On at least two occasions on this site, I’ve listened to a secondary piece by composers thought to be “one-hit wonders.” Just recently, HERE, I listened to a piece by Charles-Marie Widor. Back in April of 2021 I listened to a piece by Johann Pachelbel, HERE.
Just recently I heard Reinhold Gliere’s “Russian Sailor's Dance” on the radio, and I thought to myself, “Hmm…I wonder why he never appears on the ‘one-hit wonder’ lists when I’ve searched for them in the past?” Do you know any other song by Gliere? I didn’t – so I typed his name into YouTube, and I landed (at random) on his French Horn concerto in B Flat Major. An article in Wikipedia (HERE) notes that it is “one of the major works in the horn repertoire,” so I suspect that horn players and/or horn aficionados may be familiar with this piece. However, as I am sure you surmised by my earlier comments, I am only familiar with his “Russian Sailor's Dance,” described in Wikipedia’s biographical piece on Gliere (HERE) as “his best-known single piece, and (it) is still heard at symphony concerts around the world, frequently as an encore.” Completed in 1951, the French horn concerto is comprised of three movements: I. Allegro II. Andante III. Moderato - Allegro vivace In the first movement, the orchestra opens with a bold and confident theme that is soon echoed by the solo horn. The second movement is beautifully tender, and the melodies literally soar. Then, after a bit of a mysterious introduction to the third movement, the horn quickens the tempo with a playful melody that races the piece to the end. Much of this concerto is so lush and romantic (and even majestic at times) that it sounds like it could be used as a movie soundtrack – like that soundtrack from David Lean’s “Brief Encounter.” Have you ever seen “Brief Encounter”? The music alone makes it worth watching – and that’s because the entire movie makes use of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 (though not played in order). I can easily imagine some movie maker using the moods and melodies of Gliere’s horn concerto effectively to underscore a movie. It is a lovely piece. Listen to it when you get a chance, and I think you’ll agree with me that Reinhold Gliere does not belong on a list of “one hit wonders.” ; )
0 Comments
|
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
September 2023
Categories
All
|