Name that piece! The game

[Scarpia]

This might be a baltic composer - a lot of them began quite influenced by Shostakovich, Stravinsky and the like. Einar Englund never shook off the influence. Perhaps Aho?

Aho.  Never heard any of his works  I'll have to look into him.   

[DavidW]

Yeah, same with Rautavaara or Sallinen. The style seems to be more eastern European.

Sarge

You know I was typing Lutoslawski when I found that Scarpia revealed another hint (still living) that eliminated him.  I think you're onto something...

[Lethevich]

Aho.  Never heard any of his works  I'll have to look into him.   

You might like him more than me - as far as his mature works go I'm not too keen, although he's rather good.

[listener]

I think 36hrs would be a reasonable wait before revealing an answer, for the benefit of members who have to take a day off from this site.  It did sound like Roussel, but who now alive wrote three symphonies, ballets, suites, film scores who could have written that and had it recorded.....?

[Scarpia]

I think 36hrs would be a reasonable wait before revealing an answer, for the benefit of members who have to take a day off from this site.  It did sound like Roussel, but who now alive wrote three symphonies, ballets, suites, film scores who could have written that and had it recorded.....?

Ok, I'll make an announcement tomorrow morning (my time) if no one figures it out before then. 

[mc ukrneal]

I think 36hrs would be a reasonable wait before revealing an answer, for the benefit of members who have to take a day off from this site.  It did sound like Roussel, but who now alive wrote three symphonies, ballets, suites, film scores who could have written that and had it recorded.....?

I don't know this style well, but there is a composer I know of who wrote operas, film score like stuff, and 3 symphonies - Lowell Lieberman.

[Drasko]

Henze? Sounds like something that could be from Undine.

[Sergeant Rock]

Ok, I'll make an announcement tomorrow morning (my time) if no one figures it out before then.

Seems reasonable. Living as I do in Central European Time, that means I can stay up all night pondering, and still have the entire morning to agonize over the riddle 

Sarge

[Sergeant Rock]

Henze? Sounds like something that could be from Undine.

Is Henze still alive? Must be in his dotage by now.

Sarge

[Gurn Blanston]

I think you need to be thinking about a living, South American composer. Just sayin'...

[Sergeant Rock]

I think you need to be thinking about a living, South American composer. Just sayin'...

I'd briefly thought the same thing...but since I know almost nothing about South American composers, I banished the thought 

Sarge

[Scarpia]

Is Henze still alive? Must be in his dotage by now.

Sarge

Just looked him up, yes Henze is still alive.   

[Scarpia]

If it Golijov I'll eat my mouse.

If you mouse is knowledgeable about music he is very happy right now.

[Gurn Blanston]

I'd briefly thought the same thing...but since I know almost nothing about South American composers, I banished the thought 

Sarge

Well, he gave us a clue. My knowledge of SA composers is probably less than yours. Living ones at least. I know a fair number of dead ones...

[Sergeant Rock]

If you mouse is knowledgeable about music he is very happy right now.

Do we have a winner?

[Scarpia]

Do we have a winner?

Ooops, was I unclear?  The knowledgeable mouse would realize it is not Golijov and that he is in no danger of being eaten in the immediate future.

[Sergeant Rock]

Ooops, was I unclear?  The knowledgeable mouse would realize it is not Golijov and that he is in no danger of being eaten in the immediate future.

We're on our third bottle of wine...so, you were clear, I wasn't 

Sarge

[Sergeant Rock]

Scarps, don't give it away yet. I'm still working on it.

Okay, I give up. The composers I checked this morning didn't pan out: either dead or on the wrong continent or sylistically different.

Valentin Silvestrov is my wild guess, shouted out as the buzzer sounds. (Gurn's South American suggestion keeps nagging me though...)

Sarge

[Scarpia]

The Mystery Piece is

Henri Dutilleux
Le Loup - Fragments Symphoniques
Orchestre de la Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire
Georges Pretre
October 1961, Salle Wagram, Paris, EMI France

There were a few guesses of Roussel, which I think comes closest.  When I first heard the piece it brought Roussel's  Bacchus et Ariane to mind.  In any case, this is an early work, from 1953 according to the notes, and has a lot more zip to it that Dutilleux's mature work.  It's by far my favorite work by Dutilleux.

No one replied to my challenge to guess the orchestra.  I didn't imagine that someone would nail that, but I thought the typically French sound of the Paris Conservatoire in 1961 would be a clue.

The piece has only been recorded once, to my knowledge, and is available on this release

[asin]B0018OAP52[/asin]

which also includes the famous Rostropovich recording of the cello concerto.  The piece seems to have been popular.  I've posted the full third movement, from which I extracted the snip.

http://www.4shared.com/audio/9Nkdq99k/full_snip.html?

[klingsor]

  I have had this on CD for years, probably decades, this shows how often I have listened to it