Top 5 Favorite Delius Works

[kyjo]

Just as I had thought. Thanks for the feedback, Kyle. Nice to see you're a Delian as well. We've got to stick together on here.

Yep! Even though I usually can't listen to Delius in large doses, I've definitely come to appreciate the unique beauty of his music more and more. And yeah, us Delians are few and far between I suppose

[Mirror Image]

Yep! Even though I usually can't listen to Delius in large doses, I've definitely come to appreciate the unique beauty of his music more and more. And yeah, us Delians are few and far between I suppose

For me, it was love on first hearing. I believe it was In a Summer Garden that I first heard and I was completely mesmerized from the time the piece began until it ended. I never heard anything like it and I still haven't. I'm sure I would have discovered his music sooner or later, but one small accident on Google opened a whole sonic-world up to me that I couldn't have even fathomed.

[kyjo]

For me, it was love on first hearing. I believe it was In a Summer Garden that I first heard and I was completely mesmerized from the time the piece began until it ended. I never heard anything like it and I still haven't. I'm sure I would have discovered his music sooner or later, but one small accident on Google opened a whole sonic-world up to me that I couldn't have even fathomed.

The work that really turned me on to Delius at first was his Florida Suite - such a beautiful piece with some of the best melodies I've ever heard. I also was quite struck by his North Country Sketches early on - one of his most vivid works. Since then, I've come to love many more of his works, especially Appalachia, which I revisited recently and was utterly blown away by. Oh, and I see you've changed your avatar again, John. Surprise, surprise

[Mirror Image]

The work that really turned me on to Delius at first was his Florida Suite - such a beautiful piece with some of the best melodies I've ever heard. I also was quite struck by his North Country Sketches early on - one of his most vivid works. Since then, I've come to love many more of his works, especially Appalachia, which I revisited recently and was utterly blown away by. Oh, and I see you've changed your avatar again, John. Surprise, surprise

Even thought I'm a hardcore Delian, I never have been a huge fan of the Florida Suite, but I certainly understand the work's importance. It was a work that brought him a lot of attention, especially from Edvard Grieg who, after hearing the work in Leipzig, flew to England and convinced Delius' father that his true occupation in this life was to be a composer. So, in retrospect, it was very important to him not only professionally, but personally as well. North Country Sketches could have easily made my list as well as Appalachia. Appalachia is a transitional work in Delius' oeuvre as he was moving closer and closer to that harmonically rich sound-world we know so well in his mature period. As for my Delius avatar, yep, I've got champion one of my musical heroes that I haven't paid much attention to in quite some time, but has always been in the back of my mind.

[kyjo]

I'm not a huge Delius fan overall, however I have quite a soft spot for these select few works:

Appalachia: Variations on an Old Slave Song
Double Concerto for Violin and Cello
Florida Suite
North Country Sketches
Piano Concerto

Bonus choice: Violin Sonata in B major, op. posth.