I originally posted this at the Art-Music Forum, but (rather strangely) it did not seem to attract much attention (possibly due to my long-windedness ::)), so I'll re-post it here in hopes of receiving a few more replies:
I think Freitas Branco deserves a thread of his own. He was a driving force in the development of the classical music scene in Portugal. A noted teacher, he taught, among others, Joly Braga Santos. While FB's music may not reach the exalted heights of his immensely talented student, he is still, without a doubt, a composer worth investigating.
What's his style like, you may ask? Well, for the most part, there is little explicitly "Iberian" about his music (with the massive exception of the two Alentejana Suites for orchestra). His music draws mainly on French models, with the occasional Slavic tinge here and there. In his four symphonies and chamber works, the predominant influence is that of Franck, both in the harmonies and use of cyclic form. The non-symphonic orchestral works, however, show that FB was aware of contemporary trends such as impressionism.
FB has been served relatively well on disc, thanks in no small part to the indefatigable Alvaro Cassuto (of Braga Santos fame). Back in the 1990s the Strauss-Portugalsom label issued discs of FB's music that are now out of print. Enter Cassuto, who recently recorded four discs of FB's orchestral works for Naxos, and we finally have high-quality access to the man's music. Each disc in the series contains one of the four symphonies, coupled with one or two shorter works. Also, Atma Classique has recorded the Symphony no. 2 and XXI-21 Productions has recorded the Violin Concerto (not included in the Naxos survey).
So, what are FB's best works? Many consider the dazzlingly impressionistic and rather forward-looking Symphonic Poem Artificial Paradises to be his masterpiece. I would agree with that statement to an extent, but my personal favorite work by FB is his huge Symphonic Poem Vahtek, which is also quite advanced for its time. This is a vivid, exciting, voluptuously decadent piece of music that can be placed alongside pieces like Schmitt's Tragedie de Salome, Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe and Scriabin's Poeme de l'exaste. Composed in the same year as The Rite of Spring (1913), Vahtek shows some uncanny similarities to the revolutionary masterwork in its barbaric, percussive outbursts and massive chords. Mind you, it's quite a bit more luscious and romantic than the Stravinsky, but it packs just as much of a punch in my opinion.
If you're expecting the symphonies to share the same sound-worlds as Artificial Paradises and Vahtek, well, you may be a little disappointed. They are more mild-mannered and conservative, but by no means boring or colorless. The symphonies of Magnard or Ropartz are perhaps points of comparison, but FB has a distinctive voice. FB uses Gregorian chant and chorales often in these works, giving them a nobility and underlying power. While employing the dense harmonies favored by Franck and his circle, FB's symphonies nonetheless manage to retain a certain open-air feel. These are works that may not be entirely free of some prolixity, but are valuable contributions to the late-romantic symphonic literature.
What about FB's other works? The Violin Concerto is a lushly romantic work, comparable to the Korngold, Delius and Karlowicz concertos. The two Alentejana Suites are sheer delights-just sit back and bask in the warm southern glow of these folk-inflected gems. The touching Death of Manfred for strings also deserves mention. With the chamber compositions we are back in the Franckian sound-world of the symphonies, but they possess a certain melodic freshness not often found in the Belgian master's works.
One can certainly not complain about FB's representation on disc, but it's worth mentioning some major works of his that remain unrecorded: the Dramatic Symphony Manfred for soloists, chorus and orchestra (written at the young age of fifteen!), the Symphonic Poem Viriato, the Ballad for Piano and Orchestra and the Biblical Cantata Noemi.
Two orchestral works of FB's that were recorded by Portugalsom but not by Naxos can thankfully be found on YouTube: the Symphonic Poem Anero de Quental and the Symphonic Fragments from his destroyed Oratorio The Temptations of Holy Father Gil.
Anyone have further thoughts on this fine composer?
:)
I have some of the Naxos releases and found them less interesting than Braga Santos, whose music was a revelation to me, but I shall have another go with Freitas Branco and report back. I really did enjoy the recent Naxos release of music by Lopes-Graca.
I agree with you that Braga Santos' music is superior to that of his teacher (Braga Santos' first four symphonies were revelatory to me also), but FB's music has its own merits, to be sure. Be sure to re-listen to Vahtek and Artificial Paradises especially-they are colorful, exciting works that are even a bit ahead if their time, as opposed to the more conservative and rather less interesting symphonies.
