Six favourite symphonies by (really) lesser-known composers.

Started by vandermolen, March 23, 2009, 04:21:40 AM

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vandermolen

#200
Quote from: SymphonicAddict on February 28, 2017, 02:46:28 PM
Aarre Merikanto: #2
Luis de Freitas Branco: #3
York Bowen: #2
Jan van Gilse: #3
Ludolf Nielsen: #3
Bernard Zweers: #3

Bonus tracks
George W. Chadwick: #3
August de Boeck: Symphony in G major
Alexander Gretchaninov: #5

The first two I like although the Freitas Branco No.4 is my favourite of his cycle. Never really got on with Bowen. I like the Gretchaninov No.4. Didn't realise there was a No.5  ::)
Listening to the Madetoja symphonies at the moment. Very sad that the almost complete manuscript of No.4 was apparently stolen at a railway station.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

SymphonicAddict

Quote from: vandermolen on March 05, 2017, 06:54:45 AM
The first two I like although the Freitas Branco No.4 is my favourite of his cycle. Never really got on with Bowen. I like the Gretchaninov No.4. Didn't realise there was a No.5  ::)
Listening to the Madetoja symphonies at the moment. Very sad that the almost complete manuscript of No.4 was apparently stolen at a railway station.

Yes. Gretchaninov wrote 5 symphonies: 2nd, 4th and 5th are the most appealing IMHO. I haven't listened to those symphonies by Madetoja. I hope heard them very soon  ;D

Christo

Six lesser-knowns that I came to know - or, in the case of Ben-Haim, heard again after 35 years - more recently:

Paul Graener, Symphony in D Minor 'Schmied Schmerz' Op. 39 (1912)
Bernhard van Dieren, Symphony No. 1 'Chinese' or 'Choral' Symphony (1914)
Eivind Groven, Symphony No. 1 'Towards the Mountains' (1938/51)
George Enescu, Symphony No. 5 in D Major (for tenor, female chorus and orch.) (1941)
Paul Ben-Haim, Symphony No. 2 Op. 36 (1945)
Willem van Otterloo, Symphony No. 2 (1945-46)



... music is not only an 'entertainment', nor a mere luxury, but a necessity of the spiritual if not of the physical life, an opening of those magic casements through which we can catch a glimpse of that country where ultimate reality will be found.    RVW, 1948

vandermolen

Quote from: Christo on March 06, 2017, 05:13:52 AM
Six lesser-knowns that I came to know - or, in the case of Ben-Haim, heard again after 35 years - more recently:

Paul Graener, Symphony in D Minor 'Schmied Schmerz' Op. 39 (1912)
Bernhard van Dieren, Symphony No. 1 'Chinese' or 'Choral' Symphony (1914)
Eivind Groven, Symphony No. 1 'Towards the Mountains' (1938/51)
George Enescu, Symphony No. 5 in D Major (for tenor, female chorus and orch.) (1941)
Paul Ben-Haim, Symphony No. 2 Op. 36 (1945)
Willem van Otterloo, Symphony No. 2 (1945-46)
I really like both of the Ben-Haim symphonies.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Artran


  • Avet Terterian: Symphony No. 3
  • Lepo Sumera: Symphony No. 2
  • Kamran Ince: Symphony No. 2
  • Brenton Broadstock: Symphony No. 4, Born from Good Angel's Tears
  • Thieri Pécou: Symphonie du Jaguar
  • Alireza Mashayekhi: Symphony No. 9, My World

Christo

Quote from: vandermolen on March 23, 2009, 04:21:40 AMRoss Edwards: Symphony No 1 'Da pacem Domine' (Australian) ABC CD
Never forgot the recommendation, and am now finally listening to my own copy - actually two copies, as I bought both performances in last week's ABC sales at JPC (Germany).
One is with the Sydney SO under David Porcelijn, the other the Adelaide SO under Richard Mills:
... music is not only an 'entertainment', nor a mere luxury, but a necessity of the spiritual if not of the physical life, an opening of those magic casements through which we can catch a glimpse of that country where ultimate reality will be found.    RVW, 1948

SymphonicAddict

It's been more than 2 years I didn't post anything here. At the moment I have these others:

Mamoru Samuragochi/Takashi Niigaki - Symphony No. 1 Hiroshima. This was actually written by the latter and was attributed to the former in one of the more resonated hoaxes of recent times. It's a mighty and impressive score, very in the vein of Mahler, lasting around 80 minutes. Niigaki also composed another interesting symphony, the Symphony Litany.

