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

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

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SymphonicAddict

Another list (with only first symphonies):

Fritz Brun (Switzerland) - Symphony No. 1 in B minor
Maurice Emmanuel (France) - Symphony No. 1 in A Major, Op. 18 (the No. 2 is quite good too)
Enrique Soro (Chile) - Sinfonía Romántica
Frederic Cliffe (UK) - Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 1
Jef van Hoof (Belgium) - Symphony No. 1 in A major (the No. 2 and No. 4 would have been other nice choices)
Robert Hermann (Germany) - Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 7

André

Matthijs Vermeulen: symphony no 2, Prélude à la nouvelle journée
Jean Rogister: symphony for string quartet and orchestra
Finn Mortensen: symphony (1953)
Olav Kielland: sinfonia I
Kjell Mork Karlsen: Symphony no 3 The Ice Palace (1986)
Ib Norholm: symphony no 2 Isola Bella

André

Cross posted from WAYL thread:

Just listened to the 3rd symphony of the flemish composer, Arthur Meulemans. Sometimes nicknamed the "Fir Symphony" because it portrays "the fir trees gently rustling in their mysterious loneliness" and other nature inspirations. Whatever the subtext, it is an enchanting work.

SymphonicAddict

Quote from: André on June 11, 2019, 06:07:59 PM
Cross posted from WAYL thread:

Just listened to the 3rd symphony of the flemish composer, Arthur Meulemans. Sometimes nicknamed the "Fir Symphony" because it portrays "the fir trees gently rustling in their mysterious loneliness" and other nature inspirations. Whatever the subtext, it is an enchanting work.

Yes, that work is sheer magic.

SymphonicAddict

6 more:

Hermann Suter (Switzerland) - Symphony in D minor
Asger Hamerik (Denmark) - Symphony No. 1 in F major Symphonie Poétique
Emil Mlynarski (Poland) - Symphony in F major Poland
Ernst Rudorff (Germany) - Symphony No. 3 in B minor
Joseph Ryelandt (Belgium) - Symphony No. 4 in E-flat minor Credo
Louis Andriessen (Netherlands) - Symfonie voor losse snaren

kyjo

Quote from: SymphonicAddict on June 11, 2019, 07:07:48 PM
Asger Hamerik (Denmark) - Symphony No. 1 in F major Symphonie Poétique

Don't know Hamerik's 1st, but I recently discovered his 6th (Symphonie Spirituelle) for string orchestra. What a stirring work, full of great tunes! One of the most impressive works for string orchestra I know.
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

SymphonicAddict

Quote from: kyjo on June 13, 2019, 07:48:43 PM
Don't know Hamerik's 1st, but I recently discovered his 6th (Symphonie Spirituelle) for string orchestra. What a stirring work, full of great tunes! One of the most impressive works for string orchestra I know.

Yes, that is a great one indeed! Unfortunately Hamerik wasn't completely consistent. His last symphony Choral is really dull, a waste of time to be honest.

vandermolen

Quote from: André on May 31, 2019, 05:24:55 PM
Matthijs Vermeulen: symphony no 2, Prélude à la nouvelle journée
Jean Rogister: symphony for string quartet and orchestra
Finn Mortensen: symphony (1953)
Olav Kielland: sinfonia I
Kjell Mork Karlsen: Symphony no 3 The Ice Palace (1986)
Ib Norholm: symphony no 2 Isola Bella

Following his recent passing I'm listening to the Norholm kindly sent here by you years ago. It is very impressive indeed. I didn't realise there is a spoken contribution. Powerful and darkly atmospheric music but quite approachable as well.
"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).

timwtheov

I discovered this thread a couple of months ago and have been making playlists in JRiver Media Center after abusing interlibrary loan at my university. I love it!!

One question: I'm relatively new to the forum (this is my first post), and I saw a couple of references early on in this thread to the "most hyped" Nordic composer. Who is that? Sibelius and Nielsen wouldn't be obscure enough. Aho? Langgaard?

Thanks for letting me know!

Roasted Swan

Quote from: timwtheov on November 23, 2021, 07:24:04 AM
I discovered this thread a couple of months ago and have been making playlists in JRiver Media Center after abusing interlibrary loan at my university. I love it!!

One question: I'm relatively new to the forum (this is my first post), and I saw a couple of references early on in this thread to the "most hyped" Nordic composer. Who is that? Sibelius and Nielsen wouldn't be obscure enough. Aho? Langgaard?

