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.