Music for string orchestra

[some guy]

for some reason it gets performed/recorded much less often than many of his other things.

I'm hoping this is a good excuse for me not to have even heard of it.

For sure you are not deluding yourself. This is top drawer Lutosławski and no mistake!

[Spotswood]

William Schuman Symphony for Strings (No. 5)

Copland Two Pices for (what else?) String Orchestra

Other favorites of mine have already been mentioned.

[Maciek]

Also worth mentioning (though I'm not particularly fond of this one) is Gorecki's 3 Pieces in the Olden Style.

I may be not fond of it, but apparently it was the no. 2 favorite classical piece in the UK in 2008. See here.

[greg]

I may be not fond of it, but apparently it was the no. 2 favorite classical piece in the UK in 2008. See here.

That is the strangest list...

[Christo]

some faves:

Edvard Grieg, Holberg Suite
Hendrik Andriessen, Kuhnau Variations
Béla Bartók, Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
Bohuslav Martinů, Double Concerto
Frank Martin, Petite symphonie concertante
Arnold Cooke, Concerto in D
Vaughan Williams, Partita for Double String Orchestra
Elizabeth Maconchy, Symphony for Double String Orchestra
Eduard Tubin, Music for Strings
William Alwyn, Sinfonietta
Lennox Berkeley, Antiphon
Julián Orbón, Concerto Grosso
Alberto Ginastera, Concerto per corde
Pēteris Vasks, Symphony No. 1 `Balsis' (Voices)

[Maciek]

That is the strangest list...

Yep, Paisiello's Mandolin Concerto (???) at no. 14 is probably the best proof, if you need any. OTOH, PPL, as a licensing company, probably really knows how often the music is used (which doesn't have to indicate that it is favorite or that is is actually broadcast in its entirety).

[Scarpia]

This was very helpful.  Lots of pieces were listed, some of which I know and love, some of which I know and don't love, many of which I don't know.  I'm going to summarize the thread, don't take this as meaning it's over.


I mentioned:

Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis,
Strauss' Metamorphosen,
Sibelius Andante Festivo,
Lutoslawski, Funeral Music.

Others suggested:

Bartók's Divertimento
Lachenmann's Schwankungen am Rand, Double (Grido II)
Xenakis' Syrmos
Dvorak - Serenade for Strings
Herrmann - Psycho
Hans Rott - Symphony for Strings in A
Schoenberg - Transfigured Night and the String Orchestra version of the Second String Quartet
Shostakovich - String Orchestra version of the Eighth String Quartet
Irving Fine Serious Song.
Bliss Music for Strings.
Kilar Orawa.
Lutoslawski's Preludes and Fugue
Stravinsky (Concerto en Ré/in D)
Krzysztof Meyer's very nice 5th Symphony
Tansman's Variations on Frescobaldi
Adams Shaker Loops
Tippett's Double Concerto and his Corelli Fantasia
Serenades for Strings: Tchaikovsky, Suk, Dvorak, Wiren, Nielsen
Stamitz' Orchestral Quartets,
Grieg's Holberg Suite,
Strauss' Metamorphosen,
Britten's Simple Symphony,
Koszewski's Concerto grosso
Barber's Adagio,
Grieg's "Last Spring"
Tchaikovsky, Serenade in C, Opus 48
Stravinsky, Apollo (a/k/a Apollon musagète)
Webern's Op. 5 version for String Orchestra.
Holst's St. Pauls Suite
Ligeti's Ramifications.
Boulez's Livre pour cordes.
Allan Petterson's concertos for string orchestra
Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus
Harold Truscott – Elegy
Britten - Bridge Variations
Vasks - Symphony No.1, Violin Concerto, Musica Dolorosa
Mendelssohn's youthful String Symphonies
William Schuman Symphony for Strings (No. 5)
Copland Two Pices for (what else?) String Orchestra
Edvard Grieg, Holberg Suite
Hendrik Andriessen, Kuhnau Variations
Béla Bartók, Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
Bohuslav Martinů, Double Concerto
Frank Martin, Petite symphonie concertante
Arnold Cooke, Concerto in D
Vaughan Williams, Partita for Double String Orchestra
Elizabeth Maconchy, Symphony for Double String Orchestra
Eduard Tubin, Music for Strings
William Alwyn, Sinfonietta
Lennox Berkeley, Antiphon
Julián Orbón, Concerto Grosso
Alberto Ginastera, Concerto per corde
Pēteris Vasks, Symphony No. 1 `Balsis' (Voices)

A few things that came to mind:
David Diamond, Rounds for String Orchestra
Holmboe, Symphonies for string orchestra.

[Lethevich]

I must also second Hendrik Andriessen's Kuhnau Variations due to its rather unfair obscurity/enjoyability ratio. It sounds remarkably like Britten at times - just plain good fun.

[Christo]

I must also second Hendrik Andriessen's Kuhnau Variations due to its rather unfair obscurity/enjoyability ratio. It sounds remarkably like Britten at times - just plain good fun.

Pleasant surprise! But only thanks to a recent recording by Jaap van Zweden, conducting the Netherlands Radio PO in these `Variations and fugue on a theme of Johann Kuhnau for string orchestra', as it's officially titled, did I learn its full symphonic potention. Under Van Zweden's hands, the Kuhnau Variations (taking 13:28 in his version) sound almost as majestically as the Tallis Fantasia (more so than Britten imo).