Kalervo Tuukkanen - Symphony No. 3 The Sea

Finn Mortensen - Symphony

Philip Sawyers - Symphony No. 2

Francisco Mignone - Sinfonia Tropical

Thomas Schmidt-Kowalski - Symphony No. 3

SymphonicAddict

Quote from: Artran on March 15, 2017, 04:58:42 AM

  • Avet Terterian: Symphony No. 3
  • Lepo Sumera: Symphony No. 2
  • Kamran Ince: Symphony No. 2
  • Brenton Broadstock: Symphony No. 4, Born from Good Angel's Tears
  • Thieri Pécou: Symphonie du Jaguar
  • Alireza Mashayekhi: Symphony No. 9, My World

You mentioned my favorites by Terterian and Sumera. The Terterian with its arresting timpani passages, at first I thought it was a timpani concerto. The Sumera has a transcendent feel to it which appeals to me largely. I don't know the others you posted, but certainly they seem interesting.

relm1

Halvor Haug: Symphony No. 1
Halvor Haug: Symphony No. 2
Kevin Puts: Symphony No. 1
Kevin Puts: Symphony No. 2
Lepo Sumera: Symphony No. 2
Pehr Nordgren: Symphonies 3

Honorable Mention:
Derek Bourgeois: Symphony No. 9
Derek Bourgeois: Symphony No. 33


Christo

Great to see so many 'new' symphonies here; I recall being very much impressed by all the Sumera, Haug, Nordgren and Terterian I heard (but it's all some time ago). 'New' symphonies I've been playing and highly enjoying over the last couple of months include:

Volkmar Andreae (1879-1962), Symphony in C (1919)
Luís de Freitas Branco (1890-1955), Symphony No. 2 (1926)
Ina Boyle (1889-1967), Symphony No. 1 'Glencree' (1927)
Czesław Marek (1891–1985), Sinfonia (1928)
Cyril Rootham (1875-1938), Symphony No. 2 (1938)
Paul Ben-Haim (1897-1984), Symphony No. 1 (1940)
Paul Graener (1872-1944), Wiener Symphonie (1941)
Arthur Benjamin (1893-1960), Symphony No. 1 (1945)
Paul von Klenau (1883-1946), Symphony No. 9 (1945)
Jan Koetsier (1911-2006), Symphony No. 2 (1946)
Walter Braunfels (1882-1954), Sinfonia Brevis (1948)
Mathieu Vibert (1920-1987), Symphonie funèbre (1949)
Jean-Michel Damase (1928-2013), Symphonie (1952)
Grace Williams (1906-1977), Symphony No. 2 (1956)
Hendrik Andriessen (1892-1981), Symphonie Concertante ['No. 5'] (1962)
Wilhelm Georg Berger (1929-1993), Symphony No. 4 (1964)
Ester Mägi (*1922), Symphony (1968)
Ruth Gipps (1921-1999), Symphony No. 4 (1972)
Ross Edwards (*1943), Symphony No. 1 'Da pacem Domine' (1991)

If I had to pick out six favourites - I have - they would be those by Andreae, Rootham, Ben-Haim, Benjamin, Andriessen, Gipps.  ;D
... music is not only an 'entertainment', nor a mere luxury, but a necessity of the spiritual if not of the physical life, an opening of those magic casements through which we can catch a glimpse of that country where ultimate reality will be found.    RVW, 1948

vandermolen

Quote from: Christo on May 17, 2019, 09:19:43 AM
Never forgot the recommendation, and am now finally listening to my own copy - actually two copies, as I bought both performances in last week's ABC sales at JPC (Germany).
One is with the Sydney SO under David Porcelijn, the other the Adelaide SO under Richard Mills:

I have the two recordings as well Johan. Am glad you enjoyed it as I see that it's added to your favourites list above.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Maestro267

