composers I want to investigate further

Started by Henk, August 07, 2008, 06:08:41 PM

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greg

Quote from: James on September 08, 2008, 04:59:56 PM
that work and other works like Dialogue de l'ombre double
That's the one I meant to write, not Repons. (i have the disc with both of those on it, so that's why i got them confused).

Superhorn

    There   are  so  many  composers  I want  to  hear  more  of.
One   would  be  Jon  Leifs  of  Iceland  (1899-1068).  I  heard  one  CD  on  Chandos  and  was  intrigued.  Leifs  might  be  called  the  Bartok  of  Iceland.
   From what  I  have  heard  about  it,  his  music  is  imbued  with  the  traditions, history, legends  and  folk  music  of  this  intriguing  island  nation.
   BIS  and  Chandos  have  recorded  some  of his  music,  including  Hekla,  a
portait  of the  Icelandic  volcano  said  to  be  the  loudest  music  ever  written,  and  the  Edda,  based  on  Icelandic  folklore  and  creation  myths, among  other  things.  According  to  reports,  Leifs  actually  uses  rocks  as  percussion  instruments !   The  composer  lived  in  Germany  for  many  years,  and  his  wife  was  Jewish.  I  have  to  hear  more  of  his  music.

techniquest

QuoteAccording  to  reports,  Leifs  actually  uses  rocks  as  percussion  instruments !

'Hekla' is an absolute monster of a piece! Great fun to listen to, but it might upset the neighbours as it really isn't a piece you can listen to quietly.
The inlay notes on the excellent BIS recording (of which 'Hekla' is just one of a variety of Leifs' works one the disc) include a section by the Iceland SO's principle tympanist in which he lists the more eccentric percussion and how these were used and recorded. They include tuned steel tubing to represent low-pitched anvils; stones (large and small); ships chains; plate bells; a wooden device similar to a Mahler hammer; sirens...
Leifs' orchestral pieces 'Dettifoss' which depicts an Icelandic waterfall, and 'Geysir' which is an orchestral representation of the natural phenomenon, are in a similar vein.
Meanwhile, some composers I intend investigating further include Britten, Bax and Brian.

The new erato

Paul Zukovsky was a great violinist (he has done the best recording of the Will Schumann vn concerto among other fine stuff). He disappeared from the scene and resurfaced as musical director of some Icelandic music society which among other stuff, did a complete recording of Leifs oratorio Baldr in 92 on the cp2 label owned by Musical Observations Inc of New York. This was before BIS picked up the Leifs torch.

I have this recording but know nothing about the companuy, the label or Zukovskys fate. Anybody know something?

Dundonnell

Leifs is a fantastically interesting composer in my opinion!

I suppose that it is partly because I spent two glorious weeks in Iceland last summer that I respond so enthusiastically to his depictions of the amazing natural phenomena of that wonderful, amazing country :)

Works like 'Hekla', 'Dettifoss', 'Geysir' and 'Haifs' evoke such memories of the dramatic scenery on the island :)
The Saga Symphony and the Organ Concerto are also favourites of mine.

But he is very loud :) :) You would not want to play too many pieces in succession without running the risk of a headache :)

The BIS series makes up a splendid collection and is strongly recommended.

ChamberNut


Tapio Dimitriyevich Shostakovich

Quote from: Mark G. Simon on September 08, 2008, 03:24:29 PMI don't think you guys appreciate what's going on in that picture. Those laptops are running interactive software that allows them to alter the programming in real time, while the program is running. Those people are not just sitting there playing MIDI files.
Something like Ableton Live or such?

Opus106

Mauler!

:D

Symphony No. 2 is definitely in. I'll be downloading a few more of his symphonies in the very near future for test-listens.
Regards,
Navneeth

ChamberNut

Quote from: opus67 on October 03, 2008, 08:41:39 AM
Mauler!

:D

Symphony No. 2 is definitely in. I'll be downloading a few more of his symphonies in the very near future for test-listens.

Excellent!  :)  No. 2 was a wonderful recent "rediscovery" for me as well.  And so was No. 6


Opus106

Regards,
Navneeth

marvinbrown



Sibelius  0:)! For some reason during the past years I have ignored this fine composer.  I recently bought 2 sets of Sibelius' symphonies (Maazel and Blomstedt) and am listening to this set at the moment:

 


  Afterwards I think I'll go for the tone poems and see what else this fine composer wrote.

  marvin