Darius Milhaud (1892-1974)

Started by Kullervo, April 10, 2008, 05:54:27 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

Mirror Image

I've been thinking a bit about Milhaud tonight and I think where I went sour with the composer was the symphony set (on CPO) and upon revisitation of said symphonies, I found myself downright irritated by how the music lacked direction, but, also, how so many of the symphonies sounded like the one that just proceeded it. I think Milhaud is at his best in the jazzy works where he's obviously being quite cheeky. I think La création du monde may very well be the best thing he composed. I also think quite highly of his Chamber Symphonies Nos. 1-6.

snyprrr

#181
Quote from: Mirror Image on April 17, 2018, 09:16:10 PM
I've been thinking a bit about Milhaud tonight and I think where I went sour with the composer was the symphony set (on CPO) and upon revisitation of said symphonies, I found myself downright irritated by how the music lacked direction, but, also, how so many of the symphonies sounded like the one that just proceeded it. I think Milhaud is at his best in the jazzy works where he's obviously being quite cheeky. I think La création du monde may very well be the best thing he composed. I also think quite highly of his Chamber Symphonies Nos. 1-6.

Symphonies:

1-2 DG
6-7 DG
4/8 Erato
10??

With this lineup (still don't have 10), I seem to have sidestepped the "effect" of the CPO Box. Just enough "directionlessness" without getting irritated (maybe sound image of CPO set leaves an aftertaste?)

Once one hears the dreariness of the 'Aspen Serenade', a lot of other Milhaud seems slightly more digestible, lol! ::)

Soon I think I may imagine links between Satie and Stravinsky,... through Milhaud/Poulenc??... and Debb... oh, I think I'm stuck in Frenchyland oui oui

bon mot

Mirror Image

Quote from: snyprrr on April 18, 2018, 07:55:23 AM
Symphonies:

1-2 DG
6-7 DG
4/8 Erato
10??

With this lineup (still don't have 10), I seem to have sidestepped the "effect" of the CPO Box. Just enough "directionlessness" without getting irritated (maybe sound image of CPO set leaves an aftertaste?)

Once one hears the dreariness of the 'Aspen Serenade', a lot of other Milhaud seems slightly more digestible, lol! ::)

Soon I think I may imagine links between Satie and Stravinsky,... through Milhaud/Poulenc??... and Debb... oh, I think I'm stuck in Frenchyland oui oui

bon mot

No, the audio quality in the CPO is outstanding. It really is. There's no 'aftertaste' whatsoever. If I was going to pick out a favorite Milhaud symphony, it would probably be his 1st. This one seems to be the only one where I can find some kind of direction and it doesn't resort to empty note-spinning like the rest of the symphonies. I still stand by my previous opinion that his best works are when he's not trying to be profound and he let's the buttons down. He's not a compelling composer, but he sure can make a joyful raucous, which I find charming it's own way.

ritter

#183
A major Milhaud rediscovery, which has recently been released on CD:

[asin]B07CG1QNVD[/asin]

La bien-aimée, op. 101 is a 50-minute ballet scored for pianola and large orchestra, dedicated to Ida Rubinstein and premiered in 1928 on the same evening as Ravel's Boléro. The music is based on Liszt and Schubert. It vanished completely after the first performance and was reconstructed last year for performances in Paris. The CD presents a suite (some 35' of music), not the whole thing.

Some comments and the full concert in which the piece was unveiled (the program starts with Schubert's Rosamunde incidental music, and ends with Le Sacre du printemps) can be found here.

SymphonicAddict

Milhaud has surprised me with La Création du Monde. It's the first time I give it a spin. The first thought that came to my mind was: this is very original! And not less than fun as well, with those witty jazz rhythms and earthly sounds. For things like this one I prefer the non-symphonic Milhaud. His chamber music appears to be more enjoyable too, IMHO of course.

schnittkease

Just wish he wasn't so #(%$-ing inconsistent!

lescamil

Quote from: schnittkease on October 17, 2018, 08:26:32 PM
Just wish he wasn't so #(%$-ing inconsistent!

Part of the fun is making your way through and evaluating it, though!
Want to chat about classical music on IRC? Go to:

irc.psigenix.net
#concerthall

http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,19772.0.html

-------------------------------------

Check out my YouTube page:

http://www.youtube.com/user/jre58591

kyjo

I love both Le boeuf sur le toit and La Création du Monde, both superbly entertaining, witty, and jazzy works. I've been less impressed by most other Milhaud works I know, but I'll admit that I haven't heard too many.
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

Karl Henning

I used to have the vn/cl/pf trio performance set, but never actually played it.  It's pleasant, competently written, but there is nothing in it that makes me want to play it.

The chamber symphonies are, I think, among the best of his work that I have heard:

http://www.youtube.com/v/Sm5rri1zkvU
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

SymphonicAddict

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on October 18, 2018, 10:57:01 AM
I used to have the vn/cl/pf trio performance set, but never actually played it.  It's pleasant, competently written, but there is nothing in it that makes me want to play it.

The chamber symphonies are, I think, among the best of his work that I have heard:

http://www.youtube.com/v/Sm5rri1zkvU

I had forgot those little gems. Delightful pieces indeed!

Mirror Image

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on October 18, 2018, 10:57:01 AM
I used to have the vn/cl/pf trio performance set, but never actually played it.  It's pleasant, competently written, but there is nothing in it that makes me want to play it.

The chamber symphonies are, I think, among the best of his work that I have heard:

http://www.youtube.com/v/Sm5rri1zkvU

Yes, I concur with your opinion here, Karl. The Chamber Symphonies may be Milhaud's best music. I think there's something about when he writes for a full orchestra that just doesn't come across very well. This could be said of many composers, though.

