GMG Classical Music Forum

The Music Room => General Classical Music Discussion => Topic started by: André on September 10, 2017, 09:25:57 AM

Title: Single symphony
Post by: André on September 10, 2017, 09:25:57 AM
Some composers did not dabble in the standard symphonic model at all (Chopin, Ravel, Revueltas, Verdi etc) while some others tiptoed around the symphonic form but did not adhere to the standard four movement model (Liszt and Strauss for example). Franck, Lalo, Chausson wrote just one. As if out of a sense of duty...  Franck's symphony is famous for its ingenious combination of scherzo/andante in a single central movement. It's probably the best known of those symphonic "orphans" out there.

What are those symphonies with no siblings in a composer's output that you really like?

Here's one I particularly like: Bernard Herrmann's lone Symphony. It's been recorded twice if I'm not mistaken.  It's a confident, majestic work, superbly orchestrated. Not for a single moment does one feel the composer laboured to make it through. Indeed, a sequel or two would have been most welcome !

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51-AUhYEGdL.jpg).
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: Cato on September 10, 2017, 10:17:10 AM
Quote from: André on September 10, 2017, 09:25:57 AM
Some composers did not dabble in the standard symphonic model at all (Chopin, Ravel, Revueltas, Verdi etc) while some others tiptoed around the symphonic form but did not adhere to the standard four movement model (Liszt and Strauss for example). Franck, Lalo, Chausson wrote just one. As if out of a sense of duty...  Franck's symphony is famous for its ingenious combination of scherzo/andante in a single central movement. It's probably the best known of those symphonic "orphans" out there.

What are those symphonies with no siblings in a composer's output that you really like?

Here's one I particularly like: Bernard Herrmann's lone Symphony. It's been recorded twice if I'm not mistaken.  It's a confident, majestic work, superbly orchestrated. Not for a single moment does one feel the composer laboured to make it through. Indeed, a sequel or two would have been most welcome !

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51-AUhYEGdL.jpg).

Many thanks, Andre'!

The symphony by Chausson is really great also!

Never to be forgotten:

Hans Rott:

[asin]B01FIT4DCS[/asin]

Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: André on September 10, 2017, 10:39:48 AM
Yes, Leo! Of course, Rott's E major symphony is also a work of the first rank. According to Wikipedia he left an unfinished second symphony. I doubt anything will ever be made of it, so this E major work is the only one we'll ever hear from this lamented composer.

Mine is another version, from the Cincinnati Symphony under Gerhard Samuel. All told, I counted 7 recordings, enough of a critical mass to allow for diverse interpretive POVs. I wonder which are recommended ?

[Edit: make that 8 recordings!]
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: Christo on September 10, 2017, 10:54:54 AM
Single symphonies by:
* Ludvig Irgens Jensen
* Arthur Benjamin
* Alf Hurum
* Zoltán Kodály

