Unsung Anniversaries in 2011

[Pengelli]

Don't get me wrong,I'm no Liszt expert,and besides,his output is so vast. But the symphonic poems don't really bring me back for more than the occasional encounter. Though,some of them are quite good fun & have some quite good tunes. The Piano Concerto's are pleasant enough,but seem like empty rhetoric,underneath all the pyrotechnics!
The 'Symphonies' just seemed to bore me.
  Going back to the 'Symphonic poems',I don't have the Chandos cd's,I have the Haitink recordings. I had Vol 1 for years,but only recently bought Vol 2. I played it about twice & that was it.
  Funnily enough,the one that seemed to appeal to me the most was, (looking at the box,to make sure I get the spelling right),'Ce qu'on entend sur la montagne'. (I hope Philips got the spelling right!). It goes on a bit too long for it's own good, I suppose, but the music has a mysterious,enigmatic quality.
A bit like the man himself! Oh and, 'Mazeppa's' great for late night listening! The music conjures all sorts of colourful images.
  I will have another go at Vol 2 later,and take note of your suggestions.
(Oh-oh! Someone just posted....)

[Pengelli]

Of course his solo piano output is supposed to be his best music,silly me! Not wanting to splash out on every one of the Hyperion series,a quick 'google' around,seems to suggest that Vol 39 (Annees de pelerinage), might be a good place to start. And Alan Walker!

[edurban]

There's a lot of Loeffler, big works and small--something for every performing and recording pocket book.  It all sounds gorgeous (or looks on the page as if it should sound gorgeous,) and just about all of it is at the Library of Congress.

http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.scdb.200033553/default.html

He's been shamefully neglected by recording companies (exceptions being Naxos' string chamber music disc, anything Loeffler wrote for solo oboe, and New World's lp-era disc of orchestral music.  If anyone knows of a post-lp version of A Pagan Poem, I'd like to know about it...)  But then, Loeffler, with his 'advanced' European tendencies, just doesn't seem 'Murkin enough for our musicians.  Time for some 'furners' to come to the rescue!
David

[Revilod]

Just a quick plug for Menotti's Violin Concerto...an excellent, melodious late Romantic piece. The pattering drum passage in the finale always stays with me. The Piano Concerto, though, is pretty second-rate, but I have to admit the finale is exhilarating enough! The whole concerto is full of that clean two-part writing Shostakovich makes use of in his Second Piano Concerto giving the music a neo-classical feel.

[chill319]

Just for the record, Edward MacDowell should be taken off jerfilm's interesting list. He was born in 1860. Any recent reference that perpetuates the 1861 birth date is not well researched.

I agree with David that Loeffler is a marvellous, quite undeservedly unsung composer. His neglect reminds me of Melartin's in that both were inspired craftsmen whose voice was too cosmopolitan for convenient pigeonholing. Loeffler's chamber music is a treasure.

[eschiss1]

Loeffler Pagan Poem: hrm, I only seem to be able to turn up a WorldCat record of a performance (possibly from 2000- a Google search turns up a page mentioning a 5/7/2000 performance of the Poem by the same orchestra - New England Conservatory-  and conductor - Charles Pittman - from that year, the Worldcat record only specifies the date, May 10, but no year ?!?) preserved on a library cassette.  Otherwise, it's mostly remasterings of a Stokowski LP on EMI all the way, so far as CDs have gone...

[TerraEpon]

Liszt was a genius.
And Hyperion is releasing a 99 disc box set of his piano music in February to celebrate this.

(Me, I'll just be getting the final 2CD set coming out in January...)

Obviously he's not unsung, though a large amount of his music is. I have a number of Hyperion's series, and I would agree that Vol. 39 is a good starter, though I'd go for Vol. 12 the 3rd Annee myself. Les Jeux d'Eaux a La Villa d'Este is one of the most beautiful pieces ever, and it anticipates Debussy in a big way (and then there's the 'late pieces', many of which one has to boggle that this was written by the same guy that wrote the Hungarian Rhapsodies and Paganini Etudes)
For more of an 'unsung' Liszt flavor, Volume 27 - National Songs and Anthems is a very nice disc. Despite the title, most of the works are 'original' (in the pre-350 part of the catalog), they just happen to use existing themes as a starting point (as many Liszt pieces do). It also contains two versions off an (assumedly) complete original,  Canzone Napolitana which is one of my absolute favorite little pieces ever.

[Pengelli]

Everyone's heard of Liszt, (well everyone who likes classical music),but I have always got the impression that allot of the music he composed is,if not exactly unsung,is still a bit controversial in terms of it's actual quality. I think this applies mostly to the orchestral music & possibly his choral & vocal works.
  Incidentally,I put on Vol 2 of the Haitink/ Symphonic poems after reading some of the postings here. I think I must have been in the wrong mood,or something,when I first played it. The first item on cd 1 is 'Heroide funebre'. What a cracker! And that's just the opener!

[Pengelli]

Vol 12? I'll make a note of that. What about Bolet,though? Any thoughts.

[FBerwald]

Well not so unsung but I nominate Glazunov solely for his 7 string quartets and 8(9) Symphonies which are criminally neglected. Just listen to his 4th and 5th symphony and 3rd quartet and see..............

[Alan Howe]

Well not so unsung but I nominate Glazunov

Unfortunately there is no significant anniversary for Glazunov in 2011...

[FBerwald]

Well not so unsung but I nominate Glazunov

Unfortunately there is no significant anniversary for Glazunov in 2011...

Woopsss!!!!!!!   Well then Alan Hovhaness for sure!!!

And death anniversary
Johan Svendsen (1840–1911) , Percy Grainger(1882–1961) and York Bowen(1884–1961),

[Pengelli]

Here's to Glazunov,anniversary or no anniversary,I say........but maybe not in this thread!!!
Regarding Hovhaness,I would like to see 2011 bring a commercial cd recording of his 8th 'Arjuna' symphony,which is one of his best.

[Pengelli]

Hope,I got the name & numbering right,there are so-ooooooooooooo many! This is the one with the piano in it!!!! Some of them do sound the same,but this one really rocks! If Naxos do it,I hope it's better than their recent cd of Roy Harris's 5th & 6th. Positively comatose! A pity since the 5th was,particularly, in need of a new recording. Very,very,VERY disappointing!
The extremely neglected American composer,Henry Cowell,(1897-1965), could do with an anniversary too. I wouldn't mind hearing some more of his symphonies...........but you can't invent anniversaries,can you? Even for Glazunov (1865-1936). (The ever enterprising Botstein has recorded some downloads of Cowell,I see).

[TerraEpon]

Incidently, re: Liszt, Hyperion already has the liner notes for the box set up on their site for DL. It's free -- and it's a great read by Howard himself. It also includes the notes of every single volume (apparently not included with the physical set).

I'm kind of surprised there's no other decently known 1811 composers though, really...