Topic: Pieces that have blown you away recently

[SymphonicAddict]

Michael Tippet ~ Fantasia Concertante on a theme of Corelli, for string orchestra (1953)

This is a stringent yet lush-sounding work (enough so a colleague called it 'erotic'), and the counterpoint therein is quite stunning.
The piece impressed me greatly, and I've given it several listens already.  It is also a bit striking to me that compared to others of the more-most modern pieces from that decade, this stands out as a composer who was absolutely following the beat of their own drummer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VZv8IxuS1I

This work has to be one of the greatest creations for string orchestra ever composed. The first time I listened to it I was speechless. Sheer overwhelming beauty.

[kyjo]

Frank Martin's Trio sur des mélodies populaires irlandaises (piano trio). An absolutely delightful folk-inspired work, with catchy melodies and rhythms presented in a unique way. Lovers of Ravel or Bax in lively-folksy mood need not hesitate!
https://youtu.be/5w1Fn9_jQMk

[SymphonicAddict]

Hekla



If my memory serves, I didn't remember a work as thundering as this one! Man, Leifs did know how to depict an explosion!! It's just a loud feast, but an interesting one. I'm really shocked in a good way 

[PerfectWagnerite]

He wasn't a student of Schoenberg's, but he was certainly an admirer, though his treatment of rhythm is quite different.  Sessions' music is very traditional in its outward elements, though the inner workings are quite idiosyncratic.  Here are some discs I like:

Didn't know he wrote music to Lilacs also, as I only know the Hindemith one.

The only work I like from Bartok so far is Bluebeard's castle. :/ Seems like I like absolute music less and less as the time goes by...

Admittedly it is an acquired taste. I like Bluebeard and also the Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste but am lukewarm about everything else.

[vandermolen]

Two magnificent works, widely contrasted in mood:

Dmitry Kabalevsky - Piano sonata No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 45: Wow, such a dramatic piano sonata. Composed in 1945, an authentic war sonata: turbulent, relentless, with few moments of rest. Its power is so big that it seems a symphony. What a discovery!

Arthur Meulemans - Symphony No. 3 Fir: Composed in 1933, this is a dreamy, utterly inspiring work, with a noticeable impressionistic influence. The magical landscape Meulemans painted is really fairy. They are around 19 minutes of sheer ecstasy.

I've been blown away by Kabalevsky's Cello Concerto 2, Symphony 4 and Piano Concerto 1. Meulemans's 'Pliny's Fountain' is a beautiful poetic score.

[schnittkease]

I've been blown away by Kabalevsky's Cello Concerto 2, Symphony 4 and Piano Concerto 1. Meulemans's 'Pliny's Fountain' is a beautiful poetic score.

Have you tried the 2nd PC?  A substantial work, while the 3rd is as good as Soviet propaganda gets.  Nothing by Kabalevsky has ever blown me away, but the cello concertos came very close.

[PerfectWagnerite]

Lately I have been bowed over by DSCH's 4th Symphony. That final movement with its 3 note Star Trek like theme ending with those mysterious notes on the celeste is just surreal. I don't think there is anything like it out there and is quite special even by DSCH's high standards.

[arpeggio]

FYI: Please check the OP

I stumbled onto this on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0aiui59aJQ

I have only recordings of two works of Franco Ceasrini: Interlude for Band and Poema Alpestre.  These works were not that impressive, but this symphony blew me away.  If Respighi had composed a real band work this would have been it.

[SymphonicAddict]

FYI: Please check the OP

I stumbled onto this on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0aiui59aJQ

I have only recordings of two works of Franco Ceasrini: Interlude for Band and Poema Alpestre.  These works were not that impressive, but this symphony blew me away.  If Respighi had composed a real band work this would have been it.

Did you say Respighi? This is something I can't miss!

Edit: I'm listening to it and it seems Respighian indeed!! Symphony Nr. 1 'The Archangels'. Epic and glorious!! It can be one of my favorite works for band. I saw a commentary on the video that says: Rozsa and Respighi have a successor. Quite accurate!

Thanks for bringing it to our knowledge.

[arpeggio]

I am also checking out some of his other works on You Tube.  He is a Swiss composer and he has composed some great stuff for band.

[Alberich]

While I am still not the biggest fan of Les Troyens, there is some great music in it, in particular I enjoy the Marche Troyenne that ends the Act 1. The lyrics are great as well and the final cries of "Rayonnez triumphants!" are irresistible earworms.

[Ainsi la nuit]

I was deeply, utterly moved by Janáček's Piano Sonata tonight. His music is so strange, I really struggle to follow his thoughts - but I say that with full admiration, rather than as a negative quality. Listening to his Sinfonietta sent me to another world, and the Violin Sonata remains as elusive as ever. What a great composer! Listening to his music feels like drinking a glass of fresh water after a long drought. I don't give him enough attention; his music sort of remains at the fringes of my listening world - but when he comes back, it feels like I'm greeting an old friend who has a lot of stories and secrets to share with me.

[Mirror Image]

I was deeply, utterly moved by Janáček's Piano Sonata tonight. His music is so strange, I really struggle to follow his thoughts - but I say that with full admiration, rather than as a negative quality. Listening to his Sinfonietta sent me to another world, and the Violin Sonata remains as elusive as ever. What a great composer! Listening to his music feels like drinking a glass of fresh water after a long drought. I don't give him enough attention; his music sort of remains at the fringes of my listening world - but when he comes back, it feels like I'm greeting an old friend who has a lot of stories and secrets to share with me.

Well said, especially the text that I bolded. Janáček is such a superb composer. I still struggle with his operatic music, but it’s no secret around here that opera is far from a favorite genre of mine.

[king ubu]

Holy moly! It contains four pieces by Eastman - but the entire disc just blew me away on first listen last night!

[SymphonicAddict]

More rediscoveries today:

Spring Song, op. 16
In less than 8 minutes, Sibelius achieved an important accomplishment: showing us the spring's splendour, the mature way to handle both the orchestra and the themes. I'm blown away as it says the title of this thread. The work is a punch of beauty and uplifting writing 

The addition of the bells, almost at the ending, gives a tremendous effect.

Music from heaven literally 

[vandermolen]

Definitely Bax's Piano Quintet - thanks to recommendations here (you know who you are  )

[kyjo]

More rediscoveries today:

Spring Song, op. 16
In less than 8 minutes, Sibelius achieved an important accomplishment: showing us the spring's splendour, the mature way to handle both the orchestra and the themes. I'm blown away as it says the title of this thread. The work is a punch of beauty and uplifting writing 

The addition of the bells, almost at the ending, gives a tremendous effect.

Music from heaven literally 

I totally agree! I'm really surprised this gorgeous work isn't better known! Same with his powerful early tone poem The Wood Nymph.

[SymphonicAddict]

Definitely Bax's Piano Quintet - thanks to recommendations here (you know who you are  )

 

[SymphonicAddict]

I totally agree! I'm really surprised this gorgeous work isn't better known! Same with his powerful early tone poem The Wood Nymph.

Yeah, both works would be a real success in concert halls!

[king ubu]

Nice! I've never heard Evil Nigger or Gay Guerrilla played on strings before, although I know those pieces are open instrumentation. I remember Eastman saying, however, that around 18 instruments was what he had in mind (rather than a quartet).

Four times 88 tuned drums should be sufficient, shouldn't it?