This is a decent collection of two fairly similar composers but it could be better.
Tag: Romantic
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
Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis et al. (1986) by Orford Quartet, CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Simon Street
This is one of those nonsensical compilations of pieces of “classical” music that are put together because all the music is performed by a similar ensemble, in this case String Quartet with Orchestra. So you have two very late romantic British composers (though Vaughan Williams music could be seen as something else, I guess) with …
The Kingdom (2010) by Edward Elgar, performed by Halle
Listening to the two completed parts of the proposed oratorio trilogy I find myself liking this one less than the first. It is simpler and less provocative. Apparently the choral writing is quite good but I don’t really see why I should listen to this over other oratorios (even Elgar’s own). It’s fine, but that’s …
Piano Quintent; String Quartet by Edward Elgar (2011) performed by Goldern Quartet, Piers Lane
This is an odd combination: we get a string quartet, piano pieces seemingly picked at random from two separate eras of his career, and the piano quintet. I guess they wanted to give us our money’s worth or something.
Sir Edward Elgar Conducts Elgar: Falstaffl Cello Concerto; Nursery Suite (2007)
Though the sound isn’t ideal – though it certainly is better than I expected – this is the most interesting Elgar I have heard so far. Fastaff is fantastic; it feels like half of the first wave of film score composers adored it. And unlike so much programmic music, it actually sounds out the action, …
Elgar: Sympyhonies 1 & 2 (1968, 2007) by London Philharmonic Orchestra, Adrian Boult
I guess Elgar gets his rep because he was perhaps the first really notable British composer in some time – or up until that point, I don’t really know. But I think that reputation is inflated – at least based on my earliest listens to his music – by the general Anglophilia that is a …
Dvorak: Symphony No. 8 / Brahms: Symphony No. 3 (1988) by Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan
In 2013, I wrote the following: At first this seemed to me like an arbitrary combination (something which I generally dislike) but for some reason the two works seem to mesh well together, and it’s not just because they were written within five years of each other. They seem (at least on my first listens) …
Dvorak Piano Trios Nos. 1 and 2 (1989) by the Raphael Trio
This collects Dvorak’s two least-regarded piano trios. I didn’t know that while I listened to it, and, now that I know, I’m not quite surprised. The music is certainly pleasant, but one can understand why people haven’t gone crazy over this music, which seems to me as if it could easily have been written in …
Dvorak: Violin Concerto, Sonata and Sonatina (2009) by Jack Liebeck
This is a good summary of Dvorak’s violin music. Dvorak isn’t my favourite, but I enjoy him enough. As usual, I cannot really comment on the performance and how it relates to other performances as this is the first time I have heard these pieces. But the sound is good and Jack Liebeck sounds like …
The Songs of Henri Duparc (1989) by Sarah Walker, Thomas Allen, Roger Vignoles
For reasons I can’t quite articulate, I find lieder tough to get into. My first reaction is to be a little surprised that this guy’s status in the canon rests on this.
Symphonies Nos 1-7; Kullervo (2009) by Silbelius, performed by London Symphony Orchestra, Colin Davis
Sibelius’ symphonies range from really over-the-top late 19th century folk-inspired stuff to the kind of subtle innovation this unsophisticated listener might associate with Mahler. I am still a complete neophyte (tyro?) when it comes to discerning great symphonic writing from okay symphonic writing, so it’s the 1892 Kullervo that I notice the most, and it …
Variations, interlude et final; Prelude elegiaque; La plainte, au loin, du faune; Sonate (1989) by Paul Dukas, performed by Margaret Fingerhut
This is a quite surprising collection. Dukas – who apparently destroyed much of his output – used to be somewhat dismissed when it came to his piano music but I find what’s here – both the famous sonata variations and the less famous other two works – to be great, if not exactly life-changing. It’s …
Essential Delius (2011) by Various Artists
This is a compilation and so we have to treat it with a bit of skepticism. But it does contain most of the major orchestral works of his, and so it does offer a good intro, even the performances aren’t exactly standardized. I remain slightly reticent to get into Frederick Delius and I can’t exactly …
Violin Concerto, Opera Intermezzi, Pieces for Small Orchestra (1994) by Frederick Delius, performed by Symphony Nova Scotia and Georg Tintner
Though it doesn’t really contain the big hits, this is a pretty solid collection. I like the violin concerto. I also like the “Two Pieces for Small Orchestra.” The music is still a little safe for me, but it’s pleasant. 7/10 “Prelude” from Irmelin (6/10) This prelude for one of Delius’ early operas doesn’t do …
Songs (2006) by Frederick Delius, performed by Yvonne Kenny and Piers Lane
This somewhat arbitrary collection of songs is decent enough. It would be nicer to hear complete sets. I can’t say that I hear enough of what I love about impressionism to really rave about it. On the other hand it is clear that these songs mark a departure from much of what was standard at …
Nights in the Gardens of Spain by Angela Cheng and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
This seems to be an attempt to collect Spanish piano concertos from the last 150 years into one spot. We have Isaac Albeniz’s “Spanish Rhapsody” from 1887, Joaquín Turina’s “Symphonic Rhapsody” from 1931, de Manuel Falla’s title track from 1915, and Xavier Montsalvatge’s “Brief Concerto” from 1953. The result of a survey of something like …
Grand Sonata for Piano and Violin; 20 Variations… (2002, CBC Records) by Carl Czerny, performed by Anton Kuerti and Erika Raum
I am certainly not at the point where I can truly judge a performance of a work by the standards of professional musicians like these, and it is especially hard when I am unfamiliar with the work. But I like this. I feel like this CD – and another by Kuerti of straight-up piano sonatas …
Creepy Classics or How I spent Halloween Eve
Last Saturday I went to TSO’s “Creepy Classics,” conducted by Alastair Willis.
Maria Stuarda
So I went to the Canadian Opera Company yesterday for the first time. The closest thing I’ve come previously is a serious musical, way back when I was like 12: Les Miz. I have since seen other musicals, but I don’t think they count (Evil Dead). The theatre, named after some no doubt famous opera …