Simpson: Symphony No. 10

Most of those reading this will be familiar with all or part of Simpson’s epic symphonic canon. For those who have only heard some of them, I would encourage you to hear more. Who knows, you may even like them.

The Tenth Symphony by Robert Simpson is his longest symphony and a very difficult work to comprehend. For me, alongside the Eighth, it is perhaps his most complex symphony and challenging to listen to. I would never recommend anyone start at this one in the Simpson cycle; only those who have heard a significant amount should attempt it. Intellectually, No. 10 is a veritable masterpiece, yet it requires growing on – even more than usual with Simpson. Here, he is at his darkest, most concentrated and most dissonant. If the Ninth Symphony has a sense of Brucknerian grandeur, this one has Beethovenian roughness and intensity.

The interval of a minor third plays a major part in this symphony’s powerful construction and opens every movement (in the same key as well). The first movement is undoubtedly dissonant, rough, and hard. The contrapuntal textures and biting intervals are abundant.

The second movement is played entirely pianissimo. Yet, if one gives themselves time to become involved, the movement will soon envelope them. It reminds me very much (and the writer of the box-set booklet) of moths flickering around a pale light in the night-time darkness, the tonality changing every bar and a sense of forward direction identifiable with Simpson.

The third movement is long and expansive. It is in three parts – slow and fugal in the first and third and double tempo in the middle section which is almost like a scherzo. It is deeply mysterious and, at its best, engaging and compelling.

The finale is probably the movement that makes this symphony. It opens with that same interval, and leads a mysterious introduction which could almost be a movement itself in terms of its unity. The following allegro con brio is exhilarating. It is very Beethovenian, and the two sets of timpani have a field day. At times it even sounds like a timpani concerto! Yet the construction is genuinely masterly and powerfully fugal. The final chords of the piece still compel me; how can one end a symphony like that?

All those ready for a challenge and an inspiring musical experience dare not hesitate (especially Simpson fans). It is Simpson at his most dissonant and dark and may not appeal to all first time around, but it is a must hear for people like me. It is consistently original and profound and certainly does not represent any weakness in the canon.

Classic 100 Concerto

This list proves to be very contentious amongst our group so I posted it up here so you could all see and comment.

1. Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5, "Emperor Concerto"
2. Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No.2 in C minor Op.18
3. Beethoven Violin Concerto in D Op.61
4. Bruch Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor Op.26
5. Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor Op.85
6. Mozart Clarinet Concerto in A K622
7. Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez
8. Bach Concerto for 2 Violins in D minor BWV1043
9. Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1 in B flat minor Op.23
10. Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No.3 in D minor Op.30
11. Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor Op.16
12. Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor Op.64
13. Mozart Piano Concerto No.21 in C K467
14. Dvorak Cello Concerto in B minor Op.104
15. Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor Op.47
16. Beethoven Piano Concerto No.4 in G Op.58
17. Brahms Violin Concerto in D Op.77
18. Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D Op.35
19. Beethoven Triple Concerto in C Op.56
20. Brahms Piano Concerto No.2 in B flat Op.83
21. Mozart Concerto for Flute and Harp in C K299
22. Haydn Trumpet Concerto in E flat Hob Vlle:1
23. Chopin Piano Concerto No.1 in E minor Op.11
24. Brahms Piano Concerto No.1 in D minor Op.15
25. Bach Brandenburg Concerto No.3 in G BWV1048
26. Mozart Horn Concerto No.4 in E flat K495
27. Mozart Piano Concerto No.23 in A K488
28. Ravel Piano Concerto in G
29. Mozart Piano Concerto No.20 in D minor K466
30. Bach Brandenburg Concerto No.5 in D BWV1050
31. Schumann Piano Concerto in A minor Op.54
32. Sean O'Boyle and William Barton Concerto for Didgeridu
33. Vivaldi Four Seasons: Spring RV269
34. Chopin Piano Concerto No.2 in F minor Op.21
35. Elgar Violin Concerto in B minor Op.61
36. Albinoni Oboe Concerto in D minor Op.9 No.2
37. Beethoven Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor Op.37
38. Vivaldi Four Seasons: Winter RV297
39. Vivaldi Four Seasons: Summer RV315
40. Mozart Piano Concerto No.24 in C minor K491
41. Shostakovich Piano Concerto No.2 in F Op.102
42. Glass Violin Concerto
43. Haydn Cello Concerto No.1 in C Hob1
44. Mozart Sinfonia concertante in E flat K364
45. Paganini Violin Concerto No.1 in D Op.6
46. Addinsell Warsaw Concerto
47. Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue
48. Mozart Piano Concerto No.27 in B flat K595
49. Brahms Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor Op.102
50. Davies Piano Concerto No.1 'Mennonite'
51. Gershwin Piano Concerto in F
52. Hummel Trumpet Concerto in E Flat
53. Weber Clarinet Concerto No.1 in F minor Op.73
54. Bartok Concerto for Orchestra BB123
55. Mozart Violin Concerto No.3 in G K216
56. Ross Edwards Violin Concerto 'Maninyas'
57. Litolff Concerto Symphonique No.4 Op.102
58. Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No.2 in G minor Op.22
59. Bach Concerto for Oboe and Violin in C minor BWV1060
60. Handel Harp Concerto in B flat HWV294
61. Bach Brandenburg Concerto No.4 in G BWV1049
62. Beethoven Piano Concerto No.1 in C Op.15
63. Mozart Piano Concerto No.22 in E flat K482
64. Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini
65. Rieding Violin Concerto in B minor Op.35
66. Pyotr Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.2 in G Op.44
67. Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending
68. Barber Violin Concerto Op.14
69. Marcello Oboe Concerto in D minor
70. Vivaldi Flute Concerto in D RV428 'Il gardellino'
71. Bach Brandenburg Concerto No.2 in F BWV1047
72. Berg Violin Concerto
73. Hummel Piano Concerto in A minor Op.85
74. Shostakovich Cello Concerto No.1 in E flat Op.107
75. Vivaldi Lute Concerto in D RV93
76. Mozart Piano Concerto No.9 in E flat K271
77. Prokofiev Piano Concerto No.3 in C Op.26
78. Shostakovich Violin Concerto No.1 in A minor Op.77
79. Bach Violin Concerto in E BWV1042
80. Mozart Horn Concerto No.1 in D K412
81. Telemann Concerto for Flute, Oboe d'amore and Viola d'amore
82. Mozart Oboe Concerto in C K314
83. Bach Brandenburg Concerto No.6 in B flat BWV1051
84. Bruch Scottish Fantasy
85. Bach Harpsichord Concerto in D minor BWV1052
86. Glazunov Saxophone Concerto in E flat Op.109
87. Haydn Cello Concerto No.2 in D Hob2
88. Korngold Violin Concerto in D Op.35
89. Liszt Piano Concerto No.1 in E flat
90. Vivaldi Concerto for 2 Trumpets in C RV537
91. Bach Brandenburg Concerto No.1 in F BWV1046
92. Ross Edwards Oboe Concerto
93. Giuliani Concerto for Guitar and Strings No.1 Op.30
94. Saint-Saëns. Piano Concerto No.5 in F Op.103
95. Mozart Bassoon Concerto in B flat K191
96. Shostakovich Piano Concerto No.1 in C minor Op.35
97. Telemann Viola Concerto in G
98. Vaughan Williams Tuba Concerto in F minor
99. Carl Vine Piano Concerto
100. Vivaldi Concerto for Two Mandolins

Why Simpson?

I know a large majority of you reading this at the moment already view composers such as Shostakovich and Mahler as superior to the one I am going to write about today. Do not get me wrong, these are all brilliant composers in their own right.

I do not expect this article to change your opinion on this matter, nor do I think it will rip through your mind and make you think twice about how you see these composers. You can even analyse the persuasive techniques in it if you wish, although my English writing skills denote that it may not be all that valuable in this respect. But I wish to write this anyway so that you can see why I so admire this composer’s ability and maybe even why you might not. I will also speak of why he is not as recognised as he should be, and also outline his remarkable individuality.

All of the ALP music blog members are acquainted with at least a small part of the music of Robert Simpson, except Stuart of course. As I have only heard this composer’s symphonies, I do not believe that I have the authority to compare his string quartets, chamber music or concerti to that of other composers. I have scarcely been acquainted with this composer for 2 months as well, but I practically know off by heart the overall argument of each of his symphonies. So, where to start?

First of all, there are a couple of misconceptions I would like to address. The first is that Robert Simpson does not have or has not shown the ability to write memorable melodies or motives. Anyone who is acquainted with the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth or ninth symphonies can quickly dispel this myth from their minds, for one knows the incredible catchiness of the finale of no. 2, the developing motive in the second movement of no. 3, the gorgeous and lyrical melodies of almost all of no. 4, the violent central movement of no. 5, the stalking unison figure of no. 6 which descends in fifths or the chorale prelude of no. 9. That is only taking into account the melodies one can remember after only one or two listenings; if we add a few more listenings one can grasp the thematic strength of the first, seventh and eleventh symphonies. Perhaps the eighth and tenth are a little different, they are highly concentrated works that serve a different purpose.

The second misconception is that Simpson does not know how to write beautiful music. For those with a taste of slow, lyrical movements, one cannot be untouched by the diatonic purity and timelessness of the middle section of no. 1, the elegiac slow movements of nos. 2 and 4, the piercingly beautiful slow part of no. 7 and the meditative opening movement of no. 11. There are many other moments, but I cannot assimilate a list of them at this point in time.

***

So, now that I have that out of the way I would like to speak on the part in which I admire Simpson above all else, and that is in form. Simpson once said that ‘What music expresses is form’. In my humble opinion I believe that Simpson is the greatest composer of the twentieth century I have come across in terms of musical structure and form. Yet this never comes at the cost of the music which is consistently rewarding. Simpson is consistently original yet taught in his form. Allow me to furnish you with a few examples.

First I would like to speak of what is arguably his first masterpiece; the Symphony No. 2. As we all know, form isn’t just ABA and so on – it is also the structural unity of the music; how the motives are used, how the music develops, what the structural basis of the music is. The remarkable opening movement of no. 2 is beyond the orthodoxy of Shostakovich, Mahler and Penderecki’s first movements (where they exist). Simpson not only is almost continually developing his material in a fashion which feels undeniably inevitable when it closes; he also uses tonality in a remarkable way. Using his ingenuity he creates scenarios where there are conflicting keys – not just that, he gives them gravitational pulls. For instance, the first movement of no. 2 is centred in B but is constantly being pull towards 2 distant keys – G major and E flat major. To use this technique is one thing – to make it sound natural is another. You can see this technique at work in all of his first three symphonies, and just as successfully in each as well.

Simpson has another thing to pull out of the hat for the second movement – it is a palindrome (the same backwards as forwards). To be honest, there are moments in Shostakovich where I feel that he can’t write forwards! Yet this movement is beautiful, elegiac, taut and a set of 13 variations on a palindromic theme. Of course, he didn’t discard the idea of the first movement here; it begins in B major, climaxes in G in the middle, and returns to B at the end, with E flat there in the background.

Symphony No. 3 is another work centred on more than one tonality (here the keys are B flat and C). So can Simpson write in classical sonata form? Sure can! First movement is straight down the line sonata-form, Beethovenian in its texture, and a wonderful movement it is too! Yet the second movement is far less orthodox, but still very successful. The motives are continuously developing – yet always sounding inevitable, and the result is beyond masterly. He manages to develop the tonality of the music in such a way that when that when the dominant chord on C hits you at the very end it sounds like an over-familiar harmony – a stunning revelation, and then you remember the bitonality of the work and see why it was so familiar – C major chord with an added B flat! In this piece the ‘positive’ key of C major prevailed.

Now that he has experimented with bitonality, he moves onto different techniques for his symphonies 4 and 5. Both of these works are immensely powerful, yet emotional opposites. The fourth symphony is the finest fourth I have come to know from twentieth century music, even though it maintains the tradition of fourth symphonies generally not being dark pieces (although there is a shadow as well as sunlight to the music!). It is the most orthodox in form out of all the symphonies, although the classical forms are more developed here rather than duplicated on. The outer movements are always developing, and he somehow keeps churning out related memorable, often touching melodies – particularly in the finale, which has one of the most optimistic conclusions I have heard in all music!

Symphony No. 5 is astonishing – a formal masterpiece of the highest order. The enigmatic six note chord that opens the piece forms the basis of almost all of the material of the symphony, as well as the structure – which is eerily duplicated in the development of motives in the outer movements. The music itself is terrifying – not for nothing did one of the first performances ban children under the age of 10 for this reason!

Symphony No. 6 is a piece more concerned than ever before with development from start to end and is inspired by prime of life; the descending figure and chains of fifths I was referring to before are likened to a DNA molecule, and in the music you can make out the genes splitting and the molecules duplicating. What an extraordinary context to place music in! The second part represents the rapid growth of an individual, and uses the same thematic material as the first part but continues to develop it.

Before spending too much time on form, I would like to skip to Symphony No. 9 (nos. 7 and 8 are both masterly; ask me about them later if you want). Why No. 9? Because it is simply in my view one of the finest pieces of music I have listened to. Everything about it is mastered to the highest order and I really cannot say much about it except that entire work is beyond anything any of the three composers I mentioned in the first paragraph have achieved. The themes of the opening bars are in a wedge shape, the overall shape of the first few minutes is a wedge harmonically – the entire symphony is in the shape of a wedge! The other amazing achievements of this piece I will discuss below.

***

So what else can I give Simpson the credit for? Firstly, he is the finest composer of the twentieth century in terms of musical motion. I should also point out that the first and ninth symphonies both maintain a basic pulse and beat throughout the whole of the work, and never change tempo. His music consistently has a direction and a goal, and sense of momentum unsurpassed by anyone I have come across since Beethoven– his music is astronomical, reflecting his keen hobby as an astronomer. He writes some of the biggest climaxes in all music and his use of brass is masterly; sample Symphony No. 9! Nobody has surpassed his achievements in these areas.

Simpson is also exceedingly more original than Mahler or Shostakovich. His music is strikingly individual, although there are influences of course – notably Nielsen, Beethoven, Haydn and Bruckner. There is also an air of Sibelius in his sixth and seventh symphonies. Simpson was quite simply the 20th century successor to Beethoven.

***

So why isn’t Simpson more widely known and why hasn’t his music come to the fore of classical music if he is so good? Firstly, Simpson, as of November 11, died exactly 10 years ago. Few composers have experience great fame so soon after their death, but yes, there are some. What else?