Tishchenko: Symphony No. 7
Butterworth: Symphony No. 1
Sterndale-Bennett: Symphony in G minor
Gipps: Symphony No. 2
Lyatoshynsky: Symphony No. 3
Mathias: Symphony No. 2

kyjo

Quote from: relm1 on May 24, 2019, 04:50:10 PM
Halvor Haug: Symphony No. 1
Halvor Haug: Symphony No. 2
Kevin Puts: Symphony No. 1
Kevin Puts: Symphony No. 2
Lepo Sumera: Symphony No. 2
Pehr Nordgren: Symphonies 3

Honorable Mention:
Derek Bourgeois: Symphony No. 9
Derek Bourgeois: Symphony No. 33

I wish I could find a recording of Puts' 1st Symphony. The 2nd is a deeply impressive work.
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

kyjo

I forget when I last posted on this thread, but here goes:

Alan Bush: Symphony no. 2 Nottingham
Jean-Michel Damase: Symphonie
Ulvi Cemal Erkin: Symphony no. 1
Alexander Moyzes: Symphony no. 7
Ludolf Nielsen: Symphony no. 3
Yngve Sköld: Symphony no. 2

Hon. mentions:
Aubert Lemeland: Symphony no. 9
Edvard Mirzoyan: Symphony for Strings and Timpani
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

PerfectWagnerite

I don't know too many lesser known (at least on this forum) symphonies, but lately I have been impressed with:

Symphony No. 7, Op. 49, "Les dances de la vie" by Tournemire, a unique and grabbing work.

kyjo

Quote from: PerfectWagnerite on May 27, 2019, 02:03:29 PM
I don't know too many lesser known (at least on this forum) symphonies, but lately I have been impressed with:

Symphony No. 7, Op. 49, "Les dances de la vie" by Tournemire, a unique and grabbing work.

Tournemire was a composer of great imagination and originality. It's just a shame that most of the recordings of his symphonies available are rather poor (especially the ones on Marco Polo). I'd love to hear what a top-tier orchestra, conductor, and record company could do with his music.
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

vandermolen

Quote from: kyjo on May 27, 2019, 02:27:51 PM
Tournemire was a composer of great imagination and originality. It's just a shame that most of the recordings of his symphonies available are rather poor (especially the ones on Marco Polo). I'd love to hear what a top-tier orchestra, conductor, and record company could do with his music.

His Symphony 'Moscow' is especially good and I agree that he was a fine composer
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

vandermolen

I continue to read these lists with great interest.
Here's (another  ::)) new list from me, choosing different works from my original list:

Damase: 'Symphonie' (pleased to see that this is still a hit for Kyle  :))
Ruth Gipps: Symphony 4 (fabulous new release)
Freitas Branco: Symphony 4
Rootham: Symphony 2
Puts: Symphony 2
Bate: Symphony 4
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

pjme

Willem Pijper: symphony nr. 2
Willem Pijper: Symphony nr. 3
Mathijs Vermeulen: Symphony nr. 4 "Les victoires"
Eivind Groven: Symphony nr. 2
Gunther Kochan: Symphony nr. 2
Victor Kalabis: Symphony nr. 2

I hope Koechlin's mighty symphony nr. 2 will get a new (and very complete) recording
Belgian symphonies I like: Sternefeld 1 & 2 (Brueghel) , Meulemans 6 (The sea) and 12, Norbert Rosseau Symphony op. 53.

vandermolen

Quote from: pjme on May 28, 2019, 01:05:40 AM
Willem Pijper: symphony nr. 2
Willem Pijper: Symphony nr. 3
Mathijs Vermeulen: Symphony nr. 4 "Les victoires"
Eivind Groven: Symphony nr. 2
Gunther Kochan: Symphony nr. 2
Victor Kalabis: Symphony nr. 2

I hope Koechlin's mighty symphony nr. 2 will get a new (and very complete) recording
Belgian symphonies I like: Sternefeld 1 & 2 (Brueghel) , Meulemans 6 (The sea) and 12, Norbert Rosseau Symphony op. 53.
+1 for 'Sinfonia Pacis' by Kalabis.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).