Quiz: Mystery scores

[Maciek]

Wow! I didn't think anyone would guess that one so fast. Yes, it is Peanuts (and of course, I posted it because of your recent Stripsody snippet)!

Do you mean 147 then? It's not Verdi. But in a way, you're close.

Thank you for noticing the similarities. (They are not all paired that way, at least I don't think so - that was what I initially meant to do, but then I started adding new ones etc...)

[Luke]

No, I can see it's not Verdi now, looking at the orchestra. But it is something in that vein.

[Luke]

Is 155 Sikorski's Adventures of Sindbad the Sailor?

[Luke]

And 157 the same composer's Passagio d'Inverno?

[Luke]

And 158 his Diaphony?

[Luke]

So maybe 156 is his Music from Afar

[Luke]

152 - Szymanowski, Violin Concerto 1

Of course! Somehow that page on its own looks so much more contemporary-Polish, but once one hears it internally, the illusion ceases.

[Maciek]

Ha ha ha! You're on a roll! Yes, Adventures of Sindbad the Sailor (I was hoping it that would be getable ). I have never heard it, unfortunately, though there was a performance in Warsaw two years ago, I think. It's a great book, by the way.

And yes, the Polish title of 157 is Pejzaz zimowy - I guess what you're quoting should be the Italian version (I don't think he wrote anything else with "winter").

And 158 is Diaphony. It's the whole score, in a sense. Though of course there's also a second part where A, B, and C are notated in a slightly more detailed fashion .

And 156 is Music from Afar - a really striking piece, the only performance I have ever heard was just breathtaking, so I was a bit surprised to see now how vague the chorus part is - as it all really hinges on that chorus.

And 152 is Szymanowski. It's from the very, very end. I just thought it was nice how the whole gigantic score is at that point contracted into such a gentle, soft afterthought. That could be called "Music from Afar" too!

[Luke]

145 is clearly Don Giovanni (WAM)

[Luke]

148 = Saint Saens Danse Macabre

[Luke]

153 is Sikorski too - Zerstreutes Hinausschauen

[Maciek]

145 is clearly Don Giovanni (WAM)

It is! I had no idea woodwinds used to be notated in the middle of a score like that. Not sure what the seating was in those days, but if it hasn't changed much, then this would reflect seating quite well. Or was there some other reason?

148 = Saint Saens Danse Macabre

Yes, it is!

153 is Sikorski too - Zerstreutes Hinausschauen

Precisely.

[Luke]

It is! I had no idea woodwinds used to be notated in the middle of a score like that. Not sure what the seating was in those days, but if it hasn't changed much, then this would reflect seating quite well. Or was there some other reason?

Do you know, I'm not sure exactly what was going on, it has always seemed quite a logical arrangement to me, one that groups instruments by their most frequent function (i.e. melodic, harmonic, impact-giving, bass line) as well as by their family. But I really don't know the details of how it emerged and how it subsided, and whether anyone has really studied it.

[Maciek]

I can see how this can easily get out of hand, so I'm doing an index to mine quickly. Because I'm getting confused!

As Luke noted, most of these are paired because of some similarity or what I perceived as a similarity - but as far as I know, none of the similarities were intended by the composers (I may be wrong, of course). The only exception being 144 - it is likely that the composer was doing that on purpose, because he was very fond of Tchaikovsky.

141 Ravel's Tombeau de Couperin, II. Forlane (guess by EigenUser)
142 ?? can't think of a good hint... hm, large score, turn of the century, performed often, one of the most popular things by this composer, a full performance usually takes around 2 hours (well, that's how much it would take if it was performed in one go, which it isn't, but whatever); more: major work in this genre and one of the most popular; should become more obvious once 147 is guessed
143 Tchaik's 1st PC (guessed by Luke)
144 ?? as noted above, the similarity to Tchaikovsky may be a sort of emulative homage; it's a concerto, if you haven't noticed (but I'm sure you have); more: composer died young (only a little older than Schubert) in a tragic accident
145 Mozart Don Giovanni (guessed by Luke)
146 this is a concerto too Saint-Saens PC2 (guessed by Luke)
147 ?? well, it isn't Verdi, but that's the right direction; more: this little motive returns several times (though not as an exact repetition) in the work
148 Saint Saens Danse Macabre (guessed by Luke)
149 Charlie Brown's Kite from You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, words and music by Clark Gesner (guessed by Luke)
150 Nina Simone's My Baby Just Cares For Me [lyrics by Gus Kahn, original song by Walter Donaldson] (guessed by Luke)
151 comparatively obscure, I guess, though I've found three different recordings on Spotify; listening to this, I kept hearing bits and pieces of specific works by other composers: a bit by Prokofiev, a bit by Debussy, etc.; and also, in a different way, this composer has something in common with Ravel Erkki Melartin's Fantasia apocaliptica [Piano Sonata No.1] (guessed by amw)
152 Szymanowski Violin Concerto no. 1 (guessed by Luke)
153 TOMASZ Sikorski - Widok z okna ogladany w roztargnieniu/Zerstreutes Hinausschauen (guessed by Luke)
154 ?? don't know how to give a hint to this; I'd just point out the tempo (it would be easy to miss it and imagine this played much faster) and, in case you were wondering , it's by a Polish composer; more: one of John Tilbury's recent albums is dedicated to this composer
155 Tomasz Sikorski Adventures of Sindbad the Sailor (guessed by Luke)
156 Tomasz Sikorski Music from Afar (guessed by Luke)
157 Tomasz Sikorski Pejzaz zimowy/Paesaggio d'inverno/Winter landscape (guessed by Luke)
158 Tomasz Sikorski Diaphony (guessed by Luke)

[Maciek]

Do you know, I'm not sure exactly what was going on, it has always seemed quite a logical arrangement to me, one that groups instruments by their most frequent function (i.e. melodic, harmonic, impact-giving, bass line) as well as by their family. But I really don't know the details of how it emerged and how it subsided, and whether anyone has really studied it.

That's very interesting, I didn't notice the "functional" aspect!

[Maciek]

492/10 - Mega obscure (though it is recorded on Naxos), this comes from a large collection of harpsichord pieces grouped by key. This one is pretty extraordinary in sound, and worth a listen.

That took a while to identify, but here it is:
Gaspard Le Roux - Pièces de clavessin

[Luke]

Blimey, wasn't expecting that one to go without more clues (and I wasn't really sure what clues I could give, either, so thanks!)

[EigenUser]

Set by EigenUser
9 - ? -
18 - ? -
20 - ? -
21 - ? -
22 - ? -

Some clues:
9. I must say that I am surprised that no one has found this one yet! It is a great little piece by one of the major-est of major 20C composers.
18. Hint already given.
20. The title is a bit weird. Some sort of futuristic-alien sounding language.
21. Another major 20C composer. The work has a simplistic title more reminiscent of Feldman.
22. In one section the composer asks the soloist to play "like a muted jazz trumpet". The instrument is not a muted jazz trumpet, though! In another section, he pays tribute to a legendary musician with an annotation "Here's to you, Satchmo!"

[Karl Henning]

Bugger, slow internet and I missed that one!

Tchaik's 1st PC is in there too. I haven't looked properly yet, they were the two low-hanging fruit I saw immediately.

143, aye.

[Karl Henning]

Some clues:
9. I must say that I am surprised that no one has found this one yet!

FWIW, I cannot see your images here in the office.