Ottorino Respighi - Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite #2 Year: 1923
Neville Marriner/Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
Rating: 4.75 Stars
Of all Respighi's name works, the Ancient Airs and Dances seem to get the least love
Of the three suites in the Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite 2 seems least renowned.
Of all the recordings of Suite 2, Marriner's seems to get little interest
Yet this is my favorite recording of my favorite Respighi!
Light and lively, nicely varied from movement to movement, perfect tempos, sharp transitions, crystal clear melody lines, and in the end, always a mood lifter.
Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga - Symphony in D Year: 1824
Paul Dombrecht/Il Fondamento Ensemble
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Born 15 years after Mozart's departure from this world, Juan Cristomo Arriaga became known as "The Spanish Mozart" no doubt due to his level of accomplishment at such a young age (and interestingly, they share the same birthday, 50 years apart). Arriaga was but 18 years old when he completed this, his only symphony. It has a feel lying somewhere between Mozart and Beethoven, carrying some real dramatic weight, but doing so with a delicate, very classical balance. Sadly, the world would lose Arriaga much earlier than even Mozart as he passed 10 days shy of his 20th birthday. A great loss; there's no telling what he could have done.
Grażyna Bacewicz - Concerto for String Orchestra Year: 1950
Zachary Schwartzman/The Orchestra Now
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Bacewicz is a new discovery for me, and a most welcome one. I've given this piece three dedicated listens over the last two weeks and it seems to get better each time. This is a truly magnificent example of East European 20th century music, and it has so much crammed into its modest 15 minute runtime.
The opening movement is an immediate grabber, bringing high drama right from the start. The harmonies are largely tonal but still quite adventurous. Amazing that in 1950, a composer could be so fresh without radical tonality or complete atonality. The following slow movement brings some melancholy, but is somehow perfectly sublime. Then the finale brilliantly wraps it all tougher into a coherent whole. Magnificent composition, beautifully performed in this youtube from Nashville.
Antonin Dvorak - Cello Concerto Year: 1895
Leonard Rose
Eugene Ormandy/The Philadelphia Orchestra
Rating: 5 Stars
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I have long had an affinity for Cello. And the Dvorak concerto is arguably the greatest of all cello works. Of course being the good Czechophile (is that a word? if it isn't, is should be) that I am, this coming from the greatest of all Czech composers totally hits me right in my sweet spot.
Right from the beginning, this is my kind of piece; dripping with Romantic power and expressiveness, but also with a slight Bohemian twist. Yo, it don't get any better than this! I've probably heard a dozen versions of this and I have yet to hear one I don't like; such is the glory of Dvorak's score. Of course a great soloist can really enhance the music, but it doesn't seem a middling one can really ruin it. I have a soft spot for my recording by The Philadelphia Orchestra with Eugene Ormandy on the podium and Leonard Rose on the featured instrument. Full disclosure; part of my love for that disc comes in the pairing--Dvorak's almost as grand Violin Concerto with none other than Isaac Stern on the lead instrument. But back to the Cello--Rose really makes his strings sing! Again, the performance matches the piece; dripping with unadulterated romanticism while given appropriately measured support by the orchestra.
The first movement is such a glorious study in contrasts between the big orchestral chords and the gently singing solo parts, and between the rather Bohemian opening theme, the big heroic theme that suddenly appears late in the movement, and the intensely romantic theme that closes the movement. And somehow Dvorak ties it altogether into on coherent but stirring musical thought. Maginificent. In contrast to the romantic power of the first movement, the slow movement is one of the most pleasantly reflective pieces of music ever written; it radiates a calm serenity throughout. It of course fits well int he middle of the concerto as it should, but it could easily stand alone as meditation music. As if all that wasn't enough, Dvorak opens the final movement with a hint of a march before morphing into an intense but somewhat restrained Czech dance presented again in lush, romantic fashion. The dance gives way to more sweetly singing solo cello before a brief final eruption in a rousing heroic finale. Is it any wonder this piece is held in such esteem!
