As the title to this thread suggests I would like to hear what you would suggest to be examples of emotionally very moving Adagios by lesser known/performed composers.
A while ago I came across the music of Egon Wellesz. While I had some difficulties with his later works, the more tonal earlier works fascinated me - especially the Adagios in the first 3 symphonies. To me they displayed some similar qualities like Mahler's 10 (Adagio). Of course for me the pinnacle of most wonderful Adagios is always Mahler, but I would love to know what else there might be out there.
So here are my own suggestion for starters - Adagios from:
Egon Wellesz: Symphonies 1, 2 and 3
Felix Blumenfeld: Symphony in c minor
Casella: Symphony No. 1
Raff: Symphony No. 10
... at least this is what i can think of right now from the top of my head...
now, let's hear what moves you - which slow movement gets you 'on your knees'?
Welcome Crescendo!
Assuming that you are happy to slightly widen the category to slow movements in general then Raff's Lenore is my No.1 nomination (although it's actually marked Andante quasi larghetto). My No.2 is also Raff: the Piano Concerto's central movement (which has the same marking as Lenore). Both still move me to tears, no matter how many times I've heard them.
Once again, I'll go for the Adagio non troppo from Franz Lachner's String Quartet Op. 173 in C minor. :'(
Here's a vote for the 2nd movement of Joachim's 3rd VC. But the slow movements of Rufinatscha's last two symphonies aren't far behind.
Some subjective choices of my own, in no real order-
*The Larghetto from Felix Draeseke's first sonata for viola alta and piano.
*The Andante (finale) from the first string quartet by Sergei Prokofiev.
*maybe that from Stenhammar's 4th string quartet (though more withdrawn, less on-its-sleeve. but still. The adagio- though the concluding Andante with variations movement could in some way qualify, it's the adagio 2nd movement I mean (though the andante finale is, really, even more charged...)... Or- the lovely B-flat minor Ostinato slow movement from his 3rd quartet... that's a very, very strong contender.)
(and there are some that I find myself humming quite alot, like that - in F-sharp major ...- of Robert Fuchs' 4th string quartet - already straying off-subject here.)
*not as Romantic (though very emotional)- the slow movements of the 2nd and 3rd of Arthur Honegger's string quartets.
Eric
My choice is another Raff. The most moving Adagio I know is the 2nd movement of his VC2, op. 206. It starts with a brilliant, sensitive opening, followed by a beautiful developed, emotionally and compelling Adagio.
A slow movement that really gave me a moving listening-experience was no Adagio, but the Largo from Eivind Groven's Symphony no. 1 "Towards the Mountains".
A solo tuba is dominating the movement, and Groven uses the unusual solo-instrument to create an atmosphere that leave me absolutely speechless.
The BIS-recording is warmly recommended.
The Lento from Geirr Tveitt's Piano Concerto no. 1 would also be on my list.
But of course, Groven and Tveitt are Norwegians and so am I. So these choices are VERY subjective.
Morten
Unsung-wise Scriabin is no Apolinary Szeluto, to be sure. Still, I nominate his rarely played opening Lento from Symphony 1. A more soulful and sustained exposition on the beauty of cycle-of-fifths tonality and 4-3 suspensions I do not recall.
Machavariani, Violin Concerto, mvt. 2
Berwald: Sinfonie Singuliere, Sifnonie Serieuse and Symphony no 4
Stenhammar: First Piano Concerto, Serenade (both the canzonetta and the notturno)
Taneyev: symphony no 2
Martucci: symphony no 2
Moeran: symphony
...just to name a few!
thank you for all the interesting suggestions!
i am having fun in the challenge of tracking some of them down :-)
lately i bought the only available album of tyberg's symphony (which is great) and i was also very positively surprised by the included piano trio, it has a hauntingly beautiful adagio as well which i wholeheartedly recommend. an absolute gem.
I must add another, very moving Adagio. The 3rd movement of Bortkiewicz's 1st Symphony. What a heart rending sense of sorrow he has created. How is it possible to translate such intense emotions into overwhelming music like this?
I've listened to this Adagio a couple of times this morning. What a moving music. I strongly recommend listening to this music, but if you are (already) in a sombre mood, don't. Bortkiewicz amplifies your inner feelings.
One of my favorites is the adagio from Jean Berveiller's Suite for Organ...
While the other movements of the Suite are exciting and enjoyable, it appears that the adagio has the most emotional and compositional substance (IMHO, of course). It doesn't quite bring me to tears, but....
Another piece is the Rosace of René Blin http://imslp.org/wiki/Rosace_%28Blin,_Ren%C3%A9_Louis%29 (http://imslp.org/wiki/Rosace_%28Blin,_Ren%C3%A9_Louis%29), a piece I've become rather obsessed with (probably far in excess of its actual musical value, but...)
I've actually performed the Blin, have yet to get the score to the Berveiller
Best,
- G
Don't know if the Berveiller suite is available anywhere for free- rather doubt it since it's not out of the public domain anywhere yet (composer died 1976, so not PD-CA until 2027, or PD-EU for some while after that; piece composed 1947, so not PD-US for some while yet either...) but there is a site offering to sell the score for 20 euros...
Eric
Quote from: eschiss1 on Tuesday 09 November 2010, 04:16
Don't know if the Berveiller suite is available anywhere for free- rather doubt it since it's not out of the public domain anywhere yet (composer died 1976, so not PD-CA until 2027, or PD-EU for some while after that; piece composed 1947, so not PD-US for some while yet either...) but there is a site offering to sell the score for 20 euros...
Eric
No worries - it is in my Interlibrary Loan que ;D
I come up with another moving and remarkable Adagio. It's the 2nd movement of Atterberg's Symphony 8, op. 48. I think it's based upon folk tunes, but how aptly Atterberg creates a typical Nordic atmosphere. It reminds me of Sibelius's 'The Swan of Tuonela'. If you've ever been in Northern Scandinavia, with its lonely, beautiful landscape, only nature, no human-beings around within hundreds of miles, then this is the music that fits in that picture. Just beautiful!