What are you listening 2 now?

[Mandryka]

Well, it can certainly make me think "of England's pastures green", "of foreign lands and peoples" or of my personal life experiences, for instance.

Think of versus think that. Music can evoke, certainly. But can it prompt you reflect on a proposition?

[Florestan]

Think of versus think that. Music can evoke, certainly. But can it prompt you reflect on a proposition?

What exactly do you mean by "prompt you reflect on a proposition"? Please, give me an example.

[aligreto]

Bax: Into the Twilight [Thompson]





I really like the tone, mood and atmosphere in the music of Bax and this here is no exception. This music is deeply atmospheric and evocative. Thompson brings out these moods, atmospheres and the orchestral colours and sonorities wonderfully well without being any way sentimental in the least.

[aligreto]

Pounds the table! Thrilling works, Ilaria. That Takács is a winner, too. Fabulous performances.

Another hearty endorsement here for both the music and that set of performances.

[foxandpeng]

/img]

In another thread I expressed the thought that, had I been a composer I'd have wished to compose tonal, melodic, accessible and enjoyable stuff that should give pleasure to listeners and not add to the ugliness and the hardships of the world around. Well, that's exactly what Scott's music sound like --- et pour cause: the very interesting essay he authored for the booklet makes the case for a return to Haydn's aesthetic and methods in symphonic writing. Contemporary music right up my alley.

Both discs highly recommended to Kyle, Cesar and Brian. Why, John (MI) might give them a try as well.

Good to see someone else advocating for this 🙂. I've enjoyed it increasingly on each listen.

[Florestan]

I really like the tone, mood and atmosphere in the music of Bax

+1.

[foxandpeng]

And I'm still awaiting on your thoughts on Toch, Karl...

First-Listen Tuesday!

Antheil
Symphony No. 5, "Joyous"
Frankfurt RSO
Wolff





By the time Eugene Ormandy commissioned a new symphony from George Antheil in 1947, the self-proclaimed "Bad Boy of Music" had substantially tempered and refined the brash musical style that in the 1920s had driven audiences in Paris and New York to riot. As the 1930s approached, Antheil increasingly drew upon neoclassical principles; after embarking on a film music career in Hollywood during the 1930s, his style took on a distinctive turn toward neoromanticism and Americana.

The optimism and earnestness that distinguish Antheil's Fifth Symphony -- in contrast to the wartime gloom of the Third and Fourth -- is characteristic of Antheil's music of the postwar period.

The Symphony is in three movements. The first utilizes a broad palette of harmonic color; instead of piling chords layer upon layer in the polytonal manner of his earlier works, however, Antheil separates and juxtaposes multiple harmonic schemes to create linear variety. The second movement is surprisingly plaintive, rivaled only, perhaps, by the lush Largo of the String Quartet No. 3 as the most introspective music of Antheil's later years. The carnival atmosphere and playful orchestration of the third movement earn the Fifth Symphony its "Joyous" appellation.

The enthusiastic reception of the Fifth Symphony at home and abroad contrasted starkly with the uproar that had greeted such works as Ballet mécanique and Sonata Sauvage in the 1920s. Shortly after its critically acclaimed premiere in Philadelphia under Ormandy in 1948, the Symphony was broadcast on radio by the San Francisco Symphony; later, the work was received warmly in Paris, the city that had granted the composer his earliest succèsses des scandales.

[Article taken from All Music Guide]

Love Antheil. His symphonies come round in my rotation more than any other American composer at the moment. Big favourite.

[Florestan]

Good to see someone else advocating for this 🙂. I've enjoyed it increasingly on each listen.

{Derek B. Scott's symphonies, that is]

Actually, I knew I had to do a hat tip to someone for praising his music and making me want to hear it but I was not sure to whom. Here's my duty, sir:



Plus, I also got the other volume of orchestral music (a bagpipe concerto, can't hardly wait for that!) and a volume of orchestral songs. A major discovery for me, this Derek B. Scott guy.