Paul Juon - Piano Quintet #2 Year: 1909
Oliver Triendl/Carmina Quartett
Rating: 4.25 Stars
The now mostly obscure Paul Juon (born Pavel Fyodorovich Yuon) dropped very creative and highly listenable piano quintet in 1909. Two things strike me about this piece. First is that the music overall, as well as specific melodies seem to employ and blend both Western and Eastern European elements. This is very cosmopolitan music. Not surprising though, when you consider that Juan was born in Russia but also lived in Switzerland and Germany. He has been called the link between Tchiakovsky and Stravinsky, which makes sense in light of his expressive romanticism augmented by a more modern tonal palette. But again, both Tchiakovsky and Stravinsky are thoroughly Russian while Juan paints with a broader geographic palette.
The second thing that strikes me about this piece is how deftly Juan employs the piano and the string quartet. Not only does he have the two components of the composition in perfect sync supporting and reinforcing each other, he also knows exactly when to let the piano run up front, and even when to put the piano in support mode and bring the strings to the fore. Over the course of four listens over the last week, each subsequent listen gets a little better than the last. Another piece (and I'm guessing another composer) that I expect to be more than just a passing infatuation for me.
Jiří Antonín Benda - Concerto for Harpsichord and Orchestra G Minor Year: 1760
Zuzana Růžičková
Jan Talich/Talichův Komorní Orchestra
Rating: 4.25 Stars
Time for a little earlier music, all the way back to the days when harpsichord was still a primary instrument, although soon to give way to the pianoforte. As a lover of Czech music, I looked up Benda; bein in a minor mood, I settled on this excellent harpsichord concerto. This is a very nice blend of mostly delicate, yet forceful when appropriate. Assuming this is indicative of Benda's work, I'll be looking to score a full set of Benda concerti.
Franz Schreker - Chamber Symphony for 23 Players Year: 1916
Gateway Chamber Orchestra
Rating: 4.5 Stars
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I really seem to be settling in on a lot of early 20th century music lately. Rather than the radical, atonal music that we often associate with the 20th Century, I seem to be honing in on highly evolved expressions of a deeply romantic idiom. This is no exception, but it is an exceptional example of that. This is very moving music. It draws you into its world like a great tone poem, but holds you like a great large scale symphony. This is all encompassing music that is also a constant joy to listen to.
Lovely. Even breathtaking at times. 27 minutes very well spent.
Franz Joseph Haydn - String Quartet, Op. 20, #3 Year: 1923
St. Lawrence String Quartet
Rating: 4.25 Stars
I do love me some Haydn quartets! But I usually hang out up around Op. 64 or later. But today was a time to reach back to the period when Haydn first brought the form to fruition. Listening to this Op. 20 #3 quartet was an absolute joy. This is an amazing work; you can hear the master getting decidedly experimental in places, and yet it sounds fully formed... a mature and complete work. No matter how much I listen to Papa, he never ceases to amaze me.... and put a smile on my face.
Franz Joseph Haydn - Keyboard Sonata #33 Year: Exact date unknown - any time between 1773 and 1783
Mikhail Pletnev
Rating: 3.75 Stars
Still in a Haydn mood this morning (which is not at al unusual for me), but looking to branch out a bit. Haydn is so well known for his symphonies and quartets, it's easy for his other work to get lost. While his keyboard sonatas may not have the stature of his other works, and may not stand up well with the likes of Beethoven's sonatas, these are still joyful, and often rather inventive works well worth a listen. The 33rd is a fine example, both historically and for listenability. This has very much the sound of a transitional work as it sounds like it would sit equally well for either harpsichord or piano (quite an achievement in itself), and yet has some real forward thinking harmonic and rhythmic employment along the way without ever sacrificing that Haydnesque charm and wit. Pianist Mikhail Pletnev really nails it in this performance.
Part one of a mini-binge listening to Norwegian 20th Century composer Geirr Tviett.
With a title liek "Aurora Borealis," you'd expect a fairly impressionist piece, something not normally associated with piano concertos. But impressionist this is, and yes it remains a legitimate piano concerto as well. And while impressionist, it's much more Scandinavian than French in character, and more dramatic at times than is normally associated with musical impressionism, or Nordic concertos for that matter. The end result is a rather dynamite piece of music which got me thoroughly interested in this previously unknown to me composer.
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