Pieces that have blown you away recently

[Florestan]

he wrote two cello concerti - Concierto in modo galante and Concierto como un Divertimento. I've heard one of them, can't remember which...

I can't either. 

All I can remember is that the one I've listened to is excellent.

[relm1]

I hope I will not be disappointed in the others.

I had an interesting experience with the symphonies of George Lloyd.  The very first one of his that I heard was the seventh.  It blew me away.  Although his other symphonies were OK, none of them packed the wallop of the seventh.  It still is my favorite work by Lloyd.

Oh good for you!  I am currently doing a musical analysis of George Lloyd's No. 7.  It's fantastic!  He is a wonderful composer and is unjustly neglected.  The No. 7 is a turbulent work befitting its subject matter but extremely beautiful too.  It's almost like a symphony ballet.

[Symphonic Addict]

Very cool, Cesar. Having been very impressed by Hartmann's 6th Symphony recently, I'm keen to explore more of his music.

If you don't know it yet, please don't walk, run to give it a try! You'll be in for a real treat! 

[André]

I hesitate btw Arnell's 4th and 5th symphonies. Both are remarkable. The 4th's first movement and the 5th's last are stunning. 

[kyjo]

Oh good for you!  I am currently doing a musical analysis of George Lloyd's No. 7.  It's fantastic!  He is a wonderful composer and is unjustly neglected.  The No. 7 is a turbulent work befitting its subject matter but extremely beautiful too.  It's almost like a symphony ballet.

+1 I'd be interested to read your analysis once you're finished!

[arpeggio]

I have just listened to the following CD on the Naxos Music Library.

The works on the CD are:

John Adams: Hallelujah Junction
Steven Mackey: Stumble to Grace While the other works on this CD are solo piano, this one is for piano and orchestra
Steven Mackey: Sneaky March
John Adams: China Gates

These are new works for me.

Steven Mackey is a new composer for me.

The following is a biography of Mr. Mackey from the Naxos website:

"Steven Mackey's first musical passion was playing the electric guitar in rock bands based in northern California. He later discovered concert music and has composed for orchestras, chamber ensembles, dance and opera. Among his commissions are works for the Chicago, San Francisco and St Louis Symphonies, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Orchestra of St Martin-in-the-Fields, the Swedish, Scottish and Irish Chamber Orchestras, BBC Philharmonic, the Kronos Quartet, the Brentano String Quartet, the Borromeo String Quartet and many others. As a guitarist he has performed his chamber music with the Arditti, Brentano, Borromeo and Kronos Quartets, the London Sinfonietta, Joey Baron, Fred Sherry and many others. He has performed his concertos with many conductors including, Dennis Russel Davies, Peter Eötvös, David Robertson, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Michael Tilson Thomas and David Zinman. Steven Mackey is currently Professor of Music and chairman of the music department at Princeton University where he has been a member of the faculty since 1985."

[arpeggio]

Julius Röntgen.

I have just discovered this fine composer.  There are not that many entries about him in GMG.

[asin]B06WWR7YZ6[/asin]

[springrite]

Please do report back with your thoughts!

Had a good listening of the Lloyd 7th. I remembered the turbulent and powerful third movement, but I had not noticed last time how beautiful the second movement was.

[kyjo]

Had a good listening of the Lloyd 7th. I remembered the turbulent and powerful third movement, but I had not noticed last time how beautiful the second movement was.

Indeed, the second movement is an oasis of calm between the turbulent, dramatic outer movements.

[Maestro267]

Oh good for you!  I am currently doing a musical analysis of George Lloyd's No. 7.  It's fantastic!  He is a wonderful composer and is unjustly neglected.  The No. 7 is a turbulent work befitting its subject matter but extremely beautiful too.  It's almost like a symphony ballet.

+1 I'd be interested to read your analysis once you're finished!

+1 here too. The 7th was the first Lloyd symphony I heard.

I think the work that has blown me away most recently is Karl Amadeus Hartmann's 6th Symphony. I've not heard music as thrilling as the finale of this symphony since I first heard the finale of Ginastera's 1st Piano Concerto.

[T. D.]

Mysterious Mountain, from this

though I enjoy this whole disc.

I never listened to Hovhaness before, didn't think I'd like it. I think John ("Mirror Image") recently made a traversal of H's work, which made me scratch my head. Recently got the above as part of a box and saw the point.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Mysterious Mountain, from this

though I enjoy this whole disc.