Quote from: kyjo on July 18, 2013, 09:07:14 AM
I agree with you that Braga Santos' music is superior to that of his teacher (Braga Santos' first four symphonies were revelatory to me also), but FB's music has its own merits, to be sure. Be sure to re-listen to Vahtek and Artificial Paradises especially-they are colorful, exciting works that are even a bit ahead if their time, as opposed to the more conservative and rather less interesting symphonies.
OK, you're on! :)
You are right! Today I listened to the CD with Symphony 4 and Vathek on as well as listening to Artificial Paradises. I liked them all, and Symphony No 4 was a revelation with its chorale-like climaxes (I really liked the end of the first movement). I could detect his influence on Braga Santos (the dedicatee of the Symphony). The Bruckner-like conclusion was terrific and I immediately wanted to hear the symphony again (as the conductor suggested listeners would in his interesting booklet note). Artificial Paradises is quite extraordinary, reminded me of Scriabin in places and a very atmospheric score which I shall also be returning to. I was interrupted in the middle of Vathek by a phone call from my mother-in-law, so I shall need to re-visit the work. I liked what I heard and movement 6 (I think) sounded like something out of Charles Ives. So thanks again for alerting me to the fact that there was more to Freitas Branco than I realised.
Quote from: vandermolen on July 19, 2013, 05:40:30 AM
You are right! Today I listened to the CD with Symphony 4 and Vathek on as well as listening to Artificial Paradises. I liked them all, and Symphony No 4 was a revelation with its chorale-like climaxes (I really liked the end of the first movement). I could detect his influence on Braga Santos (the dedicatee of the Symphony). The Bruckner-like conclusion was terrific and I immediately wanted to hear the symphony again (as the conductor suggested listeners would in his interesting booklet note). Artificial Paradises is quite extraordinary, reminded me of Scriabin in places and a very atmospheric score which I shall also be returning to. I was interrupted in the middle of Vathek by a phone call from my mother-in-law, so I shall need to re-visit the work. I liked what I heard and movement 6 (I think) sounded like something out of Charles Ives. So thanks again for alerting me to the fact that there was more to Freitas Branco than I realised.
Glad to hear your opinion of FB's music has changed :) I agree with you that the 4th is the strongest of the symphonies-Braga Santos must have had those chorale-like climaxes in mind when composing the magnificent finale of his own fourth symphony! Interesting that you thought of Ives while listening to
Vahtek, but there's a certain wildness and abandon to this score that is rather Ivesian, even if the harmonic language is more impressionistic. It's almost the complete opposite of the nobility of the Symphony no. 4!
P.S. Thank you, vandermolen, for being the only person to reply to this thread :D ::)
Quote from: kyjo on July 19, 2013, 06:02:07 AM
P.S. Thank you, vandermolen, for being the only person to reply to this thread :D ::)
He is, but I hope other readers enjoy your posts just as much as I do. :) I bought the Naxos series and even own two of these Strauss/Portugalsom CDs of the 1990s, one with Vathek and the other with Antero de Quental and the First Symphony. But the only piece I really tried then and liked very much is Vathek - a great orchestral manoeuvre indeed and one that I was happy enough to 'discover' long before the appearance of the more recent Naxos/Cassuto cycle.
Yes, I am a Braga Santos addict too, whom I also 'discovered' thanks to these Portugalsom/Strauss CDs in the late 1990s.
Hope to find time to really play them all; I gave all four symphonies a first hearing when I bought them and will definitely return to the Fourth (was somewhat disappointed with the Second). Many thanks for your helpful advice.
I have now listened to the 4th Symphony several times with increasing pleasure. I find it both powerful and moving and can certainly see the influence on Brags Santos. The end of the work was a real 'goose pimple' moment for me when I listened to it again during a long drive yesterday. It is quite a dark work, possibly reflecting the times of its composition (1944-52), but ultimately an uplifting and inspiriting score.
