Spam Roundup February, 2019

Even with spam filters, some comments manage to make it through. Some of it's so oddly written, that it's oddly amusing. Here's a roundup of some of the "best" comments I received this month from spambots around the world.

Say what?!

- Be cagy when group action with the angle in the start sole give at the websites that pic active agents or ceremonial attendees. [I promise you none of the pics I post have active ingredients.]

- The bodily fluid in tubes, evaluate victimization a mobile phone and newer taxonomic category items complete an unsafe network.["bodily fluid" and "mobile phone" should never be in the same sentence.]

- If you intend your dog does. [I do, but my dog doesn't.]

- Paragraph writing is also an excitement if you know after that you can write if not it is complicated to write. [I am excitement anticipating deciphering your sentence.]

The toy that launched a thousand spam comments.

"Lumbering along" tops in traffic

The Straco Express layout series has 62 installments. Not sure why The Straco Express Layout, Part 23 - Lumbering Along caught every spambot's fancy.

 - You actually make it seem really easy along with your presentation however I to find this topic to be actually one thing that I think I'd never understand. [I don't understand what there is to not understand.]

- I think this is important info for me. [You don't sound like you're sure.]

- I had a quick question that I'd like to ask if you don't mind. I was interested to know how you center yourself and clear your thoughts prior to writing. [I just turn my brain off and start typing. Can't you tell?]

- I really like your writing very so much! I require a specialist on this house to unravel my problem. Maybe that is you! [If you need a specialist on cheap Japanese friction toys, you are unraveled.]

Thanks... I think

- I seriously love your website. Pleasant colors and theme.[Of course, the actual content's crap, but still. Nice colors!]

Craig Morris Delivers an Exciting Program of Solo Philip Glass

Craig Morris presents a fascinating program of Philip Glass music. Although considered a minimalist, most of Glass' recorded music is for ensembles (both large and small).

Glass' best-known works are appealing not only for their melodic permutations but also for their ever-shifting harmonic textures.

So what happens when Glass limits himself to a single instrument? Quite a lot, actually.

Morris opens with "Melodies" from 1995. Glass had originally written the work for solo saxophone, but it works quite well for solo trumpet. Each of the thirteen short melodies has that signature Glass tonal simplicity.

Gradus is a very early work by Glass. Here development occurs over time, as rhythms and melodic figures gradually change over time. It reminded me of Steve Reich's music -- without an incessant beat.

The title track is a work that relies on visual as well as aural effects. Two-sided music stands are set up in a 10-foot square. A performer inside the square plays from each stand moving clockwise. A second performer outside the square plays from each stand moving counterclockwise.

Both players slowly move out, then back in phase. Their music does so, and they also do so physically as they move apart, then return to their common starting point in the square.

Morris plays both parts, overdubbing himself. It's actually quite effective. The track is carefully mastered to achieve the changing distance between the two musical lines. It's a convincing simulation of what one might experience in a live performance.

Overall, this is an exceptional recording. Morris wisely alternates between a piccolo trumpet, Bb trumpet, and flugelhorn. The variety in timbre keeps the listener engaged with the music.

Morris is a talented performer, playing Glass' music with both precision and sensitivity. You don't have to be a Glass completist to want this album. This should appeal to anyone who enjoys the music of their lifetime.

Philip Glass: Three Pieces in the Shape of a Square
Craig Morris, trumpets
Bridge Records 95088

Tor Aulin Violin Concertos - Swedish Masterworks

Tor Aulin was best known as a violinist. He toured for 20 years with his own string quartet, and later served as concertmaster of the Swedish Royal Opera Orchestra. During his touring years, Aulin composed his three violin concertos.

Aulin often performed with his fellow countryman, Wilhelm Stenhammar. Like his colleague, Aulin wrote in a Brahmsian late-Romantic style.

His 1889 Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor is an early work, and the influence of Brahms is close to the surface. Aulin's second concerto, completed in 1892, has a more original voice.

