#ClassicsaDay #Classical1925 Week 5

For January 2025 the Classics a Day team challenges you to look back a century. The "modern" era of music was well underway in 1925. Some of the works composed still shock audiences today. 

The challenge is to post classical works that were created, premiered, or recorded for the first time in 1925. Here are my posts for the fifth and final week of #Classical1925.

01/26/25 Gustav Holst: At the Boar's Head

Holst wrote the libretto as well as the music for this one-act opera. It's based on Shakespeare's Henry IV, parts 1 & 2. Holst completed the work in 1924. It premiered the following year with the British National Opera Company.

 

01/27/25 Ferruccio Busoni: Doktor Faust

Busoni worked on the score to this opera for eight years. But in remained unfinished at the time of his death. German composer Philipp Jarnach finished the work based on Busoni's sketches, and the opera premiered in 1925.

 

01/28/25 Leos Janacek: The Makropulos Affair

Janacek took two years to compose this work. The opera premiered in 1925. The original supernatural story was written by Karel Čapek. He's best remembered for coining the word "Robot" for his 1920 story, R.U.R.

 

01/29/25 Leos Janacek: Sarka

This was an early work by Janacek, completed in 1887. Janacek shelved the opera and remained unheard for decades. "Sarka" was finally premiered in 1925 to honor the composer's 71st birthday.

 

02/30/25 Rudolph Friml: The Vagabond King

This 1925 operetta was a smash hit on Broadway, running 551 performances. It was eventually adapted for film starring Dennis King and Jeanette MacDonald.

 

01/31/25 Charles Villiers Stanford: The Travelling Companion

Stanford based his opera on the stories of Hans Christian Anderson. It was composed during World War I, but wasn't premiered until 1925 -- the year after Stanford's death.

 

Next month:

Bruckner: From the Archives Volume 6

SOMM Recordings and the Bruckner Society of America marked the composer's bicentenary in a remarkable fashion. They didn't just release a cycle of Bruckner symphonies. They presented world premiere recordings that presented the composer in various ways. 

The recordings came from the 1930s through the 1970s. They were great performances in their own right. But they also demonstrated how perceptions about Bruckner evolved. 

Symphony No. 8 in C minor is performed by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, directed by Eugen Jochum. The recording is an aircheck of a live run-through from 1957. J

Jochum was the founding conductor of the orchestra and a Bruckner recording pioneer. He first recorded Bruckner in the 1930s. This performance has a lush, romantic sound. But it's one that crackles with energy and drama. 

The Vienna Symphony Orchestra plays Symphony No. 9 in D minor. This was a live performance, broadcast in 1966. Wolfg Sawallisch conducts the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. It's electrifying. Sawallisch and the ensemble seem to push themselves to the limit. 

They probably felt the weight of history. In 1903 the Vienna Symphony Orchestra premiered the work in the very same hall.  

Also included is Psalm 150. Hilde Ceska is the soprano soloist. Henry Swoboda directs the Vienna Akademie Kammerchor and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. This was originally released on Westminster in 1950 -- its world recording premiere. Swoboda was another pre-war champion of Bruckner. His performances (like this one) tend to sound lean and tightly focused. 

John F. Berky, president of the Bruckner Society of America, selected the recordings from their vast archives. Lani Spahr restored and remastered them, with a refreshingly light touch. He simply makes what's recorded sound its best. He refrains from reworking it into something it was never meant to be. 

No matter how many Bruckner recordings you own, this series should be in your collection. There are some truly insightful performances here. And a few that made me hear these very familiar works in new ways.  

Bruckner: From the Archives, Volume 6
Symphonies Nos. 8 and 9; Psalm 150
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra; Eugen Jochum, conductor
Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Wolfgang Sawallisch, conductor
Hilde Ceska, soprano; Vienna Akademie Kammerchor; Vienna Symphony Orchestra; Henry Swoboda, conductor
SOMM Recordings, Ariadne 5034

Charles Ives: Odds and Ends That Somehow Work

 

This is a wonderful collection of odds and ends. And with Charles Ives, odd is good!

The student takes a standard repertoire piano piece and arranges it for orchestra. Ives' orchestrations follow the constructions of the originals. But his mixture of instruments and even added music, preview his mature work. 

Ives was an early adapter of ragtime. It was considered vulgar by most classical composers. Ives doubled down on that prejudice. He based his Four Ragtime Dances on familiar hymn tunes. It's an Ivesian mixture of the sacred and profane. 

The most ambitious work on the album is the Set of Incomplete Works and Fragments. These are fragments of pieces by Ives written throughout his life. 