[Karl Henning]

https://www.youtube.com/v/xQL0FgZGd74

[foxandpeng]

{Derek B. Scott's symphonies, that is]

Actually, I knew I had to do a hat tip to someone for praising his music and making me want to hear it but I was not sure to whom. Here's my duty, sir:



Plus, I also got the other volume of orchestral music (a bagpipe concerto, can't hardly wait for that!) and a volume of orchestral songs. A major discovery for me, this Derek B. Scott guy.

Haha. No hat tipping necessary. Scott for the win. I look forward to hearing your reflections on the skirls and songs 😁

[Mirror Image]

Love Antheil. His symphonies come round in my rotation more than any other American composer at the moment. Big favourite.

Yeah, I'm enjoying everything I've heard so far, but I'm still in the discovery phase of his music. There are apparently two phases of his musical development: his early period is what established him as the "Bad Boy of Music" in that the works are rather avant-garde and use mechanical sounds (amongst other things) while his later music turns towards a more mid-20th Century a la Copland style with jazz and Americana leanings. I would say that his style is rather singular in the way he juxtaposes all of these different elements of music in his works. He isn't quite like Ives or Schnittke as they would have two or three different styles happening all at the same time, but in Antheil's music these styles are used in motion snapshots --- kind of like the older style of animation you see in Looney Tunes or Hanna Barbara cartoons. If this makes any sense.

[Mirror Image]

https://www.youtube.com/v/xQL0FgZGd74

Great work from Schoenberg. Any favorite performance of it?

[Mandryka]

What exactly do you mean by "prompt you reflect on a proposition"? Please, give me an example.

A proposition is the thought expressed by a well formed sentence

Let's take the proposition that Grass is green, the thought expressed by the sentence « Grass is green. »

I was prompted to reflect on this, in particular to reflect on whether it is a justifiably assertable proposition, this morning when I saw my neighbour's lawn (which is brown and parched.)

[foxandpeng]

Yeah, I'm enjoying everything I've heard so far, but I'm still in the discovery phase of his music. There are apparently two phases of his musical development: his early period is what established him as the "Bad Boy of Music" in that the works are rather avant-garde and use mechanical sounds (amongst other things) while his later music turns towards a more mid-20th Century a la Copland style with jazz and Americana leanings. I would say that his style is rather singular in the way he juxtaposes all of these different elements of music in his works. He isn't quite like Ives or Schnittke as they would have two or three different styles happening all at the same time, but in Antheil's music these styles are used in motion snapshots --- kind of like the older style of animation you see in Looney Tunes or Hanna Barbara cartoons. If this makes any sense.

Nice imagery 🙂. I look forward to reading more of your characteristically thoughtful reflections!

[Traverso]

Bartók


The Wooden Prince


Chicago Symphony Orchestra




I hear so many influences, in the beginning the opening of Rheingold, furthermore certainly some Debussy and also in the beginning of the last part I hear where  Maurice Jarre found his inspiration for a theme in ,Lawrence of Arabia.

[aligreto]

Barber: The School for Scandal overture [Alsop]





This is a fairly short but an interesting work which has many facets and Alsop shows the glistening elements to very fine effect indeed.

[Florestan]

A proposition is the thought expressed by a well formed sentence

Well, yes, that much I knew. 

Let's take the proposition that Grass is green, the thought expressed by the sentence « Grass is green. »

That's the example I asked for, thank you. Well, I don't think I've ever encounter a piece of music that was explicitly composed to express the thought that "X [a concrete object] is Y [a concrete property]" --- although there are lots of works that make me think "life is good / enjoyable / worth living". Generally speaking, I don't think it's possible for music to express that.

Naturally, the above applies to non-vocal music only.

I was prompted to reflect on this, in particular to reflect on whether it is a justifiably assertable proposition, this morning when I saw my neighbour's lawn (which is brown and parched.)

Grass can be anything from white to black and everything in between depending on many factors. But most grass is mostly green most of the time.

[Linz]

Mahler, Bernstein Resurrection Symphony  with the Westminster Choir and The New York Philharmonic Soloists Barbara Hendricks & Christa Ludwig

[Traverso]

 Schoenberg - Berg - Strauss

[Lisztianwagner]

Béla Bartók
String Quartet No.2