Aulin seems surer in his handling of the material, and there's a more pronounced use of folk idioms.

Aulin's final concerto was premiered in 1896. It shows further development in the composer. The harmonies are more sophisticated, as is the solo violin part. This was music written by a true master of the violin.

Violinist Ulf Wallin performs these concertos with a modern sensibility. Vibrato is used sparingly, keeping the melodic lines clean and easy to follow. Wallin brings out the emotional intensity of the music without going over the top.

As a result, these concertos don't sound like relics of a bygone age. Instead, they sound like well-crafted works that are still relevant today. Which is how I enjoyed them.

Tor Aulin: Violin Concertos Nos. 1-3
Ulf Wallin, violin
Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra; Andrew Manze, conductor
CPO

Johann Brandl Symphonies -- Music in Transition

Although mostly unknown today, Johann Evangelist Brandl was a well-respected composer and violinist at the turn of the 19th Century. His Op. 17 string quartets were dedicated to Haydn. In his later years, he was first violinist of the ducal orchestra in Karlsruhe. He eventually became the orchestra's music director, working under kapellmeister Franz Danzi.

Brandl's 1796 Symphony in E-flat major, Op. 12 represents an early foray into the genre. It was contemporary with Haydn's final symphonies and follows the same general outline.

The first movement has a slow introduction. There's a slow second movement, a third movement minuet, and a fast finale in triple time.

Brandl, like Haydn and Mozart, effectively builds his themes from simple scales and chord patterns. He differentiates himself with his extensive use of winds throughout the work.

His Op. 25 Symphony in D major is a more adventurous work. Published in 1803, its highly chromatic harmonic motion looks ahead to the Romantic period. I was reminded of Weber's symphonies. Brandl's symphonies might be considered transitional, but I found them worth listening to. They're tightly constructed works, with few extraneous notes.

The Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pflaz has a rich, full sound. Kevin Griffiths finds a good balance between the lightness of the Classical style and the emotional weight of the Romantic era. It's just the right place for these works.

Johann Evangelist Brandl: Symphonies Op. 12 & Op. 25
Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pflaz; Kevin Griffiths, conductor
CPO 555 157-2

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalShorts Week 3

February is the shortest month of the year. That fact inspired #ClassicsaDay team (of which I'm a member) to make short classical pieces the theme for the month. The challenge is to select stand-alone works, not movements of larger pieces.

Participants post links to short classical pieces in the social media channel of their choice, using the #ClassicsaDay and #ClassicalShorts hashtags.

How short is short? That's up to the individual. I limited my selections to playing times of less than ten minutes. I also tried to include a variety of style periods, and have both famous and unusual works in the mix.

Here are my selections for the third week of #ClassicalShorts.

Jean Sibelius - Finlandia, Op. 26

Sibelius' 1899 tome poem was veiled protest of Russian censorship. It was originally the finale to a tableau of Finnish history. To avoid censorship, the work would be listed in programmes with different titles.

Carl Friedrich Abel - Symphony No. 1 in G major, Op. 7

Abel team up with Johann Christian Bach to present a concert series in London. The highly successful Bach-Abel concerts ran from 1764-1782. Many of Abel's symphonies were written for these concerts.

Paul Hindemith - Konzertstucke for Two Alto saxophones

Beginning in the 1920s, saxophonist Sigurd Raschèr asked composers to write for his instrument to expand the repertoire. Hindemith was so excited by the prospect he wrote a work for two soloists (although Raschèr didn't have another soloist in mind).

Joseph Jongen - Piano Sonatina op 88

Jongen was an important organist and composer of the early 20th Century. Although he wrote over 240 works in all genres, only his organ pieces are regularly performed -- and other notable keyboard compositions such as this sonatina.

Barbara Strozzi - L'amante secreto

Venetian Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677) was renowned for her singing and composing. In her lifetime eight volumes of her vocal music were published. "L'amante secreto" is a good example of her vocal writing.

