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With regard to the several pieces that Atsushi put up a week or so ago by Toldra.  Can someone tell me what these are?  Are they arias from one opera?  Or what?

I did a little research on these pieces, since I enjoyed them and was also curious as to what exactly they were. Here is what I found:

  1.  The Curse of Count Arnau
  2.  Sun rising in Camperola
  3.  The rose
  4.  The daughter of the Merchant
  5.  Empuries

1. La maledicció del comte Arnau [The Curse of Count Arnau] (lyrical impression, 1926-30)

2. Camperola [The Farm] (sardana, 1923)

    Sol ixent [The Sun Rises] (sardana, 1922)

3. La rosa als llavis [The rose to the lips] (1936)

4. La filla del marxant [The Merchant's Daughter] (suite, 1934)

5. Empúries [Invocacion to Empordà] (1926)

The only one that is actually a song is Track 3. The others are all orchestral or chamber orchestral pieces. NOTE: Track 2 is actually two separate works (in the order of my listing). Hope this helps!

I have quite a few friends who, with the greatest respect to them, suffer from a sort of musical snobbery, where by if a piece isn't by one of the 'greats', it can't be any good. They are often pleasantly surprised when I sit them down and make them listen to something a bit different. I think it is ignorance in the geniune meaning of the word - most people like what they know. Say something is by Tchaikovsky and people are immediately more receptive - the barriers come down rather than staying up and perhaps being reinforced.

Equally, I also think the 'great' composers also suffer from the assumption that every single piece they wrote is a work of genius. Mozart's early symphonies might be of great historical/biographical interest, and extraordinary for someone so young, but they aren't very interesting pieces of music for me (he says making a sweeping generalisation on the strength of the few he has heard!). The best pieces of 'second-rank' composers are far, far better (in my opinion) than the lesser works of the 'greats'.

Well said! I know many excellent musicians who have the same attitude as your friends in the first paragraph. And, unfortunately, there are many major musicians who refuse to venture outside the realm of the generally accepted masterworks unless compelled to for some reason. In common with many other members of this forum, I'm sure, I would much rather hear even a lesser conductor and and orchestra perform a lesser-known work by a lesser-known composer than yet another Beethoven 5th.

Back to the first paragraph, though. Sadly, I find many public radio stations (of the relatively few that still broadcast classical music to any meaningful extent) perpetuate this attitude. Apart from sloppy, inconsistent, incomplete, and often outright inaccurate information about the composer, music, and performers, they also frequently treat anything off the beaten track with mild condescension and an air of "here's a composer I've never heard of who actually wrote something listenable!"

I'm sure some of us have decent public radio, but sadly, I don't. I'll stop now before launching into a rant on the subject!

Christopher,

Thank you for this link! I look forward to listening to this music.

Amidst all the current buzz over Karl Weigl, could anyone having a close familiarity with the Cycle Symphoniker of Marcel Rubin (available now in its entirety for listening here) offer some insight as to its merits and distinction, and comparative characterization/evaluation of the individual works?  Weighty and engrossing if frequently uncomfortable for me, I find this output a formidable discovery in my adventures through UC downloads land, - though my own impressions still lack much clarity....  It may seldom be obvious, and I can't quite put my finger on it, but here and throughout all the Symphonies there's a definite Brucknerian legacy to be discerned IMO.  Do others agree?

While I can't claim sufficient knowledge of Rubin's symphonies yet to say anything about them with much authority, I will state that I consider them one of my major discoveries in this forum. I'm only now nearing the end of my first traversal through all ten symphonies and each one brings revelations and enjoyment as I listen to them in my car on my way to and from work each day this week.

Certainly, the strongest influence I've detected so far is Les Six, most specifically Milhaud and Honegger, with some Poulenc. The very beginning of the cycle struck me as heavily indebted to Milhaud, though already with an individuality that sets Rubin apart from being a mere slave to Milhaud's style. Honegger comes to mind mostly in the slow movements, and more so as the cycle progresses, where Milhaud's influence seems to wane (especially after #3).

I can't say I hear Bruckner anywhere,  but then it's an influence that hadn't occurred to me, and may become more apparent in subsequent hearings.

