Okay the year is getting on and things haven't been going to plan, so I may shrink the Australian Composer Survey for now, but it will be an ongoing thing I suspect. But I do want to do one more now, which may also become an ongoing thing since the composer in question is alive and kicking, not to mention quite prolific. Of current Australian composers I think she is my favourite. She has written a hauntingly beautiful ballet, works for string quartet, reimaginings of Bach and much more. She is of course Elena Kats-Chernin.
In a switch from Glanville-Hicks, Elena was born in Tashkent and moved to Australia; but like Peggy she also studied music in Europe. And just as Peggy appears to be popular in Germany, Elena has written music for German/French projects namely some silent film soundtracks.
Probably her most famous piece is Eliza's Aria from the ballet Wild Swans. There are numerous versions of this on YouTube and it's readily available one various ABC albums and others. Originally a wordless aria, she has arranged it for solo piano (performed here by the composer herself) and piano and violin too. It's a remarkable piece with its lilting ups and downs, which I imagine are a considerable challenge to sing. Despite its somewhat staccato nature it flows smoothly, I picture it like a gentle river with ripples. The first movement of her second piano concerto works in a similar fashion - I found it by accident while looking for Clocks, her first major composition but it didn't appear.
To finish for now and to give you an idea of her versatility I'll just mention these two videos. The first is a Bucharian Melody, which reminds me a little of Ippolitov-Ivanov, probably from similar geographic origins I imagine but I'd need to investigate more. It definitely has the feel of Eastern Europe, to me anyway. The second is her Russian Rag, one of her ragtime pieces, played here on a delightful array of instruments I'm not even going to try to guess what they all are.
Reviews and thoughts from the music appreciation tentacle of Giant Squid Creations.
Saturday, 15 December 2012
Thursday, 6 December 2012
More Recordings Please - Peggy Glanville-Hicks
One of the first composers I learnt was Australian was Glanville-Hicks, a name I knew because one of her pieces was on the first of the Swoon CDs the ABC put out in the 90s and I played a lot. But it was only really this year that I found out anything about her, even the fact that her first name was Peggy. The fact that this is her centenary year is a nice bit of serendipity I guess.
For an Australian composer however, Peggy only just counts. She was born here and she died here, and she left a wonderful legacy for Australian composition with a Trust, but most of her training and career took place overseas. Sadly that's probably to be expected for the time.
Unfortunately too, it's not that easy to lay your hands on her music. Bits an pieces yes but compared to even some of the more obscure French composers I looked at earlier she is a veritable needle in a haystack. For instance, one of her most famous works - and the one represented on Swoon - is the Sinfonia da Pacifica, and it is on YouTube but only performed by the Community Women's Orchestra performing in a church hall in Oakland California. They do a good job but there's no mistaking they are a community orchestra. Where are the bigger recordings? The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra has made some but a quick search on the ABC Shop online shows they're not readily available - in that they don't even come up under a search.
Christopher Lawrence had Glanville-Hicks as his composer on the pedestal for the last week of Australian Music month. Several of the recordings were private. One of them was the celebrated inaugural recording of her opera Sappho which only happened this year and another was of another opera The Transposed Heads.
Classics Online has a few recordings of her in the NAXOS Archives section, one of which is unavailable in Australia, one is The Transposed Heads and the other has her Three Gymnopedies between two other works by composers I don't know at all. From the samples these are beautiful orchestral snippets. I think the TSO has done them too and I would love to find a copy.
Interestingly, the other YouTube video I have for her is of a Sonatina for Recorder - a delightful exploration of the instrument - performed by a German. This is interesting because the only other album I've found so far with a piece of her music on it is on a German label. So aside from what the TSO has done, it seems she has more of a name in Germany and the States than in her own country. This despite her generous legacy which supports middle career composers. Come on people.
For an Australian composer however, Peggy only just counts. She was born here and she died here, and she left a wonderful legacy for Australian composition with a Trust, but most of her training and career took place overseas. Sadly that's probably to be expected for the time.