George Enescu - Konzertstucke for violin and piano

The Konzertucke was commissioned by Gabriel Fauré for an international competition hosted by the Paris Conservatoire. Enescu sat on the jury, and also wrote companion jury pieces for trumpet, harp. and flute.

Friedrich Dotzauer Flute and Oboe Quartets Charm with Simplicity

Who was Friedrich Dotzauer (1783-1860) that we should be mindful of him? Cello students know him well -- his 100+ exercises and caprices for solo cello are still in use.

Dotzauer was a cellist, and he was also a prolific composer, with over 190 works. His catalog includes 9 cello concertos, 25 string quartets, and many chamber works.

The Ensemble Pyramide present three of his quartets for winds and strings. These works are modest in scope, designed for an evening's entertainment.

Dotzauer was a contemporary of Louis Spohr, and his music has some similarities. Dotzauer writes in a late Classical style. His melodies feature elegantly turned phrases. Each movement has a clear structure, following the models of Mozart and Haydn.

Markus Bronnimann is the soloist for the two flute quartets. He plays with a warm, smooth tone that's in keeping with the decorous nature of these works. Oboist Barbara Tillmann performs with precision and deft mastery I found appealing.

If you're looking for some light entertainment, give this release a listen. I found these three quartets charming in their simplicity.

Friedrich Dotzauer: Flute and Oboe Quartets
Ensemble Pyramide
Toccata Classics TOCC 0421

McDermott delivers intimate, personal performances of Haydn Sonatas

This release is a follow-up to McDermott's 2014 release of Haydn Piano Concertos and Sonatas. This time, Anne-Marie McDermott presents an entire program of solo sonatas.

Haydn's sonatas have a deceptive simplicity to them. The technical demands are modest (compared to sonatas by Beethoven and later composers). But that doesn't mean they're insubstantial.

McDermott performs with a light, deft touch that gives these works an elegant delicacy. The precision of her runs lets the listener enjoy every note.

And her overall interpretation of these works is spot-on. The D major sonata, for example, fairly sparkles with good-natured charm. McDermott's masterful phrasing reveals the pleasingly balanced architecture of the music.

As always, Bridge's recording is immaculate. The piano has a warm, natural sound. It's a close, intimate sound that serves these works well.

Franz Joseph Haydn: Sonatas, Vol. 2
Sonata in C major, Hob. XIV:48; Sonata in G major, Hob. XVI:39; Soanta in 
A-flat major, Hob.XVI:46; Sonata in D major, Hob.XVI:37
Anne-Marie McDermott, piano
Bridge Records 9497

Mark Trail, - Comic Strip Hero, Comic Strip Fan

Jack Allen introduced a curious interlude into the Mark Trail comic strip mid-February, 2019. Mark & family had just finished up an adventure in the Yucatan Peninsula. The following week a new storyline would start in the Bahamas.

As our heroes flew off, Mark steers the conversation into an unusual topic.

The awards referred to are the Reuben Awards, given by the National Cartoonists Society It's an interesting overview of the role of comic strips have had in American society. I don't know who's up for a Reuben award in 2019, but I hope Jack Allen's on the list!

BTW - the Jungle Jim strip referred to ran from 1934-1954. It was originally drawn by Alex Raymond. So yeah, Rusty, it was so cool.

Dussek Complete Piano Sonatas Volume 5 - Enlightening performances

Jan Ladislav Dussek was a pioneering piano virtuoso who continually pushed the boundaries of his instrument. And in some cases, he was responsible for some of the improvements made to the fortepiano -- especially range.

Volume 5 in Brilliant Classics' series features pianist Wolfgang Brunner. His performances are top-notch. But I found his liner notes even more rewarding.

In them, Brunner compares and contrasts the differences between Viennese and English fortepianos of the early 1800s. I found it a revelation. I now better understand the importance of matching the music with an instrument of its time.

Brunner plays the Sonata in A minor, Op. 18, No. 2 on a Viennese fortepiano. The sonata is similar in style to those of Haydn. The texture is thin, the voicing simple and straightforward. The light and responsive action of the fortepiano was well-suited to this music.