However, the most striking observation I've made so far is the similarity of vast stretches of Symphonies 7 & 8 to a composer who I've never heard mentioned in the same breath as Rubin, and who I would be amazed if Rubin had even heard a note of -- Havergal Brian. Certainly, Rubin's formal structures are more traditional and less capricious than Brian's, but the orchestration and harmonies of these two symphonies often reminded me very strongly of some of Brian's symphonies (Nos. 8 to 12, in particular). Probably a case of two different composers, pursuing independent directions and stylistic development, some of whose stylistic characterstics briefly crossed paths unbeknownst to either.

In any event, a remarkable composer, who I look forward to getting to know much better, and whose works I will now seek out enthusiastically!

Thank you, shamokin88, for the Erbse uploads. I'm completely unfamiliar with this composer and am glad to have the opportunity to explore his music now, at least in part.

As far as his disappearance mid-career, New Grove has the following to say:

When his opera Julietta op.15 (1957), first performed at the Salzburg Festival in 1959, received negative reviews from some critics, he partially retreated from public musical life.

Speaking of Lincoln... there's Jaromir Weinberger's "Lincoln" Symphony (1941).

Louis Vierne -  Symphonie en la & Spleens et détresses.

Elroel, thanks for sharing this wonderful recording. I've treasured my copy of this LP for years and continue to enjoy the music very much. Personally, I prefer Vierne's symphony to Dukas' stylistically similar and more widely-played one, though I like the Dukas just fine as well.

Great to see you're back, Jim!

My apologies!!! I didn't realize the upload had occurred -- somehow I missed it. I remember shamokin88's post stating he couldn't find the disc, and in the spirit of helpfulness I thought I would upload my copy. I didn't realize he had subsequently downloaded it. Makes me wonder what else I've missed!

Oh, drat! In looking back over the American downloads folder I just realized I uploaded the wrong piece! I should have uploaded H. F. B. Gilbert's Dance in Place Congo! I will do so later, once I find my copy. I'll be happy to remove my post of the Cowell, if you like, Colin!

Sorry for the confusion! 

Latvian has just uploaded Henry Cowell's 'Ancient Desert Drone' in the performance by the Janssen Symphony Orchestra. This was uploaded by shamokin on 20 March of this year in the same performance.

Gentlemen...this is why I catalogued all American uploads and keep the catalogue updated on a daily basis

It is, of course, perfectly appropriate to upload the same piece in the same performance if the recording is markedly superior but it would be helpful if that is explicitly stated.

As the compiler of the American Downloads Index can I respectfully ask members to check the Index before posting new upload links

My apologies!!! I didn't realize the upload had occurred -- somehow I missed it. I remember shamokin88's post stating he couldn't find the disc, and in the spirit of helpfulness I thought I would upload my copy. I didn't realize he had subsequently downloaded it. Makes me wonder what else I've missed!

Unfortunately the link for the Roland-Manuel Piano Concertino must have been already "invalid" by the time I came to attempt to download

I will reupload with a new link, once I find my original!

It seems most of us either love or hate Hovhaness' music. Perhaps not quite those extremes for everyone, but I don't see much indifference. I confess I'm in the "love" category. I've listened to it, performed it, and enjoyed it for decades. That being said, yes, there is a tremendous amount of seeming repetition and note-spinning. Part of that is due to the modes he chose to work in, which have very distinctive colors and progressions. I think there's a lot of subtlety in his best writing, though there's also a discomfort with, and rejection of, the traditional inner workings of forms such as concerto and symphony, though he retained the titles and fashioned them to his own ends.

Personally, my favorites are:
Concerti for Orchestra Nos. 1 & 7
The Holy City
Visionary Landscapes, for piano
Twelve Armenian Folksongs, for piano
the final movement of Symphony No. 20, titled "Grand Final Processional" (a knockout piece of grandeur!)

There's much more that I enjoy, but I freely admit I don't listen to Hovhaness every day, or even every week!

Thank you, Colin, for your magnificent index of American downloads! This is very helpful in many ways, and also clearly shows the depth and breadth of content on our site.

There seems to be a problem with part one of Riegger's 4th Symphony -- according to the introductory announcement in German, it's actually Gunther Raphael's Fantasy for Violin and Strings.

Latvian, do you have a recording of this Farwell Symphony? I have been interested in it for a while.

Yes, I do. I'll upload it when I have some time, hopefully this weekend. Right now I'm terribly busy so my visits to UC are "hit and run."