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Hello Jimmosk

I was intrigued by your comments re- the symphony i.e. the grandeur and catchiness of the opening movement and the whirligig of the Scherzo and the comparative weakness of the finale. I assume you mean the symphony in A. I listenened to sound bites on Amazon.com. The 4 movements are listed as I. Moderato II. Quasi maestoso. III. Moderato IV Vivace. Which movement is the Scherzo you refer to? The closing movement is the one you refer to as a bit like a drinking song but the other movements are, at least from the brief snipments I heard, all slow/slowish? Can you clarify please.

Cheers
Dennis

Again, it is very interesting reading this thread. I bought a number of Weingartner disks ( all on CPO) quite some time ago. I listened to them a bit, and then left them on the shelf. Due to this thread, I got them out again and gave them another listen. I have always liked symphony no 1, especially its elegant writing for the woodwinds in the first movement (very memorable) but even re-listening to the subsequent symphonies, I still found myself a little bored (apologies to all Weingartner lovers). It's difficult to say exactly why this is the case, I guess that, for me at least, the later symphonies don't have the freshness or lyricism of the first symphony. The first also has a lightness of touch that the later symphonies do not - a question of personal taste certainly! Listening again to the first symphony led me to investigate some of his other works on Amazon. I subsequently discovered the VC, and noted that Weingartner is the first to declare that there is a particularly close connection between the VC and the first symphony, from a musical inspiration point of view. I listened to sound bites and immediately ordered the cd. As I write, it is on its way to me. I suspect I will agree with Peter 1953's assessment that this work is a real gem!

cheers
Dennis

It has been very interesting reading this thread.  I am rather like Josh and am likewise just a "music-listener", with no formal training or education as such in music. And just like Josh, I have always enjoyed listening to Raff's symphony number 6 but did immediately recognize that the sixth was not in the same league as either No 3 or no 5. It always made a pleasant change though to listen to number 6. Reading Mark's thread made me get number 6 again and this time listen to it more as an academic exercise. I tend to agree with most of the comments mentioned in this thread but would add, that from my perspective, I rather like the fourth movement best of all. I like the way it begins, dance-like and written quite elegantly to start with. The movement then takes on on more boisterous character as the movement gains momentum and finishes on a joyous high. The movement always leaves feeling quite content with the symphony as a whole. Symphony no 6 though is not in my top 5, as far as symphonies go as I feel it is not as striking, from an inspirational point of view, especially compared with the most famous of his symphonies. I myself, am particularly fond of the 4 symphonies making up his "Seasons" cycle. I was though intrigued by the comments re- the tempo of the Larghetto. Mark rightly points out that the tempo is far too quick. I have only today, come to that conclusion, having just listened again to the symphony as a whole  and then listening to sound bites of the Schneider interpretation. I have only the Stadlmair version and it does not convey the same gravity this movements calls for, when compared to the Schneider version. That said, I still like symphony no 6, even the Stadlmair interpretation!

Cheers
Dennis

I would like to thank Kevin for alerting me to the music of Vranicky. I listened to sound bites of Vranicky's symphonies and very much liked what I heard - a double cd of 6 symphonies, which I have since ordered. The music is a cross between Mozart and Beethoven, yet still seems quite original. From the Amazon site , it seems that Vranicky was quite admired by both Mozart and Beethoven! It was only after reading subsequent posts on this thread that I realised I had ordered symphonies by Pawel Vranicky and not Antonin Vranicky! I am though not at all disappointed at having ordered the symphonies of Pawel Vranicky! I have since tried to track down a recording of the Aphrodite symphony by A. Vravnicky but so far have not been successful (no longer available on Amazon, nor is there a mention on Jpc.de etc.). I will keep looking.

Thanks again Kevin. Thanks also to all the other members who have contributed to this thread.

cheers
Dennis

Recently I discovered by chance the music of one of Georgia's foremost composers -Sulkan Tsintsadze. I had purchased Brilliant's  Russian Historical Archives Alexander Gauk edition. On CD 8 of the 10 CD set, was a piece by this composer entitled "Fantasy for piano and orchestra". I was immediately attracted to the work, very much like Rachmaninov in places (  more joyous though than melancolic), but also reminiscent of Khatchaturian, especially in the orchestral climaxes. I really like this piece. Sadly the music is slightly spoiled by persistant coughing in this, a live recording!!! To my knowledge, this is the only commercial recording presently available. If I found a studio recording, I would buy it immediately. The Fantasy is by the way, a reworking of a Piano concerto after Georgian themes, which I would love to acquire! Other Tsintsadze works freely available are" Miniatures" and also some string quartets. I have since discovered another "Fantasy" but this time for violin and string orchestra, which I have on order. Are any members familiar with this composer and what do they think of his music? I know there are symphonies and other concertos. Your comments would be most welcome, especially if you know of other commercial recordings.