Brunner also uses this instrument for the Sonata in G major, Op. 45, No. 2. Published in 1802, the three Op. 45 sonatas show major advances in playing and compositional technique. There are more chords (and chords in motion). The harmonies are more complex, and there is more motion in the inner voices.

The Viennese fortepiano lets all the detail of the music show through. Runs sound cleanly executed and the whole sonata has a feel of elegance about it.
Brunner uses an English Broadwood fortepiano for the first and third sonatas of the Op. 45 set. The sound is fatter, and the action a little louder. The English fortepianos tended to smear the sound more than their Viennese counterparts.

If the second sonata invoked Haydn, the other two conjured up Beethoven. The sound was brawny, bold, and a little rough around the edges. Elegance was replaced with raw emotion.

A revelation indeed.

Jan Ladislav Dussek: Complete Piano Sonatas, Vol. 5
Sonatas Op. 18, No. 2 and Op. 45
Wolfgang Brunner, fortepiano
Brilliant Classics 95605

Diabelli Project 215-224 Piece for Piano

The Diabelli Project is about offering my weekly flash-composition sketches freely to all. Like Antonio Diabelli's theme, these sketches aren't great music. But perhaps (as in Diabelli's case) there's a Beethoven out there who can do great things with them.

I decided to try writing another complete piece in 10-minute weekly installments. It's definitely exercising a different set of creative muscles than my daily work requires.

Below is the finished version of the Piece for Piano. Even though I wrote it, the music sometimes surprises me with its twists and turns. I'm sure they're there because I didn't write it in one continuous session, or even over several consecutive days,

During that weeklong gap between sections, I often forgot what I was intending when time stopped. But I would also come up with something different. And breaking out of my familiar creative tracks is what the project is for.

As always, you can use any or all of the posted Diabelli Project sketches as you wish for free. Just be sure to share the results. I'm always curious to see what direction someone else can take this material.

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalShorts Week 2

February is the shortest month of the year. That fact inspired #ClassicsaDay team (of which I'm a member) to make short classical pieces the theme for the month. The challenge is to select stand-alone works, not movements of larger pieces.

Participants post links to short classical pieces in the social media channel of their choice, using the #ClassicsaDay and #ClassicalShorts hashtags.

How short is short? That's up to the individual. I limited my selections to playing times of less than ten minutes. I also tried to include a variety of style periods, and have both famous and unusual works in the mix.

Here are my selections for the second week of #ClassicalShorts.

Anton Webern Symphony No. 21

Webern's 1928 symphony distilled the form down to its essence. Webern used klangfarbenmelodie (tone-color melody) extensively. The melody's broken up, and passing from one instrument to another, often note by note.

Felix Mendelssohn - Konzertstuck No. 1 Op. 113

This is one of two pieces Mendelssohn wrote for a clarinet, basset horn and piano trio in 1833. They were for Heinrich Bauermann (clarinet) and his sone Carl (basset horn) who toured Europe with the works.

Johann Heinrich Schmelzer - Sonata a tre

Schmelzer arrived in Vienna in the 1630s and spent his career in service to Emperor Leopold I. Works such as this sonata influenced Heinrich Biber, who may have been his student.

Cécile Chaminade - Flute Concertino Op. 107

The concertino was written in 1902 for the Paris Conservatoire. The work is extremely difficult and is often used as a jury piece as well as a concert work.

Steve Reich - Clapping Music

Reich's 1972 work is a model of minimalism. It requires just two performers clapping hands. Its material is simple as well. The motion of the work comes from the rhythmic pattern moving in and out of phase with itself.

Franz Schreker: On Eternal Life, et al. - sensual orchestral music

Franz Schreker is best remembered for his operas. But his melodic gifts and innovative harmonies extended to his orchestral work as well. This release presents a variety of Schreker's concert works, spanning his creative life.