James Sinclair arranged and orchestrated them into something that works musically. And something that sounds true to the composer. 

Two orchestras participate in this release. The Orchestra New England and the Orquesta Sinfonica de Navarra both give impressive performances. Ives is all about juxtaposition. It could be two or more keys played together. Or instrumental groups playing different tunes in different meters simultaneously.  These place extraordinary demands on the performers. Both orchestras display a high degree of musicianship in handling these challenges. 

This album is definitely one for the Ives completist. But it's also an entertaining listen for anyone wanting to hear something completely different. 

Charles Ives: Orchestral Works
Four Ragtime Dances; Set of Incomplete Works and Fragments; Arrangements
Orchestra New England; Orquesta Sinfonica de Navarra; James Sinclair, conductor
Naxos 

#ClassicsaDay #Classical 1925 Week 4

For January 2025 the Classics a Day team challenges you to look back a century. The "modern" era of music was well underway in 1925. Some of the works composed still shock audiences today. 

The challenge is to post classical works that were created, premiered, or recorded for the first time in 1925. Here are my posts for the fourth week of #Classical1925.

01/20/25 Edward Burlingame Hill: Sonata for Flute and Piano, Op. 31

Hill was an influential composition professor at Harvard University. His students included Leonard Bernstein, Walter Piston, and Virgil Thomson.

 

01/21/25 Maurice Ravel: L'enfant et les sortilèges

After working on it for eight years, Ravel completed his second opera in 1925. In this fairy tale, an ill-tempered child is confronted by the objects and animals he harmed during his tantrums.

 

01/22/25 Eric Coates: Two Light Syncopated Pieces

Coates composed this two-movement suite in 1925. He recorded it the same year with the Queen's Hall Light Orchestra.

 

01/23/25 Herbert Howells: Concerto No. 2 in C major for piano and orchestra

Howells composed his first piano concerto in 1913, while still a student. His second concerto premiered in 1925. Howells said it had "deliberate tunes all the way." And he wasn't wrong.

 

01/24/25 Amy Beach: Jesus My Savior, Op. 112

Beach published many songs throughout her long career. This selection was completed in 1925.

 

New Series Showcases MacDowell's Orchestral Works

Edward MacDowell was a prominent American composer of the 19th Century. His contributions to music are numerous. He created the music department at Columbia University and was its first chair. 

He established the MacDowell Colony for artists. The Edward MacDowell Association supported many American composers at the start of their careers, including Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, and Leonard Bernstein. 

And MacDowell wrote an impressive body of music. Today, he's mostly remembered for one solo piano piece, "To a Wild Rose." This collection does include that hit. But it also showcases MacDowell's more substantial works. 

MacDowell spent eight years in Germany in the 1880s, studying and working with the best. Franz Liszt recommended MacDowell to his publisher. He consulted with Clara Schumann and studied composition with Joachim Raff. 

MacDowell wrote his Piano Concerto No. 1 in 1885, while he was in Germany. It reflects the influences of the composers he worked with. And yet it's a work that's in MacDowell's own voice. It's a big, brawny concerto that should be better known. If you like the Romantic repertoire, you should enjoy this work.

Xiayain Wang delivers a fiery performance. MacDowell was a pianist. This work tests the technique of the soloist, and Wang passes with high marks. This is a real showpiece and Wang doesn't hold back. 

The release includes two tone poems as well. Lancelot and Elaine, Op. 25 was composed in 1888, when MacDowell returned to America. Like the Piano Concerto, it shows the strong influence of the Germanic style. 

Lamia, Op. 29 was written twenty years later. To my ears, it's a more interesting work. MacDowell has found his voice. It's not one full of Americanisms, but it's also not Brahmsian. It's simply... MacDowell.

John Wilson leads the BBC Philharmonic in some well-considered performances. I'm happy to see this is volume one. MacDowell was one of the most important composers of his generation. This album provides some hints as to why. Future volumes should solidify that reputation. And perhaps get rid of that one-hit-wonder perception).

Edward MacDowell: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1
Piano Concerto No. 1; Lancelot and Elaine
To a Wild Rose; Two Fragments; Lamia
Xiayin Wang, piano
BBC Philharmonic; John Wilson, conductor
Chandos CHAN 20305

Carlo Vistoli Delivers Strong Performances of Vivaldi

This release presents countertenor Carlo Vistoli in a program of Vivaldi. Vivaldi wrote a great deal of vocal music, most of it on commission for special occasions.

