First, some apologies and honorable mentions. So that’s it. We have, in order: Beethoven’s Symphony no. 2 Brahms’s Symphony no. 2 Bruckner’s Symphony no. 4 Hans Rott’s Symphony in E Mahler’s Symphony no. 3 Weingartner’s Symphony no. 1 Felix Woyrsch’s … Continue reading German(ic) Symphony Series: A wrap up
performed by the Hamburg Symphony under Miguel A. Gómez-Martinez Last week’s symphony moved a bit out of the realm of that deep rabbit hole of associations among Mahler and Rott and Bruckner and Brahms that all started with Beethoven. It … Continue reading Felix Woyrsch: Symphony No. 1 in Cm, op 52
performed by the Basel Symphony Orchestra under Marko Lentoja So this is (perhaps thankfully) where our saga of the Beethoven quote ends. It’s been with us for around a month now, and it’s time we close that chapter. Mahler 3 … Continue reading Felix Weingartner: Symphony No. 1 in G
As has been common for the past few installments of our German(ic) Symphonies series, things got out of hand, and the most consuming idea of the piece itself expanded to take up a huge portion of what was supposed to … Continue reading Mahler’s third: An epilogue
performed by the Vienna Philharmonic under Claudio Abbado, or as below, Abbado with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, a wonderful performance So here we are, at kind of the middle point of our series, and we have reached quite a point in … Continue reading Mahler Symphony no. 3
performed by the Radio Symphonieorchester Wien under Dennis Russell Davies It is completely impossible to estimate what music has lost in him. His genius soars to such heights even in his first symphony, written at the age of twenty, and … Continue reading Hans Rott: Symphony in E major
performed by the Vienna Philharmonic under Karl Böhm (1973 recording), or below with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra under Claudio Abbado So did I have that epiphany (from Tuesday’s post)? I think I may have. It seems there comes some point … Continue reading Bruckner Symphony no. 4 in Eb major, ‘Romantic’ (Haas, 1881)
It looks like the way in is not always from the beginning. This is also the first time I feel comfortable being so…. forwardly critical or (not indifferent but…) puzzled about the works of someone so well known and highly … Continue reading Thoughts on Bruckner: A foreword
performed by the Chicago symphony orchestra under Sir Georg Solti Watch both of these above. In the second video, Maestro Bernstein begins talking about the second symphony just before the three minute mark. This is such a pleasant symphony, and … Continue reading Brahms Symphony no. 2 in D major, op. 73
performed by the Gewändhausorchester under Riccardo Chailly Bear with me. There are a lot of videos to see in today’s post. We begin the first part of our very German[ic] series with Beethoven. (I say Germanic because some are Austrian, … Continue reading Beethoven Symphony No. 2 in D, op. 36
performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta or below with Leonard Bernstein and the Bavarian Radio Symphony: Part 2 here Part 3 here (please note that these parts are not arranged in any relation to the movements, just 15 … Continue reading Charles Ives: Symphony no. 2
(I have written an updated article on this symphony in the few years since this original article. It can be found here, and I’d suggest reading it at least in addition to if not in place of what is below. For posterity, I’ve kept the original article as is.) performed by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra under Neeme Järvi Let me just say I love the fact that Nielsen was playing in the second violins for the premiere of this piece. How cool is that? We’re getting back around to symphonies, probably for at least the next month or so. I … Continue reading Nielsen Symphony no. 1 in Gm, op. 7
performed by the Cleveland Philharmonic under George Szell, or the below video of Sir Georg Solti and the Chicago symphony I mentioned in a tweet the other day that Schubert feels like the gateway drug to classical-era music, at least … Continue reading Beethoven symphony no. 1 in C, op. 21
performed by the National Symphony Orchestra under Mstislav Rostropovich Buckle up… please listen to this piece, and please read this whole thing. Or just read the wikipedia article on it. I reference it a lot. I listened to his first … Continue reading Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47
performed by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields under Sir Neville Marriner (Below is the Failoni Orchestra under Michael Halasz) https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/n2fxg3ncs5s&source=uds There is a tenuous connection to one of the characters in this week’s “on this day” series. Although he may not be a name many casual fans of classical music would recognize, Antonio Salieri played a large part in the development of the young Schubert and his musical education. Salieri’s influence was greatest in opera, which he wrote in three languages. He was apparently one of the most respected, sought-after teachers of his era, and aside from … Continue reading Franz Schubert: symphony no. 1 in D (D. 82)
performed by the Gothenburg Symphony under Neeme Järvi (below is Järvi with the Orchestre de Paris) Quite a nice first symphony, from a composer whom I’ve come to really enjoy. He has a distinct voice among the late Romantic composers … Continue reading Sibelius Symphony no. 1 in Em, op. 39
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 Leonard Bernstein I believe the recording above is the same as the one I listened to from this box set by Deutsche Grammophon. If not, go check out that recording, because it’s the one I want. Hello again, Mahler. Hello, not-so-old friend. It’s been not-so-long. To this day, if I need to get in the kitchen and cook or clean … Continue reading Mahler Symphony no. 1 in D, ‘Titan’
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 … Continue reading Brahms Symphony no. 1 in Cm, op. 68
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’
performed by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra under Osmo Vänskä I cannot think of a better contrast to the previous Mahler symphony as this piece. Do I love it? Yes. Does it make me want to stop everything I’m doing and … Continue reading Sibelius Symphony no 3 in C, op. 52
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"
Fugue for Thought 