Pieces that have blown you away recently

Started by arpeggio, September 09, 2016, 02:36:58 PM

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Gaspard de la nuit

Quote from: Thatfabulousalien on November 17, 2016, 06:49:20 PM
Leonardo Balada - Steel Symphony

This composer/piece is the first time recently where I've discovered something new and felt; this sounds like something I would write!

This is an impressive composer I'm enjoying (alongside yesterday's discovery). I was amazed to learn that Leonardo was also John Zorn's teacher at one point!   :D

I've been going through his output on Naxos and I have to admit he's pretty good. The Caprichos, Guernica and Concierto Mágico are some stand outs for me.

Mirror Image

Quote from: Gaspard de la nuit on November 20, 2016, 11:50:11 AM
I've been going through his output on Naxos and I have to admit he's pretty good. The Caprichos, Guernica and Concierto Mágico are some stand outs for me.

I checked out Balada a few years ago, but didn't really hear anything that stood out to me. That recording of his Steel Symphony with Maazel/Pittsburgh SO is worth owning for that sizzling performance of Schuman's 7th, although I did actually enjoy the Balada work for it's mechanical viciousness.

ComposerOfAvantGarde

Balada is a composer I'd like to check out.....never heard such praise or any mention of Balada until now! So thanks for mentioning his music :)

Mirror Image

Quote from: jessop on November 20, 2016, 01:26:44 PM
Balada is a composer I'd like to check out.....never heard such praise or any mention of Balada until now! So thanks for mentioning his music :)

To Spotify and/or YouTube you go! :) Tell us what you think. I might be interested in listening to a few of his works again at some point to see if my opinion has changed. I remember Brian taking quite a liking to one of those Balada Naxos recordings. It might be this one:

[asin]B00005MFGY[/asin]

Ken B

Quote from: Mirror Image on November 20, 2016, 02:16:34 PM
To Spotify and/or YouTube you go! :) Tell us what you think. I might be interested in listening to a few of his works again at some point to see if my opinion has changed. I remember Brian taking quite a liking to one of those Balada Naxos recordings. It might be this one:

[asin]B00005MFGY[/asin]
I liked that one quite a bit at first, and bought several discs, but then I just got tired of Balada. Not sure why. Lack of depth I think. But he's certainly worth investigating.

Mirror Image

Quote from: Ken B on November 20, 2016, 03:33:52 PM
I liked that one quite a bit at first, and bought several discs, but then I just got tired of Balada. Not sure why. Lack of depth I think. But he's certainly worth investigating.

Hmmm...the 'lack of depth' part surely doesn't make me want to investigate, Ken. :)

Ken B

Quote from: Mirror Image on November 20, 2016, 07:32:40 PM
Hmmm...the 'lack of depth' part surely doesn't make me want to investigate, Ken. :)
Well I thought you had!
I kinda feel the same way about Michael Torke. The music has an immediate appeal, but for me at least it paled pretty quickly. But I don't regret investigating him. Einaudi on the other hand was pretty much a waste of time. (Ask Brian about Einaudi.)

Mirror Image

#127
Quote from: Ken B on November 20, 2016, 07:38:27 PM
Well I thought you had!
I kinda feel the same way about Michael Torke. The music has an immediate appeal, but for me at least it paled pretty quickly. But I don't regret investigating him. Einaudi on the other hand was pretty much a waste of time. (Ask Brian about Einaudi.)

Yes, I did mention I heard some of Balada's music, but I don't remember hardly anything I heard (this has been maybe 3-4 years ago). I felt the way you did with Balada and Torke but with Kenneth Fuchs. The surface sounded quite nice, but once I started digging into music I noticed that it just didn't really have anything to say nor was I particularly moved by it.