And, of course:
Johannes Verhulst (1816-1891) – 1
Anton Berlijn (1817-1870) – 1
Johannes Franciscus Dupont (1822-1875) – 1
Willem Frederik Gerard Nicolai (1829-1896) – 1
Gerard Hamm (1835-1904) – 1
Leander Schlegel (1844-1913) – 1
Henri Viotta (1848-1933) – 1
Hubert de Blanck (1856-1932) – 1
Willem Kes (1856-1934) – 1
Gotfried Hendrik Mann (1858-1904) – 1
Willem Henri Lucas (1858-1936) – 1
Anton Averkamp (1861-1934) – 1
Pieter Anne van Westrheene (1863-1929) – 1
Cornélie van Oosterzee (1863-1943) – 1
Carel Oberstadt (1871-1940) – Unfinished
Constant van de Wall (1871-1945) – 1
Dirk Schäfer (1873-1931) – 1
Hubert Cuypers (1873-1960) – 1
Anna Lambrechts-Vos (1876-1932) – 1
Elisabeth Kuyper (1877-1953) – 1 (lost)
Hugo van Dalen (1888-1967) – 1
Jan Bartelsman (1889-1948) – 1
Jaap Kool (1890-1959) – 1
Jakob van Domselaer (1890–1960) – 1
Johanna Bordewijk-Roepman (1892–1971) – 1
Atma Kenswil (1892-1985) – 1
Marius Monnikendam (1896-1977) – 1
Hans Bunge (1898-1973) – 1
Henk van Kempen (= Henri Carf, 1899-1984) – Sinfonia brevis
Leo Smit (1900-1943) – 1
Wim van Hoek (1901-1957) – 1
Julius Hijman (1901-1969) – 1
Iet Stants (1903-1968) – 1
Géza Frid (1904-1989) – 1
Kees van Baaren (1906-1970) – Sinfonia
Jan Felderhof (1907-2006) – 1
Johan Franco (1908-1988) – 1 
Jaap Drijfhout van Hooff (1912-1993) – 1 (unf.)
Cor de Groot (1914-1993) – 1
Marius Flothuis (1914-2001) – 1
Bernard Renooij (1915-2007) – 1
Alfred J. van Rossum (1917-1991) – 1
François Steenhuis (1918-1956) – 1 (unf.)
Nico Hermans (1919-1988) – 1
Nico Schuyt (1922-1992) – 1
Wim Franken (1922–2012) – 1
Sas Bunge (1924-1980) – 1
Ludwig Otten (1924-) – 1
Piet Kingma (1926-1994) – 1
Robert Heppener (1925-2009) – 1
Daniël Wayenberg (1929-) – 1
Tera de Marez Oyens (1932–1996) – 1
Bernard van Beurden (1933-) – 1
Louis Andriessen (1939-) – 1
Daan Manneke (1939-) – Sinfonia
Geert van Keulen (1943-) – 1
Frank den Herder (1952-) – 1
Jeff Hamburg (1956-) – 1
8)
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: André on September 10, 2017, 11:15:33 AM
"Of course"  indeed  :D ! And that's just the Dutch contingent, right ?
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: SymphonicAddict on September 10, 2017, 11:31:57 AM
These ones are my 'orphan' favorites (not mentioned yet):

Dietrich
Dukas
Bargiel
Grieg
de Boeck
Beach
Vierne
Hausegger
Karlowicz
Respighi
Moeran
Guridi
Garofalo
Lindberg, Oskar
Korngold
Tovey
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: Sergeant Rock on September 10, 2017, 12:15:18 PM
Quote from: André on September 10, 2017, 10:39:48 AMI wonder which are recommended ?

I own five.

SEGERSTAM
WEIGLE
DAVIES
P.JÄRVI
ALBRECHT

They all have strong points in their favor. Our Clydebankian Rott fan thinks Segerstam the best (or he did at one time; not sure of it's still his favorite). Jens and I prefer Weigle (who makes the incessant triangle part in the finale less irritating). Järvi is my second choice with Albrecht third (he brings out the Bruckner influence in the score).

Sarge




Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: Sergeant Rock on September 10, 2017, 12:28:34 PM
Quote from: André on September 10, 2017, 09:25:57 AM.
What are those symphonies with no siblings in a composer's output that you really like?

Korngold above all, with Rott and Herrmann not far behind. Then Moeran and Franck.

Sarge
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: André on September 10, 2017, 12:54:53 PM
Quote from: Sergeant Rock on September 10, 2017, 12:15:18 PM
I own five.

SEGERSTAM
WEIGLE
DAVIES
P.JÄRVI
ALBRECHT

They all have strong points in their favor. Our Clydebankian Rott fan thinks Segerstam the best (or he did at one time; not sure of it's still his favorite). Jens and I prefer Weigle (who makes the incessant triangle part in the finale less irritating). Järvi is my second choice with Albrecht third (he brings out the Bruckner influence in the score).

Sarge

Thanks for the input, Sarge ! I notice Segerstam's timings are some 7-9 minutes over the competition. I suppose he manages to make it sound both heavier and more accented ? I'll check the Weigle and Järvi for sure.

Must listen to the Korngold (never heard it  :-X). Is Previn a good buy ? Is Worse Than Most better than his reputation allows ? The symphony is nicely coupled with other Korngold goodies in a few twofers.
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: André on September 10, 2017, 01:01:52 PM
Quote from: SymphonicAddict on September 10, 2017, 11:31:57 AM
These ones are my 'orphan' favorites (not mentioned yet):

Dietrich
Dukas
Bargiel
Grieg
de Boeck
Beach
Vierne
Hausegger
Karlowicz
Respighi
Moeran
Guridi
Garofalo
Lindberg, Oskar
Korngold
Tovey

I know the Vierne, de Boeck, Karlowicz, Lindberg and Moeran symphonies. Some nice things in that list ! From Belgium there is also Mortelmans' Homerische symfonie that I enjoy. A strong work.
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: Sergeant Rock on September 10, 2017, 01:09:25 PM
Quote from: André on September 10, 2017, 12:54:53 PM
Thanks for the input, Sarge ! I notice Segerstam's timings are some 7-9 minutes over the competition. I suppose he manages to make it sound both heavier and more accented ? I'll check the Weigle and Järvi for sure.

