Unsung Composers

The Music => Composers & Music => Topic started by: Christopher on Tuesday 19 October 2021, 15:45

Title: Szymanowski (1882-1937)
Post by: Christopher on Tuesday 19 October 2021, 15:45
Szymanowski has been mentioned a lot in a thread going on atm on Maliszewski.   I have always ignored Szymanowski as he is labelled as a modernist, and the few pieces I've heard I haven't liked even slightly.

Given his dates, though, are there any of his works (maybe early ones, as with Stravinsky) that fall within the style and tastes of this forum?  If not, please forgive the distraction and delete this thread!
Title: Re: Szymanowski (1882-1937)
Post by: der79sebas on Tuesday 19 October 2021, 15:56
Szymanowski's "Concert Overture" op. 12 is the best Richard Strauss plagiarization I know (i.e. even better than Elgar's "In the South").
Title: Re: Szymanowski (1882-1937)
Post by: Gareth Vaughan on Tuesday 19 October 2021, 16:08
The 1st symphony is in a similar vein. And if you like Scriabin you will probably enjoy the 3rd Symphony - "Song of the Night".
Title: Re: Szymanowski (1882-1937)
Post by: Alan Howe on Tuesday 19 October 2021, 16:28
The point here is that, like many composers whose compositions date from the first 20-30 years of the 20th century, his music spans a number of broad styles. The first is Reger/Strauss, the second is exoticism/impressionism and the third is folk-inspired and more dissonant. Broadly speaking his first two periods would seem acceptable for discussion here.

Just one caveat, though: Szymanowski is no longer an unsung composer, so the choice of works for discussion here is limited.
Title: Re: Szymanowski (1882-1937)
Post by: eschiss1 on Tuesday 19 October 2021, 17:10
To be fair, we did recently(ish...) have a lengthy thread on Ralph Vaughan Williams, who by Google standards is 4 times as sung, but point taken.
Title: Re: Szymanowski (1882-1937)
Post by: Alan Howe on Tuesday 19 October 2021, 17:35
...although we decided that there are places - mainland Europe? - where RVW is hardly known at all.
Title: Re: Szymanowski (1882-1937)
Post by: Christopher on Tuesday 19 October 2021, 18:58
Back to Szymanowski, as they say... :D  (totally unsung for me at any rate - will explore the suggestions above, many thanks)
Title: Re: Szymanowski (1882-1937)
Post by: Alan Howe on Tuesday 19 October 2021, 22:22
Just a quick point, if I may: a composer with whom one is unfamiliar doesn't necessarily mean that (s)he's unsung.