Simpson is not a modernist or a neo-classist. Therefore, both of these two major ‘camps’ reject him. Take Penderecki for example. He was seen as the finest living composer around until he started composing neo-romanticist music. Now he can hardly claim to be the leading late composer in his own country, overshadowed by Gorecki for a while. This brings me to my next point. Why is it that people judge music not by its substance or virtues but simply by its genre? Why is it that pop-music is so to the fore? Why is it that composers such as Simpson and Penderecki have not come out, being such masters, and that Shostakovich has prevailed above both of them, even within classical music? This is a terrible thing in music, the worst thing there is. Both of these composers are original – their music is very new but not as radical. Nobody can fall in line with them. How can one say that twelve-tone technique is more original for that matter? It is one of my life-time ambitions to bring composers like these two masters out, to bring them to the wider public – to have them recognised to the extent they should be.

***

If you have genuinely got this far then thank you for having a read! Take a break and enjoy some music, and find some space for something new and less well known in there as well. You’ll never know what you may find!

IMSLP and the State of the Arts worldwide

As many of the people who would read this blog would be interested in classical music and websites regarding it, there is or now was this very good collection of free scores on the Internet called the Internet Music Scores Library Project. http://imslp.org/wiki/
They have recently been put out of action by the actions of a cease and desist letter from Universal Edition. The scores in question are by Mahler, R. Strauss, Respighi, Berg, Friedman, Janacek, Schoenberg, Bartok, Marx, Szymanowski and von Zemlinski. Only one of these composers, Marx, is still in copyright in Canada, where IMSLP is based.
Matthew and I have been discussing this and have agreed to a boycott of all Universal Edition products. We hope you will join in our boycott of Universal Edition products.
This leads us to the second point in this blog entry, the State of the Arts worldwide.
The Arts are incredibly undervalued worldwide. Just in Victoria, the State Government is pretty much trying to kill MYM, which is a highly worthwhile program for young musicians. The attack from UE on IMSLP is another great example.
I believe the Arts should be much more valued than they already are. Look at the comparative budgets for sport and Arts and see what I mean!

THE OFFICAL RANKINGS: Revised

Welcome to the revised edition of the Term 3 - Term 4 holiday break music poll and listings. As you may have noted by scrolling down, there have been some big changes with Stuart's inclusion in the listings (even though he was still rather late!). These are the definative, universally accepted rankings of all which are ranked, and have been offically approved by Gramaphone and The Penguin Gyde. Anyway now onto the results. I thought it would make more sense to put the composer list down first, so here it is.

The winner of the inaugural "The Offical Best Composer Ever Award" goes to GUSTAV MAHLER who was well clear of Ludwig van Beethoven in 2nd place and Dmitri Shostakovich who has had a shocking vote in 3rd place.

Now to the symphonies list. This was a particularly close, and where there was once a tie there is an outright winner. Symphony No.6 by Gustav Mahler has triumphed over Symphony No.13 by Dmitri Shostakovich by 2 points as shown below.

Now to the concerti. With Stuart's vote Sergei Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto jumped to second place, but Dmitri Shostakovich still has the edge with his 1st Cello Concerto.


Now to the all important orchestral works. Stuart has again dramatically changed the vote, with the beautiful and touching "Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima" by Penderecki tieing with "Night on A Bald Mountain" by the highly modest Mussorgsky.

Now we come to a rather failed Chamber Works vote, with nobody having any works in common except the String Quartet No.8 by Shostakovich which therefore won by default.

Now to the all important conductors list which, although should have been won by the spectacular conductor Vernon Handley, was won in a tie by Claudio Abbado and Bernard Haitink.
Now to the offical overrated composers list. Here we had a predictable winner - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart!

Well that's it folks for the very first poll. Before the next poll, I would like to have a name for it. Please choose out of one of the 4 below, or you may nominate your own name if you wish. Something related to music must be the subject of the title.

- The Alpmusic poll
- The Paul Jones Music Poll
- The Big Music Poll
- The Happy Forest

Thank you for all who was a part of this poll.

Harry Sdraulig
Poll Organiser

Robert Simpson: Symphony No.9

"If you know that feeling of expectancy, of vast potential energy, at the outset of a great symphony, you'll surely respond to Simpson's Ninth - and be wholly engrossed. You'll be led through shifting pedal-points and wedge-shaped themes encompassing a specific harmonic universe; through waves of energy pulsating fit to burst, until burst they do into a titanic scherzo; through slow, disembodied traceries of string lines, through awe-inspiring climaxes to a no less awe-inspiring hushed coda. And as rising scales pass through the coda's pedal-points into the final glacial sonority you'll know that you've heard one of the finest symphonies of the post war era" -

Gramophone

I thought I would begin with an authoritative view on the piece from the editors of the most popular world-wide music magazine, Gramophone, as published in The Classical Good CD and DVD Guide. Having been intrigued by such praise not just on this symphony but on the other symphonies of Robert Simpson, and having listened to attract samples over the internet, I decided to order the renowned box-set of his complete symphonies conducted by Vernon Handley (1 – 10) and Matthew Taylor (11). And I can say that I was not one bit disappointed, if not surprised by the amazing quality, thoughtfulness, power and remarkable originality that this music holds.

I cannot emphasis any further that I have found Robert Simpson the greatest composer since World War II. The underlying reason that his music has not been brought to public further than it has at this stage is because he is neither a conservative nor a modernist, and is therefore rejected by both of these major “camps”. I am yet to listen to No.3, No. 4, No. 8, No. 10 or No. 11 but I can say that out of the remaining 6 symphonies that I have listened to, No. 5, No. 6 and No. 9 have been the most extraordinary listening experience, with No. 2 and No.7 not far behind. No. 1 is a work of excellent quality, especially in the meditative, gorgeous Part 2, but I found it to be the least satisfying listening to date, mainly due to its oppressive brass overuse and somewhat lack of memorable motives or melodies.

Anyway, having listened to the entirety of Symphony No. 9 I can say that the gramophone review describes exactly the sensation of the music. The opening is remarkable, with the interval of a fourth playing a major part in its powerful construction and argument (as I discovered listening to the accompanying illustrated talk about the symphony by Simpson). The music develops with brilliance and the wedge-shaped Beethovenian chorale which is the main material of Part 1 is both memorable and fantastically embellished. The scherzo (Part 2) which follows shows a true innovator at work, with exciting build-ups to grand, forceful climaxes and catchy triplet rhythms. Part 3 is a fantastic, palindromic development to a huge climax, nearly matching that of No. 6. The symphony ends with a quiet, sweet coda, putting a close to a truly remarkable symphony.

This is absolutely essential listening for all who have a taste for modern-classical music, and is surely one of the finest symphonies of the century. I guarantee that you will not be disappointed, and will burn you a copy free of charge if you don’t have one for those interested.

Borodin Symphony No.2

Well, I went into borders the other day and thought I would purchase a recording of the piece I would be playing at the end of the year at the MYM annual Summer School. I was very curious, as I had never heard any works by this composer but had read about him a couple of times. So, now the verdict.

The first movement opens with a very strong, rhythmic, and somewhat dark motive from the strings and horns. It is repeat several times and interrupted on several occasions by an allegro, exciting passage. The second subject is very nice, introduced by the cellos and not dragging on for too long. Occasionally oppressive listening because of some hollow repeats, but nevertheless a highly involving movement of around seven minutes.