Must listen to the Korngold (never heard it  :-X). Is Previn a good buy ? Is Worse Than Most better than his reputation allows ? The symphony is nicely coupled with other Korngold goodies in a few twofers.

W-M is is excellent, especially if you think you might prefer a swifter account. But my favorite is Previn. Intensely dramatic even though considerably slower than W-M in the first movement.

Korngold Symphony F sharp major
                            I         II         III        IV        Total
Welser-Möst         12:50    9:48   14:45   10:11   47:34
Kempe                 14:12    9:14   15:04   10:23   48:53
Albrecht               14:50    9:56   15:20   10:25   50.31 
Downes                14:14  10:14   16:28   10:24   51:20
Previn                  15:55  10:32   16:09   10:31   53:07
Storgards             15:55  11:03   15:36   11:11   53:48


Sarge
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: BasilValentine on September 10, 2017, 04:53:28 PM
My favorite singleton symphony is Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra. You weren't really fooled by the title, were you? It was a good choice because it obviates the centuries of "What, only one? How sad" that would have followed had it been called Symphony. 
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: André on September 10, 2017, 04:55:59 PM
Thanks for that, Sarge. Now I might decide between Welser-Möst and Previn based on the couplings - and eventually acquire both!

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51I7rrmUiAL._SX355_.jpg)
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51ucJXV7U3L._SX355_.jpg)

These are 2 versions of the Welser-Möst, differently coupled. Then there is the Previn on DG (now Eloquence):

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71FLW7lU75L._SX355_.jpg)
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: kyjo on September 10, 2017, 09:37:50 PM
The Korngold Symphony in F-sharp is a magnificent work that makes me wish he had written more symphonies. He was working on a second symphony at the time of his death, apparently...
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: some guy on September 11, 2017, 02:43:25 AM
Quote from: α | ì Æ ñ on September 10, 2017, 05:26:10 PM
Webern's, which is in two movements (of which one is made up of lots of short variations)
Ah good. A mention for Webern.

You probably know Zimmermann's, too, no? That's a real stunner.

Also Z'ev's so-called symphony #2.

And, again, since we're talking about things called symphonies, Dhomont's Frankenstein Symphony.

Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: Karl Henning on September 11, 2017, 02:54:09 AM
So far, there is only one Henning Symphony.  (Just saying.)
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: Maestro267 on September 11, 2017, 10:22:22 AM
One that hasn't been mentioned yet is George Dyson's Symphony in G major.

I enjoy Franck's Symphony from time to time, and Moeran's too.
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: Cato on September 11, 2017, 10:31:04 AM
Louis Vierne composed six large symphonies for organ, but only one for the symphony orchestra: a wonderful work, but... you knew that!  8)


[asin]B0000285FK[/asin]


On YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/v/WmFEN1xtf6I
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: vandermolen on September 12, 2017, 12:08:17 AM
Definitely agree with Andre about the Bernard Herrmann of which I have both recordings and with Johan about Alf Hurum's Symphony which is a wonderful work.

Now, let me think:

Jean-Michel Damase: a lovely work.
Moeran (I know he started to compose a second one)
Hubert Clifford: Symphony 1940
Cesar Frank
Korngold (Kempe/Previn versions although I also like the poorly-reviewed Storgards)
Arthur Benjamin
Ippolitov-Ivanov (think he only wrote one)
Holst: First Choral Symphony  (there was no second and I'm excluding the early Cotswold one)
Tovey
Rott
Bliss: A Colour Symphony (Morning Heroes is even better but more of an oratorio)
Austin
Roslavets: Chamber Symphony
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: The new erato on September 12, 2017, 04:31:57 AM
Frank Martin has one, fine, symphony.
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: kyjo on September 12, 2017, 07:34:00 AM
Quote from: vandermolen on September 12, 2017, 12:08:17 AM
Alf Hurum's Symphony which is a wonderful work.