 "Ekkehard" Symphonic Overture, Op. 12 and Fantastic Overture, Op. 15 were written at the turn of the 20th Century. Schreker's studies with Robert Fuchs were done. His style in these overtures is greatly reminiscent of Fuchs' own compositions. There's a restless energy to them, as the harmonies continually slide from one to the other. Schrecker, like Mahler, was pushing at the boundaries of tonality.

"On Eternal Life" for soprano and orchestra was premiered in 1927. Schrecker was second-most performed living composer in Germany (next to Richard Strauss). To my ears, it anticipates the wonderous musical world Strauss' "Four Last Songs" inhabit. Careful attention is paid to orchestration to cast every word in just the right mood. And Schreker uses his mastery of opera to write truly engaging and beautiful music for the soprano. Soprano Valda Wilson sings with a warm, pliant tone that delivers the subtle emotions at play in the text.

The 1930 "Four Little Pieces for Large Orchestra" pushes tonality even further. If "Ekkehard" resembled Mahler, then these sound more like his student Schoenberg -- right before he moved atonality. The work has an aggressive Expressionist character to it, alternating with lyrical passages that never quite calm.

"Prelude to a Grand Opera" comes at the end of Schreker's short-lived career. It fell victim to the Nazis, who disrupted and then forbade performances of Schrekere's music. The Grand Overture seems somewhat conservative compared to the "Four Little Pieces" but only marginally so. It's still an exciting, dramatic work with plenty of surprises for the listener.

The Deutsche Staatphilharmonic Rheinland-Pfalz has a rich creamy ensemble sound as they're recorded. Conductor Christopher Ward brings out the sensual nature of Schreker's music, making this a wonderful album to listen to.

Franz Schreker: On Eternal Life; Fantastic Overture, Op. 15; Ekkehard Symphonic Overture, Op. 12; Prelude to a Grand Opera; Four Little Pieces
Valda Wilson, soprano 
Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz; Christopher Ward, conductor
Capriccio C5348

Canadian Panorama - The Musical Wealth of a Nation

Canadian Panorama marks Canada's 150th Anniversary with an outstanding variety of native classical music. It's the first commercial recording of the Winds of the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra.

It's a release of new music for wind ensemble. And it's also a survey of living Canadian composers that are both diverse and inviting.

Happily, Canadian Panorama succeeds on all levels. The music is both accessible and well-written. While all the works are tonal, many are quite substantial. All yield additional insights with repeated listens.

Some works draw on Canadian folk traditions. Chris Meyer's "Fundy: A Poem of Wind and Waves" references Celtic folk music. Alex Eddington blends several folk songs together for "Saturday Night at Fort Chambly."  Howard Cable's "McIntyre Ranch Country" uses cowboy tunes common to both the American and Canadian west.

Ronald Royer's "Travels with Mozart" mine classical music's common heritage (in this case, "The Magic Flute."). As does John S. Gray's Allemand and Alexander Rapoport's Whirligig. Both are also exceptionally well-written works.

The winds of the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra has a rich ensemble sound I don't normally encounter with wind ensembles. This compact group is filled with first-rate players. They step forward for solos, then blend seamlessly together as an ensemble.

If you like wind ensemble music, this disc is for you. If you want to further explore Canadian music, this disc is for you. Heck, if you just want a great listening experience, Canadian Panorama is a disc for you.

Canadian Panorama
World Premiere Recordings
Winds of the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra
Ronald Royer, conductor
Cambria CD-1227

Collecting and Collecting Information 37 - Cragstan, Nomura, and Rosko

I've often said that the primary source of information about postwar Japanese tin toys is the packaging. (Yes, I know there are books available about the high-end car models, but that's the exception.). The set pictured below was listed on eBay.

It's a set I know quite well. The locomotive and the passenger cars are all branded "TN" in a diamond - the mark of Nomura. What's interesting about this set is that it was not imported by Cragstan, but by Rosko. Rosko Steele, Inc, usually branded "Rosko Tested." was another importer who dealt with many of the same Japanese toy makers as Cragstan. 