Thanks for letting me know!

I'm not sure who is considered the most-hyped Nordic composer!  If in doubt look at CPO's catalogue - stick a pin (pretty much at random!) into it and you'll probably end up with;

a) an obscure - quite possibly Nordic or Germanic composer
b) a symphony that is surprisingly fine
c) a performance and engineering that is likewise surprisingly fine. 

If the CPO catalogue fails to please repeat steps a-c with the Sterling catalogue which almost definitley will be Nordic but probably won't be as well played or recorded - enjoy! (and keep posting....)

timwtheov

#230
Many thanks, Roasted Swan. And yes, I know all about CPO, as I have many, many discs by them--Sterling less so, though I'm aware of them too.

Actually, it turns out the post above was my 2nd, as I'd posted in Bruckner's Abbey back in March but had totally forgotten I'd done so. Anyway, thanks again! Still want to know who that composer is, however!

Brian

I looked at those old pages and am pretty sure that the "most hyped GMG composer from Scandinavia" was Kurt Atterberg. Roasted Swan is correct, the best cycle of his symphonies is indeed on CPO  ;D Atterberg is one of a number of composers who are beloved on GMG vastly out of proportion to their popularity in the "real world" - others being Joly Braga Santos, Havergal Brian, Vagn Holmboe, and Nikolai Myaskovsky. Very fortunately, the real world is finally catching up to us on Martinu.

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: Brian on November 24, 2021, 07:09:22 AM
I looked at those old pages and am pretty sure that the "most hyped GMG composer from Scandinavia" was Kurt Atterberg. Roasted Swan is correct, the best cycle of his symphonies is indeed on CPO  ;D Atterberg is one of a number of composers who are beloved on GMG vastly out of proportion to their popularity in the "real world" - others being Joly Braga Santos, Havergal Brian, Vagn Holmboe, and Nikolai Myaskovsky. Very fortunately, the real world is finally catching up to us on Martinu.
Boy, I think of him [Martinu] as being well known.   ???

PD
Pohjolas Daughter

timwtheov

Ah yes, Atterberg. Should have thought of him. I have that cycle on CPO, plus the Chandos discs, though I don't know any of them well. Putting the suggested symphonies on the requisite playlists will give me a good excuse for going back to him.

Thanks for answering and for your reviews on MusicWeb, Brian!

timwtheov

On the other hand, I just looked back at Tapio Dimitriyevich Shostakovich's post from March 24, 2009, on page 2, and he'd listed Atterberg's 3rd + "The GMG most hyPEd composer from Scandinavia - Symphony No. 6" in his (?) list of six. Maybe the capital "PE" in "hyPEd" is a clue?

vandermolen

This remains my favourite recording of Atterberg's 3rd Symphony:
"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

Here's a new list featuring different composers from those featured on my opening list.

David Diamond: Symphony No.3

Eshpai: Symphony No.5

Ruth Gipps: Symphony No.4

Daniel Jones: Symphony No.4 'In Memory of Dylan Thomas'

Rootham: Symphony No.2

Ben-Haim: Symphony No.1
"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).

timwtheov

Looks like yet another great list! I'll be making a playlist of it shortly . . . .

Brian

Quote from: timwtheov on November 24, 2021, 10:19:00 AM
On the other hand, I just looked back at Tapio Dimitriyevich Shostakovich's post from March 24, 2009, on page 2, and he'd listed Atterberg's 3rd + "The GMG most hyPEd composer from Scandinavia - Symphony No. 6" in his (?) list of six. Maybe the capital "PE" in "hyPEd" is a clue?
Pettersson?!?!?!

kyjo

Quote from: Brian on November 24, 2021, 07:09:22 AM
I looked at those old pages and am pretty sure that the "most hyped GMG composer from Scandinavia" was Kurt Atterberg. Roasted Swan is correct, the best cycle of his symphonies is indeed on CPO  ;D Atterberg is one of a number of composers who are beloved on GMG vastly out of proportion to their popularity in the "real world" - others being Joly Braga Santos, Havergal Brian, Vagn Holmboe, and Nikolai Myaskovsky. Very fortunately, the real world is finally catching up to us on Martinu.

If only GMG was the "real world"... :'( But yeah, I agree with your observations - I would also add Langgaard to that list.
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff