Louis Vierne - Blind French Organist/Composer!

[Cato]

Highly recommended CD which I bought at Westminster Cathedral (Catholic), when we were visiting London:

Louis Vierne's Messe Sollennelle plus works by Widor and Marcel Dupre'!

[schnittkease]

Just like Pierné, Koechlin, Tournemire, Roussel, Schmitt, there is nothing in Vierne's chamber music that will stop the trains and make one shout 'Bravo!'. But their tentacles make their way and grab the attention over time. 1890-1950 was a great period for french chamber music.

I can't speak for Vierne, but surely Schmitt's Piano Quintet is a masterwork?

[SymphonicAddict]

The Piano Quintet in C minor is his MASTERPIECE (along with his Symphony in A minor). The intensity level of the Quintet is comparable to the Tchaikovsky's Piano Trio or the Chausson's Concert for piano, violin and string quartet. It's stormy, passionate, quite afflicted. I like it more than the Franck's Piano Quintet.

[Mountain Goat]

Just been listening to this excellent double CD of his complete chamber music:



All the music is worth hearing, but the Piano Quintet is especially good. Written shortly after the death of his son, it's about as cheerful as you would expect, but it's an extremely powerful work which deserves to be much better known!

[Cato]

Just been listening to this excellent double CD of his complete chamber music:



All the music is worth hearing, but the Piano Quintet is especially good. Written shortly after the death of his son, it's about as cheerful as you would expect,

but it's an extremely powerful work which deserves to be much better known!

Yes, a most excellent and haunting work, and, since chamber music has not always been a first choice, it takes a great chamber work to interest me!   

[Mountain Goat]

Yes, a most excellent and haunting work, and, since chamber music has not always been a first choice, it takes a great chamber work to interest me!   

It's certainly impressive, it's one of those works which really grabs you on the first listen - well it did to me anyway! I first heard it in concert and couldn't believe I had not heard of it before.

Another CD I highly recommend:



His only orchestral symphony, makes me wish he'd written more! The Poème for piano & orchestra, despite its unassuming title, is actually a pretty substantial piece which could easily be called a concerto.

[Cato]

It's certainly impressive, it's one of those works which really grabs you on the first listen - well it did to me anyway! I first heard it in concert and couldn't believe I had not heard of it before.

Another CD I highly recommend:



His only orchestral symphony, makes me wish he'd written more! The Poème for piano & orchestra, despite its unassuming title, is actually a pretty substantial piece which could easily be called a concerto.

Yes: despite the 6 great Organ Symphonies (for solo organ), Vierne only composed this one - but wonderful - symphony for orchestra!  The Poème is also a masterpiece: the use of short pauses and the interplay between orchestra and soloist produce a most expressive atmosphere.

[Symphonic Addict]

Somebody from another forum kindly shared the Symphony in A minor from this LP:



And it's a tremendous performance! I dare to say more so than the one on Timpani. The gothic, baleful mood that is set from the very beginning prepares us for a turbulent journey. The work has good motives/themes along its four movements and a development sort of redolent of Franck. The scherzo alone is absolutely thrilling, which has what I call "a wizardry-like atmosphere". Another interesting feature is that, after all the turmoil and sorrow previously presented, the apparently "victorious" mood in the 4th movement attempts to prevail, but it must go through significant struggle to win at last. Vierne employed one player for each pair of the four timpani on the score and one does feel an intimidating impetus from them to great effect. This work and Leighton's 3rd have been some important symphonic rediscoveries today for me.

[Cato]

Somebody from another forum kindly shared the Symphony in A minor from this LP:



And it's a tremendous performance! I dare to say more so than the one on Timpani. The gothic, baleful mood that is set from the very beginning prepares us for a turbulent journey. The work has good motives/themes along its four movements and a development sort of redolent of Franck. The scherzo alone is absolutely thrilling, which has what I call "a wizardry-like atmosphere". Another interesting feature is that, after all the turmoil and sorrow previously presented, the apparently "victorious" mood in the 4th movement attempts to prevail, but it must go through significant struggle to win at last. Vierne employed one player for each pair of the four timpani on the score and one does feel an intimidating impetus from them to great effect. This work and Leighton's 3rd have been some important symphonic rediscoveries today for me.

Louis Vierne has been an all-around fave since the early 1970's!


Yes, his one orchestral symphony is a marvel, parallel with Ernst Chausson or Hans Rott or Erich Korngold, who composed only one symphony!

[Symphonic Addict]

Yes, his one orchestral symphony is a marvel, parallel with Ernst Chausson or Hans Rott or Erich Korngold, who composed only one symphony!

Apart from the ones you mentioned, we also have Franck and Dukas. Korngold actually wrote two symphonies if we are rather objective to think of his ambitious and precocious sinfonietta as a proper symphony.