Quote from: kyjo on July 19, 2013, 06:02:07 AM
P.S. Thank you, vandermolen, for being the only person to reply to this thread :D ::)
The problem being, of course, that almost none of us have heard the music. I haven't anyway. But like Christo I've read all the posts, have become intrigued, and will probably buy, at least, the Second (with
Artificial Paradises) and Fourth (with
Vathek). Thanks for your efforts in promoting this relatively unknown composer.
Sarge
Quote from: Sergeant Rock on July 23, 2013, 02:57:40 AM
The problem being, of course, that almost none of us have heard the music. I haven't anyway. But like Christo I've read all the posts, have become intrigued, and will probably buy, at least, the Second (with Artificial Paradises) and Fourth (with Vathek). Thanks for your efforts in promoting this relatively unknown composer.
Sarge
You're welcome, Sarge! The discs with the Second and Fourth Symphonies are good starting points for exploring FB's music. Please do report back with thoughts on the music if you decide to look into it :)
Can't believe that we don't have a Freitas Branco thread ( :o ::) :o)
He was the teacher of one of my favourites, J Braga Santos. I bought the Naxos CDs of his symphonies ( there are four) and was a bit disappointed by some of the earlier ones as they are quite conservative for me but No. 4 (1944-52) is, in my view, a masterpiece,epic and deeply moving with a liturgical sounding ending. It is rather in the spirit of the first four Braga Santos symphonies, which are amongst my favourite works (especially Nos 3 and 4). So, if you fancy something different I would strongly recommend this. Vathek, Symphonic Poem in the form of variations on an Orintal Theme (1913) is also a fine, atmospheric and progressive work by this interesting Portuguese composer:
[asin]B0048077Z4[/asin]
I must confess I'm not familiar with Freitas Branco's work, but that CD you mention, Vandermolen, looks very attractive. A friend of mine raves about Vathek which, as you also point out, he says is a stunningly progressive and rich composition. Thanks for bringing this to our attention!
Luis's brother Pedro was a distinguished conductor. I have fond memories of his recording of Falla's El Retablo de Maese Pedro on Hispavox (later transferred to EMI) from the days of LP. I should get the CD transfer (available dirt cheap secondhand via amazon mp sellers):
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51iYvZQ%2BE8L._SX425_.jpg)
Quote from: vandermolen on January 24, 2015, 11:12:23 PM
Can't believe that we don't have a Freitas Branco thread ( :o ::) :o)
He was the teacher of one of my favourites, J Braga Santos. I bought the Naxos CDs of his symphonies ( there are four) and was a bit disappointed by some of the earlier ones as they are quite conservative for me but No. 4 (1944-52) is, in my view, a masterpiece,epic and deeply moving with a liturgical sounding ending. It is rather in the spirit of the first four Braga Santos symphonies, which are amongst my favourite works (especially Nos 3 and 4). So, if you fancy something different I would strongly recommend this. Vathek, Symphonic Poem in the form of variations on an Orintal Theme (1913) is also a fine, atmospheric and progressive work by this interesting Portuguese composer:
[asin]B0048077Z4[/asin]
Exactly my experience with this composer too! I already knew Vathek, from the bunch of Portugal/Strauss cds that I bought in the late 1990s and that made me 'discover' Braga Santos as by far the most outstanding of the Portuguese composers featured on them (especially the Third Symphony by the London SO under Cassuto, a recording I still prefer over his remake for Marco Polo with the Portugal SO).
But Vathek alone was not enough proof and especially Freitas Branco's Second Symphony (1926) came as a disappointment. So I only bought the fourth instalment of the series for the sake of Vathek, and then the Fourth did exactly the same with me as it did with you: finally here's the composer who earned so much admiration from his gifted pupil and inspired him to his own symphonies (the first three were written in Freitas Branco's house in the Valentejo, iirc). Luis de Freitas Branco's Fourth is from 1952, if I recall well, and the first four by Braga Santos were written in the same time.
How do you value the other three, by now?
Quote from: ritter on January 25, 2015, 12:18:04 AM
I must confess I'm not familiar with Freitas Branco's work, but that CD you mention, Vandermolen, looks very attractive. A friend of mine raves about Vathek which, as you also point out, he says is a stunningly progressive and rich composition. Thanks for bringing this to our attention!
