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Messages - John Hudock

#1
Composers & Music / Re: Poulenc's Concerto for Organ
Tuesday 16 November 2010, 19:21
I suppose it's a matter of taste but I love quite a lot of Poulenc's music.

He was not very prolific, but his Gloria is a magnificent work and the Stabat Mater is quite moving too. I like all of the concertos, particularly the Organ concerto, the Harpsichord concerto (Champetre) and the piano concertos and also his Sinfonietta. I also like his ballet music and while not very familiar with his operas I remember finding La Voix Humane, which I haven't listened to in years, quite moving. I also there is much worthwhile in his chamber music as well.
#2
Shouldn't it more properly be "If you love ..., then you will like ..."

Anyway...

Faure ---> Durufle (at least what little there is), Koechlin
Delius ---> Bax
Beethoven ---> Cherubini, Hummel, Spohr, Ries
Mozart ---> Gossec
Nielsen ---> Glass (Louis, not Philip)
Sibelius ---> Stenhammar
Shostakovich ---> Tcherepnin
Khatchaturian ---> Matchavariani
#3
Composers & Music / Re: A Puzzle.
Friday 01 October 2010, 18:21
Now if Smetena or Tchakovsky had replaced Rimsky-Korsakov the similarity would've been that they had all written
Shakespeare inspired pieces.

Amy Beach: Three Shakespeare Songs
Raff: Shakespeare Overtures
Sibelius: The Tempest
Liszt: Hamlet


Smetena: Richard III
Tchaikovsky: Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, Tempest, etc...

For the life of me I can't think of a single Shakespeare inspired work by Rimsky-Korsakov, which seems quite strange (unless you include The Tale of Tsar Saltan which is based on Pushkin's poem which was based somewhat on Winter's Tale)
#4
Composers & Music / Re: A Puzzle.
Friday 01 October 2010, 14:50
They were all synesthetes (spelling?), that is they all saw colors when hearing music or sounds. I believe Messaien, Ligeti and Ravel were as well. And contemporary composer Michael Torke is one, that's why he has all the color references in his piece names.

There's a fascinating book on the subject called "The Man Who Tasted Shapes". (It comes in other forms than seeing colors when hearing sounds, although I think all the composers here had the color/sound variety). Oliver Sacks has several chapters about it in his book Musicophilia which I also recommend.
#5
Composers & Music / Re: Franz Schreker
Wednesday 21 July 2010, 01:27
Schreker also has an early symphony (Op 1) in A Minor recorded by Peter Gulke and the Koln Rundfunk as well as a chamber symphony for 23 solo instruments recorded by Michael Gelin and the RSO Berlin. The Peter Gulke CD also has an interesting piece for Speaker & Orch: Das Weib des Intaphernes and a choral setting of Psalm 116.
#6
Well, Reger and Villa Lobos immediately come to mind, although neither is particularly unsung. For more unsung composers, the pianist-composers who wrote transcriptions or interpretations of Bach pieces like Tausig, Moscheles, Siloti, Busoni (and the sung Rachmaninoff, Liszt, Mendelssohn).

Contemporary Ronald Stevenson wrote an epic tribute to Bach in his massive Passacaglia on DSCH.

Kenneth Leighton's Fantasia Contrapuntistica is a hommage to Bach.

Some other works that come to mind, all the prelude and fugue collections by:
Henry Martin
Rodion Shcedrin
Sergei Slonimsky
Nikolai Kapustin

Julius Rontgen Preludes and Fugues for Orchestra

And also in this group you could probably include Cowell's Hymn and Fuguing Tunes.
#7
Composers & Music / Alexander Tcherepnin (1899-1977)
Thursday 15 July 2010, 16:21
I've just listened to the first two piano concertos by Tcherepnin on the complete set of concertos with Murray Mclachlan on piano and the Chetham SO. (There is another complete recording with Noriko Ogawa on piano and the Singapore SO which also includes his symphonies).

What marvelous and exciting works. They are tuneful and vibrant both. On first listen I have a slight preference for the first, but enjoyed both immensely. I can't wait to listen to the other 4 piano concertos and then move on to the symphonies.

Here is a link to the Tcherepnin Society (both his father and son are composers as well).

http://www.tcherepnin.com/alex/bio_alex.htm
The bio says of his early style:

"In his works until about 1921 is found a hybrid style successfully linking the Romantic impetuosity (but not the Romantic textures) of Rachmaninoff and Scriabin with the grotesquerie of early Prokofiev. The result was fresh, imaginative music, such as the Bagatelles and Sonatine Romantique, that quickly made a reputation for the young composer. "

A cross between Rachmaninoff, Scriabin and Prokofiev sounds about right. It will be interesting to hear the progression of his style in the later works.
#8
Suggestions & Problems / Re: Useful links
Tuesday 13 July 2010, 18:04
Some more links:

A survey site of Stabat Maters:
http://www.stabatmater.info/

and the forum's  Gile Enders' Classical and Romantic Piano survey site.

