late romantic, 20th century music

[Henk]

I already am familiar with Sibelius and Vaughan Williams.

Which composers do you recommend besides these two? Which are essential?

[Bunny]

Start with Mahler.

[The new erato]

And Nielsen. But it all depends on where you draw the line on romantic vs modernistic.

[Todd]

Throw in some Korngold, Zemlinsky and Szymanowski, too.

[springrite]

Much of the music from the British Isles would fit the description of what you are looking for: Rubbra, Bax, Bantock, Alwyn, etc.

[Lethevich]

An obscure rec, but I can't help but promote him... Marcel Dupré was a continuation of the 19th century tradition of French composers who specialised in composition for the organ, and is one of the finest composers for the instrument that I have heard. His works for organ and orchestra are also very interesting. Naxos has produced a brilliant cycle of his organ works, and volume 3 may be a good introduction.

Of the "bigger" names, I second Szymanowski who is brilliant, and add Medtner, Barber (he is often underrated) and Walton.

[Dundonnell]

Much of the music from the British Isles would fit the description of what you are looking for: Rubbra, Bax, Bantock, Alwyn, etc.

In truth-we are all "late romantics" here

Seriously though-I do agree with you And would add...d'Indy, Franz Schmidt, Miaskovsky, Braga Santos(surprise, surprise), Respighi, Bloch

[Mark G. Simon]

The question is going to raise some difficult issues about just what constitutes romanticism in music, and at what point the term no longer applies. It could be said that the Sibelius 4th-7th symphonies have moved past romanticism into a different territory, one that may not align itself with any "modernist" movement, but which shows a clear break away from conventional forms to structures dictated by the nature of the thematic material, framed in a leaner, meaner instrumental texture.

Modernism, if defined totally in terms of dissonance and atonality, didn't come to English music until after WWII, but you can hear a definite break between the generation of Elgar and that of Vaughan Williams. British romanticism took its inspiration from the example of Mendelssohn, and later of Brahms. The new generation took its inspiration from folklore and Elizabethan music. And RVW showed in the 4th symphony that he himself could come up with good, pounding modern dissonances.

I would not let one faction of 20th century music define the whole century. Music which maintains tonality and symphonic form is not necessarily romantic.

[Mark G. Simon]

I think, though, no one would dispute that composers like Richard Strauss, Rachmaninoff, Medtner, Dohnanyi and Hans Pfitzner carried late romanticism well into the 20th century. These are composers whose style was set at the turn of the century or before and did not vary from that style, though they lived to mid-century.

[71 dB]

I already am familiar with Sibelius and Vaughan Williams.

Which composers do you recommend besides these two? Which are essential?

It's a matter of taste but Edward Elgar, Carl Nielsen, Heitor Villa-Lobos and Gabriel Fauré are the most essential to me.

0:)

[knight66]

For late-Romantic opulence, little compares with Schoenberg's Gurrelieder. He wrote it when he was very young and it is clearly influenced by Wagner and perhaps Mahler. The opening evocation of nature is enough to hook you, then there is a very long journey. Men's choral work, heroic tenor, Wagnerian soprano, possibly one of the very greatest pieces of music ever written for a mezzo, a speaker then sends us into the peroration which allows the female chorus to join in an ecstatic sunrise.

It has amongst the largest physical orchestral scores published, so huge are the forces used.

After that Schoenberg took a somewhat more minimalist approach.

Mike

[Dundonnell]

The question is going to raise some difficult issues about just what constitutes romanticism in music, and at what point the term no longer applies. It could be said that the Sibelius 4th-7th symphonies have moved past romanticism into a different territory, one that may not align itself with any "modernist" movement, but which shows a clear break away from conventional forms to structures dictated by the nature of the thematic material, framed in a leaner, meaner instrumental texture.

Modernism, if defined totally in terms of dissonance and atonality, didn't come to English music until after WWII, but you can hear a definite break between the generation of Elgar and that of Vaughan Williams. British romanticism took its inspiration from the example of Mendelssohn, and later of Brahms. The new generation took its inspiration from folklore and Elizabethan music. And RVW showed in the 4th symphony that he himself could come up with good, pounding modern dissonances.

I would not let one faction of 20th century music define the whole century. Music which maintains tonality and symphonic form is not necessarily romantic.

Excellent points!!

[Dundonnell]

For late-Romantic opulence, little compares with Schoenberg's Gurrelieder. He wrote it when he was very young and it is clearly influenced by Wagner and perhaps Mahler. The opening evocation of nature is enough to hook you, then there is a very long journey. Men's choral work, heroic tenor, Wagnerian soprano, possibly one of the very greatest pieces of music ever written for a mezzo, a speaker then sends us into the peroration which allows the female chorus to join in an ecstatic sunrise.

It has amongst the largest physical orchestral scores published, so huge are the forces used.

After that Schoenberg took a somewhat more minimalist approach.

Mike

Yes-it was all downhill after the Gurreleider What a shame!-Schoenberg did show such early promise

[knight66]

Poor thing, he overdid it really and wiped himself out. It really is a glut of a piece.

Mike

[Todd]

After that Schoenberg took a somewhat more minimalist approach.

My quote of the day!

[Dundonnell]

Poor thing, he overdid it really and wiped himself out. It really is a glut of a piece.

Mike

[rappy]

Get the Kempe Box of Richard Strauss' music and Karajan's Heldenleben from 1959. Incredible. Then the Four Last Songs with Janowitz/Karajan. 

[Diletante]

Can Ravel be considered here?

[Homo Aestheticus]

I already am familiar with Sibelius and Vaughan Williams.

Which composers do you recommend besides these two? Which are essential?

Tanuki,

For really late romanticism you can´t go wrong with some of Gorecki, especially his Third Symphony.

[knight66]

Looks like the jury is out on Ravel. I suggest he is post-romantic, expressionist/impressionist.

From Mahler's music, the Fifth Symphony dates from 1901, so up to the Eighth and including the Ruckert Lieder, you are in late romantic territory. The Ninth moves into a different sound world.

Referring back to Schoenberg: although he roughed out Gurrelieder by 1903, he left it fallow for some time and had already moved into his starker experiments before he returned to finish it much later. I have long felt that it was influenced by Mahler's Klagende Lied, an early piece with some similarities. However, on reading it up I see the standard thinking is that the first part is Wagnerian, the second two parts more influenced by Mahler with his more chamber like deployment of large forces.

Mike