Luis's brother Pedro was a distinguished conductor. I have fond memories of his recording of Falla's El Retablo de Maese Pedro on Hispavox (later transferred to EMI) from the days of LP. I should get the CD transfer (available dirt cheap secondhand via amazon mp sellers):
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51iYvZQ%2BE8L._SX425_.jpg)
That's very interesting about his brother. Thank you Ritter. You would enjoy Symphony 4 I'm sure. :)
Quote from: Christo on January 25, 2015, 01:11:06 AM
Exactly my experience with this composer too! I already knew Vathek, from the bunch of Portugal/Strauss cds that I bought in the late 1990s and that made me 'discover' Braga Santos as by far the most outstanding of the Portuguese composers featured on them (especially the Third Symphony by the London SO under Cassuto, a recording I still prefer over his remake for Marco Polo with the Portugal SO).
But Vathek alone was not enough proof and especially Freitas Branco's Second Symphony (1926) came as a disappointment. So I only bought the fourth instalment of the series for the sake of Vathek, and then the Fourth did exactly the same with me as it did with you: finally here's the composer who earned so much admiration from his gifted pupil and inspired him to his own symphonies (the first three were written in Freitas Branco's house in the Valentejo, iirc). Luis de Freitas Branco's Fourth is from 1952, if I recall well, and the first four by Braga Santos were written in the same time.
How do you value the other three, by now?
I very much agree with you about the Braga Santos Third symphony being bettered performed on Portugalsom and have you to thank for being able to hear it. :)
I was just amazed to find the Portugalsom set of the Freitas Branco symphonies available at a not absurd price (£20) on Amazon US, so, once I have smuggled them into the house, I will be working through them and hope to report back in due course.
Ha! Perfect timing - I just listened to Vathek again and finally decided to explore Branco beyond the aforementioned Naxos disc. As much as I love the 4th, I'm bracing for disappointment with the other symphonies, but looking forward to hearing them anyway. Now playing:
https://www.youtube.com/v/1kXoqd6y4a8
And by the way, Vathek? I know its limited fame stems mostly from the unbelievable 'ligetian' movement but I find the whole thing flat out amazing. Great textures and the overall flow keeps me intrigued from start to finish. And what a finish it is!
Anyone here familiar with the violin concerto?
Quote from: Rinaldo on February 01, 2015, 02:31:21 PM
Ha! Perfect timing - I just listened to Vathek again and finally decided to explore Branco beyond the aforementioned Naxos disc. As much as I love the 4th, I'm bracing for disappointment with the other symphonies, but looking forward to hearing them anyway. Now playing:
https://www.youtube.com/v/1kXoqd6y4a8
And by the way, Vathek? I know its limited fame stems mostly from the unbelievable 'ligetian' movement but I find the whole thing flat out amazing. Great textures and the overall flow keeps me intrigued from start to finish. And what a finish it is!
Anyone here familiar with the violin concerto?
That's my expectations too but let us know what you think.
Quote from: vandermolen on January 24, 2015, 11:12:23 PM
Can't believe that we don't have a Freitas Branco thread ( :o ::) :o)
He was the teacher of one of my favourites, J Braga Santos. I bought the Naxos CDs of his symphonies ( there are four) and was a bit disappointed by some of the earlier ones as they are quite conservative for me but No. 4 (1944-52) is, in my view, a masterpiece,epic and deeply moving with a liturgical sounding ending. It is rather in the spirit of the first four Braga Santos symphonies, which are amongst my favourite works (especially Nos 3 and 4). So, if you fancy something different I would strongly recommend this. Vathek, Symphonic Poem in the form of variations on an Orintal Theme (1913) is also a fine, atmospheric and progressive work by this interesting Portuguese composer:
[asin]B0048077Z4[/asin]
Following the 'Roman Triumph' of my Louis Glass thread hahaha I thought that I'd revive this one. Two excellent works which I've been listening to this evening. Any other admirers? ::)
The editors at The Grove consider the first part of his career as being the most interesting.
