Pieces that have blown you away recently

[Symphonic Addict]

Robert Kahn has been one of my greatest finds in this year so far. The Piano Quartet No. 2 and his Serenade for string trio on this CD are top-notch. The Sieben Lieder are nice but not nearly as special as the aforementioned pieces.

[vandermolen]

Kilar 'Exodus'
This CD should appeal to admirers of Gorecki's Symphony of Sorrowful Songs (3rd Symphony)

[foxandpeng]

Kilar 'Exodus'
This CD should appeal to admirers of Gorecki's Symphony of Sorrowful Songs (3rd Symphony)

I second this. Very much like it.

[kyjo]

I've been exploring Sándor Veress' music lately and these two works have made a big impression on me:

Hommage à Paul Klee, for two pianos and string orchestra
Concerto for string quartet and orchestra



The first work is a kaleidoscopic suite in seven movements inspired by some Klee's paintings and the result is highly compelling and imaginative, with movements of sheer eloquence and haunting beauty (like After Klang and Grün in Grün) and others more agitated and piquant (like Feuerwind and Kleiner Blauteufel). The Concerto for piano, strings and percussion and the 6 Csárdás for piano on the same disc have no waste either.

The next work inhabits a much more abstract and mysterious sound world. I don't know many concertos for string quartet and orchestra (only the ones by Martinu and Schoenberg) and this is a formidable addition to the canon. The way Veress uses the orchestra and particularly the percussion and its timbres and sonorities is nothing short of spellbinding and effective, the sense of suspense and enigma throughout the work catches the imagination. It's a work that demands concentration. I haven't heard the two string quartets on the same disc yet.

To some extent Veress seems the natural heir of Bartók, the influence is evident on these works, so anyone who enjoys Bartók could find Veress' style engrossing.

That Teldec Veress CD was a real discovery for me as well - haven't heard the Toccata one yet. The music was more approachable and colorful than I had anticipated.

[kyjo]

Kodály: Peacock Variations

Very fun, with lots of orchestral color! I recommend this to anyone who enjoys works based on Hungarian folk music.

Indeed, a superb composition! Its title perhaps suggests something light and "cutesy" but it is in fact a work of great variety and no little depth - one of the greatest sets of orchestral variations. I can't disagree with Hurwitz when he selected it for his video "If I Could Only Choose One Work By Kodaly"!

[vandermolen]

I second this. Very much like it.

Good to know Danny - I hadn't listened to it in ages and am delighted to have rediscovered it.

[Roasted Swan]

Kodály: Peacock Variations

Very fun, with lots of orchestral color! I recommend this to anyone who enjoys works based on Hungarian folk music.

Hiding away on this specific disc the also very fine Blacher Paganinni Variations.  Both the Blacher and the Kodaly get excellent performances from Solti/VPO - the Enigma less so.  Its OK for sure but not stellar in any sense.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

I've been exploring Sándor Veress' music lately and these two works have made a big impression on me:

Hommage à Paul Klee, for two pianos and string orchestra
Concerto for string quartet and orchestra



The first work is a kaleidoscopic suite in seven movements inspired by some Klee's paintings and the result is highly compelling and imaginative, with movements of sheer eloquence and haunting beauty (like After Klang and Grün in Grün) and others more agitated and piquant (like Feuerwind and Kleiner Blauteufel). The Concerto for piano, strings and percussion and the 6 Csárdás for piano on the same disc have no waste either.

The next work inhabits a much more abstract and mysterious sound world. I don't know many concertos for string quartet and orchestra (only the ones by Martinu and Schoenberg) and this is a formidable addition to the canon. The way Veress uses the orchestra and particularly the percussion and its timbres and sonorities is nothing short of spellbinding and effective, the sense of suspense and enigma throughout the work catches the imagination. It's a work that demands concentration. I haven't heard the two string quartets on the same disc yet.

To some extent Veress seems the natural heir of Bartók, the influence is evident on these works, so anyone who enjoys Bartók could find Veress' style engrossing.