 This release features his popular Stabat Mater, RV 621. It also includes the vesper psalm Nisi Dominus RV 608. Also included is n furore iustissimæ iræ RV 626. 

The program also features three instrumental works by the Red Priest.  The Concerto for strings in G minor RV 157 opens the program. The Sinfonia in B minor ‘Al Santo Sepolcro’ RV 169 and Concerto ‘Madrigalesco’ in D minor RV 129 are also included.

 It's a smart decision. By alternating between instrumental and vocal works, listener interest is kept high. 

If you only know Vivaldi through "The Four Seasons," give this release a listen. Vivaldi's vocal works are exceptionally well-crafted. And they're idiomatic, existing in a different world than his instrumental compositions. 

Carlo Vistoli has a remarkably strong voice. Countertenors simulate the  vocal sound of the Baroque castrati. To do so, they sing in the range of a mezzo-soprano, without sounding falsetto. It's an art and one that Vistoli has mastered. 

His singing has a nice, full sound. His phrasing is smooth, and his vocal ornamentations sound natural and unforced. His performances were real pleasures to listen to.  

The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin are past masters of historically authentic performances. This ensemble has been active since 1982. It plays with a warm, transparent sound. It's not thin, but rather crystalline and finely balanced. 

The Akademie have a series of landmark recordings in their catalog. This is a strong addition to that list. 

Antonio Vivaldi: Stabat Mater, RV 621
Carlo Vistoli, countertenor
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin; Georg Kallweit, concertmanster
Harmonia Mundi HMM 902383

#ClassicsaDay #Classical1925 Week 3

For January 2025 the Classics a Day team challenges you to look back a century. The "modern" era of music was well underway in 1925. Some of the works composed still shock audiences today. 

The challenge is to post classical works that were created, premiered, or recorded for the first time in 1925. Here are my posts for the third week of #Classical1925.

01/13/25 Ottorino Respighi: Concerto in modo misolidio

Respighi was inspired by the Gregorian chant when creating this work. It was composed and premiered in 1925. Respighi played the piano part at the Carnegie Hall premiere with the New York Philharmonic.

 

01/14/25 Sergei Rachmaninov: Bach - Saraband, from Klavier Partita No. 4 in D major, BWV 828

Rachmanoniv recorded this track for RCA in December of 1925. At that time he had been under contract to RCA for five years.

 

01/15/25 Sergei Prokofiev: Divertimento, Op. 43

Prokofiev began work on this composition in 1925. It would take him four years to complete it.

 

01/16/25 Nicolai Medtner: Dansa Festiva, Op. 38, No. 3

Medtner recorded this composition in 1925 for the Duo-Art piano roll company. It was one of a series of recordings of his music Medtner did for the firm.

 

01/17/25 Heitor Villa-Lobos: Choros No. 8 for orchestra and two pianos

Villa-Lobos wrote a series of Choros for a variety of instrumental combinations. This one was completed in 1925. It premiered two years later, with Tomás Terán, the dedicatee, as one of the pianists.

 

The Golden Age of the Horn - Double Plus Good

 

I am always up for a new Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO) recording. JoAnn Falletta has made this a world-class orchestra and done it in her own way. 

Sure, they've released recordings of the basic repertoire. But their strength is bringing their high degree of musicianship to marginal works. Living composers, 20th-century music, works from different eras and cultures -- all benefit from the BSO magic. 

In this case, it's 18th-century horn concertos. Specifically, concertos for two horns. Jacek Muzyk and Daniel Kerdelewicz are both members of the BPO -- Principal Horn and Associate Principal Horn respectively. Individually and together these two players deliver some exciting and impressive performances. 

In the 18th century, the horn was just a long tube without valves. That limited the notes to the harmonic series of tube. In the low register, notes are spaced far apart. It's only in the extreme upper register that they're close enough together to form scales. This means these performers need lips of steel to get through these concertos!

Both players are using modern instruments with valves. That makes playing the notes easier,  but there's still a lot of playing in the stratosphere. Plus there are rapid arpeggios, trills, and other challenging techniques involved. 

Except for Leopold Mozart, most of these composers may be unfamiliar. But that doesn't mean their music isn't worthy of attention. After hearing these works, I formed a different opinion of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's horn concertos. He may have improved on the form, but he didn't invent it out of whole cloth. He would have been familiar with some of these composers. 

JoAnn Falletta conducts the BPO with a light touch. This is music of the Enlightenment, where elegance and balance were the hallmarks. The performances are so fine one wonders why we don't hear these works in concert -- at least once in a while. 