Agreed, Jeffrey. I treasure that Simax CD that includes his Symphony along with his String Quartet and tone poem Bendik and Arolilja. It's a pity he composed so little music.
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: André on September 12, 2017, 10:05:24 AM
Quote from: Cato on September 11, 2017, 10:31:04 AM
Louis Vierne composed six large symphonies for organ, but only one for the symphony orchestra: a wonderful work, but... you knew that!  8)


[asin]B0000285FK[/asin]


On YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/v/WmFEN1xtf6I

Also available in the 50-disc Liège Philharmonic box, which I have plugged championed many times on GMG  ;D

.............................................................

Thanks, Jeffrey for mentioning the Colour Symphony. This is probably one of the best works in the genre out there. Very strong symphony from an extremely fine composer (love his choral music, too).
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: pjme on September 12, 2017, 10:27:54 PM
Quote from: The new erato on September 12, 2017, 04:31:57 AM
Frank Martin has one, fine, symphony.

Wonderful work, indeed. The use of two piano's is stirring .



Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: André on September 13, 2017, 05:00:53 AM
It's so taken for granted that nobody has yet mentioned the maiden effort of 17 year old Georges Bizet!

Multiple dozens of recordings exist. Practically every french/belgian/swiss conductor of note had a go or two at it. It is as charming, exhilarating, frothy, saucy and melodious as Prokofiev's first symphony, "Classical" (they are sometimes coupled together, with good reason).

* There is a "sort of" second symphony in the form of Roma his "Fantaisie symphonique: souvenirs de Rome" (that's how it was described at the 1869 première). It is variously described as "symphony" or "suite" on the extant discs on the market.
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: starrynight on September 13, 2017, 11:48:29 PM
Fairly amazed nobody mentioned Arriaga.
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: pjme on September 14, 2017, 12:04:58 AM
Browsing through my cd's I found this:

https://www.youtube.com/v/zyZKhGoJE9o

Impressive! Three movements : Intrada - Capriccio - Ode .
Boston SO conducted by Fine himself. The rest of the program was done by Leinsdorf.

From the ASO's website:http://americansymphony.org/irving-fine-symphony-1962/


Born December 3, 1914, in Boston
Died August 23, 1962, in Boston

Composed in 1962 in Boston on commission from the Boston Symphony Orchestra
Premiered on March 23, 1962 in Boston by the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Charles Munch
Performance Time: Approximately 22 minutes

Irving Fine was born, educated, taught, and died in Boston. His childhood was miserable on a Mahlerian scale: his parents were an ill-matched and quarrelsome pair. As musicologist Howard Pollack has noted, there are numerous depictions of parents throughout his work. Some are chilling, some ironic, but few are benign. Unsurprisingly, this led Fine to seek out father figures, including Walter Piston, his teacher at Harvard, and Igor Stravinsky, whom he met in 1939. He found a loyal friend in Aaron Copland, with whom he taught at Tanglewood.

Given the circumstances of his early life, it is unsurprising that Fine cultivated a certain detachment in both his personality and his music. Piston, who combined reserve with rectitude, may have provided a model for Fine in this regard. (Piston resigned from the Harvard Musical Association in 1948 when one of its members blackballed Fine's nomination because he was Jewish.) Fine became disenchanted with Piston's music by the late 1950s, however, writing that his erstwhile teacher's scores "no longer offers us any surprises."

No such reservations marred his admiration for Stravinsky. This affection was only intensified by Fine's study with Nadia Boulanger, who was the Russian composer's most ardent and loyal champion. Indeed, the objectivity of Stravinsky's neo-classical aesthetic had a profound and lasting influence on Fine's music. Like Stravinsky, Fine was often drawn to droll subjects: one of Fine's beloved scores in the repertory today is his witty Three Choruses from Alice in Wonderland for chorus and piano (1942).

Fine began to compose using Schoenberg's "twelve-tone technique" slightly before Stravinsky began his own exploration of this method in 1951. Fine was never doctrinaire, however, and his serialized music evinces an admirable independence of thought. Fine's late Symphony (1962) represents the culmination of his style in the directness of the opening movement, the Stravinskian wit of the second, and the unremitting tragedy of the finale. Sadly, Fine died of a massive coronary thrombosis at the age of forty-seven just eleven days after conducting the Symphony at Tanglewood.

