I hate giving up on a book – I just hate it. I have a really strong completist streak in me that has helped me endure through things I’ve really disliked. Since I graduated university I can count the number of books I’ve given up on, on one hand. Usually, it’s non-fiction (such as The …
Category: 1903
Sonatas and Poems (2015) by Stephen Hough
This collection features two of Scriabin’s piano sonatas, and two of his “poems,” plus Janacek’s only piano sonata and the first book of On an Overgrown Path.
Holst: A Winter Idyll (1993) by David Atherton et al.
This is a collection of short orchestral pieces and excerpts of longer ones, by Holst. It is not performed by the same group throughout (as it’s a compilation) though, as far as I can tell (listening to a digital copy), the conductor is the same throughout (David Atherton).
Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema 1896-1913 (2009)
This is a collection of many – but hardly a majority or all – of George Melies’ short films from when he got into cinema shortly after the invention of the medium until 1913, when his various personal problems consumed him and he stopped making films. (Note that many of Melies’ films have been lost …
The Apostles (2012) by Edward Elgar, performed by Halle
This is, to my ears, quite superior to the followup, the Kingdom. The music is more interesting and compelling, and this is also a little shorter (I think). I still don’t know why someone would opt for this over, say, a Bach, but it’s well done decent enough. 8/10
Debussy: the Complete works for Piano (1995 compilation) by Walter Gieseking
Debussy’s piano music is as significant as Satie’s, even if it isn’t always as obviously revolutionary. Debussy eventually became very mainstream and so his music had much more currency. And it’s been absorbed so much it’s sometimes hard to tell how exactly he was breaking away (but other times it is very obvious). As someone …
Satie Piano Works (1987, 2003, 2012) performed by Aldo Ciccolini
Erik Satie’s piano music changed the way many people thought about music. It’s hard to imagine John Cage, cool jazz, ambient, post rock and a bunch of other things without this. It’s also really cool to hear the ragtime stuff.