The second movement is a presto scherzo and has an entirely different mood from the first movement. It is quite cheerful, very melodic and energetic. Quite a bit of fun to play, but not that exciting for trumpeters.

The third movement is warmly romantic and very beautiful. It is of course the slow movement, and there is one particularly glorious movement about two minutes from its conclusion where the whole orchestra states the main theme before it fades into tranquility. There's a trumpet solo in this movement too.

The finale is very exciting and energetic, more trumpet and very blustery. A dramatic contrast to the preceding movement as well which makes it so involving. It is very fast, and the main section has a 5/4 feel. Alongside the third movement as my favourite(s).

Overall a very enjoyable piece, but without the same involvement as the trumpets got when I played Shostakovitch's 1st Symphony last year. Recommended listening. All those in favour of music from the romantic era, Dvorak and Mahler will love this work very much. A bit too dissonant for 4'33'' fans.

Arnold Bax: A great composer

Sir Arnold Bax was born on the 8^th of November, 1883 in Streatham, London, into an upper-class family. He was largely an impressionist composer, but often included elements of romanticism in his compositions, particularly in his earlier works. Bax was recognised early on as a great musical talent, especially on the keyboard where he was said to be a brilliant sight-reader, often playing Wagner operas in his spare time. He studied music when he was 16 at the Hampstead Conservatory and was accepted into the prestigious Royal Academy of Music in 1900 where he stayed up until 1905. He won the Battison-Haynes prize and the Charles Lucas medal, both highly competitive awards in composition.

Bax quickly connected with Ireland and its culture and his compositions often show a strong Celtic influence. He used the works of William Butler Yeats as a basis for many of his early evocative tone poems. In the 1920s to 1930s his main works became symphonies, writing seven contrasting symphonies from 1922 to 1939. In the last ten years of his life, Bax felt that his compositions were becoming out of fashion as he had distanced himself from modernist composers such as Arnold Schoenberg and serialism, which was becoming increasingly popular world wide. He stated that he was musically tired and his creativity was dimming. Sir Arnold Bax died on the 3^rd of October, 1953 at 69 years of age. He still wrote some wonderful movie music in his last ten years and continued to write expressively for his lover Harriet Cohen.

Bax’s output includes some 250 works, which are listed at the following address:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Arnold_Bax

Now you are probably thinking “ok. Here we have some ordinary composer who got the attention he deserved, and that Shostakovich, Mahler, Beethoven, and Dvorak are great composers who became famous because they were really great composers”. Now, I’m not going to deny that these composers I have listed are great composers. But I think that Arnold Bax deserves a place amongst those names. His music is more emotionally involving than Shostakovich, more intellectual than Mahler, more interesting, sincere, passionate and melodious than Dvorak, and was created using an astounding compositional technique comparable to Beethoven’s. People who dismiss his music as luscious, vague, dissonant or rhapsodic have missed his language.

Here is what British conductor Vernon Handley pointed out:

“I find it very annoying that Bax’s comprehensive musical technique is not recognised. His eye and his ear were so superbly developed. His gifts are astonishing; he releases us into an entirely different world, for nobody, in the whole of music, approaches the range of Bax’s moods, or their type. He has given us something that is very different from that of all other composers. That this is not recognised find extraordinary. So one has to go on trying to do something about it”.

When I purchased his cycle off Amazon (costing $55 all up with postage), I decided I would listen to the symphonies straight through in order. I will begin posting the separate symphony articles shortly for you to enjoy!

Our Top 5 Favourite Symphonies

DAHA!!! This is our top 5 favourite symphonies.... except Tullio.... MAYBE HE SHOULD OF SENT THEM TO ME AND THEY WOULD BE HERE!!! So on to the lists....

Harry

1. Bax 2nd
2. Bax 7th
3. Mahler 6
4. Mahler 9
5. Shostakovich 1

Jackson

1. Shostakovich 2nd
2. Bax 2nd
3. Mahler 6th
4. Shostakovich 3rd
5. Bourgeois 3rd

Matthew

1. Mahler 6th
2. Prokofiev 5th
3. Brahms 4th
4. Mahler 2nd
5. Shostakovich 1st

Me

1. Beethoven 6th
2. Dvorak 9th
3. Mahler 1st
4. Mendelssohn 4th (Pizza Symphony)
5. Dvorak 6th

Our Favourite Symphony is ..... *crappy drum roll* Mahler's 6!! PAH!!! I'm completely indifferent about it. In fact it was rather boring in most places, but moments of brilliance. Rather typical
Mahler.

Our Top Symphonic Composer is ..... *another crappy drum roll* Mahler!!! Meh..... More indifference....

Our Second Top Symphonic Composer is ...... *crappier crappy drum roll* Bax!!! Can't say anything about him......

Our Third Top Symphonic Compoer is ...... *ridiculous percussion fugue, but is pushed off stage* Shostakovich..... BOOO TOTALLY OVERRATED!!!

Danse Macabre - Camille Saint-Saens

I think that all of us would agree that Danse Macabre is a wonderful composition, and must rank as one of our favourite pieces, quite possibly ranking as Saint-Saens greatest achievement. Based upon a poem by Henri Cazalis about an old French superstition about Death appearing during Halloween at midnight, bringing forth with him the dead who dance with him while Death fiddles away on the violin. They dance until the break of dawn, when they must return to the grave until the next year. (Talk about planning your calendar around a single day.)

This little tale of the solo violin is at the very heart of Danse Macabre, cutting in with a severe E Flat and A chord on top of the growing music of the harp, before the flute and string section interlock in a growing background, before Death's violin's rather haunting solo enters, playing a delightful little call and respond with the flute, before the rest of the orchestra re-iterates the flute's theme as the violin begins another call and respond with the xylophone, a quaint little choice for the sound of rattling bones.

The orchestra then builds on the themes, creating intricate variations before the violin enters a more sorrowful solo which is echoed by the rest of the string section, before a series of runs by strings signals the orchestra, this time including a more significant part for the horn section to once more build around the main theme with descending runs before the violin once again returns, giving way quickly however to the string section as another series of descending runs coupled with the clash of the symbols and the quickening of the tempo and the introduction of the percussion to compliment the growing strings finish its climax, drifting away into silence, returning to their graves before the solo violin announces its theme once more, before descending into silence as the sun rises.

This is an immensely enjoyable piece, and much to my delight does not rely on the brass section to establish a dramatic, if peculiar musical scene. This is a classic work and one that should appeal to many fans of all the classical style Eras. Well deserved of 10/10.

Penderecki's Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima

Penderecki's Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima is very modern. So modern, most of the year 9s during the music exam, covered their ears during that excerpt, with the exception of me, because I like it.
Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima is an amazing piece just in terms of extending the technique of string players.
It is scored for 52 string players, but it doesn't sound like strings for most of it. The extended techniques give the string orchestra, a normally fairly homogenous ensemble, an amazing new depth. You swear you can hear drums amongst the screeching!
Interestingly enough, it was not composed with Hiroshima in mind, the dedication was placed after it was performed under the name 8'37", with 4'33" in mind. The piece was so powerful he decided to dedicate it to the victims of Hiroshima.
It makes for exhilirating and overwhelming listening, but well it's almost impossible to put into words!