Be that as it may, he also did some chamber pieces:
Albumblätter, pf, 1907;
Sonata no.1, vn, pf, 1907;
Mirages I e II, pf, 1911;
Str Qt, 1911;
Ária, org, 1913;
Coral, org, 1913;
Sonata, vc, pf, 1913, rev. 1927;
Luar, pf, 1916;
3 peças, pf, 1916;
2 danças, pf, 1917;
10 prelúdios, pf, 1918;
Sonatina, pf, 1930;
Rapsódia portuguesa, org, 1938;
Sonata no.2, vn, pf, 1938;
4 prelúdios, pf, 1940
Cello Sonata
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Jsn1mnu0L.jpg)
Violin Sonatas
(http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_500/MI0003/238/MI0003238309.jpg?partner=allrovi.com)
Cello Sonata & String Quartet:
(https://cdn.discogs.com/7RiTUhCqfN7U4inHhMQf98rOcxQ=/fit-in/600x609/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(96)/discogs-images/R-4237769-1453577192-3538.jpeg.jpg)
Violin Sonatas (Roberto Szidon & Tibor Varga)
(http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/4M8AAMXQTQpR8vYH/s-l500.jpg)
Scion 7 thanks. Which do you recommend of these interesting looking chamber music discs?
Well I'm happy with the CD version of the Cello Sonata from the "Cello Music from Portugal" album.
And, while the Naxos violin sonatas sound good to me via what I hear on YouTube, the artists are really no match for a combo that includes Roberto Szidon on the Strauss/Portugalsom label - he's a "star" for a reason, even if he's not the principal player on those pieces. :) It's been released on CD. Why the music company thought a cover of some leaves for this would be a good idea for marketing the album boggles the mind. If you're going to do that, do what Bryan Ferry did for Roxy Music and toss a couple of buxom birds topless in front of the damn ferns!
I'd love to come across that String Quartet LP in a record shoppe some day, but not pay $46 for it - which it went for on eBay.
NO YES!
(https://cdn.discogs.com/p6tyOc8AMW0NnXEuwenLj9jGBLk=/fit-in/300x300/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(96)/discogs-images/R-2908389-1306752973.jpeg.jpg) (https://cdn.discogs.com/cn9fsDMejldb2AYHsYPkojflVFw=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(96)/discogs-images/R-672303-1217356606.jpeg.jpg)
Thanks. On the basis of your recommendations I will be ordering the Roxy Music album. 8)
Country Life is an excellent prog-rock record, but that's for another forum. :P
I need to find the Violin Concerto and pick that up.
I need to investigate Symphony 3.
And where is an album of the piano music? So much stuff out there - so little time.
Cross-posted from the WAYLTN thread:
Quote from: ritter on April 04, 2016, 12:22:14 PM
First listen to this CD:
[asin]B0048077Z4[/asin]
Vathek is turning out to be as interesting as I was led to expect! Hat tip to vandermolen! At some moments, it sounds very French to me. For instance, the opening, fanfare-like Introduction, reminded me (in its sonorities) of the the opening of Dukas's La Péri...but this music is so varied and colourful, and so forward-looking in many aspects (that Variaton III: Délices des yeux, wow!!!! :o ), that it is anything but derivative. A strong musical voice...
Luis a great composer, Pedro a wonderful conductor...what a remarkable pair of brothers, these Freitas Branco! :)
Have been playing this recording of the Symphony No. 2 from 1926 over the last weeks and like it much better now. It's also easy to see where Joly Braga Santos found his first symphonic inspiration.
https://www.youtube.com/v/xsmf_9AAKho
Quote from: Christo on December 24, 2018, 10:13:20 AM
Have been playing this recording of the Symphony No. 2 from 1926 over the last weeks and like it much better now. It's also easy to see where Joly Braga Santos found his first symphonic inspiration.
https://www.youtube.com/v/xsmf_9AAKho
Just a reminder that this disc is on sale for less than 4 € at JPC. :)
(https://media1.jpc.de/image/w600/front/0/0722056257824.jpg)
Quote from: André on December 24, 2018, 11:14:28 AM
Just a reminder that this disc is on sale for less than 4 € at JPC. :)
(https://media1.jpc.de/image/w600/front/0/0722056257824.jpg)
Exacty. That's where I bought it (free shipping included) :D and came to appreciate it now. Fine disc, now playing its equally fine - better played Scherzo even - rival:
(https://s.s-bol.com/imgbase0/imagebase3/large/FC/1/7/1/3/1000004006483171.jpg)
Ah, memories. Thanks for resurrecting this thread – and reminding me that I never got to the symphonies as I planned long time ago. Listening to some Branco via YouTube and I'm swept again..