Three recordings :

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/510nMUcUctL._SS500.jpg)
(https://img.discogs.com/5iG0JCCeDr58pjWHfVXCdvXvkuk=/fit-in/300x300/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(40)/discogs-images/R-10391468-1496538200-3194.jpeg.jpg)
(http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2015-03-03-bmop.jpg)
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: André on September 14, 2017, 07:05:56 AM
Irving Fine''s symphony is a beauty. I have the first 2 discs you show. Will look for the other one (thanks for that!). Fine also composed Blue Towers, a racy little orchestral piece that stubbornly refuses to leave the mind after hearing it. It's on 2 of those discs.
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: pjme on September 14, 2017, 07:12:22 AM
I had completely forgotten this symphony by Irving Fine. Reading comments on GMG helps to go back.
It is indeed a strong work (in a language I like). Will look out for Blue towers.
P.
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: André on September 14, 2017, 07:27:12 AM
Blue Towers is on a few Youtube clips.

It seems to be popular with student or 'regional' orchestras. Its 3 minutes' duration won't strain anyone's patience  :D
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: Cato on September 14, 2017, 07:57:47 AM
Quote from: pjme on September 14, 2017, 07:12:22 AM
I had completely forgotten this symphony by Irving Fine. Reading comments on GMG helps to go back.
It is indeed a strong work (in a language I like). Will look out for Blue towers.
P.

Yes indeed!

Not to be forgotten, although it might appear in some of the longer lists already submitted: Kodaly's only symphony!

https://www.youtube.com/v/MUZuhU87yiU
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: Christo on September 14, 2017, 08:08:25 AM
Quote from: Cato on September 14, 2017, 07:57:47 AMNot to be forgotten, although it might appear in some of the longer lists already submitted: Kodaly's only symphony!
Quote from: Christo on September 10, 2017, 10:54:54 AMSingle symphonies by:
* Ludvig Irgens Jensen
* Arthur Benjamin
* Alf Hurum
* Zoltán Kodály
Actually, I find it weaker than much of his orchestral output before; indeed the Concerto for Orchestra and Theatre Overture are in some sense more 'symphonic' than the symphony.
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: kyjo on September 14, 2017, 02:15:49 PM
Perhaps it's no earth-shattering masterpiece, but I really enjoy the Kodaly Symphony. The slow movement is very atmospheric and the rollicking finale has an obstinately catchy main theme.
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: Ken B on September 14, 2017, 04:06:52 PM
Quote from: André on September 13, 2017, 05:00:53 AM
It's so taken for granted that nobody has yet mentioned the maiden effort of 17 year old Georges Bizet!

Multiple dozens of recordings exist. Practically every french/belgian/swiss conductor of note had a go or two at it. It is as charming, exhilarating, frothy, saucy and melodious as Prokofiev's first symphony, "Classical" (they are sometimes coupled together, with good reason).

* There is a "sort of" second symphony in the form of Roma his "Fantaisie symphonique: souvenirs de Rome" (that's how it was described at the 1869 première). It is variously described as "symphony" or "suite" on the extant discs on the market.

I mentioned Bizet.
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: André on September 14, 2017, 05:02:55 PM
Hi Ken, sorry for the oversight!  ;)

....................................................

I hadn't listened to this in a long while:

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/612ldTImQDL.jpg)

Otto Olsson's symphony from 1902 is of brucknerian length: 57 minutes, with a 23 minutes Adagio. That movement is simply one of the most beautiful I have heard, a long elegy where time suspends its flight - to quote Lamartine. The 23 year old composer clearly had lots to say. The whole thing is a bit of an omnium-gatherum, but it endears itself on the listener. It actually picks up strength as it proceeds. Until the end of that adagio, that is. I can't imagine a last movement that would do this beauty justice.
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: Karl Henning on September 15, 2017, 06:30:27 AM
Quote from: kyjo on September 14, 2017, 02:15:49 PM
Perhaps it's no earth-shattering masterpiece, but I really enjoy the Kodaly Symphony. The slow movement is very atmospheric and the rollicking finale has an obstinately catchy main theme.

Whether or not this is strictly parenthetical in the present thread . . . nothing wrong with deep admiration for even that music whose ambition is not to shatter the earth  8)
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: some guy on September 15, 2017, 11:17:27 AM
Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on September 15, 2017, 06:30:27 AM
Whether or not this is strictly parenthetical in the present thread . . . nothing wrong with deep admiration for even that music whose ambition is not to shatter the earth  8)
The following IS strictly parenthetical:

I understand and appreciate the sentiment. Indeed, it is a sentiment I have been at some pains over the years to promote.

