A little over a year ago, I ran a Google-search on “underrated classical music pieces,” and I found this article, “38 Classical Hidden Gems You Should Listen to Right Now,” HERE. I’ve used the list twice on this site – when I listened to Bernard Herrmann’s Symphony No. 1, HERE, and when I listened to Muzio Clementi’s Symphony No. 2 in D Major, HERE.
I decided to revisit the article for this week, and I chose to listen to the very first piece on the list, Charles Alkan’s Symphony, Op. 39. I did encounter a bit of confusion when I searched for the work on YouTube, though. At first, all I could find were piano transcriptions of the symphony, and I could not find a version with full orchestra at all. Of course, therein lies the confusion because the work is not an orchestral piece at all. Instead, it is a compilation of four piano studies from Alkan’s Douze études dans tous les tons mineurs (Twelve Studies in all the minor keys), Op. 39, with each title prefaced by the French word "Symphonie." The four movements are titled Allegro, Marche Funèbre, Menuet, and Finale. My confusion was cleared up after a bit of research, and I found this article HERE – and the author of the article is so right with this statement: “Much like the Concerto for Solo Piano, the Symphony is written so as to evoke the broad palette of timbres and harmonic textures available to an orchestra.” When I listened to the piece I really thought it sounded like a piano transcription of a work for orchestra. Probably the only thing that gave it away that it really was a work written for solo piano was some of the bass chord work that is very typical of the way I (and I’m sure many others) play pieces from Fake Books. I loved the foreboding and sinister theme that opens the first movement – it certainly provides an atmosphere of doom one might encounter in a silent movie (or perhaps in some bit of bygone animation of Snidely Whiplash tying Nell Fenwich to a railroad track). And just when the final chord progression modulates to a brighter major chord, that E in the C chord goes flat – and the ending is as brilliant as it is dastardly! Plus it sets the stage for the funereal intonations of the second movement. The Marche Funèbre is not too maudlin and for the most part keeps a very steady beat, emphasizing the relentless march of time (calling to mind, for me, Emily Dickinson’s lines, “Because I could not stop for death / He kindly stopped for me”). The relentless march of time is even underscored dramatically in the third movement, Menuet, and that was quite unexpected as the stressed notes and accents throughout the piece provide a feel very much unlike the three-quarter time of a minuet. Oh, there are some dulce, waltz-like moments – even one short section that sounds a bit music-box-esque – but most of the piece is characterized by a pounding force though the movement does end rather sweetly. The Finale then takes off and moves so quickly that at times I had trouble following the score. Talk about virtuosic pyrotechnics – and it all races to a conclusion of pounded out chords in the final few measures. Wow. Just wow. I loved Alkans' Symphony for Piano. To be honest, I didn't even know such a form existed -- a symphony for piano -- and the article I found on Wikipedia said that "it is an early example of a piano symphony." I suppose I need to delve into this form a little more deeply to see what else like this is out there!
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Recently I’ve been watching some reruns of “Frasier” starring Kelsey Grammer as radio talk host Frasier Crane. In the opening episode for Season 3, Frasier has to deal with a powerful new boss, Kate Costas (played by Mercedes Ruehl) who has some problematic (to Frasier) ideas to improve his show.
At one point, Kate and Frasier argue over Bartok’s “Concerto for Orchestra”: Kate: Anyway, your ratings are very good. But I still think we can do better. Any ideas? [Kate takes items out of box and goes to put them on a shelf] Frasier: How to improve my show? That is a tall order. Uh. Oh, wait, you know, I was thinking of playing classical music before my intros. Let's say, perhaps, uh, Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra in D Minor. Kate: It's too highbrow. I mean, I love classical music, but to most people it's a big snore. Oh, incidentally, Bartok's Concerto is in C. Frasier: Are you sure? Kate: Positive. I put myself through college working at a classical station. Let's talk about advertising. You've got a great face. I want to see it on t-shirts. I want to see it on park benches. I even want to see it on Frisbees. Everybody in Seattle should be tossing it, wearing it, sitting on it! Frasier: Wonderful. You know, I hate to nitpick, but I'm certain that concerto's in D. I was a music minor at Harvard. Kate: It's in C. It was commissioned by Serge Kosivinsky in 1943 for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and since then it's been recorded over thirty times. Each time in C. Frasier: Well, maybe you're right. Maybe I'm right. Interestingly enough, maybe both of them were wrong? Bartok said that he called the piece a concerto rather than a symphony because of the way each section of instruments is treated in a soloistic and virtuosic way, and according to information on Wikipedia, the piece is in F minor (HERE). Others say that there is no key signature – that the piece “shifts keys” – and that nowhere does it state that it’s in C, D, or F minor. The concerto has five movements: I. Introduzione. Andante non troppo II. Giuoco delle coppie. Allegretto scherzando III. Elegia. Andante non troppo IV. Intermezzo interrotto. Allegretto V. Finale. Pesante – Presto The first movement opens very slowly and quietly with sustained notes in the low strings, and they are soon joined by tremeloes in the violins and violas. The mood is very ominous, if not Hitchcockian (i.e., Bernard Herrmann-esque). About two minutes in, the full orchestra adds to this tense tone, and though there are some lighter passages here and there, the mood throughout most of the movement is characterized by suspense and angst. The heavy tone of the concerto lightens in the second movement both in rhythm and melody in a playful scherzando. The mood isn’t joyous and light, per se, but it is a whimsical and wry piece. The featured woodwinds are wonderful. The third movement is much quieter and solemn at the start. The notes from the YouTube video state that “Bartok described the keystone third movement, ‘Elegia,’ as a ‘lugubrious death-song,’ in which unsettled ‘night music’ effects alternate with intense, prayerful supplications” – and there are, indeed, moments of intense desperation before the movement reaches its much calmer conclusion. The fourth movement opens with some cunning and clever rhythms as the time signature alternates between 2/4 and 5/8, koon followed by some spirited and mischievous passages. The movement even includes satiric treatment of the march theme from Shostakovich’s “Leningrad” Symphony. Bold French horns open the finale, and then the strings take off in a burst and blur of energy. It isn’t until about 144 measures in or so before the orchestra seems to take a breath. Soon, they’re off again, until they reach “un poco meno mosso,” “a little less motion.” At this point, the orchestra begins a fugue-like section, building on a theme introduced by the strings. Soon, though, they’re back to “Tempo I” followed by a short “tranquillo” section, and then a race to the conclusion. As one comment below the YouTube video states, Bartok’s Concerto is “a work of exhilarating color and syncopated rhythm."