https://www.youtube.com/v/GMv9dqdyqAg
I have excellent memories of the 2nd Symphony too. The 1st movement is kind of in the vein of the 1st movement from the Magnard's 3rd, even in the same tonality (B-flat minor). There is an gorgeous and elegant melody in the 2nd movement, like a barcarolle or a siciliana. The 3rd movement is somewhat furious and tense, and the 4th mov. shares similar features with the 1st mov. A splendid work.
I revisited this cycle last year and I liked every symphony very much.
11 years ago, huh? That's a long time without posts. Well, I am a fan of Luis de Freitas Branco, so I am happy to rekindle and blow offf the dust.
Now listening to L d Freitas Branco Symphony 1, the Scherzo, and the Suite Alentejana, with the RTE NSO under Álvaro Cassuto. Great Naxos release.
This is tuneful and enjoyable music.
Just came across something.
kyjo from the past said this (bolded text):
Quote from: kyjo on July 17, 2013, 06:40:42 PMSo, what are FB's best works? Many consider the dazzlingly impressionistic and rather forward-looking Symphonic Poem Artificial Paradises to be his masterpiece. I would agree with that statement to an extent, but my personal favorite work by FB is his huge Symphonic Poem Vahtek, which is also quite advanced for its time. This is a vivid, exciting, voluptuously decadent piece of music that can be placed alongside pieces like Schmitt's Tragedie de Salome, Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe and Scriabin's Poeme de l'exaste. Composed in the same year as The Rite of Spring (1913), Vahtek shows some uncanny similarities to the revolutionary masterwork in its barbaric, percussive outbursts and massive chords. Mind you, it's quite a bit more luscious and romantic than the Stravinsky, but it packs just as much of a punch in my opinion.
but kyjo from the present claimed (bolded text):
Quote from: kyjo on December 23, 2023, 09:28:55 PMFreitas Branco: Vathek (Symphonic Poem in the form of variations on an Oriental Theme):
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/MEDIAX_792452-T2/images/I/518UhS8i3rL._SX300_SY300_QL70_FMwebp_.jpg)
https://youtu.be/0JzXj50yl4E?si=DKPFh8nlhnaNUh2s
Incredibly, I just listened to this piece for the first time a few days ago - not sure why I had put it off for so long since I'd known about it for a while! It's undoubtedly Freitas Branco's masterpiece - nothing else I've heard by him approaches it in originality and striking level of inspiration (though the accompanying 4th Symphony - reminiscent in places of his student Braga Santos - is quite a fine work). Vathek is quite ahead of its time for 1913 - witness the mysterious, murky dissonances of the Introduction and - most remarkably - the creepy microtonal(?) ululations of the strings in Variation III, foreshadowing Ligeti and co. by 50-some years! And immediately following this in Variation IV is some of the most sensuously beautiful, voluptuously romantic music you're likely to hear. Simply a remarkable work full of fascinating contrasts and its neglect is incomprehensible! Interesting how Freitas Branco went on to compose in a much more conservative style starting in the 1920s - his Symphonies nos. 1-3, written in a quite Franckian style, are pretty good works but pale in comparison to the masterpiece that is Vathek.
It must be that Vahtek (first post) and Vathek (second post) are different (and this is not the first time I've detected the same thing on him with other works). ;D
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on April 15, 2024, 07:19:25 PMJust came across something.
kyjo from the past said this (bolded text):
but kyjo from the present claimed (bolded text):
It must be that Vahtek (first post) and Vathek (second post) are different (and this is not the first time I've detected the same thing on him with other works). ;D
Lucky the person who always remembers every piece of music they have ever heard - even ones that make quite an impression! The thing I take from Kyjo's posts is how consistent his reaction is which to my mind reads that Vathek has made a powerful impression on him both times he encountered it with an "innocent" ear. How he writes with such enthusiasm also makes me want to listen to given that I have no memory of ever having heard it before...... probably......