No question - this is a Rosko Steele import.

I had previously thought that this set was imported by Cragstan, as it was so similar to one they imported from Distler of Germany. (See Distler vs. Nomura)

The Distler-made set imported from West Germany by Cragstan.

But I've never seen an original box for the Nomura-made Santa Fe passenger set with the Cragstan mark. I have, though seen several examples of Nomura-made Rosko sets, including variants on the F3 diesel used in this set.

That  Santa Fe diesel was offered both with and without
flashing lights.

So perhaps I have it wrong. Original boxes prove that Rosko imported Nomura H0 tinplate trains. Original boxes tell me that Cragstan imported a similar set from Germany, and that in the mid-1960s imported a second train set from Distler. This one was plastic. But I don't have any direct evidence that Cragstan imported Nomura's H0 sets. Yet.

The evidence suggests that Nomura was Rosko's source for battery-operated H0 train sets. And perhaps that relationship was exclusive to Rosko. 

The Mozartian Piano Concerto of François-Adrien Boieldieu

François-Adrien Boieldieu is sometimes called the "French Mozart." Although he belongs to the generation following Mozart, there's a decided similarity in style

His music has a good-natured lightness and clarity to it that echoes Mozart. Boieldieu's fame rest mainly on his harp concerto. During his lifetime, though, he was a renowned opera composer.

This release features six overtures from his catalog of almost 40 operas. They're all great fun. Boieldieu revs up audience anticipation with busy, energetic and tuneful overtures.

If you like Mozart's Overture to the "Marriage of Figaro," you should enjoy these works.

The 1792 Piano Concerto in F is an early work. This two-movement work is modest in scope, and in ambition. This is the music of Haydn and Mozart rather than Beethoven.

The piano solo is balanced and refined while providing plenty of technical challenges. Nataša Veljkovic plays with lightness and dexterity. Her runs are cleanly executed and finely articulated. It's a performance perfectly suited to the music.

The same can be said for the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana and Howard Griffiths. They understand the essential nature of the French Mozart's music and deliver it with good humor and delicacy.

François-Adrien Boieldieu: Piano Concerto and Six Overtures 
Nataša Veljkovic, piano 
Orchestra della Svizzera italiana; Howard Griffiths, conductor 
CPO

Diabelli Project 224 - Piece for Piano, Part 10

The Diabelli Project is about offering my weekly flash-composition sketches freely to all. Like Antonio Diabelli's theme, these sketches aren't great music. But perhaps (as in Diabelli's case) there's a Beethoven out there who can do great things with them.

I decided to try writing another complete piece in 10-minute weekly installments. It's definitely exercising a different set of creative muscles than my daily work requires.

This week's installment of the Piece for Piano begins at the second measure on the page. And it's (finally) the end of the piece. I finished out the restatement of the opening theme. I don't know where the eighth note shift in the last measure came from -- but I like it.

Next week I'll start another flash composition. Will it be another movement of this piece? I don't think so, but I haven't heard from my subconscious yet.

As always, you can use any or all of the posted Diabelli Project sketches as you wish for free. Just be sure to share the results. I'm always curious to see what direction someone else can take this material.

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalShorts Week 1

February is the shortest month of the year. That fact inspired #ClassicsaDay team (of which I'm a member) to make short classical pieces the theme for the month. The challenge is to select stand-alone works, not movements of larger pieces.

Participants post links to short classical pieces in the social media channel of their choice, using the #ClassicsaDay and #ClassicalShorts hashtags.

How short is short? That's up to the individual. I limited my selections to playing times of less than ten minutes. I also tried to include a variety of style periods, and have both famous and unusual works in the mix.

Here are my selections for the first week of #ClassicalShorts.

John Adams - Short Ride on a Fast Machine

Adams considers this 1986 work a fanfare for orchestra. "Short Ride" is one of Adams' popular and oft-performed compositions.

C.P.E. Bach, Solfeggietto in C minor

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach wrote this piece in 1766. It's one of his most famous compositions. The work consists of a single line melody, distributed between the clefs. It's often used to train students to play equally with both hands.

