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Title: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: guest54 on March 31, 2013, 02:09:40 am The clear winner, in my opinion, is Delius's double concerto.
Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: Gauk on April 03, 2013, 08:15:36 am Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: Christo on April 03, 2013, 08:40:33 am Or, as Hegel said, 'das Auge ist sonnenhaft'. ;)
Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: tapiola on April 03, 2013, 11:38:04 am The possibilities are endless!
First work that comes to mind is Alwyn's "Lyrica angelica". Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: jimfin on April 03, 2013, 12:46:36 pm It's very familiar, but the Tallis Fantasia is pretty perfect for me!
Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: Dundonnell on April 03, 2013, 01:26:24 pm It's very familiar, but the Tallis Fantasia is pretty perfect for me! One recalls Holst's remark about hearing the Tallis Fantasia for the first time-at, I think, its premiere in Gloucester Cathedral in September 1910. Holst said that he had to grip the sides of his seat because he was sure that without doing so he was about to ascend heavenwards :) Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: BrianA on April 03, 2013, 01:52:44 pm Words like "beautiful", "favorite", etc, especially when combined with a modifier like "most", always cause me trouble. My usual response is to generate a list of ten favourite, most beautiful. whatever, not necessarily in any particular order. But if I were to confine myself to the activity that joins us together here, ie musical downloads, I've been particularly impressed by Vladigerov's piano concertos. Not claiming these works are necessarily the deepest, most profound, or even necessarily, the "most beautiful", but I remember being caught up in the high spirits of the music and the sheer brilliance of the sound.
I'm afraid Delius is a composer I've somehow managed to avoid being exposed to most of my life, so I can't make a direct comparison. Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: oldfezzi on April 03, 2013, 06:43:54 pm Mahler 8
Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: David Carter on April 04, 2013, 01:54:11 pm Symphony No 2 by Kaikhosru Sorabji. :)
Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: albert on April 04, 2013, 02:13:25 pm An "easy" choice : Ravel Left Hand Piano Concerto (contender also for "the most masterful").
Less "easy" : Sibelius The Bard Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: Christo on April 04, 2013, 02:35:32 pm Another vote for the Tallis Fantasia here. :)
Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: Jolly Roger on April 04, 2013, 02:45:16 pm Vaughan Williams symphony 5 does it for me..
Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: kyjo on April 04, 2013, 08:01:53 pm Hmmm....tough to pick just one. Despite its short duration, I would probably nominate Ravel's Pavane pour une infante défunte (the piano version was written in 1899, but the orchestral version comes from 1910, so...). Such a beautiful piece! VW's Tallis Fantasia and Symphony no. 5, Barber's Adagio for Strings (overused though it be), Sibelius' Symphony no. 5, Larsson's Symphony no. 1, Atterberg's Symphony no. 3 and (more recently) Aaron Jay Kernis' Musica celestis for strings would also be prime candidates. Oh, and then there's Joep Franssens' orchestral works!
Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: Christo on April 04, 2013, 09:50:22 pm Oh, and then there's Joep Franssens' orchestral works! He will be pleased to hear! But I think he qualifies mostly for the 21st century. ::) Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: JimL on April 05, 2013, 12:38:24 am Depends on how you define beautiful, but I've got a hankering for Miaskovsky's 5th Symphony.
Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: kyjo on April 05, 2013, 07:57:32 pm Depends on how you define beautiful, but I've got a hankering for Miaskovsky's 5th Symphony. I would also count Myaskovsky's elegiac and haunting Symphony no. 27, as well as his beautiful Cello Concerto, among the most beautiful works of the last century. Written in the final years of his life (the concerto in 1944 and the symphony in 1949) these two works poignantly represent the "final breaths" of the romantic tradition which Myaskovsky so dearly loved. Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: guest145 on April 08, 2013, 02:10:38 pm So many works to choose from, with some excellent nominations in this thread already. If forced to select one item, I think my choice would be:
Wilhelm Stenhammar: incidental music to Chitra Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: Jolly Roger on April 13, 2013, 01:42:33 am Depends on how you define beautiful, but I've got a hankering for Miaskovsky's 5th Symphony. I would also count Myaskovsky's elegiac and haunting Symphony no. 27, as well as his beautiful Cello Concerto, among the most beautiful works of the last century. Written in the final years of his life (the concerto in 1944 and the symphony in 1949) these two works poignantly represent the "final breaths" of the romantic tradition which Myaskovsky so dearly loved. The 27th is unforgettable.. Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: Jolly Roger on April 13, 2013, 01:45:29 am Hmmm....tough to pick just one. Despite its short duration, I would probably nominate Ravel's Pavane pour une infante défunte (the piano version was written in 1899, but the orchestral version comes from 1910, so...). Such a beautiful piece! VW's Tallis Fantasia and Symphony no. 5, Barber's Adagio for Strings (overused though it be), Sibelius' Symphony no. 5, Larsson's Symphony no. 1, Atterberg's Symphony no. 3 and (more recently) Aaron Jay Kernis' Musica celestis for strings would also be prime candidates. Oh, and then there's Joep Franssens' orchestral works! Larsson no 3 gets my vote.. Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: kyjo on April 13, 2013, 02:58:14 am Larsson no 3 gets my vote.. In fact, I can't think of any of Larsson's works off the top of my head that couldn't qualify as beautiful, which is quite remarkable for a 20th century composer :) Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: Gauk on April 13, 2013, 07:47:08 am Why his volin concerto is not standard repertoire beats me.
Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: Jolly Roger on April 13, 2013, 06:57:28 pm Larsson no 3 gets my vote.. In fact, I can't think of any of Larsson's works off the top of my head that couldn't qualify as beautiful, which is quite remarkable for a 20th century composer :) I just listened again to the 3rd symphony (has echoes of Saint Saens 3rd) and it is quite addictive... The Prelude to "God In Disguise" is heavenly and The Winters Tale lingers in the mind long after the music is gone.... Unfortunately, I have not heard the violin concerto.. Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: Jolly Roger on July 20, 2013, 03:19:48 am Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: Jolly Roger on July 20, 2013, 03:28:03 am Depends on how you define beautiful, but I've got a hankering for Miaskovsky's 5th Symphony. I agree with the composer choice, but the symphony should be number 25. The melody is simple and forever haunting.Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: Christo on July 20, 2013, 09:19:29 am Larsson no 3 gets my vote.. If I remember correctly, Larsson withdrew his Third Symphony (1945) after its first performance. Does anyone know why? Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: Jolly Roger on July 20, 2013, 09:53:19 am Larsson no 3 gets my vote.. If I remember correctly, Larsson withdrew his Third Symphony (1945) after its first performance. Does anyone know why? Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: Elroel on July 20, 2013, 01:12:17 pm Since we started this thread, I tried very hard to come up with my favourite here, but it is IMPOSSIBLE to choose one, because tomorrow I find another one the most beautiful. It very depends on my mood. Sometimes I would I didn't collect so much music.
Maybe I choose a couple of opera aria's and Smetana's Vltava comes close. Kyjo mentions Joep Franssens (also a winner for me) And how about the 'Concierto de Aranjuez' I better stop: undecided. Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: shamus on July 20, 2013, 06:31:37 pm I love so much music of the 20th Century orchestral music that at first I decided I wouldn't even try to respond, but I think I have narrowed it down to Karol Szymanowski's Symphony No. 4 with piano concertante. To me it is so melodic, cogent and spiced with enough dissonance to make it linger in my mind for hours after I listen to it.
Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: kyjo on July 21, 2013, 04:36:19 am I love so much music of the 20th Century orchestral music that at first I decided I wouldn't even try to respond, but I think I have narrowed it down to Karol Szymanowski's Symphony No. 4 with piano concertante. To me it is so melodic, cogent and spiced with enough dissonance to make it linger in my mind for hours after I listen to it. Szymanowski's Symphony no. 3 and Stabat Mater would also qualify IMO; so luscious and with ear-catching use of harmony. It seems as if Szymanowski's music is, quite deservedly, finally starting to enter the repertoire, thanks in no small part to Simon Rattle's superb advocacy of his music :) Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: Jolly Roger on July 21, 2013, 09:50:46 pm I think Sulek's 2nd and esp the 8th should be on the short list.
Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: Christo on July 25, 2013, 11:29:19 am I can only mention a few compositions that, for me, qualified as the 'most beautiful' years ago or over a longer period of time, often decades ago. This unmistakably sentimental list includes:
Khatchatur Avetissian, Oratorio in memoriam 1915 Samuel Barber, Second Essay for Orchestra Lennox Berkeley, Concerto for two pianos and orchestra Joly Braga Santos, Variacoes Sinfónicas sobre um tema Alentejano Leo Brouwer, Retrats catalans Claude Debussy, La Mer Manuel de Falla, El Sombrero de Tres Picos Alberto Ginastera, Variaciones concertantes Vagn Holmboe, Sinfonia boreale Gustav Holst, The Hymn of Jesus Bohuslav Martinů, Parables Arvo Pärt, Te Deum Gabriel Pierné, Divertissements sur un thème pastoral Ottorino Respighi, Lauda per la Nativitá del Signore Germaine Tailleferre, Concertino pour harpe et orchestre Veljo Tormis, Unustatud rahvad Ralph Vaughan Williams, A Pastoral Symphony Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: fr8nks on July 29, 2013, 08:36:03 pm I agree with an earlier choice: Alwyn's Lyrica angelica. However the slow movement from Sibelius' First Symphony is right up there also.
Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: kyjo on July 29, 2013, 09:13:06 pm Sibelius 1 was written in 1898.
Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: dholling on October 17, 2013, 05:24:20 pm Depends on how you define beautiful, but I've got a hankering for Miaskovsky's 5th Symphony. I would also count Myaskovsky's elegiac and haunting Symphony no. 27, as well as his beautiful Cello Concerto, among the most beautiful works of the last century. Written in the final years of his life (the concerto in 1944 and the symphony in 1949) these two works poignantly represent the "final breaths" of the romantic tradition which Myaskovsky so dearly loved. I concur! I would add also: Bax's Third Symphony Atterberg's Sinfonia per Archi Eller's Five Pieces for Strings Tubin's 4th Symphony Silvestrov's 5th Symphony (as if nature is unfolding onto something otherworldly). Lydia Auster's Piano Concerto Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: Bobyor on October 17, 2013, 06:59:21 pm Szymanowski 3rd
Enescu Voix de la nature Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: kyjo on October 17, 2013, 08:37:41 pm I would add also: Bax's Third Symphony Atterberg's Sinfonia per Archi Eller's Five Pieces for Strings Tubin's 4th Symphony Silvestrov's 5th Symphony (as if nature is unfolding onto something otherworldly). Lydia Auster's Piano Concerto Certainly agree with these choices! Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: kyjo on October 17, 2013, 08:46:42 pm Some more I would add to my original list:
Braga Santos: Symphonies 2-4 Broadstock: Symphony no. 4 Born from Good Angel's Tears (which the composer himself compares to Silvestrov 5) Vine: Oboe Concerto (for the slow movement) Schmidt: Symphony no. 4 Kreek: Estonian Requiem Title: Re: The most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century Post by: Jolly Roger on October 18, 2013, 04:54:18 am This thread is extremely useful in directing me to hear some composers whose music I have never encountered. There are also a few (who shall remain nameless) in whom I have not had an interest in because of a very poor first impresson.. |