Quote from: Roasted Swan on April 16, 2024, 03:16:59 AMLucky the person who always remembers every piece of music they have ever heard - even ones that make quite an impression! The thing I take from Kyjo's posts is how consistent his reaction is which to my mind reads that Vathek has made a powerful impression on him both times he encountered it with an "innocent" ear.
It could be, but it's somewhat curious how vivid and emphatic the first reaction was so that he then says he listened to it for the first time. Looks like he suffered from amnesia. :D
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on April 15, 2024, 07:19:25 PMJust came across something.
kyjo from the past said this (bolded text):
but kyjo from the present claimed (bolded text):
It must be that Vahtek (first post) and Vathek (second post) are different (and this is not the first time I've detected the same thing on him with other works). ;D
Please ignore all posts by my old account from around 2013 - I had no idea what I was talking about then... ::) ;D I was young and immature at the time and sometimes liked to claim that I knew works that I'd never actually heard.... ;D
To moderators: Is there any possibility to merge the two threads of this composer to have one unified?
Here is the another one:
https://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,23933.0.html
Thanks in advance.
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on June 07, 2024, 04:54:48 PMTo moderators: Is there any possibility to merge the two threads of this composer to have one unified?
Here is the another one:
https://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,23933.0.html
Thanks in advance.
Yes, it is very easy for us to merge threads. Enjoy your combined Freitas Branco discussions!
Quote from: Mapman on June 07, 2024, 05:53:35 PMYes, it is very easy for us to merge threads. Enjoy your combined Freitas Branco discussions!
Thank you! It helps that all the replies don't spread in different threads.
Earlier today this CD was playing:
(https://d1iiivw74516uk.cloudfront.net/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2VzIiwia2V5IjoiOTMxNjkyOC4xLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTAwfSwid2VicCI6eyJxdWFsaXR5Ijo2NX0sInRvRm9ybWF0Ijoid2VicCJ9LCJ0aW1lc3RhbXAiOjE2NDU3MDU2MTB9)
It contains a Piano Trio (1908), a Prelude for violin and piano (1910) and two Violin Sonatas (1908 and 1928 respectively). How is the music? Incredibly remarkable, substantially inspired, with traces of Franck and late-Romanticism, being three of those early pieces (written when Freitas Branco was 18 and 20); not masterpieces, but they do show him as a skilled composer who knows his stuff. However, it was the Piano Trio the piece that delighted me the most, it's immensely tuneful, those melodies are to die for. It is in a continuous movement that unfolds in episodes, practically like a tone poem. A gorgeous little-known gem.
Unfortunately there was something that sort of spoilt the experience. The violinist had some intonation problems that, although not too much regrettable, they are evident. For all of those three pieces there are alternative recordings on Naxos, so they could be a better option.
All in all, hugely enjoyable music that managed to make a big impression.
More inspired chamber music by Freitas Branco, this time his only efforts in the string quartet and cello sonata forms. Intensely refined pieces whose style reminded me of Jongen. The String Quartet impressed me the most. I'm surprised that they were performed by none other than the Takács Quartet, Miklós Perenyi and Jenö Jando, respectively, and they're quite fine interpretations.
(https://i.imgur.com/bbpMLYB.jpg)
To be released tomorrow. Coupled with Braga Santos's First Quartet. Coincidentaly, I heard the Freitas Branco yesterday. It's always welcome to have an alternative reading of a rarely recorded piece.
(https://i.imgur.com/yFWTz8o.jpg)
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on June 19, 2024, 11:50:37 AMTo be released tomorrow. Coupled with Braga Santos's First Quartet. Coincidentaly, I heard the Freitas Branco yesterday. It's always welcome to have an alternative reading of a rarely recorded piece.
(https://i.imgur.com/yFWTz8o.jpg)
Excellent! Hopefully, the performance of the Braga Santos First Quartet on this disc will supersede the one on Toccata Classics, which I found rather lacking in some respects.
Quote from: kyjo on June 20, 2024, 11:41:06 AMExcellent! Hopefully, the performance of the Braga Santos First Quartet on this disc will supersede the one on Toccata Classics, which I found rather lacking in some respects.
IIRC, Braga Santos' First SQ didn't make an important impression on me either. However, things got better with the Second SQ and the String Sextet on those Toccata recordings.