I never listened to Hovhaness before, didn't think I'd like it. I think John ("Mirror Image") recently made a traversal of H's work, which made me scratch my head. Recently got the above as part of a box and saw the point.

I remember hearing his whales work a while ago and recall liking it...quite different!

PD

[Symphonic Addict]

Mysterious Mountain, from this

though I enjoy this whole disc.

I never listened to Hovhaness before, didn't think I'd like it. I think John ("Mirror Image") recently made a traversal of H's work, which made me scratch my head. Recently got the above as part of a box and saw the point.

That work embodies the best of Hovhaness. A life-enhancing creation.

[André]

Yes. Quintessential Hovhanness.

[Symphonic Addict]

I wouldn't hesitate to include this bunch like deserved pieces that really have blown away me recently:

1) The epic and monolithic Kabelac's Mystery of Time. This is how a riveting passacaglia would sound like. Listening to this stupendous work makes me realize its rigurous grandeur, imposing marching-like sections carrying a very sharp rhythm. Sounds like war struggles. The last sections are incredibly moving. It's very impressive.


2) The Concerto per voci s strumenti by Lepo Sumera. For chorus (plus clapping closing the work) and strings. A most singular piece this is. Weirdly beautiful would be a general apt description. It's like a mosaic of moods and styles, from the most ineffable moving music to apparently non-sense dissertations by the different voices from the chorus. The 2nd movement is simply mesmerizingly gorgeous. A mini-masterpiece. It reflects what a stunning composer Sumera was. A work of a genius IMO. Don't miss this.


3) The suffocatingly lovely Rautavaara's Lintukoto (Isle of Bliss), for orchestra. Not apt for hedonistic nor sybarite people (because they could become addicted by it). Ravishing, indescribably captivating beauty expressed in music, and Rautavaara printing his mystical and serious mood achieves a remarkable work, and he used the orchestration to great effect.

[Christo]

Julius Röntgen.

I have just discovered this fine composer.  There are not that many entries about him in GMG.

[asin]B06WWR7YZ6[/asin]

There's this thread about him: https://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,9988.msg1288334.html#msg1288334

[Symphonic Addict]

Dutilleux: Piano Sonata

Really superb stuff. The sense of mystery that this work encapsulates is nothing short of spellbinding. One of the best piano works I've listened to lately.

[vandermolen]

I wouldn't hesitate to include this bunch like deserved pieces that really have blown away me recently:

1) The epic and monolithic Kabelac's Mystery of Time. This is how a riveting passacaglia would sound like. Listening to this stupendous work makes me realize its rigurous grandeur, imposing marching-like sections carrying a very sharp rhythm. Sounds like war struggles. The last sections are incredibly moving. It's very impressive.


2) The Concerto per voci s strumenti by Lepo Sumera. For chorus (plus clapping closing the work) and strings. A most singular piece this is. Weirdly beautiful would be a general apt description. It's like a mosaic of moods and styles, from the most ineffable moving music to apparently non-sense dissertations by the different voices from the chorus. The 2nd movement is simply mesmerizingly gorgeous. A mini-masterpiece. It reflects what a stunning composer Sumera was. A work of a genius IMO. Don't miss this.


3) The suffocatingly lovely Rautavaara's Lintukoto (Isle of Bliss), for orchestra. Not apt for hedonistic nor sybarite people (because they could become addicted by it). Ravishing, indescribably captivating beauty expressed in music, and Rautavaara printing his mystical and serious mood achieves a remarkable work, and he used the orchestration to great effect.

+1 for Mystery of Time and I like those whales in the Hovhaness work. Sumera's Symphony No.2 is a great work so I must try to hear the work for chorus, clapping and strings as well. He was a most interesting composer who died too young.

[kyjo]

Dutilleux: Piano Sonata

Really superb stuff. The sense of mystery that this work encapsulates is nothing short of spellbinding. One of the best piano works I've listened to lately.

Indeed, it's an astonishingly assured opus 1. Dutilleux's music never fails to captivate me with its nocturnal, fantastical atmospheres.

[springrite]

Dutilleux: Piano Sonata

Really superb stuff. The sense of mystery that this work encapsulates is nothing short of spellbinding. One of the best piano works I've listened to lately.

Dutilleux is not a prolific composer. Every work he puts out is a gem. No duds.