Fritz Kreisler, 'Schön Rosmarin'

This work was originally part of "3 Old Viennese Dances." Over time, this popular tune has taken on a life of its own as an encore piece.

Claudio Monteverdi, 'Cantate Domino'

Monteverdi's setting of Psalm 97 is for six voices -- 2 sopranos, alto, tenor, and 2 basses. The title, "Cantate Domino canticum novum" means "Sing to the Lord a new song."

Frederic Chopin Nocturne No. 5 in F-sharp major Op. 15 No. 2

Chopin dedicated his Op. 15 Nocturnes to Ferdinand Hiller, an important composer, and pianist of the era. The Nocturne in F-sharp major is a technically demanding work, worthy of Hiller's talents.

Francisco Tarrega, 'Lagrima'

This is one of Tarrega's most popular works. The guitar virtuoso composed it while touring London in 1881. The composition exists in different forms, and there's some question as to which (if any) is the prelude as Tarrega wrote it.

Chandos Release of Arriaga - Mozart with a smile

If you're not familiar with Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga, this release is an excellent introduction. Arriaga was dubbed the "Spanish Mozart," and with good reason. Like Mozart, he had a natural facility for the piano, and for composition. And like Mozart, he died young.

Arriaga wrote his opera "Los esclavos felices" when he was fourteen. Although it was produced and launched his career, only the overture and a few fragments survive.

Arriga extensively revised the score in 1821, which is the version recorded here. It has Mozartian lilt to it, bursting with energy and good spirits.

Arriaga's 1824 Symphony in D shifts between major and minor. Here Arriaga seems inspired by Beethoven as well as Mozart.

Juanjo Mena and the BBC Philharmonic give performances well-suited to the music. Even Arriaga's dramatic, 30-minute symphony has a lightness and transparency to it. Mena understands that essential nature of Arriaga and delivers on every track.

Two vocal works are included: the cantata "Herminie" and "Air de l’Opéra Médée" The 15-minute cantata is, quite simply, a masterwork of vocal writing. It hints at what the operatic world lost with Arriaga's early death.

Soprano Berit Norbakken Solset sings with a clear, pure tone that continually delights. Her delivery reinforces the stylistic similarities between Arriaga and Mozart.

Arriaga's music is sometimes characterized as "Mozart with a smile." That's especially true with this release. Highly recommended for the beauty of the music and the sterling performances it receives.

Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga: Symphony, Herminie, and Other Works
Berit Norbakken Solset, soprano | 
BBC Philharmonic; Juanjo Mena, conductor
Chandos CHAN 20077

Florence Price Symphonies - On Par with Dvorak

As pressure mounts for orchestras to diversify their programming, Florance Foster Price has risen in prominence. Price was a composer of color active in the late 1930s and 40s.

Her first symphony, completed in 1932 won a competition and was premiered by the Chicago Symphony in 1933. Stylistically, the work owes much to Antonin Dvorak and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.

Dvorak urged American composers to look to their own folk music for inspiration, and Price did so. The third movement replaces the European Scherzo with an Afro-American juba dance.

While Price's structures follow Dvorak's classical models, the harmonies and the shapes of the melodies are distinctive and original. And very clearly drew from Afro-American traditions.

Price's 1945 Fourth Symphony receives its world premier with this recording. During renovations of a neglected house in Chicago, a cache of papers and manuscripts was discovered. The home was Price's summer residence. Had the structure been simply leveled, several of her works -- including this symphony would have been lost.

The Fourth Symphony opens with "Wade in the Water" and develops the themes symphonically. While Price uses Dvorak as her basic model, this symphony is more adventurous than her first. Price seems surer of her material and more comfortable working with her traditional music sources.

The Fort Smith Symphony, directed by John Jeter does an outstanding job. These are committed performances that show these symphonies in their best light. And they help make the case of adding Price symphonies to the repertoire. Should Price's Symphony No. 1 replace Dvorak's 9th? No, but occasionally choosing the former instead of the latter all the time would be nice.