Unfortunately too, it's not that easy to lay your hands on her music. Bits an pieces yes but compared to even some of the more obscure French composers I looked at earlier she is a veritable needle in a haystack. For instance, one of her most famous works - and the one represented on Swoon - is the Sinfonia da Pacifica, and it is on YouTube but only performed by the Community Women's Orchestra performing in a church hall in Oakland California. They do a good job but there's no mistaking they are a community orchestra. Where are the bigger recordings? The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra has made some but a quick search on the ABC Shop online shows they're not readily available - in that they don't even come up under a search.
Christopher Lawrence had Glanville-Hicks as his composer on the pedestal for the last week of Australian Music month. Several of the recordings were private. One of them was the celebrated inaugural recording of her opera Sappho which only happened this year and another was of another opera The Transposed Heads.
Classics Online has a few recordings of her in the NAXOS Archives section, one of which is unavailable in Australia, one is The Transposed Heads and the other has her Three Gymnopedies between two other works by composers I don't know at all. From the samples these are beautiful orchestral snippets. I think the TSO has done them too and I would love to find a copy.
Interestingly, the other YouTube video I have for her is of a Sonatina for Recorder - a delightful exploration of the instrument - performed by a German. This is interesting because the only other album I've found so far with a piece of her music on it is on a German label. So aside from what the TSO has done, it seems she has more of a name in Germany and the States than in her own country. This despite her generous legacy which supports middle career composers. Come on people.
Thursday, 29 November 2012
I'm Back
So I’m back, it’s been a long time but I’ve been working on NaNoWriMo so I didn’t have words to spare I’m afraid. Which means I’ve missed most of Australian Music Month, which is a pity after all the stuff I did on French composers. I will endeavour to have a look at some Aussies over the coming couple of weeks in the same way though.
I have to admit a lot of contemporary Australian classical music isn’t entirely to my tastes, possibly I just need to hear it more often. There are some pieces which have grown on me over time and that without them being heard all that often. So you never know, continued exposure to that style – I can’t define it specifically sorry – may help.
That said there are also some that I absolutely love and I look forward to exploring over the next few weeks. For now I’ll leave you with two short youtube videos – one Aussie and one not.
The Australian one is not what would usually be called classical music. It’s a song by a Melbourne duo called The Jane Austen Argument who fall into a delightfully vague genre called punk cabaret. I say vague because the bands that fit into it don’t fit anywhere, they just are, their music is what it is. And I think some of this duo’s songs do fall within the overarching umbrella of classical music, at least as much as other songs written by ‘classical’ composers. So here is one, for you delectation and consideration.
The second video I’m sharing simply because it is breathtaking in its beauty and its virtuosity. James Rhodes playing Felix Blumenfeld's Study for the Left Hand. I find James Rhodes to be a truly remarkable person and absolutely gifted pianist. He loves to play his piano and explore the music; just listen to him talk about this piece, it’s a real passion and it’s infectious. No pomposity, just a love of the music and a desire to share it with others.
I have to admit a lot of contemporary Australian classical music isn’t entirely to my tastes, possibly I just need to hear it more often. There are some pieces which have grown on me over time and that without them being heard all that often. So you never know, continued exposure to that style – I can’t define it specifically sorry – may help.
That said there are also some that I absolutely love and I look forward to exploring over the next few weeks. For now I’ll leave you with two short youtube videos – one Aussie and one not.
The Australian one is not what would usually be called classical music. It’s a song by a Melbourne duo called The Jane Austen Argument who fall into a delightfully vague genre called punk cabaret. I say vague because the bands that fit into it don’t fit anywhere, they just are, their music is what it is. And I think some of this duo’s songs do fall within the overarching umbrella of classical music, at least as much as other songs written by ‘classical’ composers. So here is one, for you delectation and consideration.
The second video I’m sharing simply because it is breathtaking in its beauty and its virtuosity. James Rhodes playing Felix Blumenfeld's Study for the Left Hand. I find James Rhodes to be a truly remarkable person and absolutely gifted pianist. He loves to play his piano and explore the music; just listen to him talk about this piece, it’s a real passion and it’s infectious. No pomposity, just a love of the music and a desire to share it with others.
