a nice job of bringing out Bach's counterpoint, especially among the vocalists. A delightful listen.
Andrzej Panufnik - Symphony #3: Sinfonia Sacra Year: 1963
UNAM Philharmonic Orchestra, Mexico City/Zhouang Chen
Rating: 4 Stars
Not sure how this randomly popped into my listening list, but I'm sure glad it did. This short symphony by Polish composer Andrzej Panufnik is a mini-marvel to my ears. It opens with a gloriously heroic brass fanfare before settling into an almost minimalist, achingly beautiful subdued section, only to be disrupted by some rowdy percussion transitioning us into some dire sounding heavy orchestral boisterousness. In the second movement, we start pensive before going into beautiful reflection, undercut by some relatively quiet drama in the strings, ultimately finishing with a grand resolution, all hands on deck, tying everything from the previous 20 minutes together. A really solid, and fun, listen. I definitely need to seek out more of this composer's works!
Johann Sebastian Bach - Sonatas and Partitas (arranged for Lute)
Year: 1720
Hopkinson Smith/Lute
Rating: 4.25 Stars
Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.
Youtube commenter @lintflas1183 said "Emotional, intellectual, spiritual, universal, beautiful Bach. "
I have nothing to add other than to say that in addition to the music being all that, this particular performance is exemplary in bringing out all those qualities.
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