The other day I clicked on my radio just in time to hear the announcer say, “That was Symphony Number Two by Ge.orge Chadwick.”
George who? I had never heard of George Chadwick. I looked him up on Wikipedia, and here is some of what the article says: “George Whitefield Chadwick (November 13, 1854 – April 4, 1931) was an American composer. Along with John Knowles Paine, Horatio Parker, Amy Beach, Arthur Foote, and Edward MacDowell, he was a representative composer of what is called the Second New England School of American composers of the late 19th century—the generation before Charles Ives. Chadwick's works are influenced by the Realist movement in the arts, characterized by a down-to-earth depiction of people's lives.” The complete article is HERE. Chadwick’s Symphony No. 2 is a pleasant enough work, and I enjoyed it very much. It doesn’t rank up there with the greatest symphonies in the complete canon of classical music, but it is certainly an admirable work. The first movement, Andante non troppo - Allegro con brio, opens with a lone French Horn setting a lonely mood. In a matter of a few measures, the string section sets a more ominous and desperate tone, and then about a minute and a half later, the full orchestra introduces a much more hopeful and jubilant theme complete with heroic notes from the brass. The movement is an exciting piece to be sure, but perhaps Chadwick could have developed the initial themes a bit more before moving on so quickly to the uplifting resolution? The second movement, marked Allegretto, is a fun five minute scherzando. It’s a buoyant piece characterized by lush strings peppered with light and airy woodwind solo passages. The third movement, marked “Largo e maestoso - Allegro non troppo - Tempo primo,” continues the use of abundant strings and light woodwinds, and it moves the piece to a more dramatic tone, but not one that is too heavy or forlorn. As a matter of fact, the Allegro section is soon to introduce a more daring tone with a bold use of brass, but not one that is too exaggerated or over-dramatic. A slower section toward the end of the movement sounded a bit Tchaikovsky-esque to me – but not overly so. The final movement, Allegro molto animato, revisits some of the rhythms and character of earlier sections of the symphony, and the entire piece comes to its spirited conclusion. Overall this symphony is an exciting piece to listen to, and it is certainly laudable – it’s just not necessarily in the top tier of symphonies ever written. : )
I have always wondered how choreographers “score” ballets. I know how the music is scored and can therefore be passed down through the ages, but how in the world are all of a ballet’s movements “scored” (i.e. captured on paper) so that the performance can be passed down from generation to generation? And which comes first, the choreography or the music?
Does the choreographer say to the composer, “This is what it’s going to look like. Write music to fit this.” Or does the composer write the music, and then say to the choreographer, “plan all of the movements to this.” I wondered about all of this this week because I decided to listen to the ballet music to "La Source Ou Naila" by Léo Delibes. The music from two of Delibes ballets, “Coppelia” and “Sylvia,” are on my “Top 100” list of classical music favorites (HERE), so I thought I would research other ballets by Delibes to listen to a score this week. It turns out that there was just one other, “La Source Ou Naila.” A complete list of compositions by Delibes is HERE. I LOVE the music from both “Coppelia” and “Sylvia” – there are sooo many memorable moments and melodies – so I wondered if Delibes hit another “home run,” so to speak, with “La Source Ou Naila” (which was actually his first ballet, written in 1866; “Coppelia” was composed in 1870 and “Sylvia” was written in 1876). I am happy to report that he did come close (to a “home run,” that is). Perhaps we’ll call this score a “triple.” : ) The music is very enjoyable – and of course, very characteristic of the ballet music of its time: strong and repetitive rhythms; expressive melodies; leitmotivs; lively musical patterns and meters; dramatic if not exaggerated cadences and dramatic finishes. “La Source Ou Naila” has it all. Still, the score does not include the number of memorable and classic melody lines that Delibes achieved in his other two ballets; therefore, it rated a “yellow light saber” on my scale rather than a green one. By the way, if you’re interested, I found this article, “Dancing on Paper” – HERE. – on “how do you write movement, in this case ballet.” |
A New Hope:As the header above says, each week I will listen to a piece of classical music that I've never heard before, and then I will report out what I thought about it. Archives
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