1932 in Music

Music reviews I’ve written for the music of 1932.

 

1. Maurice Durufle: Suite, Op. 5 (9/10)

The prelude builds really slowly at first and just builds and builds until it is kind of like a crescendo of sound before dropping out almost entirely. The second half of the movement is much more sedate.

The ‘Sicilienne’ is another sedate experience, exploring areas of sound with the organ that I feel like I haven’t quite heard (or noticed) in pre-20th century organ music.

As you might expect, the toccata is starkly different from the previous two movements, beginning with some pretty crazy playing and using the entire instrument. Both the second movement and this one have hints of proto-minimalism in some of the swirls of sound that come out of the instrument.

 

1. Earl Hines” Love Me Tonight (9/10)

This is a solo piano piece that has a more obvious debt to ragtime (than some of Hines’s other solo piano recordings) until about the 40-second mark when it really begins to resemble jazz and then everything goes mad. Really cool.

 

3. Edward Elgar: “Impromptu” (5/10)

One of the briefest things I have ever heard by a major composer. It made no impression on me.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.