the CPO Hendrik Andriessen Symphony No.2 together with three shortish orchestral works. All well-wrought pieces which demonstrate Andriessen's mastery of both ancient musical forms and a distinct neo-classicism. Andriessen was a fine composer-although without, I think, the innovative genius of his fellow Dutchmen Vermeulen, Pijper or Badings.
I would rather listen to Andriessen than Vermeulen, Pijper or Badings any day of the week, especially Pijper, whom I find a bit of a bore. I was at the UK premiere of Hendrik Andriessen Symphony No.2, and the orchestra was forced by the audience to repeat the scherzo. I have read about that sort of thing happening in musical history, but it was the first time I witnessed it.
I once sat directly behind Louis Andriessen at a concert, and I was so tempted to tap him on the shoulder and say how much I admired ... his father's music.
Incidentally, the Dutch Composers channel on YT has a lot of minor pieces by H.A. which are worth a listen.
Pijper can be a bit uneven, but by and large I find I've enjoyed most of his work that I've sampled. I have the trunk of
Merlijn on CD, and I was quite taken with it.
Talking of the Andriessen clan, we're actually getting a Louis Andriessen festival here in DC later this year:
http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwclassical/article/Washington-DC-Festival-Celebrating-Dutch-Composer-Louis-Andriessen-Set-for-April-6-13-2014-20130725Why, I'm not sure. But I'm certainly curious enough to attend a couple of performances.
Back to the topic at hand, last night I listened to a lovely disc of Giannini chamber music that I purchased with my Christmas gift card. He's rapidly becoming one of my favorite American composers, and this listen did nothing to dispel my opinion of him. Today's a nasty, dreary, rainy day, so I'll be listening to the Met broadcast of
Die Fledermaus...