Florence Beatrice Price: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 4
Fort Smith Symphony; John Jeter, conductor
Naxos

Nowowiejski Symphonic Works - Important addition to Polish music

This recording grew out of a project by the Opole Philharmonic Foundation. "Nowowiejski Decoded" involved editing, publishing -- and then recording the orchestral music of this seminal Polish composer.

Feliks Nowowiejski was a major musical figure of early 20th Century Poland. Nowowiejski won many composition prizes and was frequently performed in Germany as well as Poland.

He studied with Max Bruch from 1900 to 1902. Three of the five works on this release were completed in 1903, and show Bruch's influence.

After the First World War, Nowowiejski returned to Poland to become a docent at the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Music Academy. There he advocated Polish patriotism and cultural identity.

The opera overtures on this release come from that period. Both "The Legend of the Baltic Sea" and "The King of the Winds" are based on Polish folk legends.

The scores adopt some of the traits of Polish folk melodies, especially in their melodic and rhythmic construction. Bruch's post-Romantic language has been stripped away. As a result, Nowowiejki's overtures sound innovative and exciting -- more so than the more conventional pre-war pieces.

The Opole Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra invested a lot in the project, and the results are spectacular. Nowowiejski's music benefits from these readings by his fellow countrymen.

I had not heard of Feliks Nowowiejski before this release. Based on the strength of this music, I want to find more.

Feliks Nowowiejski: Symphonic Works
Overture to the oratorio The Return of the Prodigal Son, Op. 3; Symphonic poem, Op. 17 Nos. 1, Nina and Pergolesi;  Symphonic fantasy, Op. 17 No. 2; Overture to the opera The Legend of the Baltic Sea, Op. 28; Overture to the opera-ballet The King of the Winds, Op. 37
Opole Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra
Przemyslaw Neumann, conductor
DUX 2017

Diabelli Project 223 - Piece for Piano, Part 9

The Diabelli Project is about offering my weekly flash-composition sketches freely to all. Like Antonio Diabelli's theme, these sketches aren't great music. But perhaps (as in Diabelli's case) there's a Beethoven out there who can do great things with them.

I decided to try writing another complete piece in 10-minute weekly installments. It's definitely exercising a different set of creative muscles than my daily work requires.

This week's installment of the Piece for Piano begins in the middle of page 5. Those long, descending lines in the right hand finally reach their destination. Rather than have a crashing climax, I use the repeated chords to slow down the momentum by getting softer.

And that decrescendo leads directly to the double bar, and the return of the opening material. Sort of. I don't like exact repeats, so the right hand is doing a little more this time around. Yes, we're nearing the end of the piece. But we're not there yet.

As always, you can use any or all of the posted Diabelli Project sketches as you wish for free. Just be sure to share the results. I'm always curious to see what direction someone else can take this material.

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalWinter Week 5

For January 2019, #ClassicsaDay went with a winter theme. December's theme, #ClassicalChristmas centered around sacred works of the season. #ClassicalWinter is about sharing secular compositions. that have a snow or winter theme. 

Here are my Classical Winter posts for the last week of January.

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - The Snow Maiden

The transition from winter to spring is one of the themes of this 1882 opera. It was based on an 1873 play with incidental music by Tchaikovsky.

Peter Maxwell Davies - Symphony No. 8 "Antarctic Symphony"

Davies visited the Antarctic, which inspired this symphony. In this 2001 work, Davies wanted to not only depict the landscape but the way in which Antarctica was affected by climate change.

Alexander Glazunov - The Seasons, Op. 67

This 1900 ballet consists of four tableaux, each representing a season. "A winter landscape" is the first tableaux. Dancers represent hoar-frost, ice, snow, hail, and winter itself.

Claude Debussy - Des pas sur la neige

"Footprints in the Snow" is part of Debussy's Préludes, Book I. It was written between 1909 and 1910.