Highly recommended to anyone interested in the music of Haydn or Mozart. Or any fan of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Golden Age of the Horn
Concertos for Two Horns
Hoffmeister, L. Mozart, Pokorny, Witt
Jacek Muzyk, Daniel Kerdelewicz, horn
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; JoAnn Falletta, conductor
Naxos 8.574646

Wrantizky Symphonies Real Crowd-Pleasers

This is the eighth installment in Naxos' leisurely survey of Paul Wranitzky's orchestral works. I say "leisurely" because it hasn't been a straightforward march through the symphonies. We've been treated to overtures, ballets, and some occasional works along the way.  No complaints here!

This release features three Wrantizky symphonies, including one of his most celebrated. 

The Symphony in C minor, Op. 31 is titled "Grande sinfonie caractéristique pour la paix avec la République françoise." That is, "Grand Characteristic Symphony for Peace with the French Republic." Wranitzky wrote it in 1797. The work depicts the hope that France and Europe can achieve peace. 

In his "1812 Overture," Tchaikovsky used French and Russian anthems to represent the opposing armies.  Wranitzky anticipates this technique for portraying Napoleonic battles almost 100 years before Tchaikovsky. In this case, Wranitzky gives us English and German marches to represent the allies. The third-movement battle music rivals Tchaikovsky's in its use of percussion. Without heavy artillery, that is.

The Symphony in D major, P17 is a more typical Wranitzky symphony. Here the music isn't representational. It's abstract and laid out in the balanced, four-movement framework developed by Haydn. Audiences of the day thought Wranitzky's works rivaled those of Mozart and Haydn. I tend to agree. This is well-crafted music. 

The "Hunt Symphony" is just what the title says it is. The four movements depict a lively hunt through the forest, ending with a kill. Several composers in this era wrote hunt symphonies. All used French horns as hunting horns, blatting out fanfares over bouncing strings. Wrantizky's use of horns is a subtler. And he uses a bass drum to represent the shots from the hunters. 

It's not great art, but it is great fun. And a little better than it needed to be to satisfy his audience. 

Marek Štilec directs the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice. This team has turned in some fine performances for the previous volumes in this series. And they don't disappoint here. The orchestra is small, but it can deliver the power of a larger ensemble when needed. And in the "Grand sinfonie," that quite often. 

Wranitzky wrote 45 symphonies. With this volume, Naxos has recorded 15. This may take a while.

Paul Wranitzky: Orchestral Works, Vol. 8
Grande sinfonie caractéristique pour la paix avec la République françoise
 Symphony in D major; Symphony in E flat major ‘Jagd-Sinfonie’
Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice; Marek Štilec, conductor
Naxos 8.574616

#ClassicsaDay #Classical1925 Week 2

For January 2025 the Classics a Day team challenges you to look back a century. The "modern" era of music was well underway in 1925. Some of the works composed still shock audiences today. 

The challenge is to post classical works that were created, premiered, or recorded for the first time in 1925. Here are my posts for the second week of #Classical1925.

01/06/25 Georges Auric: Cinq Bagatelles for piano 4 hands

Auric was a member of Les Six and actively participated in their collaborative compositions. Cinq Bagatelles was composed in 1925.

 

01/07/25 Arthur Honegger: Judith

The music for "Judith" was first composed for a play of the same name. It premiered in 1925. Honegger recomposed it as an opera the following year, and then in 1927 created an oratorio version.

 

01/08/25 Darius Milhaud: String Quartet No. 7, Op. 87

Milhaud wrote a total of 18 string quartets between 1912 and 1950. His seventh quartet was composed in 1925, the year he married his cousin, the actress Madeline Milhaud.

 

01/09/25 Francis Poulenc: Les Soirées de Nazelles

Geoffrey Bush described this work as "the French equivalent of Elgar's "Enigma Variations." In it, Poulenc presents miniature portraits of his friends. Poulenc himself didn't think much of it in later years.

 

01/10/25 Ferde Grofé: Mississippi Suite

Grofé comfortably straddled the musical worlds of classical and jazz. His 1925 "Mississippi Suite" was released in a shortened form by Paul Whiteman. The full version wouldn't be recorded until 1931.

 

Palestrina Revealed: World Premiere Recordings

 

This is an aptly titled release. "Palestrina Revealed" features five world premiere recordings. So it reveals more of Giovanni Luigi da Palestrina's artistry to the world. 

Second, director Graham Ross had the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge record standing in a circle. These perfectly blended yet perfectly balanced performances reveal the artistry of Palestrina's polyphony.