John Cage 4'33''

Seeing as it's modernist month I felt obliged to post about a highly controversial modernist piece of music. John Cage's 4'33'' takes minimalism to a whole new level, and was the 85 year old composer's favourite work. It takes roughly four and a half minutes to perform, as the name suggests.

The premiere of the work was given by American pianist David Tudor, in August 1952. Quoting Wikipedia: "The audience saw him sit at the piano and, to mark the beginning of the piece, close the keyboard lid. Some time later he opened it briefly, to mark the end of the first movement. This process was repeated for the second and third movements."

What makes the piece so famous is the controversy surrounding it, its substance challenging the very definition of music. Although not a single note is played for the entire work, the music is "the natural sounds of the players, the audience, the building, and the outside environment." Nothing of what you hear is anything the composer wrote.

4'33'' is unique in that it leaves almost no room for the performers interpretation; as long as he watches the stopwatch, he can't play it too fast or too slow; he can't hit the wrong keys; he can't play it too loud, or too melodramatically, or too subduedly.

But 4'33'' is a joyful embrace of our world and all it has to offer. It empowers us to take charge of ourselves, to trust our own instincts, to make our own judgements, to live our own lives. No other work in the history of music has expressed so much, and yet achieves its meaning with such disarmingly efficient elegance.

I must have listened to Mahler's symphonies dozens of times over, however only a few of the truly catching melodies stay with me. I listened to 4'33'' just once, months back perhaps, and yet I remember it vividly! You might ask "Couldn't a 3 year old have written this piece?" Perhaps. But did he? Did you? I think Cage is telling us that we've arrived at a point where everything should be possible, that it is now up to each of us to select and enjoy whatever elements of our world are the most meaningful to us.

As controversial as it is I have to give this work 10/10. Finishing up with a quote, "Genius, like music, comes in so many varieties."

Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2

Rachmaninov's second piano concerto is one of the most popular piano concertos ever written, both among pianists and listeners. Written in December 1900, and dedicated to his physician Nikolai Dahl, the concerto was premiered by Rachmaninov himself, and was received warmly by the public (remember this was the age where crowds still booed music that wasn't to their taste).

The work is in the standard three movements. The first movement features the ideal starting for a nervous pianist. It opens with bell-like tolling chords, which build tension to the main theme. This gives the pianist a chance to get a feel for the piano without doing anything extraordinarily difficult. In the next minute or so, the orchestra is given a powerful melody, which drowns out the piano. This is while the pianist is playing what are almost scales, an excellent warm up, and the audience can't even pick up mistakes. Following this period, the piano is given a gorgeous melody, and the concerto just builds from there.

The second movement, adagio sostenuto, opens with chords by the strings, in which they modulate from the C minor of the last movement to E major. The movement reaches it's climax with a stunning piano cadenza, before dying away, with just the soloist playing in the end.

The allegro scherzando last movement once again opens with the orchestra. The piano then has has a short cadenza, which leads to the first theme. A lyrical theme is introduced, and after a development the tension is built up by a brillant piano cadenza. The second theme explodes on the scene with the whole orchestra coming in, leading to a fast coda to draw the piece to an exciting close.

I give this concerto 8/10, 2 off simply because I can't play it! That being said it's a 10/10, an absolute masterpiece of the romantic period.

Taneyev Chamber Works

Not many people would be familiar with Sergey Taneyev, so I will start by giving you a brief introduction to the composer. Taneyev (1856-1915) was a key figure in Russian music history. He began studies in piano at the age of 5 and soon emerged as a great pianist. He performed the premieres of many great works. His studies eventually led him to composing, and he became great polyphonist. Many describe him as a romantic Bach.

Taneyev's music is rather dense and very contrapuntal with its melodies, at first, rather hidden and, to me, hard to decipher. Once I took the time to intently listen I was able to grasp what Taneyev was trying to "say" with his music.

Starting with the fabulous quintet, I was lucky enough to view the score, as my piano teacher had performed it on a number of occasions and let me borrow the score. The first movement is a turbulent piece in sonata form with a sweetly tender second subject (in the unorthodox key of A flat major) which contains two very expressive and poignant features: a rising seventh in its second bar and a sixth in its penultimate bar. What's even more unusual about this melody, as an Amazon reviewer points out, is that its first six notes are an inversion of the first theme's initial six notes! This melody returns at the very end of the work in a most grandiose and spectacular fashion. The second movement is a deft scherzo in E flat major with a beautiful trio that returns in the da capo in combination with the scherzo theme.

The slow movement is based entirely on a descending C major scale above which is placed a most beautiful melody, music of haunting beauty.

The finale is another stormy movement which ultimately leads to a reprise of the second subject of the first movement in an ecstatic peroration. Once heard, you will never forget the way that initially tender and unassuming lyrical melody is transformed into a rapturous G major triumph. That rising seventh I mentioned earlier lends this melody a particularly blissful quality, especially noticeable when the first violin and the cello soar to amazing heights while playing at the upper limits of their registers in the coda. This coda is extraordinarily beautiful and ends the quintet in a tremendous 'explosion' of sound.

Coming immediately after the joyous conclusion of the quintet, the trio is a bit anticlimactic, but it is still a beautiful work. I didn't have a score so I can't really write with much authority, just my opinions. My favorite movement is the ferocious scherzo. It is easily the equal of any of the standard piano trios that are played over and over again.

I give these chamber works 9/10, easily right up there with the finest chamber pieces ever composed. I really can't understand their lack of popularity and fame, rather like Harry feels about Arnold Bax' works.

Atmosphères

Probably Ligeti's most well known work, Atmosphères is, not surprisingly, an atmospheric work which evokes a sense of timelessness. It featured in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey for exactly this reason, it leaves the listener simply lost in the texture and tone, making the listener oblivious to the passage of time.

Normally, in an orchestra, you will have a large group of string players all playing the same notes. However, despite there being fifty-five string players in the orchestra, no two of them, at any point in the piece, play the same note. At points, there is a chord on the strings which encompasses every note of the chromatic scale over almost five octaves, a truly original and powerful technique, which while incredibly dissonant, has a luminous glow about it, taking musical expression to a new level.

I must stress that if you intend to listen to this piece, you must not form a negative view of it just because it is so dissonant. Sure, dissonance often sounds harsh and painful when heard in some tone colours, for example, on the piano. But when heard with the right timbre and at the right dynamic, dissonance, at almost any level, can be highly evocative and enjoyable to listen to.

There are four main elements in music. Melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre/tone colour. In this piece, Ligeti has chosen to abandon all but the latter. This creates a thickness of texture which is particularly effective in Ligeti's aim of providing an interesting and original work. Sure, there's no tune to hum and no rhythm to tap, but you'll find yourself simply entranced if you listen to this powerful work.

The Great Composers - Official List

Friends, acquaintances, fans of Mozart, the ALP's present the definitive and universally accepted list of the greatest composers in order of greatness, based on the votes of our esteemed panel of music critics, Harry, Jackson, Matthew and I.

Blogger refuses me the use of the tab key or a table, so regrettably the appearance of columns is lost, so apologies for the entry being spread out so much.

