Tag: Music

Works that I do my best to write about (at least once a week, usually on Thursdays). For collections of pieces, check out the Series link above.

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Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Piano Concerto in C#m, op. 30

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performed by the English Northern Philharmonia under David Lloyd-Jones,Malcolm Binns, piano This is unquestionably a very Russian piece, but it is also unquestionably a Lisztian piece.It was completed around 1883 and first performed in 1884 at one of Balakirev’s Free Music School concerts in St. Petersburg, by whom I am not sure.I am learning I’m not super fond of this Balakirev guy. As ignorant as I am of his works overall (aside from Islamey, and that just barely), reading about him makes him sound quite knowledgable and insightful, but this may just be more as a result of his familiarity … Continue reading Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Piano Concerto in C#m, op. 30

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Alan Hovhaness: Symphony no. 2, op. 132, ‘Mysterious Mountain’

Fugue for Thought

performed by the London Symphony Orchestra under John Williams (A playlist for the recordings of the three movements of this particular performance can be found here) I’m learning that generally speaking, I don’t care much for subtitles of works. ‘Symphony number … Continue reading Alan Hovhaness: Symphony no. 2, op. 132, ‘Mysterious Mountain’

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Prokofiev Piano Concerto no. 2, op. 16

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performed by the London Symphony Orchestra under Andre PrevinVladimir Ashkenazy, piano This was kind of Ashkenazy’s warhorse for a while I’m told. The Interwebs told me. This piece comes up often in the “hardest piano concerto ever” discussions that many an amateur like to have. I believe that comes from summing up the scope of the greatest challenge possible and putting things into perspective against it. Maybe. Anyway, Prok 2, Rach 2 and 3, Brahms 2, and Bartok 1 and 2 seem to be the ones that are most often agreed upon as being frighteningly, intensely difficult (obviously in different … Continue reading Prokofiev Piano Concerto no. 2, op. 16

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Mahler Symphony no. 2 "Resurrection"

Fugue for Thought

This piece has been revisited, and an updated article has been written. Please read it here.  I’ll keep the original article (below) for posterity, but I would suggest reading the new article instead. performed by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus under Yoel Levi Mary Phillips, mezzo-soprano, Barbara Bonney, soprano Buckle up. This is a long one. The post and the symphony. Before I start talking about baseless, subjective things, let’s get a few cold, hard facts out of the way. Mahler’s second symphony was written between 1888 and 1894, and premiered on December 13, 1895 in Berlin under the composer’s baton. … Continue reading Mahler Symphony no. 2 "Resurrection"

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Samuel Barber: Symphony no. 2, op. 19

Fugue for Thought

performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under Marin Alsop Marin Alsop is a woman. I assumed the info in iTunes had a typo and it was “Martin” or something. Anyway, that’s cool! Maybe the first female music director I can recall hearing of.  This American symphony by an American composer is very different than the “New World” American symphony by the Czech composer from last week. That’s sort of the reason I picked it. Let’s contrast a bit.  How is this piece American? Well, it’s obviously by an American composer, one of the most famous composers of the 20th … Continue reading Samuel Barber: Symphony no. 2, op. 19

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Olivier Messiaen: Turangalîla-Symphonie

Fugue for Thought

This piece has been revisited, and an updated article has been written. Please read it here.  I’ll keep the original article (below) for posterity, but I would suggest reading the new article instead. performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Riccardo Chailly Piano- Jean-Yves Thibaudet Ondes Martenot- Takashi Harada recorded at the Grotezaal, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam in 1992 This “symphony” (referred to by Wikipedia as a “large-scale piece of orchestral music”), was written from 1946-1948, and, like the other not-actually-a-symphony 20th century work I listened to recently, this piece is ALSO a commission from Serge Koussevitsky (thru an organization). Koussevitsky commissioned Turangalîla … Continue reading Olivier Messiaen: Turangalîla-Symphonie

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Rachmaninoff Symphony no. 2

Fugue for Thought

This article has been marked as in need of a revisit. That’s where I feel like I didn’t do the piece justice or have more to say (usually because I didn’t know it nearly well enough or didn’t have the right perspective). I’ll keep the original article for posterity, but publish a new version that will eventually be linked here for my new take on it. performed by the USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra under Gennady Rozhdestvensky This piece was written in 1906-07 and premiered in 1908 with the composer conducting. 
I will talk about some of its background … Continue reading Rachmaninoff Symphony no. 2

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Arnold Bax: Symphony no 1.

Fugue for Thought

This piece has been revisited, and an updated article has been written. Please read it here.  I’ll keep the original article (below) for posterity, but I would suggest reading the new article instead. Performed by someone I listened to this probably four or five or six times. This one is in stark contrast to the other English symphony I have been listening to. This is clearly a war symphony. It’s a piece written just after World War I, finished in 1922, and it has the atmosphere to prove it. The multiple listens appear to have paid off, because in reviewing … Continue reading Arnold Bax: Symphony no 1.

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Bela Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra, Sz. 166

Fugue for Thought

This article has been marked as in need of a revisit. That’s where I feel like I didn’t do the piece justice or have more to say (usually because I didn’t know it nearly well enough or didn’t have the right perspective). I’ll keep the original article for posterity, but publish a new version that will eventually be linked here for my new take on it. performed by the Cleveland Orchestra under Christoph von Dohnányi AND NOW for something completely different. I was thinking of listening to the Grieg piano concerto, which I will be hearing Ms. Valentina Lisitsa her … Continue reading Bela Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra, Sz. 166

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Antonin Dvorak: Symphony no. 2, op. 4

Fugue for Thought

This article has been marked as in need of a revisit. That’s where I feel like I didn’t do the piece justice or have more to say (usually because I didn’t know it nearly well enough or didn’t have the right perspective). I’ll keep the original article for posterity, but publish a new version that will eventually be linked here for my new take on it. performed by the Berlin Philharmonic under Raphael Kubelik It’s taking me more time to get through what I believe is enough listens to write these days. Started listening to this one last week, and … Continue reading Antonin Dvorak: Symphony no. 2, op. 4

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Eduard Tubin: Symphony No. 1

Fugue for Thought

This article has been marked as in need of a revisit. That’s where I feel like I didn’t do the piece justice or have more to say (usually because I didn’t know it nearly well enough or didn’t have the right perspective). I’ll keep the original article for posterity, but publish a new version that will eventually be linked here for my new take on it. performed by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra under Neeme Järvi I listened to this about five times. I have enjoyed quite a bit of the modern Finnish composers, maybe due to the influence of people … Continue reading Eduard Tubin: Symphony No. 1

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Alexander Borodin: Symphony No. 1 in Eb

Fugue for Thought

Performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra under Gennady Rozhdestvensky There’s no article for Wikipedia on this, but other sources reveal it was premiered in 1868 by Borodin’s mentor, Mily Balakirev. I had heard somewhere that Balakirev also helped Rimsky-Korsakov with (and conducted the premiere of) his first symphony. Balakirev encouraged RK to continue work on the first movement. He did so, but apparently made a disaster of the orchestration. Balakirev came to the rescue again, getting RK started by helping him orchestrate the first page. He did well after that. But later, RK said of Balakirev: “[I] was convinced … Continue reading Alexander Borodin: Symphony No. 1 in Eb