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Assorted items / Individual composers / Re: Oskar Nedbal (1874-1930) Another talented composer who died too young!
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on: February 23, 2022, 10:57:46 pm
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Thanks for bringing up Nedbal, cilgwyn. It made me listen again to Die Winzerbrautin the cpo recording. And it was most enjoyable. Nedbal's style is that of the "Silver Age" of Viennese operetta, and the proximity to Lehar is sometimes quite audible. But I think Nedbal is able to hold his own within that style, and though Die Winzerbrautmay lack the smash hits of Lehar's best works, it still has a fair number of hummable tunes. It also bears the hallmarks that cause me to like the "Silver Age" operettas better than those of the "Golden Age": a richer harmonic and orchestral pallette, more emphasis on lyrical music etc. Thoroughly recommended.
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Assorted items / General musical discussion / Re: Your favourite composers
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on: October 12, 2021, 09:18:31 am
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I notice of course that the title of this thread is in the plural, but if it were in the singular, and seeing whose birthday it is today, my candidate would certainly be Vaughan Williams. I find his music has a range and depth that outshine that of many more famous names, and it puzzles me that it doesn't seem to be recognized properly outside Britain. Plus VW is able to be so characteristically himself, even in very different works. I remember once buying two VW cds at the same time, the Cotwold Romance and the music for Scott of the Antarctic, and wondering that even though the works were very dissimilar, both could be by no one but VW. Of course there is an element of personal taste included in my assessment, but I think his symphonies should be recognized as one of the great 20th century cycles, alongside Shostakovich etc.
Bax is also hign on my list, and "The Immortal Hour" is among my top ten ever favourite operas. The only composer on Albion's list whose music doesn't really "click" with me - for various reasons - is Britten.
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Assorted items / General musical discussion / Re: What are you currently listening to?
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on: June 22, 2021, 07:24:52 am
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Things seem to have gone a little quiet here lately, so I thought I'd try to chip in with what I'm listening to. Actually it's not only what I'm listening to now but what I've been listening to for the last half year or so.
At the beginning of this year I decided that it was time to see what all the fuss about Mieczyslaw Weinberg was about. I'd noticed that more and more of his music was being recorded, generally to positive reviews, but I hadn't really got an idea of what it sounded like. So over the last half year I've been listening to all his recorded symphonies (meaning all 22 except nos 9, 11 and 15). I've been trying to listen in depth, only moving on to the next symphony when I felt I knew the last one well.
It has been a most engrossing experience - now I certainly get what the fuss was about. Weinberg is now firmly established as one of my favourite composers. From the robust energy of the early symphonies via the more enigmatic, modernist middle works to the long, icy laments for the victims of war in the late ones - it has been really fascinating to follow that development. I basically like all the symphonies, though I still find some of the middle works a bit difficult. In fact I "cheated" and moved on to no 14 before I felt that I had "cracked" no 13, but I found that I was somehow stuck in that work and had to move on and then return to it later. It's still the one symphony I find hardest. But that is more than compensated for by the many highlights among the rest.
To sum up I hesitate to make any pronouncement on greatness etc. I don't know enough about musical theory to do that. But for me at least Weinberg is now up there with my very favourite Soviet composers.
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Assorted items / General musical discussion / Re: What are you currently listening to?
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on: April 29, 2021, 09:17:36 am
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Well, going somewhat against the trend I like what I know of Tippett. Admittedly it isn't that much: the symphonies, the Concerto for Double String Orchestra, the Corelli fantasia, the Ritual Dances from the Midsummer Marriage, and the Rose Lake. Clearly he isn't a "tune" composer, but I like the rhythmic vitality of the music, and he seems a resourceful orchestrator to me. As you can see, I haven't ventured into the operas yet, and it's unlikely I will, since even those of Britten do nothing for me. I'm afraid I'm much conservative when it comes to vocal than instrumental music - generally I have a problem with most post-Puccini opera.
By the way, I'd like to post more, but it's hard to keep up with some of you here. What I can barely cram into a week's listening you seem to be able to get done in a day :D
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Assorted items / Individual composers / Re: William Wallace (1860-1940)
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on: January 16, 2021, 10:39:41 am
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I have the disc with the symphonic poems, but I remember finding them rather thematically unmemorable. But this fine recommendation makes me feel like giving them another try. I might well like them better second time around - that often happens.
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Assorted items / General musical discussion / Re: Music inspired by the mountains
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on: April 06, 2015, 12:22:19 pm
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There are a few Danish works inspired by mountains, but they are mostly about mountains outside Denmark, like Langgaard's 10th symphony "Yon Dweling of Thunder", which was inspired by a visit to the mountainous region of Kullen in Sweden, and Emil Hartmann's ballet "The Mountain Cottage", which takes place in Norway. But it is small wonder that there are so few mountain-inspired works from Denmark, since our highest "peak" is no more than about 170 m. And then of course we have the ridiculously named "Sky Mountain", which, at 149 m, is the laughing stock of all visiting tourists on account of its name :D
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ARCHIVED TOPICS / Contexts and settings / Re: Winter
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on: January 17, 2015, 02:16:58 pm
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A few suggestions off the hip:
Tchaikovsky: Symphony no 1 "Winter Daydreams" Prokofiev: "Troika" from "Lieutenant Kijé" Larsson: A Winter's Tale
I don't know if it counts (I suppose it's winter all year round in the Antarctic) but my favourite evocation of a frozen scene is the "Landscape" movement from Vaughan Williams' Sinfonia Antartica
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Assorted items / General musical discussion / Re: Peterson-Berger Symphonies
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on: November 02, 2014, 02:31:59 pm
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In his 1950s biography of the composer, Bertil Carlberg goes as far as saying that it would have been better for P-B's reputation if the 4th had never been written. I have to say I also find it very enjoyable, with some fine memorable themes. I don't mind its lightness at all.
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