Pieces that have blown you away recently

[Mirror Image]

Recently I've been blown away by Dvořák's Te Deum. What a fantastic work. Also, another Dvořák work that blew me away was the Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 81. I'm constantly finding works from this composer that either hit me over the head like a ton of bricks or enter in my ear canals and live there for a month (i. e. earworms).

[Symphonic Addict]

Recently I've been blown away by Dvořák's Te Deum. What a fantastic work. Also, another Dvořák work that blew me away was the Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 81. I'm constantly finding works from this composer that either hit me over the head like a ton of bricks or enter in my ear canals and live there for a month (i. e. earworms).

I love that Te Deum too. My favorite recording is this:



That timpani pounding marks a great opening for a stunning work.

[Mirror Image]

I love that Te Deum too. My favorite recording is this:



That timpani pounding marks a great opening for a stunning work.

That's the recording I own. It's in the blue box set of Dvořák's sacred works and cantatas on Supraphon.

[kyjo]

Lydia Auster (1912-1933), an Estonian composer. Piano Concerto No. 1 in G major. Is there anything more devastatingly beautiful? Very sensitive indeed, but masterly written too. Not apt for ultra-romantic allergic! 

Pizzetti, Tubin, Rachmaninov, Vaughan Williams, Puccini, the very romantic Marx, even Korngold and Sibelius, are names whom I can associate this splendorous concerto in style. What a find.

It's even more astonishing is that is from Kazakh origins the composer.

A Youtube link is provided there to enjoy it if you're 'adventurous'. 

Very recommended.

A lovely work indeed! One of many fantastic piano&orchestra works by women composers that I've discovered (Beach, Bosmans, N. Boulanger, Garuta, Gipps, Kuzmenko, Levina, Tailleferre, etc).

[Mirror Image]

Pretty much this whole disc --- every work:



Tveitt taps into that folky idiom that I love so dearly but yet, like any composer with such an individual voice, puts his own spin on it. This music is wonderfully atmospheric and I'm completely drawn into the sonic world the music inhabits. The entire Tveitt series on BIS is definitely worth exploring.

[kyjo]

Christopher Rouse's Flute Concerto. I first heard this piece around 20 years ago, but in the past few months I've been replaying it a lot, and it gets better and better with every listen. I believe it's one of the best wind instrument-concertos of the 20th century.  The piece was composed in 1993 and dedicated to James Bulger, a 2-year old boy that was murdered in Liverpool.
Geoffrey Norris of Gramophone said..."It expresses the shock and incomprehension that we all experienced at that appalling, senseless crime, but at the same time it enshrines the beauty and innocence of an infant life so cruelly snuffed out."

Both of these recordings are available to stream, and both are excellent.

A great work indeed. The slow movement is devastatingly moving.

[Mirror Image]

A great work indeed. The slow movement is devastatingly moving.

+ 1

[Symphonic Addict]

Speaking of moving music, I thought I should post this work here: Songs of the Mountain and Meadow Mari



Lovely, lovely, lovely!! This is such a gorgeous piece of music. It brought some tears to my eyes, and the folk element of the music is incredibly vivid. A real find thank Jeffrey for recommending it.

[Mirror Image]

Speaking of moving music, I thought I should post this work here: Songs of the Mountain and Meadow Mari



Lovely, lovely, lovely!! This is such a gorgeous piece of music. It brought some tears to my eyes, and the folk element of the music is incredibly vivid. A real find thank Jeffrey for recommending it.

Eshpai is a very cool composer, indeed and, like you, I have our Jeffrey to thank for the introduction.

[Mirror Image]

Currently, I'm being blown away by every Glazunov work I hear.

[vandermolen]

And I'm being blown away by this:

[FelixSkodi]

Liza Lim's Atlas of the Sky (World Premiere):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAca_LZh9pQ

[T. D.]

Recently discovered the music of David Diamond. String Quartet # 4 from

though the other 2 pieces on the disc are not exactly chopped liver.

[Mirror Image]

Weinberg's Clarinet Concerto has definitely knocked my socks off and while I do like the Chandos recording, I have to say the directness and aural impact from this Naxos recording is even better:

[kyjo]

Recently discovered the music of David Diamond. String Quartet # 4 from

though the other 2 pieces on the disc are not exactly chopped liver.

I was blown away by Diamond's 3rd quartet recently (the only quartet of his I know yet). It dates from his early tonal/modal period and shares its language with the first four symphonies. What a sublime work it is, flowing and lyrical but often with a melancholy undertone, especially in the extended final slow movement, which is all the more poignant for its understated tone. I'm sure Jeffrey, Cesar, MI, etc. would all enjoy this work very much if they don't know it already:

https://youtu.be/jWw-gFnmiw4

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[Mirror Image]

I was blown away by Diamond's 3rd quartet recently (the only quartet of his I know yet). It dates from his early tonal/modal period and shares its language with the first four symphonies. What a sublime work it is, flowing and lyrical but often with a melancholy undertone, especially in the extended final slow movement, which is all the more poignant for its understated tone. I'm sure Jeffrey, Cesar, MI, etc. would all enjoy this work very much if they don't know it already:

https://youtu.be/jWw-gFnmiw4

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Oh yes, it's a fantastic work, Kyle. I enjoy it very much. Those earlier Diamond works are just so fantastic.

[arpeggio]

The only work I am familiar with by Kurt Weill is the Three Penny Opera and some of his songs.

I was listening to a performance of his Second Symphony on Sirius Radio with the Philadelphia Orchestra.  Impressive.

[kyjo]

The only work I am familiar with by Kurt Weill is the Three Penny Opera and some of his songs.

I was listening to a performance of his Second Symphony on Sirius Radio with the Philadelphia Orchestra.  Impressive.

Weill's 2nd Symphony is a wonderful work, overall quite serious in tone but with his customary sardonic wit prevalent in some passages. There's also some lovely lyrical sections, which oddly enough reminded me a bit of Malcolm Arnold! I was fortunate to hear a live performance of the work by the Pittsburgh Symphony a couple years ago - a riveting experience!

[arpeggio]

Since I have become a member of the Naxos Music Library I am discovering all sorts of new music, even by older composers.

I have just discovered the symphonies of Carl Reinecke.   Very impressive.

[Symphonic Addict]

Since I have become a member of the Naxos Music Library I am discovering all sort of new music, even by older composers.

I have just discovered the symphonies of Carl Reinecke.   Very impressive.

I remember hearing those symphonies and being impressed by the No. 2 in C minor (sometimes called Hakon Jarl). The beginning of it is so gothic and somber. Very effective. The slow movement is lovely and memorable.