But I have recently been spending more time listening to music on youtube. And so I've been increasingly put off by things like those things labelled "MUST HEAR." Not that I had any illusions, but now I see "MUST HEAR," and I know that that particular piece can safely remain unheard.

I'm still tightly holding on to the philosophical premise with both hands, but I must say my philosophy has really been taking a beating at the hands of all the must hear folks as well as a plethora of others not so labelled but still pretty awful. And by awful I mean clumsy and gawky and amateurish--clunky and deeply embarrassing music that makes Dvorak's fourth sound like the height of sophistication and variety, that makes Ives' first sound like an utterly surprising and unpredictable journey.

I like both of those, too, by the way, but I wouldn't profess to any deep admiration for either of them. Nor for all the Kallinikov and Ippolitov-Ivanov or Larssen that I enjoy. I have felt many times over the years and many times on this very thread that I'm in the very coolest restaurant in Paris with the most extensive wine cellar surrounded by people waxing rhapsodic over glasses of water. And not just any water, but tepid water at that. But, since water has many virtues, I'm going to alter this analogy a bit and say that the people around me are waxing rhapsodic over cheap Gallo wines. (How did those get to Paris??) And I'm not so sure that a lot of the music I've been clicking on at youtube even comes up to that level. But seriously. There is a lot of really fine wine in the world. I think there's a lot of virtue in trying everything as one develops a palate. I also think there's a lot to be said for a spirit of adventure, generally. But drinking cheap wine and listening to UnsungMasterworks' MUST HEAR pieces does not qualify as adventurous in my book. It qualifies very definitely as safety, as the intellectual and aesthetic laziness that insists on the utterly familiar and comfortable at any cost.

So sure, be warm and cozy if you will. I like a bit of coze myself from time to time, but please let's not talk about Korngold or Hermann as if they were the best thing since sliced bread. They're not. I'm not even so sure that sliced bread is all THAT wonderful. :)

Here's a wee bit adventure--I'm guessing I've lost my audience completely, anyway, so have nothing to lose:

https://soundcloud.com/fragment-factory/gregory-buettner-tonarm-p-s-1?in=fragment-factory/sets/gregory-buttner-tonarm-ps-cs-excerpts-frag42
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: Karl Henning on September 15, 2017, 11:42:14 AM
Quote from: some guy on September 15, 2017, 11:17:27 AM
So sure, be warm and cozy if you will.

Okay!

https://www.youtube.com/v/V-KeuEdIL4U
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: some guy on September 15, 2017, 11:54:16 AM
Hahaha, good one, Karl!

Though I'm not convinced that that is a very good example of warmth or coziness....

It is pretty, but it's got some strange little quirks to it, like all your stuff has. It's not so much a down comforter as it is a nice soft, furry cat.

Yeah. You get the idea. ;D
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: Cato on September 15, 2017, 02:07:47 PM
Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on September 15, 2017, 11:42:14 AM
Okay!

https://www.youtube.com/v/V-KeuEdIL4U

Quote from: some guy on September 15, 2017, 11:54:16 AM
Hahaha, good one, Karl!

Though I'm not convinced that that is a very good example of warmth or coziness....

It is pretty, but it's got some strange little quirks to it, like all your stuff has. It's not so much a down comforter as it is a nice soft, furry cat.

Yeah. You get the idea. ;D

Things Like Bliss has nothing to do with Sir Arthur!   8)
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: kyjo on September 15, 2017, 03:13:14 PM
Quote from: André on September 14, 2017, 05:02:55 PM
Hi Ken, sorry for the oversight!  ;)

....................................................

I hadn't listened to this in a long while:

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/612ldTImQDL.jpg)

Otto Olsson's symphony from 1902 is of brucknerian length: 57 minutes, with a 23 minutes Adagio. That movement is simply one of the most beautiful I have heard, a long elegy where time suspends its flight - to quote Lamartine. The 23 year old composer clearly had lots to say. The whole thing is a bit of an omnium-gatherum, but it endears itself on the listener. It actually picks up strength as it proceeds. Until the end of that adagio, that is. I can't imagine a last movement that would do this beauty justice.