Cheers
Dennis

As a result of the various comments on Gade, I have been re-listening to all his symphonies. I have them all but as Mark says, his symphony no 1 is by far the best of the bunch. I have listened to no 1 several times in the last couple of days and its freshness and originality are still quite thrilling.

cheers
Dennis

Thank you TerraEpon and Eric for the Allmusic website. There are soundbites there of every track of the double cd, which I listened to with great interest. I have bookmarked the site. Strange that Google do not show Allmusic when one enters Hartmann Valkyrien. Thanks again
Cheers
Dennis

Hello TerraEpon

Thanks to this thread, I bought Hartmann's symphonies nos 1 and 2 and already, I am very fond of his music. I was intrigued by your comments on his ballet music "die Valkyrien". I did some research on the internet. Amazon are selling the double cd for just under £40.00!!(rather expensive to say the least!) Unfortunately, I can not find any sound bites on the net but did find a couple of reviews. One review described the music as "boisterous". The other said that the music was fairly "pleasant" but lacked dramatic impact and did not fit well with the play's dramatic scenes.  It also lacked some exotic colour, bearing in mind the play's later location (I think it referred to Byzantine? but I may be wrong on that). I wonder if you could give me more of your views on the ballet music? Also, how does this music compare with his 2 symphonies? Any info would be much appreciated.
Kind regards
DennisS

Thank you Jonathan for the excellent tip re- the £2.99 Hartmann disc from Naxos Direct. I received my copy yesterday and so far have only listened to symphony no 1, which I very much enjoyed.

cheers
Dennis

I would like to nominate Kalinnikov's 2nd symphony - Russian State Symphony Orchestra, conductor Evgeny Svetlanov. A tremendous performance, full of  passion, with a truly stirring Russian finale. Svetlanov also manages to do full justice to the work's lyricism and makes the many glorious melodies really memorable. Not a recent recording obviously but still a great sound.

cheers
Dennis

Do any members know this operetta from Künneke? The title suggests something slightly exotic, oriental (I really love this type of classical music) but there is only the briefest of sound bites on Jpc.de (just 30 seconds). The music certainly sounds middle eastern. Although an operetta and the cd on Jpc is the complete work, I am wondering if there are any overtures, ballet sequences etc within the operetta. Any info would be appreciated.
Cheers
Dennis

Sorry

Re-reading my post, I noted that I said Rubinstein's symphony no 2, second movement. That obviously should have read Rubinstein's symphony number five!!!!!

apologies for typo!

Dennis

Every so often, I come across a symphony in which one of the movements stands out more than the others and often can be listened to on its own. The characteristics of this type of movement, that appeals particularly to me are humour, goodnaturedness, brio and elan. In a nutshell, a movement that is a real joy to listen to, i.e. great fun. I can think of a couple of such movements from, for example, some of the Raff symphonies, but in this instance, I have been particularly taken with the second movement of the Rubinstein symphony no 2 ( sorry - yet another reference to Rubinstein!!!!). It's 7 :25 min go by in a twinkle and it's very easy to want to listen to the movement several times in succession. Listening to this movement really does put a smile on my face. Do other members have suggestions of movements which fall into this category?

Cheers
Dennis

I was intrigued by comments made about Rubinstein's 5th symphony. I listened to sound bites of the symphony and was immediately attracted to the second movement. I consequently ordered the cd, which I received this morning. This afternoon I played the cd and have to say that I very much enjoyed the symphony overall and in particular the second movement. I can well appreciate why one member played this movement over and over! It's such a fun movement, good humoured and joyous. Indeed the whole symphony, as described on Amazon is that is it perhaps the most joyous of all Rubinstein's works. For me the whole symphony works. The third movement had me thinking of Dvorak's New World symphony for a few moments, with its brass opening, had visions of Hovis bread for a while - hope that doesn't sound too silly but that was the effect the first minute or so of the 3rd movement had on me!!! I don't know any of the other symphonies but suspect they are far more serious and therefore a lot less fun to listen too. I plan to look into the other symphonies though in due course. I note that Demon is also mentioned in this thread. Checking my cds, I came across "Exotic music from the Opera" and one of the tracks is "Ballet music from the Demon". Listening to it a couple of times, I liked the piece (approx. 9 mins in length) and found it quite melodious - not great music but certainly a very enjoyable listen.
Cheers
Dennis

Re-Kriton 's comments re-early Stravinsky works, I have a very nice cd of Stravinsky works on Decca/ Charles Dutoit. Some of the works are early Stravinsky i.e. Scherzo fantastique, opus 3, symphonies of wind instruments (original version, 1920) , coupled with symphony in C and the later Symphony in three movements. I am very fond of this cd. I also have  a Anne-Sophie Mutter cd/DG with the charming Stravinsky violin concerto en ré - a delightful piece. I too, tend to like the early Stravinsky much more than the later. Le Sacre of course, holds a place to itself!
Cheers
Dennis