Tone Poems

[Lilas Pastia]

It's a beautiful piece and, rather strangely, it makes a bigger impact in concert. I say 'strangely', because the piece never rises above mf and the orchestra never plays all at once. It's almost chamber music.

[AnthonyAthletic]

Has anyone heard, and perhaps like it as much as I do; the Symphonic Poeme Gada Meilin composer Huguang Xin

Chinese Warlords, Peasants Revolt....must see the movie sometime.

A truly landscape painting of Ancient China, and a theme to die for 

[Sergeant Rock]

Someone had already listed my other poems but my absolute favorite (can listen to it over and over again) is

Dawn on the Moscow River (overture to Mussorgsky's opera Khovanshchina).  Condusted by Gergiev.

Guess that's not a tone poem but I don't care. 

Someone, please tell me you finally listened to this gorgeous music.

Yes, gorgeous, but I think the Khovantchina Act IV Entr'acte, Galitsin's Journey, is even more impressive.

Sarge

[Drasko]

Has anyone heard, and perhaps like it as much as I do; the Symphonic Poeme Gada Meilin composer Huguang Xin

That sounds interesting, thanks, I'll keep it in mind if I run across some cheaper copy since there seem to be two recordings of which is in print guess how many.

[Anne]

That is very beautiful also.  There are many beautiful pieces of music in that opera which is why it is my favorite of all operas.

Have you seen the Gergiev DVD?  It is wonderful.  Costumes and scenery are so appropriate for that time in history.  The dance of the Persian slaves would make Harry like that opera.    

[anasazi]

Debussy: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
Bax: Tintagel
Dukas: The Scocerer's Apprentice
Respighi: The Fountains of Rome
Sibelius: The Swan of Tuonela
Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks
Rachmaninoff: The Isle Of The Dead

That's not 10, but those were the ones the popped instantly to my mind. They are certainly not all of the tone poems that I could list, or that I love to hear. 

[AB68]

R. Strauss - Also sprach Zarathustra
Sibelius - Pohjola's Daughter
Dvorak - The Golden Spinning Wheel
Liszt - Les Preludes
Dvorak - The Water Goblin
Sibelius - The Bard
R. Strauss - Tod und Verklärung
Tsjaikovskij - The Tempest
Honegger - Pacific 231
Liszt - Mazeppa

[Sergeant Rock]

Have you seen the Gergiev DVD?

No, I haven't. In fact I don't have the opera on CD either. I've been making do with my old set of LPs: a Bolshoi production conducted by Boris Khaikin on Melodiya. Your post reminded me I need to get a digital version.

Sarge

[hautbois]

Antonín Dvorák

The Golden Spinning Wheel, Op. 109
The Noon Witch, Op. 108
The Water Goblin, Op. 107
The Wild Dove, Op. 110

Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

p.s. My version has a different cover art.

[BachQ]

Mussorgsky – A Night on Bare Mountain
Mendelssohn  -  Fingal's Cave
Rachmaninov – Isle of the Dead
Liszt – Totentanz
Saint-Saens – Danse Macabre
Franck – Le Chausseur Maudit
Strauss – Eine Alpensinfinie
Strauss – Also Sprach
Rimsky-Korsakov - Night on Mount Triglav
Borodin - In the Steppes of Central Asia

[Anne]

It's a beautiful piece and, rather strangely, it makes a bigger impact in concert. I say 'strangely', because the piece never rises above mf and the orchestra never plays all at once. It's almost chamber music.

Thanks for replying.  I had never thought of it as sounding like chamber music but now that you mention it, I agree!  I hear new things constantly in it and now want to hear how various sections of the orchestra play against and with each other.  At the end of the overture there is a huge, loud, crashing, vicious chord that separates the light and beautiful overture from the grim opera proper.  What masterpiece from a composer who, at the end of his life, was in his cups most of the time and needed help to go home.  That one photograph of Mussorgsky with his red nose and hair askew and wearing that green shirt has so much character.  It is my favorite.

[Lilas Pastia]

Yes, that portrait is famous. Its painter is one of the best artists to have come out of Russia.

Speaking of paintings, Böcklin's has inspired Rachmaninoff's Isle of the Dead, which appears to be a favourite of many here!

[Lethevich]

Thanks for all the off the beaten track recommendations. I've avoided Liszt's poems thus far as while they are overall considered slightly weak, I'm willing to give them a try, but never knew which ones to start which (some have to be worse than others). I am familiar with the two symphonies already. There seems to be no consensus on which are the better ones so I may just jump in, hehe.

Ones that sound interesting: Tchaikovsky's lesser-known ones, Korsakov, Frank, Novak, Zemlinsky, d'Indy, Revueltas, Smetana's lesser-known ones, Čiurlionis... um, a ton basically, thanks

[stingo]

Thanks for all the off the beaten track recommendations. I've avoided Liszt's poems thus far as while they are overall considered slightly weak, I'm willing to give them a try, but never knew which ones to start which (some have to be worse than others). I am familiar with the two symphonies already. There seems to be no consensus on which are the better ones so I may just jump in, hehe.

Ones that sound interesting: Tchaikovsky's lesser-known ones, Korsakov, Frank, Novak, Zemlinsky, d'Indy, Revueltas, Smetana's lesser-known ones, Čiurlionis... um, a ton basically, thanks

I think the Brilliant set is cheap enough to get all the Liszt tone poems in one fell swoop.

[canninator]

Glad to see someone mentioned Bax's Tintagel. I'll see that and raise you a November Woods.

[PSmith08]

Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra
Strauss: Metamorphosen
Strauss: Tod und Verklärung
Wagner: Overture to Der fliegende Holländer
Mahler: Totenfeier 

[Hector]

Saint-Saens: Le jeunesse d'Hercule;

Liszt: Hunnenschlacht;

Duparc: Lenore;

Elgar: Sospiri;

Sibelius: Night Ride and Sunrise;

Debussy: Jeux;

Reger: Three Boecklin tone poems;

Nielsen: Helios overture;

Mendelssohn: Ruy Blas;

Markevitch: L' Envol d' Icare.

My, current, Top 10, pop pickers

[Christo]

Tchaikovsky, Romeo and Juliet
Dvorák, The Golden Spinning Wheel
Dvorák, The Noon Witch
Saint-Saëns, Danse Macabre
Harty, With the Wild Geese
Debussy, La Mer
Janacek, Taras Bulba
Respighi, Trittico botticelliano
Sibelius, Tapiola
Rey, Türkiye

[Scriptavolant]

Reger: Three Boecklin tone poems;

That sounds interesting, have you got some recommendation?

[knight66]

There is a recording of the Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet Overture arranged as a duet. It is on Chandos, Neme Jarvi conducted. Somehow the recording slipped through my hands and I have right now just re-ordered it. It has been unobtainable for some time...so, a nice prompt for me.

Anyway....tone poems; nice to see the genre definition stretched. Whenever I read the term, I automatically think of the Richard Strauss pieces which provide terrific entertainment. Of them all I most revel in the 'Alpine Symphony'. A good test to my sound equipment and a real sense of a journey.

I enjoy the weather being expressed in music. I see someone has already mentioned The Flying Dutchman overture, the whip of the wind, the sound of a storm, like a fulfilling meal in itself. The Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, though not in the classic format of the term, they are wonderful evocations of the sea in its various moods....has a storm ever been better captured? Even the eye of the storm with its passing but brooding calm is brought to spine tingling life.

Mike