Geirr Tviett - Harp Concerto #2 Year: 1959
Turid Kniejski
Per Dreier/Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Rating: 4.25 Stars
Part two of a mini-binge listening to Norwegian 20th Century composer Geirr Tviett. Harp Concerto #2.
What happened to Harp Concerto #1? Like a majority of Tveitt's work, the manuscript was lost in a house fire at his residence in 1970. This is utterly tragic given the consistently high quality of his efforts. I can't imagine the misery such a loss could lead to! Like the previously posted Piano Concerto #4, this is a powerful piece, Nordic in character, tonal 20th Century in sound, and ultimately highly evocative. The amazing thing about this piece is how quickly and forcefully Tveitt brings the drama right from the beginning. After such a beginning, it would seem the modest, quiet harp wouldn't stand a chance. But as in any good concerto, the harp does become an equal partner with the large orchestra. The execution here, both compositionally and in presentation, is exceptionally deft, and beautifully balanced. Another 20th Century Wonderwork for me.
Part thee of a mini-binge listening to Norwegian 20th Century composer Geirr Tviett.
Unlike the 4th Piano Concerto, the 5th has no subtitle and carries no obvious impressionist program. No matter, this becomes the grandest, most dramatic of the three Tveitt works I've explored today. This is a magnificent piano concerto. Both the orchestra and the piano have so much to say and there is an incredible balance of tension between the two protagonists, bot also resonance, and ultimately consonance, making this a thoroughly satisfying journey. Of the three Tveitt pieces today, this is the one I can most safely say gets better with subsequent listens and I will be happy to revisit it at any time in the future.
Kurt Atterberg - Symphony #2 Year: 1911 - 1913
Ari Rasilainen
Radio Sinfonie Rochester Frankfurt
Rating: 3.75 Stars
Kurt Atterberg - Symphony #5 Year: 1922
Ari Rasilainen
Radio Sinfonie Rochester Frankfurt
Rating: 4.00 Stars
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I didn't have much experience with Swedish composer Kurt Atterbeg. I found both of these symphonies to be quite amazing, although I don't think they'll slide into regular rotation. What makes them interesting is how frequently and deftly Atterburg moves between lush and beautiful pastoral themes and grand, heroic brass overtures. At times these seem brilliant but before the 75+ minutes of this CD was over, I felt a little worn out by all that heroic lushness. Overall, I think the latter symphony is probably the superior work, but it was hard to hang with it coming right on the heels of the 2nd. Lately, I've been more often listening to individual works an then doing something else for a while as opposed to plowing through a whole disc all at once. This would have been a particularly good disc for which to have taken that approach. Still happy to have it as a new addition to my collection.
Mieczyslaw Weinberg - Cello Sonata #1, Op 20 Year: 1945
Alexander Chaushian (cello)
Yevgeny Sudbin (piano)
Rating: 4.25 Stars
Mieczyslaw Weinberg - Sonata for Solo Cello, Op 72 Year: 1960
Alexander Chaushian (cello)
Rating: 4.00 Stars
Mieczyslaw Weinberg - Cello Sonata #2, Op 63 Year: 1959
Alexander Chaushian (cello)
Yevgeny Sudbin (piano)
Rating: 4.00 Stars
This is some brooding music here. Weinberg seems very much to be a sort of Polish Shostakovich. That may or may not be a good thing depending on the listener. While I'm not always into brooding, and I understand Shostakovich's renown rather than feel and appreciate his music, there are moments it's just the right thing, and these Weinberg pieces caught me at just that right time today. So much so, that I gave the whole thing a second listen and found it even better the second time.
Cellist Alexander Chaushian really makes his instrument sing.
Oh, and for icing on the cake, I do love that cover photo. For some reason, I find it rather captivating.
Alf Hurum - String Quartet in A Minor
Year: 1912
Vertavo String Quartet
Rating: 4.25 Stars
Alf Hurum - Symphony in D Minor
Year: 1912
Alexander Dmitriev
Stavanger Symphony Orchestra
Rating: 4.5 Stars (5 stars for the first movement)
Alf Thorvald Hurum is a seldom heard early 20th Century Composer (and painter, a truly mutitalented individual). A magnificent composer to my ear, I wish he had a lot more exposure, and more of his works recorded as I'd likely go on a major binge.
The string quartet here actually strikes me as more Slavic than Nordic, as if Hurum was simultaneously channeling a combination of Dvorak and Janacek into his slightly heroic Nordic themes. No matter what I hear stylistically though, what I hear is a most delightful string quartet that always grabs my attention and leaves me better than it found me.
But the real winner here is the symphony, which actually reads more like a collection of three tone poems than a symphony, but no matter, it's also a stellar listen. The first movement in particular, entitled "The Great Forests,," is one of the most sublime pieces of music I've ever heard and stands favorably alongside any of the great Nordic composers' best tone poems or any impressionist piece anywhere in the repertoire.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Symphony #40 in G Minor Year: 1788
Otto Klemperer
Philharmonia Orchestra
Rating: 5 Stars
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Symphony #41 in G Minor Year: 1788
George Szell
Cleveland Symphony
Rating: 5 Stars
Mozart wrote 41 symphonies; only two are in a minor key. Turns out that when the master of exquisitely delicate balance tried to write something with a little more gravitas...., well.... yeah, he nailed that too. This is one brilliant freaking symphony! Really, I lack the vocabulary to adequately describe the genius of this work just as language is inadequate to describe the genius of Mozart himself.
The symphony kicks off with possibly the most compelling motif this side of Beethoven's Ode to Joy, immediately setting the stage for all the magnificence that follows. Probably the most amazing thing about the symphony is all the overlapping motifs, one feeding into the other, and all the truly astonishing counterpoint. Rather than being a collection of devices, they all weave together into the most brilliantly coherent whole. This Symphony is a constant source of wonder.
Despite my love for this symphony, I own but one recording, with George Szell on the podium, it's an excellent reading of the work,, with Excell sound quality. I recently read that Klemperer is the ultimate master of this work, so I pulled up a stream of such, and have to agree. He brings out that depth, that tension more effectively. On the other hand, his more forceful style puts a little too much punctuation in those overlapping motifs where Szells more mellifluous approach maintains that seamless continuity a little better. But in both cases, these are the most minor of quibbles. These are both the most minor of quibbles. If I have a slight preference for the Klemperer, it doesn't mean I'm going to stop listening to my Szell.
Samuel Jones - Symphony #3; Palo Duro Canyon Year: 1992
Gerard Schwarz
Seattle Symphony Orchestra
Rating: 4 Stars
Ferde Grofe - Grand Canyon Suite Year: 1992
Felix Slatkin
Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra
Rating: 3.5 Stars (with some 5 star moments along the way)
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I'd never heard of the first piece, but as soon as I saw it, I had to give it a listen. Not because of any familiarity with the composer, or because I love Schwarz and the SSO, but rather a completely extramusical reason.
I've been to Palo Duro Canyon. Over Thanksgiving weekend of 2015, while our native Colorado was all snowed in, my son and I loaded the mountain bikes in the minivan and headed to warmer, drier climes for three days of riding, even knowing that the riding would pale in comparison to what we're used to in the Rockies.
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Junior threading the needle between rocks on the long descent from the canyon rim to the bottom of the valley
Palo Duro Canyon was an excellent stop. Few know that it is second on the continent in size only to The Grand Canyon itself. That it sits in the middle of the prairie of the Texas panhandle is kinda' mind blowing. Incidentally, I'm a big fan of Grofe's Grand Canyon Suite, and really took a liking to jazz composer Denny Zeitlin's album "Slickrock," named for the world's most famous mountain bike trail (Moab, Utah), another place my son and I had ridden together. So checking this out seemed a must do.
So glad I did. Loved this. Really loved this. And yes, it is perfectly evocative of the landscape of Palo Duro Canyon. Brilliant.
After listening to the Palo Duro Canyon Symphony, I was inspired to get back out my Grand Canyon suite by Ferde Grofe. In spite of the very not American name, Grofe's piece is one of a handful of quintessentially American pieces of 20th Century classical music, right alongside the likes of Copland's Appalachian Spring. For me, it's kind of hit and miss, with some parts being truly amazing, again evocative of its subject matter, and at other times me just waiting for the next bit.
Johann Sebastian Bach - Brandenburg Concertos Year: 1721
Karl Richter
Münchener Bach-Orchester
Rating:
#1: 4.50
#2: 5.00
#3: 4.50
#4: 4.75
#5: 4.75
#6: 4.75
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If anyone is looking for a complete opus that would be the best possible introduction to baroque music and all it had to offer, I can not imagine a better suggestion than Bach's Brandenburg Concerto's. They are a seemingly endless source of delight and wonderment.
Today, I reminded myself of why #2 is my favorite Brandenburg.
Nowhere else have I ever heard so much uplifting melody and brilliant counterpoint come together in so uplifting an opus. It boggles the mind in the best possible way.
But fear not for the rest, as they are all but a hair behind, each and everyone worth listening to in regular rotation. One of the things I enjoy the most about these marvels is how Bach changed orchestration from one to the next. We don't tend to think as much of orchestration until later musical periods, but here's proof positive that knowing exactly what instrument to employ in what context with what melody and harmony was not lost on Bach; just another facet of his fully developed musical genius.
Although titled as a concerto, this piece was written originally as part of the soundtrack for the 1941 British film Dangerous Moonlight, commemorating the story of a Polish concert pianist and composer, Stefan Radecki, who became a fighter pilot to fight the Nazis in 1939. The popularity of this piece from the movie led to much demand as a stand alone concert piece, which sparked a controversy as to whether or not it belonged in the concert hall alongside the classical greats. It is written with a strong nod to Rachmaninov, but also, to my ear bears some resemblance to Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, another piece that originally enjoyed great audience appreciation but more mixed reviews from critics.
If you’re looking for a piece of music that divides opinion, look no further than this work. Beloved by many for its Rachmaninov-esque melodies and nostalgic sound-world, it’s also remembered for its repeated occurrence in Spike Milligan’s autobiography as ‘the bloody awful Warsaw Concerto’. https://www.classicfm.com/composers/add...-concerto/
There's no controversy or confusion in my mind. I love this piece and I don't care when or where it's performed or under what heading. It's magnificent either as programme music or as a stand alone piece of fine art music.
John Dowland - Lute Music Year: Late 1500s - early 1600s
Paul O'Dette
Rating: 4 Stars
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Way back in the Renaissance, decades before the arrival of even J.S. Bach, English composer John Dowland was cranking out some pretty intricate music, none more captivating than his music for solo lute. This is truly lovely stuff that plays well either as background music in a variety of settings, or as dedicated sit and give it all your attention music. Paul O'Dette has made Dowland's music a centerpiece of his career and it shows on this disc. For those who want more, he has a complete box set covering all of Dowland's lute pieces spanning over 5 hours.
I couldn't find a live youtube of O'Dette playing any of the pieces on this album, so I opted for this one with Ieva Baltmiskyte playing the Galliard Co Lachrimae featured on the album, and doing an admirable job of it:
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