                              

[karlhenning]

. . . Under Van Zweden's hands, the Kuhnau Variations (taking 13:28 in his version) sound almost as majestically as the Tallis Fantasia (more so than Britten imo).

Well, but I don't think "majesty" is what Britten wrote (or intended to write) into the string orchestra works of his which are known to me.  So technically, I agree with the content of your remark, but I distance myself from an apparent slight to Britten.

In all events, thanks for putting this Hendrik Andriessen piece on my radar . . . .

[Spotswood]

Scarpia mentioned a "serenade for strings" by Nielsen (as he seems to have mentioned just about everything else). It's called the Lille Suite Op. 1  and is delightful. I saw it perfromed once as a ballet.

And, oh, yes, Carter's Elegy for Strings. 

[Luke]

Got to be careful not to mention everything string orchestra-y. So please note that I haven't plugged Janacek's two string orchestra works here, the Suite and the Idyll, even though they have their moments: they just aren't that great (go to the Dvorak Serenade for Strings for the real deal, it's where these pieces come from). My Tippett rec. still stands, though, and I want to repat it - they are major works of great beauty and stature by any measure. And of course there are any number of 'minimalist' works for strings or strings+not much which ought to be present on this thread - by Part, Tavener, Vasks etc. Scelsi too - a composer born for the string orchestra... Villa Lobos....oh boy, once you start thinking there are such a number of impressive string orchestra pieces!

Anyway, why was I posting......? Oh yes, I remember, I wanted to mention Barry Guy's After the Rain. A minor piece, perhaps, but a very very beautiful one, heartily recommended.

[Luke]

What a rubbish post. I'm tired. I do apologise!   

[Cato]

If nobody has yet mentioned or recommended the following work, it would be a most egregious oversight needing immediate and string-ent measures       to rectify it!

The Honegger Symphony #2!

To be sure, a trumpet does come tootling in toward the end, but an excellent work for this genre!

[listener]

a few more that I found in my collection
Akutagawa - Triptyque
Amirov - Sinfonietta
Bruch - Suite on Swedish Melodies
Foote - Suite in E
Glazounov - Suite op. 35
Morton Gould - Spirituals
Hebden - 6 Concertos
Hartmann - Symphony 4
Finzi  - Prelude, Romance
Rossini - 6 Sonatas
Rozsa, Rota  - Concertos
Schoenberg - Suite inC
Sibelius - Rakastava, Romance op. 42
Tchaikowsky - Souvenir de Florence   
Respighi - Suite of Ancient Airs and Dances 3
Barber, Lennox Berkeley, Volkmann, Wolf-Ferrari, Antheil  -   Serenades
and B. Heiden, Lilburn, Lidholm,

[Christo]

Well, but I don't think "majesty" is what Britten wrote (or intended to write) into the string orchestra works of his which are known to me.  So technically, I agree with the content of your remark, but I distance myself from an apparent slight to Britten.

In all events, thanks for putting this Hendrik Andriessen piece on my radar . . . .

You´re absolutely right. Britten might have been called a queen, but definitely not a majesty. 

(Anyhow. I didn´t mean to belittle Britten at all, just tried to state that in this shape the Kuhnau piece resembles RVW more than Britten. Britten´s just different.' 

[The new erato]

Asgeir Hamerik's 6th Symphony.

[Cristofori]

If nobody has yet mentioned or recommended the following work, it would be a most egregious oversight needing immediate and string-ent measures       to rectify it!

The Honegger Symphony #2!

To be sure, a trumpet does come tootling in toward the end, but an excellent work for this genre!

I was going to mention this piece as well!

Honnegger's Symphony #2, also known as the Symphony For Strings, is a gritty, terrifyingly good piece to listen to. I'm not sure, but this could easily have been the inspiration for the music from Psycho.

And there is no better version than that recorded by Ernest Ansermet in the early 60's on London, sadly out of print on CD but available as a CDR from you know where.

I'm hoping that this will soon be resurrected on Buywell Classicals - London/Ansermet CD reissues, along with the equally good Une Cantata de Noel.

[Scarpia]

Been looking into some of the suggestions here.  Bliss' music for strings is just what I am looking for! (Thanks to suggestion by Guido.)

[kyjo]

BUMP! I've always loved music for string orchestra, in fact, nearly as much as I love music for full orchestra. One reason I love this medium is that composers can't cover up any lack of powerful musical ideas with glittering orchestration here, as they only have strings at their disposal. Some of my favorite works for string orchestra, apart from the usual suspects of Tchaik's Serenade, Barber's Adagio and VW's Tallis Fantasia, include Bartok's Divertimento, Diamond's Rounds, Hartmann's Symphony no. 4, Schuman's Symphony no. 5, Suk's Serenade, Tippett's Corelli Fantasia and Concerto for Double String Orchestra, Popov's Symphony no. 3, Howells' Concerto for Strings, and Britten's Frank Bridge Variations. I don't suppose it would be cheating to include works like Martinu's awesome Concerto for Double String Orchestra, Piano and Timpani, would it? Some other works for string orchestra plus a couple instruments (or a soloist) that I love include Mirzoyan's Symphony for Strings and Timpani, Alwyn's beautiful concertante works for soloist and strings (not least the heavenly Lyra Angelica), as well as Hartmann's Concerto Funebre. In recent years, Peteris Vasks has composed quite a few works for string orchestra which are lushly lyrical and quite haunting. What are everyone else's favorite string orchestra works?