Sounds intriguing, Andre. Thanks for the recommendation :)
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: SymphonicAddict on September 17, 2017, 01:49:48 PM
(http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_500/MI0001/017/MI0001017188.jpg?partner=allrovi.com)

Adolphe Biarent's only symphony in D minor. It has been a recent discovery. There's nothing challenging, just enjoyable music.
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: Monsieur Croche on September 30, 2017, 10:47:15 PM
Quote from: André on September 13, 2017, 05:00:53 AM
It's so taken for granted that nobody has yet mentioned the maiden effort of 17 year old Georges Bizet!

Multiple dozens of recordings exist. Practically every french/belgian/swiss conductor of note had a go or two at it. It is as charming, exhilarating, frothy, saucy and melodious as Prokofiev's first symphony, "Classical" (they are sometimes coupled together, with good reason).

* There is a "sort of" second symphony in the form of Roma his "Fantaisie symphonique: souvenirs de Rome" (that's how it was described at the 1869 première). It is variously described as "symphony" or "suite" on the extant discs on the market.
Ahhh.  Very well-deserved mention, and as well qualified as, really, his only symphony.

Bizet wrote this one month after turning 17 and finished it just about one month later -- as a student assignment, and never pushed it forward to performance, thinking it owed to much to his teacher, Charles Gounod.  It remained among his private papers after his death, changed hands, and did not see its first public performance until 1935!

It is a youthful masterpiece, and a real delight.

The most incisive performance I've found, and prefer
https://www.youtube.com/v/JtiOCpSalLw
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: Jo498 on October 01, 2017, 02:24:30 AM
Since its rediscovery in the 1930s it has easily and clearly eclipsed Gounod's symphonies. Allthough the latter had probably been mostly forgotten already by then.
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: Monsieur Croche on October 01, 2017, 02:52:53 AM
Quote from: Jo498 on October 01, 2017, 02:24:30 AM
Since its rediscovery in the 1930s it has easily and clearly eclipsed Gounod's symphonies. Allthough the latter had probably been mostly forgotten already by then.

It certainly still sounds directly vital to these 'modern' ears ;-)
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: Christo on October 01, 2017, 03:03:42 AM
Quote from: Monsieur Croche on October 01, 2017, 02:52:53 AMIt certainly still sounds directly vital to these 'modern' ears ;-
Bizet was certainly one of the most gifted composers of the whole 19th century and his early death was a tragic loss. We didn't mention this early masterpiece before, however, since of course he wrote two symphonies:

Symphony in C major (1855)
'Roma' Symphony (also in C major) (1860–71)
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: André on October 01, 2017, 05:31:48 AM
Quote from: Monsieur Croche on September 30, 2017, 10:47:15 PM
Ahhh.  Very well-deserved mention, and as well qualified as, really, his only symphony.

Bizet wrote this one month after turning 17 and finished it just about one month later -- as a student assignment, and never pushed it forward to performance, thinking it owed to much to his teacher, Charles Gounod.  It remained among his private papers after his death, changed hands, and did not see its first public performance until 1935!

It is a youthful masterpiece, and a real delight.

The most incisive performance I've found, and prefer
https://www.youtube.com/v/JtiOCpSalLw

That's a fantastic recording, including the improbable coupling, Tchaikovsky's Francesca da Rimini. I wonder what made the producers choose this particular coupling ?

Roma is more a musical travelogue than a real symphony. Four tableaux, so to speak.
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: Christo on October 01, 2017, 10:36:43 AM
Another one, a recent discovery caused by the same composer's 'entirely beautiful' Serenade for strings: the Symphonie de danses pour cordes, timbales et piano (1958) by Daniel-Lesur:
(https://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_500/MI0001/024/MI0001024322.jpg?partner=allrovi.com)
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: yekov on October 13, 2017, 02:08:37 PM
Messiaen's Turangalîla-Symphonie
Title: Re: Single symphony
Post by: Mirror Image on October 14, 2017, 07:54:42 PM
Quote from: André on September 14, 2017, 07:05:56 AM
Irving Fine''s symphony is a beauty. I have the first 2 discs you show. Will look for the other one (thanks for that!). Fine also composed Blue Towers, a racy little orchestral piece that stubbornly refuses to leave the mind after hearing it. It's on 2 of those discs.

As much as I love many American composers of Fine's generation, I did not find Fine to be too interesting. I suppose it, in part, had to do with what I believe is a lack of a musical language of his own. The Symphony, more or less, just flew right by my ears with nothing sticking out that made it distinctive. It sounds oddly 'academic' and dry. The other works of Fine's that I've heard suffered the same problems for me.