performed by the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia under Yevgeny Svetlanov Photo by Tsuyoshi Kozu on Unsplash I haven’t the faintest idea what possessed me years ago to: Perhaps if I (or you) went back and read the articles … Continue reading Myaskovsky Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 3
Cover photo by Eric Prouzet on Unsplash And by ‘play,’ I mean listen to as an individual, or more significantly, program as a music director or some sort of managerial staff of an ensemble. If you’ve ever followed a recipe … Continue reading Play This, Not That
Cover photo by Philippe Bout on Unsplash I’ve been hard at work on music lectures lately, with only a couple of weeks until I present Beethoven’s magnificent ninth symphony to an audience who just a few years ago had only … Continue reading The Potential for Scholarship
cover photo by Sebastian Unrau on Unsplash I said this was a thing I was going to do, and I’m finally sort of getting around to it. I came to know Mahler’s symphonies very much out of order. To my … Continue reading Memories: Mahler 1
performed by the Berlin Philharmonic under Seiji Ozawa, or below by the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra under Valery Gergiev Now we are rejoicing in our great victory, but each of us has wounds that cannot be healed. One has lost those … Continue reading Prokofiev Symphony no. 6 in E flat minor, op. 111
performed by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Mariss Jansons, or below by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under Neeme Järvi (cover image by Michal Dolnik) Thankfully, we have now arrived at uncontested, overwhelming greatness in Shostakovich’s symphonic output. Not … Continue reading Shostakovich Symphony no. 4 in Cm, op. 43
performed by the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra under Gennady Provatorov (cover image by Johannes Plenio) (this piece is featured on a list of pieces I heartily recommend to music directors for inclusion on their season programs. Check out the article … Continue reading Gavriil Popov: Symphony no. 1, op. 7
performed by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and Chorus under Neeme Järvi, or below by the Orchestra of the USSR Ministry of Culture and the Russian State Academic Choir Cappella under Gennady Rozhdestvensky (cover image by Paul Morris) …whereas in October, the … Continue reading Shostakovich Symphony no. 3 in E flat, op. 20, ‘The First of May’
performed by the Berlin Philharmonic under Seiji Ozawa, or below by the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra under Valery Gergiev (cover image by Ian Baldwin) Next is the third symphonies of both composers, and again, Prokofiev comes out in a much better … Continue reading Prokofiev Symphony no. 3 in Cm, op. 44
performed by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and Chorus under Neeme Järvi, or as below with the WDR Radio Chorus and WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne under Rudolf Barshai (cover image by Taton Moïse) [O]ne is tempted simply to cut it off … Continue reading Shostakovich Symphony no. 2 in B, op. 14, ‘To October’
performed by the Berlin Philharmonic under Seiji Ozawa, or below by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under Neeme Järvi (cover image by Johannes Plenio) I have made the music so complex to such an extent that when I listen to … Continue reading Prokofiev Symphony no. 2 in Dm, op. 40
performed by The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Josef Krips, or below by the Academy of Ancient Music under Christopher Hogwood (cover image by Grant Ritchie) Here we are with our last Mozart symphony for a while. The 30th was written … Continue reading Mozart Symphony no. 30 in D, K. 202
performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Josef Krips, or below with the Academy of Ancient Music under Christopher Hogwood (cover image by Dawid Zawila) Did you expect anything else? Mozart’s 29th symphony, in contrast with the previously numbered work, does have … Continue reading Mozart Symphony no. 29 in A, K. 201
performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Josef Krips, or below by The Academy of Ancient Music under Christopher Hogwood (cover image by Dawid Zawila) Here we are with the next in that little set of four symphonies we started … Continue reading Mozart Symphony no. 28 in C, K. 200
performed by Josef Krips and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, or below by The Academy of Ancient Music under Christopher Hogwood (cover image by Aneta Pawlik) For today’s symphony, we jump back to 1773, a few years before some of the pieces … Continue reading Mozart Symphony no. 27 in G, K. 199
performed by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields under Sir Neville Marriner, or below by The Academy of Ancient Music under Christopher Hogwood (cover image by Neven Krcmarek) We’re already at symphony no. 26, and have another nine to discuss … Continue reading Mozart Symphony no. 26 in E flat, K. 184
performed by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields under Sir Neville Marriner, or below by the Concentus Musicus Wien under Nikolaus Harnoncourt (cover image by Simon Matzinger) This is the one, already more than halfway through Mozart’s numbered … Continue reading Mozart Symphony no. 25 in Gm, K. 183
performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Josef Krips, or The Academy of Ancient Music under Christopher Hogwood (cover image by Brooke Lark) We’re still in 1773, Mozart’s year of climbing toward greatness. The piece was dated October 3, 1773. The … Continue reading Mozart Symphony no. 24 in B flat, K. 182
performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Josef Krips, or below with The Academy of Ancient Music under Christopher Hogwood (cover image by Lucija Ros) The 23rd symphony was written only a month or so later than the previous work. … Continue reading Mozart Symphony no. 23 in D, K. 181
performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Josef Krips, or below by The Academy of Ancient Music under Christopher Hogwood (cover image by Federico Respini) Well here we are with a Mozart symphony, for the first time in a while, … Continue reading Mozart Symphony no. 22 in C, K. 162
performed by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Vernon Handley, available on iTunes or Hyperion (cover image by Robson Hatsukami Morgan) (this piece is featured on a list of pieces I heartily recommend to music directors for inclusion on their season … Continue reading Simpson Symphony no. 4
Fugue for Thought 