I'll have to check out his music.  You've quite intrigued me now--particularly as I love Bartok's music! 

PD

EDIT:  I listened to one of the movements (No. 5 - Klee).  I quite enjoyed it! 

[Mapman]

Myaskovsky: Symphony #27
Svetlanov: USSR Academic SO

Wonderful! The first movement feels like a successor to Rachmaninoff's late works (such as Symphonic Dances) with a little color from Dvořák. The 2nd movement has more moments that feel influenced by Dvořák. The finale opens similarly to the Scherzo from Mahler's 7th, and the rest is somewhat like a Tchaikovsky finale based on folk tunes.

[relm1]

I really enjoyed this recording of Tubin's Kratt.

[foxandpeng]

I really enjoyed this recording of Tubin's Kratt.

Agreed. Was really pleased to see this and have listened to it a good few times already. More Tubin!

[Brian]

That performance is really spirited, exciting, and full of character. I wish they'd gone for the whole thing!

[Atriod]

Frederic Chiu's transcription of Lt. Kije to piano. I find pretty much all orchestral to piano transcriptions a lame duck, but his transcription here is incredible. Actually I should add Prokofiev's piano music in general which I go on these long breaks of not listening to then putting them in my heavy rotation again wondering why I hadn't listened to them in a while. Repeat.

[kyjo]

I really enjoyed this recording of Tubin's Kratt.

I'll need to give this new release a spin! It would be great if Paavo went on to record some more of Tubin's symphonies (esp. the 2nd, 4th, and 6th) in order to bring them to a wider audience, since he recorded the 5th a while ago on Telarc.

[kyjo]

Popov: Symphony no. 5 in A major Pastoral (1956)



https://youtu.be/mP4HQ1rkLKU

(USSR State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gurgen Karapetian)


Oh, my goodness! Where has this magnificent music been all my life? I've known Popov's first two symphonies for quite a while and like them both very much, but neither have quite blown me away. The 5th is an absolutely spellbinding and unique composition from the very first bar, beautifully and colorfully orchestrated with especially great writing for the harp, glockenspiel, and xylophone. Though Popov had to slightly "tame" the wildness and dissonance of his writing after his 1st Symphony to suit the Soviet authorities, his style in this symphony is far from conventionally "Socialist realist" and contains some really piquant harmonies and unusual textures. There's wonderful contrast between the beautifully idyllic outer movements and the more dramatic inner ones (subtitled Storm and Struggle). What's especially remarkable is how little this work resembles anything else written by other Soviet composers at the time - there's hardly a hint of Shostakovich to be found! The above Olympia recording is very good - fortunately, since it's the only one - but this work is very much in need of a dazzling modern recording in order to bring it to the wider audience it so richly deserves. Whilst I admire the abundant attention that Popov's contemporary Weinberg is receiving by the record companies, it would be nice if they also turned their attention to Popov and numerous other little-known Soviet composers whose music has barely seen the light of day.

[vandermolen]

Myaskovsky: Symphony #27
Svetlanov: USSR Academic SO

Wonderful! The first movement feels like a successor to Rachmaninoff's late works (such as Symphonic Dances) with a little color from Dvořák. The 2nd movement has more moments that feel influenced by Dvořák. The finale opens similarly to the Scherzo from Mahler's 7th, and the rest is somewhat like a Tchaikovsky finale based on folk tunes.

It's one of my favourites - love the cover art as well.

[kyjo]

Most of the music on this wonderfully eclectic disc:



What these four composers have in common besides all writing tonal, accessible music well into the 20th century I've no idea, but it doesn't matter! Rozsa's Tripartita is an absolutely dynamite, scintillating late work that shows Rozsa drifting closer to Bartokian astringency than to the Kodaly-like folksiness of his earlier works. The last movement features some particularly cool writing for the vibraphone/marimba in its lowest register. It's basically Rozsa's "Concerto for Orchestra", following in the footsteps of such works by Bartok and Lutoslawski. Gould's echt-American Folk Suite is probably the least remarkable of the four works on the disc (I've heard other works by him that I thought were more memorable), but it's perfectly enjoyable all the same. Up next is Menotti's very unique and inventive Triplo Concerto a tre, in which he gives various groups of three instruments in the orchestra their own spotlight over the course of the work. Stylistically, I was perhaps reminded a bit of some of Casella's neoclassical works, and all for the better! Israeli composer Marc Lavry (1903-67) is the most obscure of the bunch, and very little of his sizeable output has been recorded. His tone poem Emek may take a while to get going after the pastoral opening, but it eventually develops into a whirling, stomping, folksy celebration of sound which makes it a bit like the Israeli equivalent of Enescu's Romanian and Alfven's Swedish rhapsodies. Now that his countryman Ben-Haim's music has been relatively well-served on disc, let's hope the record companies now turn their attention to Lavry!

[kyjo]

Just completed a first listen to this;



Not so much blown away by a piece but an entire disc.  Who is Pierre-Charles Sancan!?!?  Such joy, such energy and genuine musical wit.  Sometimes I think the BBC PO can play well but in an under-engaged manner.  Here they are on tip top form.  Also pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet is clearly a disciple of the composer too and flautist Adam Walker plays the delightful Flute Sonatine to perfection.  A genuine discovery from first note to last.  MORE SANCAN PLEASE!!

Listened to this disc recently as well. The Piano Concerto is an absolute hoot! The big first movement is surprisingly dark and dramatic in places, the slow movement aptly reflective, and to balance everything out the finale is as riotous and madcap a romp as you're ever likely to hear (complete with trombone glissandi, etc). The Ouverture joyeuese is in much the same spirit as the finale of the concerto, and the brief Symphonie for Strings is in a rather astringent, Honeggerian vein. Sancan may not have the melodic gift of, say, Poulenc or Damase, but his music is certainly entertaining and I'd love to hear more of it (not much else is available). I appreciate when Chandos gives us unexpected pleasures like this amidst their increasingly common releases of standard rep (Mozart piano quartets, etc).

[Roasted Swan]

Most of the music on this wonderfully eclectic disc:



What these four composers have in common besides all writing tonal, accessible music well into the 20th century I've no idea, but it doesn't matter! Rozsa's Tripartita is an absolutely dynamite, scintillating late work that shows Rozsa drifting closer to Bartokian astringency than to the Kodaly-like folksiness of his earlier works. The last movement features some particularly cool writing for the vibraphone/marimba in its lowest register. It's basically Rozsa's "Concerto for Orchestra", following in the footsteps of such works by Bartok and Lutoslawski. Gould's echt-American Folk Suite is probably the least remarkable of the four works on the disc (I've heard other works by him that I thought were more memorable), but it's perfectly enjoyable all the same. Up next is Menotti's very unique and inventive Triplo Concerto a tre, in which he gives various groups of three instruments in the orchestra their own spotlight over the course of the work. Stylistically, I was perhaps reminded a bit of some of Casella's neoclassical works, and all for the better! Israeli composer Marc Lavry (1903-67) is the most obscure of the bunch, and very little of his sizeable output has been recorded. His tone poem Emek may take a while to get going after the pastoral opening, but it eventually develops into a whirling, stomping, folksy celebration of sound which makes it a bit like the Israeli equivalent of Enescu's Romanian and Alfven's Swedish rhapsodies. Now that his countryman Ben-Haim's music has been relatively well-served on disc, let's hope the record companies now turn their attention to Lavry!

Spot-on summary of this disc.  In the UK at least this was issued on Harmonia Mundi and is Volume 1 of 3 all conducted by David Amos;

   

All interesting repertoire by American composers in that same 20th century/accessible idiom

[vandermolen]

Spot-on summary of this disc.  In the UK at least this was issued on Harmonia Mundi and is Volume 1 of 3 all conducted by David Amos;

   

All interesting repertoire by American composers in that same 20th century/accessible idiom

I very much agree. I have all those discs. Lavry's 'Emek' and the Dello Joio, Rosner and Hovhaness CD made the greatest impression on me.
This is another release, with a more atmospheric cover image.