Daverz

If I haven't done so already, let me commend Milhaud's beautiful Violin Concerto No. 2 to you:

[asin] B000A1JSAC[/asin]

Mirror Image

Quote from: Daverz on February 24, 2019, 07:42:35 PM
If I haven't done so already, let me commend Milhaud's beautiful Violin Concerto No. 2 to you:

[asin] B000A1JSAC[/asin]

Thanks, I've heard it before, but it's been quite some time since I've heard it. I don't really listen to Milhaud much, but when I do, I seem to reach for music that I believe he's the best in, which are those Chamber Symphonies and works like Scaramouche and La création du monde. The shorter, the better with Milhaud as he doesn't, IMHO, do well in longer forms, especially in his symphonies and works like his opera L'Orestie d'Eschyle and Les Choëphores. Of course, this is just my opinion after spending many years listening to his music and figuring out why it is I'm not as enthusiastic about his music as several members are here.

Ghost of Baron Scarpia

Quote from: Daverz on February 24, 2019, 07:42:35 PM
If I haven't done so already, let me commend Milhaud's beautiful Violin Concerto No. 2 to you:

[asin] B000A1JSAC[/asin]

That cover evoked a positive association and returned to my listening notes I found myself gushing about the beauty and inventiveness of the second concerto and Steinbacher's beautiful and agile performance. Just remembering it is a pleasure (and lately remembering listing to music is what I do, mostly).

Mirror Image

Quote from: ritter on August 14, 2018, 12:41:54 AM
A major Milhaud rediscovery, which has recently been released on CD:

[asin]B07CG1QNVD[/asin]

La bien-aimée, op. 101 is a 50-minute ballet scored for pianola and large orchestra, dedicated to Ida Rubinstein and premiered in 1928 on the same evening as Ravel's Boléro. The music is based on Liszt and Schubert. It vanished completely after the first performance and was reconstructed last year for performances in Paris. The CD presents a suite (some 35' of music), not the whole thing.

Some comments and the full concert in which the piece was unveiled (the program starts with Schubert's Rosamunde incidental music, and ends with Le Sacre du printemps) can be found here.

Kudos for mentioning this, Rafael. I just bought it. Sounded fantastic from what I heard on YouTube.

Mirror Image

#195
An interesting documentary even if the sound isn't good:

https://www.youtube.com/v/KiOMKAxr7zk

It's cool seeing Poulenc towards the end and hearing him speak in English. The only interview I've seen with Poulenc was in French, so pretty cool. Milhaud speaks English quite well and as expected as he taught at Mills College (in California) for so long.

calyptorhynchus

'Many men are melancholy by hearing music, but it is a pleasing melancholy that it causeth.' Robert Burton


vers la flamme

I'm listening to this a bit lately:



It's the only Milhaud I have, but I like what I'm hearing, especially Le Carnaval de Londres and Le Boeuf sur le toit. Where to from here? He wrote so much music and I have no idea what's good and what's not. I hear the symphonies are something I should avoid...?

Scion7

Heard from who?  That's just a matter of taste.  His output is large, and since he's not considered one of the very best of composers, it will be a little uneven.
Still, there is much to admire.  Perhaps you should take a sample of the chamber music?

        •      Caprice, for clarinet and piano, Op.335a
   •   Cello Sonata, Op.377
   •   Clarinet Sonatina, Op.100
   •   3 Divertissement, suite for wind quintet, Op.299b  
   •   Duo Concertante, for clarinet and piano, Op.351  
   •   Flute Sonatina, Op.76
   •   La Cheminée du Roi René, suite for wind quintet, Op.205  
   •   Le Printemps, for violin and piano, Op.18
        •      Sonata per oboe, flauto, clarinetto e pianoforte, Op.47
        •   Little Symphony, for 10 winds No.5, 'Dixtour d'instruments à vent', Op.75  
   •   Little Symphony, for chamber orchestra No.3, ('Sérénade'), Op.71  
   •   Pastorale, for oboe, clarinet and bassoon, Op.147  
   •   Rag-caprices, for chamber orchestra, Op.78arr  
   •   2 Sketches, for wind quintet, Op.227b  
   •   Sonata, for 2 violins and piano, Op.15  
   •   Sonatina for Viola and Cello, Op.378
   •   Sonatina for Violin and Cello, Op.324  
   •   Sonatina for Violin and Viola, Op.226
   •   String Quartet No.1, Op.5  
   •   String Quartet No.7, Op.87  
   •   Suite d'après Corrette, for oboe, clarinet and bassoon, Op.161b  
   •   Suite for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano, Op.157b  
   •   5 Suites de Concert aprés La création du monde, for piano quintet, Op.81arr  
   •   Ségoviana, for guitar, Op.366  
   •   Viola Sonata No.1, Op.240  
   •   Viola Sonata No.2, Op.244  
   •   Violin Sonata No.2, Op.40  
   •   4 Visages for Viola and Piano, Op.238
   •   Études sur des thèmes liturgiques du comtat Venaissi, for string quartet, Op.442    
   •   String Quartet No.6, Op.77  
   •   String Quartet No.8, Op.121  
   •   Sumaré, arranged for cello & piano (by M. Gendron from Saudades No.6), Op.67, No.6arr  
   •   Élégie pour Pierre, for viola, timpani and 2 percussionists, Op.416  
   •   Corcovado, arr. for flute-guitar (by A. Levering from Saudades No.7), Op.67, No.7arr
   •   Exercice musical, for pipe (or flute) and piano, Op.134
   •   Stanford Serenade, for oboe and 11 instruments (or piano), Op.430
   •   Jacob's Dreams, dance suite for oboe, string trio and double-bass, Op.294
When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."