Ross also chose to intersperse contemporary British choral works into the program. These reveal Palestrina's influence on English composers. They also show his influence on British choral traditions.

Missa Memor esto verbi tui a 5 was first published in 1972. Missa Emendemus in melius a 4 was published in the Missarum liber septimus (1594). Both are models of Palestrina's art. The text is always clearly declaimed and easily understandable. And that holds true no matter how complex the polyphony becomes.

I was most impressed by the performances recorded here. There's a luminous quality to the choir's blend that suits this music. Yet each line was easy to follow throughout. There was also a nice balance of room ambiance. It made the voices sound full, without muddying the sound.

Well executed on every level.

 
Palestrina Revealed
Palestrina, Byrd, White, Mundy
Choir of Clare College, Cambridge; Graham Ross, director
Harmonia Mundi HMM 905375

#ClassicsaDay #Classical1925 Week 1

 For January 2025 the Classics a Day team challenges you to look back a century. The "modern" era of music was well underway in 1925. Some of the works composed still shock audiences today. 

The challenge is to post classical works that were created, premiered, or recorded for the first time in 1925. Here are my posts for the first (partial) week of #Classical1925.

01/01/25 Arnold Schoenberg: Suite for Septet, Op. 29

Schoenberg's 1925 Suite is a complex 12-tone work. The basic theme row is reversed to create new permutations of the 3-4 note motifs of the piece. 

 

01/02/25 Anton Webern: Klavierstück WoO 18

The Klavierstück is one of Webern's unpublished compositions. It was composed in 1925 and was to be played "in the tempo of a minuet."

 

01/03/25 Alban Berg: Wozzek (Interlude)

Berg's landmark opera premiered in 1925. Berg worked on it while serving in the First World War. His disgust at the war's horrors made its way into the composition.

 

Age of Extremes Sympathetic to Empfindsamer Stil

There was a time -- not that long ago -- when the Bach boys were labeled "transitional" composers. Music histories of the day had Johann Sebastian Bach standing at the end of the Baroque Era in 1750. Franz Joseph Haydn, "the father of the symphony" stood at the beginning of the Classical Era in the 1770s. 

And the music written between those two milestones? Well, sort of a mix of Baroque instrumentation with proto-Classical melodies. In other words, transitional. 

Except it wasn't. Especially to those who lived through it. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Wilhelm Friedemann Bach built on the music of their father. But they also contributed to a new style of music -- Empfindsamer Stil (Sensitive Style).

Francesco Corti titled his album "The Age of Extremes." It accurately describes the music it contains, the music of Empfindsamer Stil. Composers of the Baroque Era followed the Doctrine of Affections. That is, each movement should consistently present just one emotion. It's one of the reasons movements in Baroque suites are so short. 

Empfindsamer Stil strove for a more natural expression of music. Melodies became simpler and eschewed the fussy ornamentation of the Baroque. And dramatic contrasts within movements became common. Dynamics also became more nuanced, in search of "natural" expression. And movements became longer to accommodate the contrasts within. 

Corti and Il Pomo d'Oro present works by three composers who embraced this style and made it their own. Georg Benda is represented by two harpsichord concertos. Benda's writing for the instrument is innovative, concentrating on melodic expression.

A harpsichord concerto by Wilhelm Friedemann Bach is also present. He was Johann Sebastian Bach's eldest son. His music, to me, bears strong similarities to his father's work. Wilhelm can't quite let go of melodic ornamentation. And his work doesn't have the relaxed flow of Benda's. All that aside, it's a well-crafted piece of music that deserves an audience. 

Il Pomo d'Oro is a fine ensemble. They play with both delicacy and precision. It gives the music the Empfindsamer Stil hallmarks -- lightness and transparency. And they can deliver the power when needed!

Corti presents two solo harpsichord works by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. He was Johann's second eldest surviving son. As a composer, he was recognized for his innovative use of harmony and manipulation of form. Corti is a phenomenal player, as these works demonstrate. 

Bach's "Les Folies d'Espagne" is not for the faint of heart (or shaky of skill). His Andante in C minor is a simpler work but requires a different skill. It must sound emotive and charming. Easy when played on a piano, but not on a harpsichord. Corti has that skill. 

If you still believe that the music in the 1760s was transitional, give this a listen. Corti shows that Empfindsamer Stil had a distinctive sound and a valid aesthetic all its own.  

The Age of Extremes
Georg Benda; C.P.E. Bach; W.F. Bach
Francesco Corti, harpsichord and conductor
Il Pomo d'Oro
Arcana A573