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I too tire of having this argument over and over and over with people who, under *any* other circumstance, would be meticulous about the correct spelling of composer's names. But I'll not say anything further about it, Mr. Howe.

I am not a huge fan of opera. I cannot just listen to a recording. I need to see the staging, costumes, and singers.

Over the years, I've really enjoyed the available DVDs of RK's operas. My favorite, from the spectacle aspect and entertainment value, is the DVD of Mlada. I also like the Sadko DVD. There has been a lot of criticism of the staging of Legend of Invisible City of Kitezh, but it's no worse than the typical "Eurotrash" tortures often inflicted on more famous operas by the likes of Oliver Py. The Tsar's Bride gets treated better by the Bolshoi than the poor production of May Night. Le Coq d'Or turns out much better as well. To my knowledge, Kashchey the Immortal is available only in the form of a lip-sync movie, paired with Rachmaninoff's Aleko.

At the risk of being persnickety and pedantic, could we please try to spell Rachmaninoff's name correctly on UC? How would you like it if some government officials from the "old country" that you fled in fear and disgust, a refugee from tyranny, decided they wanted to change the spelling of your name and have your body dug up and shipped back to them, against your wishes and without the permission of your family?

Welcome to UC, Douglas, and thanks for the post regarding your book. I look forward to the monograph in progress about Dvorak's "New World Symphony" as well. Do you have any idea when that might appear?

What was I thinking? 

And have you heard the recording by Rachel Barton (now Barton-Pine)? Recorded with a chamber orchestra, so a less heavy feel.

I'll have to agree with Double-A on this point. Orchestra musicians do not normally select the music to be programmed during a season. The music director usually makes those decisions. Soloists typically have several current options they are prepared to perform on the current tour, but the music director chooses soloists and which pieces the orchestra will perform. Whether the music is already in the library can also influence decisions, as cost can be an issue, which is another strike against unsungs on the orchestral programs.

In contrast, musicians typically do decide what music will be played in small ensemble concerts and solo recitals. Typically, one or more familiar pieces will be played, but we very often hear chamber music and solo pieces by composers whose orchestral music almost never get played. Orchestra musicians often play in chamber music ensembles or attend summer festivals where they have an opportunity to perform music outside the standard repertoire.

Well, we all have different tastes. Bartok is not mine. I also don't care for Mozart, among others.

Actually, I regarded that comment as more an example of the increasing hermeticism (not quite sure that's the word I want) of this group, the last few years. "Schoenberg wrote music we don't like" --> "Schoenberg was a bad musician" --> "Schoenberg's musical judgments are not worth attention & he was a bad person besides, and his students too, nyah!"

Here is the complete discussion of Bartok's petulant behavior after the Rubinstein Competition, squawking about not being selected for a prize in either the piano competition or the composing competition -- and stating basically, Once I become famous, I'm going to throw this right back in the faces of the judges. In other words, this was not a measured, considered, astute analysis, but an angry, jealous, vindictive condemnation by a (IMO, marginally talented) youngster writing a letter to his mother.

https://books.google.com/books?id=hPHOBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA58&lpg=PA58&dq=Attilio+Brugnoli+Bartok&source=bl&ots=rwoNgM7q50&sig=FBOY8aXulpzIbc8csWQGH8KGov8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAWoVChMImdWyhMvlxwIVi1weCh1SFQIb#v=onepage&q=Attilio%20Brugnoli%20Bartok&f=false

As a sample of his critique -- "the fact that these dunderheads declared my works unworthy of the prize shows how extraordinarily stupid they were." 



As to "hermeticism" -- Yes, we are all about mystical paganism rooted in the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus. Or were you thinking of the jars left on the doorstep of Funk & Wagnall, containing "hermetically sealed" envelopes with questions that Carnac The Magnifiocent would divine answers to?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76wzA2A2T1Q



hahaha -- thanks for bringing up old memories, Eric. I know what you were referring to, but sometimes we can have fun, even in a jar.

Italian pianist, composer,  educator, musicologist (1880-1937). Wrote at least 2 piano concertos, the 2nd dated 1905 (although maybe not published until 1934).

I'm not finding much about this fellow. There is a Wiki page in Italian here -- https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attilio_Brugnoli. He was apparently more highly praised than Bartok at the Anton Rubinstein Competition in Paris in 1905, which irritated Bartok quite a lot. Bartok wrote that Brugnoli's music was "absolutely worthless conglomerations."

I doubt that Brugnoli is a forgotten master, but I am not exactly deterred by the judgment of Bela Bartok. I'm curious about his piano concertos and other piano music, since he wrote some influential publications on piano technique.

Scriabin and Rachmaninoff were classmates, of course, studying at Moscow Conservatory under Arensky and Taneyev. His piano concerto and first symphony were redolent with Russian romanticism, but he had a musical wild streak even in school. As a result, Arensky refused to sign off on his degree. And because of his small hands, although he was successful on the concert stage, he would never become a great virtuoso. His 1st Piano Sonata was a "cry against God, against fate." He was extraordinarily frustrated by this "handicap" -- so much so that he damaged his right hand trying to play Balakirev's Islamey and Liszt's Réminiscences de Don Juan.

I guess what I'm getting at is that he may have, psychologically, been impelled toward ever more extreme directions as a way to differentiate himself from the crowd of "good but not great" performers and composers.

I say this with absolutely no scholarly support for my hypotheses, since I've never read a biography or in-depth review if his work. So, feel free to trash these ideas.

Alan's post with the VC details indicates Lassen's death as 1894, but Wikipedia (not always reliable) says he died in 1904. Can anyone resolve this discrepancy?

I've looked at it several times and passed each time. Given Pletnev's personal proclivities, which I find abhorrent and disgusting, I've not bought any of his music for years. And I'm not likely to purchase anything with his name on it in the future.

That said, there is a 2012 broadcast recording of Pletnev conducting the same orchestra, playing Scriabin's 1st Symphony, but with different vocalists and in a different country. So it is not the same recording used by Pentatone. I have this in my archive and would be willing to upload it to UC, if you are interested.

Scriabin was a synesthete. More specifically, he sensed musical notes as color, called chromesthesia. (Rimsky-Korsakov was also said to have this sensory trait.)

Anyway, it is only natural that he would then try to convey to audiences this unique experience, by incorporating the visual aspect of color into performance of his music.

Personally, I find this fascinating. Scriabin was the inventor of the concert light show, long before Pink Floyd came along! haha

I really like Scriabin's 1st symphony, and I've bought every recording I've run across over the years. They all suffer some deadly defect -- audio, performance, or some dreadful mezzo warbling. I'd love to hear a splendid (or even just competent) recording of this symphony.

Both the concerto and the variations are available for a listen on YouTube.

Yes, as well as 3 of his symphonies and several other works.