ComposerOfAvantGarde

Quote from: Mirror Image on November 20, 2016, 02:16:34 PM
To Spotify and/or YouTube you go! :) Tell us what you think. I might be interested in listening to a few of his works again at some point to see if my opinion has changed. I remember Brian taking quite a liking to one of those Balada Naxos recordings. It might be this one:

[asin]B00005MFGY[/asin]
Ah thanks, I will check out this recording if I can find it on youtube/spotify :D
Next time I have some money to spare I should stock up on a few recordings of new discoveries I have made this year. This thread will turn out to be very useful for me in terms of organising what music I really will spend my $ on ;)

ComposerOfAvantGarde

Quote from: Thatfabulousalien on November 20, 2016, 08:18:15 PM
Georg Haas' In Vain finally got to me  :D
Haas is pretty good, but a little shallow to me. This is good as well as 'limited approximations'

ComposerOfAvantGarde

Quote from: Thatfabulousalien on November 21, 2016, 11:18:56 AM
Yeah, well he has always seemed better when he has something in the foreground.
Which is why I like his Concertos and Opera's more. Limited Approximations is good too yes, not my favourite Haas piece but it does evoke something in me. :)
Have you heard much Coates? She is very interesting in her exploration of microtones. I find that despite the very grand, slow pace on the surface of some of her works there is always very interesting sonorities on the micro level. It's very subtle but very interesting. Less 'direct' than something like Limited Approximations and other Haas works, but more fascinating to me.

Mirror Image

I'm always blown away by Shostakovich's Leningrad Symphony whenever I listen to it nowadays. This used to be one of the symphonies I avoided the most from Shostakovich (along with the 2nd, 3rd, and 14th), but I've really come around to it over the last few years. There are many great performances of it, but there are so many good ones now that it doesn't really matter which one I hear per se as something different always seems to be brought to the musical table.

Rinaldo

Quote from: jessop on November 21, 2016, 01:55:11 AM
Haas is pretty good, but a little shallow to me. This is good as well as 'limited approximations'

5:4 has been raving about Haas' brand new piece, Hyena.

Yesterday, I've had the chance to catch Ostravská banda, a great multi-national contemporary ensemble, playing at a local venue. They closed the night with Sciarrino's Allegoria della notte and man oh man, what a tremendous piece!

https://www.youtube.com/v/LONGAJAMNk8

ComposerOfAvantGarde

Quote from: Thatfabulousalien on November 21, 2016, 04:28:18 PM
What's her full name? the only Coates I've found is Eric Coates........
Gloria Coates. Eric Coates is some composer of popular light music I think........never really associated him with classical music :laugh:

Her 7th and 14th symphonies are particularly cool.

ComposerOfAvantGarde

Quote from: Mirror Image on November 20, 2016, 02:16:34 PM
To Spotify and/or YouTube you go! :) Tell us what you think. I might be interested in listening to a few of his works again at some point to see if my opinion has changed. I remember Brian taking quite a liking to one of those Balada Naxos recordings. It might be this one:

[asin]B00005MFGY[/asin]
Not a huge fan of Eliot Fisk tbh

Mirror Image

Quote from: jessop on November 21, 2016, 05:18:19 PM
Not a huge fan of Eliot Fisk tbh

Well, it could have Foghorn Leghorn on guitar and I'd never listen to the recording anyway. ;) ;D

Mahlerian



I've heard this work a number of times, but following along with the analysis in Jameux's book, I felt like I was really listening to it for the first time.  Exquisite!
"l do not consider my music as atonal, but rather as non-tonal. I feel the unity of all keys. Atonal music by modern composers admits of no key at all, no feeling of any definite center." - Arnold Schoenberg

Maestro267

John Corigliano's "Red Violin" Concerto. I watched a performance on Youtube and it's an incredible piece! The 2nd movt. Pianissimo Scherzo reminded me of the scherzo movements in Ginastera's two piano concerti, with fast, fleeting moments here one minute and gone the next.

cilgwyn

Quote from: Mirror Image on October 24, 2016, 09:15:16 PM
Mahler's 3rd has completely blown me away and, even though I've always liked this symphony, I absolutely love it now.
Agreed! I'm hooked on that one now. The Seventh is another source of fascination. One of each is not enough!!

Mirror Image

#139
Quote from: cilgwyn on November 29, 2016, 05:07:12 AM
Agreed! I'm hooked on that one now. The Seventh is another source of fascination. One of each is not enough!!

Absolutely. Mahler's 6th and 9th also fascinate me. Love these two symphonies as much as I love the 3rd.

Thread duty:

Prokofiev's Violin Sonata No. 1 has recently blown me away even though I've heard it many times before. It really made an impression on me when I listened to it again yesterday. What a piece!