Tullio

1. Shostakovich
2. Mussorgsky
3. Beethoven
4. Prokofiev
5. Schubert
6. Sibelius
7. Mahler
8. Stravinsky
9. Saint-Saens
10. Britten

Jackson

1. Ligeti
2. Shostakovich
3. Bax
4. Mahler
5. Stravinsky
6. Mussorgsky
7. Ravel
8. R. Strauss
9. Glazunov
10. Saint-Saens

Harry

1. Bax
2. Mahler
3. R. Strauss
4. Stravinsky
5. Shostakovich
6. Ligeti
7. Beethoven
8. Saint-Saens
9. Szmonovsky (Don't ask)
10. Ravel

Matthew

1. Beethoven
2. Mahler
3. Shostakovich
4. Prokofiev
5. Bramhs
6. Stravinsky
7. R.Strauss
8. Mussorgsky
9. Bax
10. Wagner
    

Composers recieve 10 points for 1st place in a list, down to 1 point for a tenth place. Now, to unveil the rankings! Note: a similar concept with greatest symphonies will soon be embarked upon.

The Official, Authorised, Definitive, Made-By-Better-Critics-Than-You List of the Greatest Composers!

In Equal 17th Place...Wagner and Britten with 1 point!

In Equal 15th Place...Glazunov and Szmonovsky with 2 points!

In Equal 13th Place...Sibelius and Ravel with 5 points!

In Equal 10th Place...Schubert, Saint-Saens and Brahms with 6 points!

In 9th Place...Prokofiev with 14 points!

In Equal 7th Place...R. Strauss and Ligeti with 15 points!

In 6th Place...Mussorgsky with 17 points!

We have entered the final five places, the tension is astounding. I'm under the desk, hiding from Stuart who has come to kill me with a butcher's knife for removing his votes and Dvorak from my list. Well that's what you get!

In 5th Place...Bax with 20 points!

In 4th Place...Igor and his wolfman doll with 21 points!

THE PODIUM POSITIONS

In 3rd Place...Beethoven with 22 points!

In 2nd Place...Gustav Mahler with 29 points!

...AND IN FIRST PLACE

Dmitri Shostakovich with 32 points!!!

Mendelssohn Festival

Because I have christened June Mendelssohn Month, there will be more entries about Mendelssohn's works.
Just for your information, Dvorak entries will still be accepted, but everything else will be DELETED!!! (Just kidding! :P)
Anyway, July shall be Modernist Month, celebrating modern composers.
August shall be Mahler Month. (I can already hear half of you celebrating!)
September shall be Dvorak Month. (DAHA! BREAKS ALLITERATION!!! Anyway, that month is my birthday month!)
So from next month onward, each month shall have a theme, which I shall decide.

Camille Saint-Saen's Bacchanale from Samson and Delila

I know, in the light of our disastrous exam yesterday, it is strange for me to be writing anything positive concerning the French, however I have been listening non-stop today to this piece played in my version, by the Orchestre de Paris. Oooh, now where have I heard about them before. :)
Taking an arabic influence from the setting, one of the most famous melodies from Saint-Saens popular three-act opera, begins slowly with a winding arabic melody while the strings slwoly build on the lively theme as the orchestra begins to awake and flows into a dramatic build-up as the strings play out the themes, subsiding to allow the horns to gradually dominate the lyric before the strings come back in unison to re-instate the main theme before dying down. The arabic influences once more build as the peculiar reminiscent instrumentation winds like a river through the music, with an intricate interplay with the string and brass sections.
The music continues without much major development, simply and gently variating on a new theme, more slow and in a more romantic aura. The woodwind and brass play gracefully with the melody, before the strings once more enter, buildign in volume and number as had been the pattern throughout the Bacchanale.
The final minute sees the main theme re-instated through the strings before giving away to a powerful entry from the horns, finishing with the rolls of the drums, the clash of the cymbals and a final call from the horns.
A fantastic piece, and highly recommended. Find it anyway you can.

Eurovision Aftermath

Well! What do we think? Ukraine was seriously scary, but the commentator once again proved himself a genius and overall a good Eurovision. Serbia actually had a decent song, and my favourites, Latvia, got owned. Oh well, there were some very good songs. Now to try and get the CD without paying $5491282957202. Preferably without paying one measly cent.
So, which songs were the best? Which songs were the worst? Who had the worst costumes? (The most fun category!) How political was the voting this year?
My personal favourite songs were those of: Latvia, Serbia, Romania (No, there isnt a pattern.) Also Russia, Greece, Slovenia, France and many more were worthy of the title 'Decent.' Even Finland!
The worst songs? Ireland and Ukraine actually had very good music backing the singers. The singers however were akin to Banshees. I have heard more musical talent from a chainsaw.
The worst costumes? Well, as always the French know how to surprise, and while their song was quite good, the costumes were, Pink and all over the place. Even without the horrid, garish colouring they were bad! But, nothing was to compare to the Ukraine. Whoever designed that horrible silver dress, worn by a rather plump man with huge glasses who somehow resembled the actresses from Thelma and Louise, SHOULD BE SHOT, HUNG, DRAWN AND QUARTERED, AND MADE TO SIT THROUGH A LECTURE FROM WARD!
And finally, to a topic which is always enjoyable. Political voting. Some of the biggest offenders were once again there. Scandinavia exchanged votes, Greece made sure South-Eastern Europe was looked after, and Poland didn't give any votes to Germany. Not that they probably deserved that many.
These factors are all quite interesting, and made for a thoroughly enjoyable Eurovision. Can't wait till next years!

Eurovision Song Contest

Greetings. As you may, or may not know, the final of the Eurovision Song Contest is airing on television tonight, which more or less means that we should avoid the news tonight, lest some idiotic news anchor spoils the surprise.
So, what be it that define Eurovision? Bad fashion, atroscious singing, ridiculous songs and, hopefully again this year, an incredibly funny commentator whose one desire is to make fun of the entire thing. Despite appearances, it actually becomes great fun.
We are treated to the best and absolute worst of Europe's songwriters and singers. There are rock bands, pop and dance numbers, ballads and electric violins. Occasionally, there are also monsters. (See the winning entry from Finland last year, which had nothing to do with Finland adopting a nuclear power program at the same time.)
Not wanting to get to commerical, it airs on SBS tonight at 7:30, (oh well, just have to record Robin Hood) and is highly recommended for those who are not subject to sudden heart attacks.

Prokofiev's Second Piano Concerto

Greetings, once more. I thought this was going to be a blog about classical style music, however the almighty Administrator Stuart, has decided to go on about Rodger and Hammenstein musicals. Which, you may think would prompt me to write about Les Miserables. However, I am however going to review what is viewed as a masterpiece or as an innovative rendition of Hannibal crossing the Pianos. While mostly chaotic, and with the veneer of a total lack of structure, however throughout the Concerto, many themes begin to develop to create an atmosphere or apprehension and a subtle tremble of the mind, failings in society perhaps. My favourite movement, is the first, a movement that sees the piano create immense tension, with increased interplay from the string section, before my favourite section, a cadenza around eight or nine minutes into the movement, which sees a series of glorious progressions from the piano culminate in a sublte, but still dramatic apex with the strings before subsiding with a feeling that everything is not all right.
I dont have time for a full review, so I'll leave it there, I'll update the entry some other time.

Dvorak's Song to the Moon (from the Rusalka)

Dvorák's Song to the Moon from the Rusalka is Dvorák's most famous aria.
It is an amazingly heart-wrenching aria.
It begins with a short string introduction, then the voice comes in. The voice is occasionally interrupted at a climax by a very pastoral woodwind imitation of the previous phrase. This helps create a feeling of loss and makes it a very beautiful aria.
The story of the Rusalka is basically a cross between the Little Mermaid and Undine, with elements of Czech mythology.
It was recently performed by Opera Australia. I really wanted to go.

