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 Schumann Symphony no. 1, op. 38
performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Serge Koussevitsky,or below with Gergiev and the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. And Prokofiev is wonderful. This one has also been stewing for a while, waiting to get … Continue reading Prokofiev Symphony No. 1 in D ‘Classical’
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
performed by the Berlin Philharmonic under Raphael Kubelik, or below with the Vienna Philharmonic under Karajan: Some interesting facts about this piece: It’s worth noting (as I mentioned in the Dvorak 2 post) that until his earlier symphonies were discovered, this … Continue reading Dvorak Symphony no. 9 in Em, op. 95: 120th anniversary
performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Bernard Haitink, 1994 This is another one I was fortunate enough to hear in person, having gone to see a local university symphony perform it at symphony hall. Tickets were cheap, and seats … Continue reading Tchaikovsky Symphony no. 4 in F minor, Op. 36
performed by the ASMF/Marriner This is one of Mozart’s later childhood symphonies. He would still have been only about fifteen. It was written in Salzburg. Also, this is a very half-hearted Mozart Monday. Partially because I’m exhausted, and partially because this symphony was…. just another early Mozart symphony. There’s nothing bad about that, but there’s nothing spectacular about it either. A few things to note, though. It is in four movements, and the first is longer than any movement he had written up until that time. I suppose this symphony is close to being the longest of his symphonies so … Continue reading Mozart Symphony no. 12 in G
performed by the ASMF/Marriner Believed to date from 1770, and possibly written in Milan or Bologna, this symphony is also suspected by some to have been written by either the father Leopold Mozart or by Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (who is actually a real person with that name, who has a huge catalogue of compositions). Its status on Wikipedia is listed as uncertain, but some music historical claims confidently that it is Mozart the son who wrote this work. That’s about all the info Wikipedia has on it. Another expert claims there is “little special” about this piece, but I … Continue reading Mozart Symphony no. 11
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. I also wrote about it much more recently over at my newly established Substack as part of a concert program alongside Mozart’s Dm concerto in January of 2026. Please go check that out. performed by the Chicago Symphony under Georg Solti This piece was written between 1901-1902. This is the second week in a row I have been able to write about a piece after having seen … Continue reading Gustav Mahler: Symphony no. 5
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
performed by the ASMF/Marriner This one was likely written during Mozart’s first journey to Italy, completed in 1770. That’s about all the information we get from Wikipedia about this piece. Mozart would then have been a young teenager. The first movement is pleasant enough, very classical, with high horns responding to lots of strings. The first part of this movement has a delightful dainty sort of energy. The only non-strings are oboes and horns. This string-heavy orchestration makes it feel even more classical and antique than some of his earlier pieces. What feels like a second movement is actually just … Continue reading Mozart symphony no. 10 in G
performed by the ASMF/Marriner Mozart Monday again! Last MM I was halfway around the world. I’m back on the other half now, the half live on, and after a week and a half of listening and preparing for the recent Sibelius post, it feels a bit incomplete or premature to be posting this. It is, however, only a 9-minute symphony, and I listened to it about four times. Not much to say here, as it’s such a departure from the Sibelius I listened to for a week straight. Still a childhood symphony, published in 1770, making Mozart about 14 years … Continue reading Mozart symphony No. 9 in G
performed by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Simon Rattle (or below in an equally wonderful recording with the Lahti Symphony under Osmo Vänskä) (I recently featured this piece at the end of a monthly concert program over on … Continue reading Jean Sibelius: Symphony no. 2 in D major, Op. 43
Performed by the ASMF/Marriner Mozart Monday from a special location: Milton, GA (another M, for Mozart Monday in Milton) In this week’s MM, we find our family still in Vienna, even after they should have been back in Salzburg. It was finished in 1768. This somehow feels super polished and although simple, tightly written and more mature, especially the first movement. It is predominantly strings, with oboe and flute calling out between the action here and there in the Allegro. It has great motion and feeling, and I feel this has more dynamic expression than any of the precious pieces. … Continue reading Mozart Symphony no. 8 in D
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 BBC Philharmonic under Martyn Brabbins in a world premiere recording I don’t remember exactly how I came across this gentleman, but I think it went something like this. I was looking … Continue reading Cyril Scott: Symphony No 1. In G
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.
Completed in 1768 after the family’s return to Vienna after a vacation and escape from smallpox. Parts of it were later refashioned into an opera (La Finta Semplice) and another entire symphony (K. 46a, the link for which on Wikipedia redirects to the aforementioned opera, but apparently the one I listened to, as the first movement is marked “Overture”) This one was likely premiered at a private performance. It’s a short one, but the two bits I enjoyed most were the first and fourth movements. The andante in 2/4 and the minuetto/trio are just fine, but didn’t much capture my … Continue reading Mozart symphony no 7 in D, K. 45
performed by the London Symphony Orchestra under Valery Gergiev (I think) (This piece has been ‘revisited’ since I felt the article below to be inadequate. The updated articles are here here for the original op. 47 , and here for the revised op. 112.) It’s Prokofiev. The recording I have happens to be the earlier, unrevised version; that’s the only reason I chose this one. I may address op. 112 separately. The first movement is generally “eroico” in nature, heavy and big, but also kind of menacing in places. The second theme is contrastingly lyrical and nice, and the middle section is … Continue reading Sergei Prokofiev: symphony no. 4 (op. 47)
performed by ASMF/Marriner Mozart Monday, and for the first time… I love this! It’s surprisingly pleasing. It’s the longest of Mozart’s childhood symphonies so far, his first in F, the first to have a minuet/trio and the first to have two obligatory viola parts, which was certainly not apparent to me. He was eleven when he wrote this one, and probably finished in Moravia, where the family had apparently fled Vienna die to an epidemic of smallpox. What was apparent was that it felt far more mature and developed than his others. It’s longer (almost 14 minutes) and in four … Continue reading Mozart Symphony No. 6 in F, K. 43
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
Performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Bernard Haitink This has got to be one of my recent favorites. It would be in my top five at the moment (although, if I were to make a top five list, it … Continue reading Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 5 in Em, op. 64
performed by ASMF under Sir Neville Marriner Mozart Monday! This is how I will get through his symphonies. That makes it sound like torture. It isn’t that bad. They are very pleasant, but again, I am just not thrilled about the classical period (yet). Symphony number five was written while Mozart was still only nine years old, at The Hague. Still very short, still only in three movements. I notice that it seems the harpsichord takes a more background role in this work, and the horns are very much in the forefront. They sing in an almost unpleasantly high register … Continue reading Mozart Symphony No. 5 in Bb
Fugue for Thought 