http://piano-concertos.org/
#9
Composers & Music / Re: Piano Quintet must hear
Tuesday 13 July 2010, 12:23
I've just re-listened to the two Thuille quintets and I must say they are absolutely exquisite works. The G Minor is a student work, but still quite lovely, but the E flat Major quintet is superb. Great drive, beautiful melodies throughout and incredibly lush.  Both are available in recordings with Oliver Triendl and the Vogler Quartet on CPO. There are other recordings on ASV and Naxos, but I don't have copies of them (although I was impressed enough with the CPO recording that I am now intrigued to hear the other perfomances). There is also a recording on a label called Champs Hill which includes a Piano Trio that I am unfamiliar with (and the Sextet which is also quite a lovely work)
#10
Composers & Music / Re: Unsung Tone/Symphonic Poems?
Thursday 08 July 2010, 18:55
American composers seem to get less attention on this forum so, in addition to the Africa symphonic poem I've already pointed out by William Grant Still (and mbhaub menioned Converse's The Mystic Trumpeter), let me recommend a few other wonderful American works all available on the very fine Naxos American Classics series:

Arthur Foote  - Francesca da Rimini
John Alden Carpenter  - Adventures in a Perambulator
Charles Frederick McKay  - From a Moonlit Cerenmony
George Chadwick  - Angel of Death / Aphrodite
Edward McDowell  - Hamlet and Ophelia
George Templeton Strong  - Le Roi Arthur / Die Nacht / Ondine
Henry Hadley - The Ocean

(I've left out Griffe's Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan since that's not very unsung, but a wonderful tone poem nonetheless)
#11
Composers & Music / Re: Unsung Tone/Symphonic Poems?
Thursday 08 July 2010, 18:31
d'Indy's Wallenstein has been mentioned but also very worthwhile are his Istar, Jour d'ete a la montagne, La foret enchantee,  Saugfleure and several others all given lovely recent (and in many cases long overdue) performances on Chandos with Rumon Gamba directing the Iceland SO
#12
Composers & Music / Re: Unsung Tone/Symphonic Poems?
Wednesday 07 July 2010, 13:26
A few recommendations from some things I've listened to recently.

I would highly recommend Vierne's beautiful vocal symphonic poems Les Djinns, Eros, Psyche and Ballade du Desespere given a wonderful performance by an Australian group on the Melba label (which is rather obscure, but it is available from Amazon both in CD or MP3).

Also highly recommended are the gorgeous Bax tone poems, given wonderful performances on Chandos (although these may not be unsung enough for this forum).

Also don't forget the Scandanavians, give a listen to Atterberg's Alven, Alfven's En skärgardssägen and his 3 Swedish Rhapsodys which are symphonic poem of a sort and Svendsen's Romeo and Juliet and his Norwegian Rhapsodies.

And finally I would give a listen to William Grant Still's wonderful symphonic poem Africa.
#13
Composers & Music / Re: Triple Concertos
Saturday 03 July 2010, 00:14
QuoteRe the Martinu: there's a Capriccio recording conducted by James Conlon, from 2005. The Trio Wanderer are the soloists. See http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=C71053. It has both concertinos H231 and H232, the rhapsody-concerto for viola, and the Memorial to Lidice.

Thanks Eric. I'll order a copy.
#14
Composers & Music / Re: Triple Concertos
Friday 02 July 2010, 23:45
QuoteBy Martinu, one for piano trio and strings (H231, 1933).

Fascinating. I thought I had recordings of all Martinu's concertos. The only recording I could find is a long out of print Thorofon from the 80s. Is anyone aware of a contemporary recording. Its surprising that it wasn't included on the Leichner/Czech PO set of the complete piano ctos.

Oops, I take it back, it is on the Leichner set. The Concertino for Piano Trio & Orch, I didn't see it at first because I had it filed with the piano concertos. I'll have to give it a re-listen. Actually on re-checking, the Leichner set Concertino is H232, there is also apparently a full Concerto H232 which is the one Eric referenced, which does seem to be the one on Thorofon. So back to the question of contemporary recordings. Any?

I have a recording of the Frankel as well. Something else to put in the queue.


QuoteIf you like I could list here some hundred or so triple concertos. For piano trio and orchestra or a lot of other more weird combinations (for example Ernst Krenek's Concertino for violin, flute, harpsichord and string orchestra from 1924). Or you check my website.

Thanks Tobias, I can just check your website for those. I was trying to limit to just piano trio (piano,violin,cello) & orch and looking for any that folks might actually have some experience of and could perhaps recommend.

Some more research on my part has revealed that there is also a poem for piano trio & orch by Fikret Amirov who has had some discussion on the forum. Also a serenade for piano trio & strings by Lera Auerbach who has written some beautiful chamber music for violin & piano. There are also full concertos for piano trio & orch by Alun Hoddinott and, it seems popular with Italians because there are works by Ghedini, Malpiero, Ferrero. I only have a slight familiarity with Malpiero and Ghedini and don't know Ferrero at all. Henk Badings also has a concertino.
#15
Composers & Music / Re: Late Classical Symphonies
Friday 02 July 2010, 20:07
I would also recommend the symphonies of Francois-Joseph Gossec in the very fine recording on Chandos by Matthias Bamert. There are some others recorded on ASV with Sanderling conducting, also quite fine. (While not on topic, I'd also recommend his magnificent Requiem of 1760. While there are several recordings I'm particularly fond of the Devos on Erato)