South Pacific

As you may know my school is doing South Pacific with MacRob.
It is by Rodgers and Hammerstein, otherwise known as the guys who wrote the Sound of Music.
The story is basically Nellie the Nurse meets Emile the French Plantation Owner. They fall in love. While this is happening, Lieutenant Cable falls in love with Bloody Mary (the Tonkinese souvenir seller)'s daughter, Liat. Nellie decides she can't love him when she finds out that Emile had a Polynesian wife, who died and left him with two children. Cable decides he can't marry Liat, because she is of a different race. Emile and Cable feel very dejected and go on a very dangerous mission, in which Cable gets killed. Nellie realises that she shouldn't reject Emile on the basis that he has had a previous relationship with a Polynesian woman, and gets all cut because she thinks Emile is dead. Emile returns safely and they all live happily ever after.
It's full of great songs, such as There is Nothing Like a Dame (which is basically guys singing about how much they want sex, which is very funny), Happy Talk (sounds like a euphemism for sex, but it is about dreams), Some Enchanted Evening (hmm... the cheesy obligatory love song), A Cock-eyed Optimist (such a bad name, but is fairly good), Dites-Moi (which is in French, and I can understand it, but it is about love, so another cheesy love song made much better because it is in French), Bloody Mary (which is about Bloody Mary, who provides comic relief, and who's skin is tender as Di Maggio's Glove, who ever the hell Di Maggio is), I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out-a My Hair (which is a very catchy song about Nellie getting rid of Emile, which doesn't happen until later), Bali Ha'i (which is about this mysterious island, which everyone seems to visit), Honey Bun (which is part of the play-in-a-play part, which is all about this mysterious Honey Bun, who is 60 inches tall (150 cm) and weighs 1o1 pounds (45 kilos)), Younger than Springtime (which has a musical sex scene, with all sorts of random things going on such as Aug 4ths and a bit of chromaticism thrown in for good measure) and my favourite, Incidental (well not actually my favourite, actually I hate it).
I give it a 9/10

Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1

This concerto, dedicated to the great cellist, Mstislav Rostropovich, as was Shostakovich's second Cello Concerto, is most noted by fans of the great Shostakovich, for the main motif, DSCH in German, which corresponds to Shostakovich's German initials. The motif, D, E Flat, C, B, as is used in many of Shostakovich's compositions, is first introduced by the cello, and the theme is reiterated as the movement progresses with an aggressive allegro. The horns bring another dimension to the movement as a strong interplay between the cello and the orchestra appears, the jarring sounds creating an image of strength within turmoil and without sacrificing the musicality of the Concerto.
This then moves into a more gentle, subtle Moderato which creates a disturbing unease through the flexible variations of the cello, contemplatively moving through the movement with ease as the themes grow, as again the orchestra compliments the cello, a wonderfully searching cry from the cello as the Concerto begins to once more become lively, moving into the Cadenza.
The Cadenza, is the shortest, and arguably the weakest movement, yet still involves an intriguing theme from the cello, as the DSCH motif hints at reappearing. In all, this movement serves mainly as an introduction to the finale, which enters without pause, the Allegro con moto, travelling into a more lively sequence as it begins to once more sing the DSCH motif. The cello moves gracefully through a movement of challenges as the orchestra interacts wonderfully with the soloist, before the motif ends the concerto in a most wonderful fashion, though not without leaving us with an unnerving feeling that not all is right in the world.
One of my favourite Shostakovich pieces, I must say that the first two movements are by far superior to the rest of the Concerto, yet it is well worth listening to the entire piece. For those unfamiliar with Shostakovich, here is a program that runs approximately 2 hours that gives a relatively thorough introduction to his more serious works.

Cello Concerto No. 1

Symphony No. 3

Piano Concerto No. 2

String Quartet No. 7

Symphony No. 1

Mussorgsky's Songs and Dances of Death

I know that as a general rule, you people tend to despise song cycles, without mentioning the forbidden word Russian. However, you fail to see the beauty that comes from the mournful, tragic and yet enlightened lyrics that stem from this often peculiar dialect. I have chosen this as an example, as I don't want to spend all my time praising Shostakovich, otherwise I would have reviewed the arguably superior From Jewish Folk Poetry.
The Songs and Dances of Death, orchestrated by Shostakovich, (his orchestrative style was very effective in song cycles and really enhance the piece) is set in four movements, to the poems of Golenischev and Katuzov. The first, entitled Trepak, is about a drunken man lost in the forest as a blizzard rages, who is talked to and strangely comforted by Death. While most bizzare, yet this movement has a stunning quality of music, a searching and haunting lyrical content that creates moments of beauty that are lacking from the works of other European and American composers. The second movement, Lullaby, is a tragic song that sees us looking upon a mother, trying to comfort her sick child. Hush, she says, for sleep is the only comfort that will visit this scene. It is a moment of tragedy captured most excellently by Mussorgsky.
The third is the Serenade, as Death stalks a beautiful woman, whom he claims as his own, wishingto smother her. It is a strange piece, which again captures a strange scene that is translated into a rather interesting musical piece that progresses slowly, without great changes in tempo, just a rather medidative narrative that culminates in a sudden rise before coming to an abrupt end and rushing into the somewhat more lively The Field Marshal.
This tells of a man singing of battle, the rush and the horses charge. He speaks mainly of the inevitably of death however, and when you see Death upon the hill. It is an interesting composition, and I believe a worthy finale. It resembles the works of Wagner on occassions, finishing with a succession of crescendos and decrescendos before the singer, Boris Christoff to this day has done the most justice to Mussorgsky, signals the end with the tragedy of death resonating in his final notes.
An excellent song cycle, I would rate this among Mussorgsky's best works. Highly recommended, I personally own the most renowned version, the EMI recording of Boris Christoff singing his three major cycles as well as his shorter, and somewhat lighter pieces, including the brilliant Darling Savishna.

Bax Symphony No.2

Bax is, in my opinion, the most underrated composer that ever lived. He uses lush harmonies, but has the most beautiful second subjects and amazing contrasts in his symphonies. Only is it now that he has finally been recognized a bit.

Symphony No.2 is a masterpiece. The opening is full of dissonances, but a mood is very well projected: dark, disturbing, evocative and creepy. The allegro moderato section is a firey, stormy section, with the following second subject based on just a few notes being gorgeous.

The second movement contains one of the most beautiful melodies, weeping violins, questioning flute and harp ostinato and a bit of work for the brass too.

The finale is brilliant, powerful and strong, with such a terrifying climax at the end.

I highly recommend that you listen to this work.

Ligeti's Requiem

I'm so bored that I'm going to review Ligeti's requiem.

The first movement, Introitus, is actually quite interesting. It mostly consists of low notes and dissonances, particularly on bassoon, horn, and the choir. The choral slides however, sound very... um... sick, and the horns sound like moaning ghouls, but being the crazy musician that I am, I quite like this, for some reason. Towards the end of the movement, some of the higher pitched instruments and voices join in with the moaning and dissonance. This is used to a good effect, although not one that would be widely enjoyed.

The second movement, Kyrie, is similar in manner to the first movement. The choir sounds like moaning, but this time, the intruments are often quite strong, and not always dissonant. The effect is good, although rather disturbing. It is reminiscent of video game and movie music, although far more dissonant. There is a very loud section about 2 minutes in, which is basically just loud moaning. Again, I did enjoy this, although at times, the dissonance was overwhelming. Unfortunately, this movement crashed my computer halfway through. Damn acers.

The third movement... well... the THIRD MOVEMENT IS HILARIOUS. It is so ridiculous it makes me laugh every time I hear it. It is full of random dissonance and general randomness. The less said here, the better.

The fourth movement again returns to the "moaning ghouls" idea, this time with solo female ghouls. Well, actually, the ideas are probably different, they just sound the same. It is again interesting, but like movement 1, it does drag on a bit. Still interesting though.

I give it a surprising 6.75/10. The 1st, 2nd, and 4th movements were actually fairly good, just the 3rd was ridiculous and had way too many random leaps and loud dissonances.

Shostakovich's 3rd Symphony

Hi. My first blog entry. My mum didn't want me blogging but I managed to pursuade her otherwise. And I don't care whether Shostakovich was 20th Century, I'm blogging about him so don't try and stop me. Oh, and will you jokers kindly tell me when you're going to change the blog address, I had to access it through Matthew's profile.
Anyway, on to what I consider to be one of Shostakovich's greatest masterpieces, and easily one of the most underrated compositions in the classical world, the third symphony, subtitled 'The First of May.' This is of course in reference to the International Labour Day, as it is commonly known in Australia, a celebration of the working class, most notably evident during Shostakovich's lifetime, as a composer in a supposedly socialist country. It is set out in four movements, the final movement being the vocal Moderato entitled 'V pervoye Pervoye Maya,' which sings about the very first May Day.
I have not the time to give a complete review, however I will quickly highlight my favourite movement, the first 'Allegretto - Allegro,' delving into the feelings and suggestions that the music makes. This movement begins in contemplation, before expoloding in a triumphant burst from the strings. This then gives away to a subtle study of the forces at play, a brilliant interplay between the strings and the brass section, the ebb and flow giving away to what can almost be seen as a tragic motif from the string section. The symphony does not dwell on a subject of pessimism for long however, rushing persistenly back into the slightly hectic environment that is developing, before once more exploding in an uneasy cry of achievement from the horns, that is underplayed by the worried tirade of the strings. The drums then sound a march like section that is highlighted by the horns before the woodwind plays an almost whimsical melody. A sense of true achievement is now reached before fading away into serenity, before the haunting cry of the strings open the second movement.
As I said, that is all i can add for now, but again I highlight, this symhpony is superior to Mahler's 6th. The biggest tragedy about that symphony is that such a well structured symphony was let down by such a haphazard finale.

Glazunov's Concerto For Saxophone And Strings

Well, surely this blog isn't strictly romantic. This concerto was written in 1934, but in a fairly romantic style. You'll probably find that I review a lot of 20th century classical music with romantic influences (For example, Shostakovich, Bourgeois).

The opening of the concerto isn't particularly interesting, merely stating the main theme with the strings in unison. This leads into a more polyphonic section, when more themes are stated. The saxophone enters with a more virtuosic variation on the opening theme. This leads to a modulation to the dominant key of Bb Major. The Bb major section follows the simple development of a motif based on the opening theme. This modulates from Bb to D, to what appears to be Db. Glazunov achieves this without sounding ugly or dissonant. This all resolves back into Eb, with a restatement of the opening theme this time with accidentals, and leading into a section full of virtuosic runs on the saxophone.
Many writers of this blog may recognise one of the main motifs. 1, b2, M7, 1. (Or in G minor, G,Ab,F#,G). Wow! It's from Harry's 1st! However, Glazunov uses this motif to a far greater effect than the inexperienced Harry Sdraulig (No offence Harry, but you were inexperienced at the time, and even you'll admit that that symphony was crap).
This virtuosic section is essentially a buildup to a dramatic chromatic run on the saxophone from a high E down to the E 2 octaves below that. Throughout this, the tempo is increasing, moving from Allegro Moderato (crotchet = 92) to a speedy Vivo.
After this, the main theme is again restated, this time with a less happy ending, modulating to what looks like Eb Minor.
The next tempo marking is marked tranquillo, and is a second subject. The Eb Minor is effectively modulated to Eb major, and then to B major, after a long series of triplets. The themes are virtuosically developed before a cadenza. The cadenza is rather flawed, mostly just restating the "Harry's 1st theme" over and over. This theme is however, stated in a more interesting manner after the cadenza, with stuttery stacatto quavers on the saxophone, and frequent modulations and effective octave leaps.
Well, by this point i'm not even halfway through my score, so, I think I'll just sum up the rest of the concerto. The main themes are developed, with many rather dramatic runs, aswell as a few interesting time signature changes into 12/8 (sometimes with only half the orchestra!) The concerto ends dramatically, but in a major key, with the saxophone trilling on a high E, and then almost glissandoing down to a low C. The saxophonist then shows off altissimo with the last note, a very VERY high C.
The concerto is certainly mildly Jazz influenced, like many classical saxophone works, but is nonetheless romantic, and makes excellent use of the saxophone and the strings. I give it 9/10 (The only marks lost are on the cadenza).
On another note, I can play part of it! Woot!

Mahler's 6th Symphony

My personal favourite composer as many of you would know is Mahler, because the melodies are brilliant, and the orchestration really brilliant.

Therefore the first symphony I will look at is Mahler's Symphony No. 6, in A minor. The 'Tragic'
It is easily the most structured of the Mahler symphonies and has the traditional 4 movements. It is a work of titanic proportions, and requires a mammoth orchestra to perform. All four movements are brilliant, with a furious opening, a diabolical scherzo, a beautiful andante and a fiery finale. Unlike all other Mahler symphonies, and the radiant dying moments, this ends in a minor key, with a sudden crash. Brilliant orchestration is evident throughout, and I have never heard themes

Although it is such a negative work, Mahler wrote it while going through the best times of his life.

My favourite recording of this work is the controlled Boulez, Vienna Philharmonic recording.

Dvorak's 9th Symphony

If you have read my other blog, you would know that I KNOW that Dvorák is the best composer ever, and his best known work is his 9th Symphony or otherwise known as the New World Symphony.
The first movement is probably my least favourite, but is still brilliant. The second movement would be my third favourite, and the fourth movement my second favourite, with the Scherzo being my favourite movement.
The whole symphony under its simple surface is actually very clever. Dvorak modulated to widely spaced harmonic keys without sounding disjointed or ugly. The chord progressions are subtle yet amazing, and he has actually used repetition very well.
Another interesting fact about it is that it was believed that he stole the cor anglais theme from a spiritual. This was rumour was created by one of his students who arranged the theme into a song, and this song became rather well known, and people thought that he stole that theme, but he wrote it! I would hate that to happen to me!
The whole thing is much better than Rachmaninov's Paganini Variation's (which will be the subject of an upcoming review), which we are playing in orchestra.
Dvorak's music isn't overly complex, but not incredibly simple, and this makes it a better piece on the whole I think.
Today's music is either super simple or overly complex, so it provides a nice relief from most of the CRAP today. Oooh! I just called modern popular music crap! I just did it again! How true though!
And now for a lighter note, each of my blog entries shall have a silly meaning for a musical term. Today's is rubato, with the definition by my conductor in school orchestra.
Rubato-Play out of time.