Sunday, 28 October 2012
Henri Duparc
It's been a while since I posted and I think the whole French music thing is moving on now, but I meant to write a bit of a post-countdown thing so here it is. Mostly I was interested in checking out some of the composers whose names kept coming up but whose music didn't make the countdown. From my viewpoint Henri Duparc was by far the most-mentioned no-show so let's start there.
Just a quick look on Wikipedia tells me a talented man ended up with a tragic life. A neurological condition stopped him from composing in his late 30s and sent him slowly blind. And in that tragic circumstance and who knows what else, he destroyed a lot of his work.
He was usually mentioned in terms of his songs and indeed the list only let you vote for songs he wrote. I confess to having no real interest in listening to them, but he did write some orchestral and piano music. Sadly a lot of this is lost, but there is his symphonic poem Lenore, based on a Gothic ballad about Death riding a lover to his grave - she thinking him a knight leading her to their marriage bed. While it conveys the haste of the ride and is dramatic and certainly a fine piece of music, it isn't quite as dark as its morbid subject matter would suggest. That said, it is very much a Romantic piece, and the sorrowful revelation, the slow and soft conclusion as Lenore learns of her lover's death and dies herself is quite chill and haunting.
There is also his Aux Etoiles, which seems to have had two lives at the least. It seems to be the only surviving part of a symphonic poem written in 1874, and the Entracte for an unpublished play, for which it seems to have been written in 1911, the same year he released a solo piano reduction of the work. Given this is all coming from Wiki which says he stopped writing in 1885, I assume the Entracte phase was a salvage job, 'here's something I wrote earlier that might suit'. That or there are two works with the same name by the same man, and Wiki is missing some vital information.
Whatever the case, it is sublimely beautiful. Aux Etoiles apparently translates to "To the Stars" and the gentle music does have the sense of floating in the eternity of space with the stars shining all around you. It's very evocative.
I said composers, but for now at least I think I'll leave it at just Duparc. Anything after that last piece is superfluous. Listen to it and swoon away.
Just a quick look on Wikipedia tells me a talented man ended up with a tragic life. A neurological condition stopped him from composing in his late 30s and sent him slowly blind. And in that tragic circumstance and who knows what else, he destroyed a lot of his work.
He was usually mentioned in terms of his songs and indeed the list only let you vote for songs he wrote. I confess to having no real interest in listening to them, but he did write some orchestral and piano music. Sadly a lot of this is lost, but there is his symphonic poem Lenore, based on a Gothic ballad about Death riding a lover to his grave - she thinking him a knight leading her to their marriage bed. While it conveys the haste of the ride and is dramatic and certainly a fine piece of music, it isn't quite as dark as its morbid subject matter would suggest. That said, it is very much a Romantic piece, and the sorrowful revelation, the slow and soft conclusion as Lenore learns of her lover's death and dies herself is quite chill and haunting.
There is also his Aux Etoiles, which seems to have had two lives at the least. It seems to be the only surviving part of a symphonic poem written in 1874, and the Entracte for an unpublished play, for which it seems to have been written in 1911, the same year he released a solo piano reduction of the work. Given this is all coming from Wiki which says he stopped writing in 1885, I assume the Entracte phase was a salvage job, 'here's something I wrote earlier that might suit'. That or there are two works with the same name by the same man, and Wiki is missing some vital information.
Whatever the case, it is sublimely beautiful. Aux Etoiles apparently translates to "To the Stars" and the gentle music does have the sense of floating in the eternity of space with the stars shining all around you. It's very evocative.
I said composers, but for now at least I think I'll leave it at just Duparc. Anything after that last piece is superfluous. Listen to it and swoon away.
Saturday, 13 October 2012
Classic 100 Music of France - Day 7
What a fantastic conclusion to a wonderful countdown. No real surprises in what made it in but the order was a little unexpected.
The Bolero started us off. It's quite a divisive piece, lots of lovers and almost as many haters. I went through a period of disliking it, I don't think I ever hated it though. But through avoidance for a time and monitoring how often I listen to it now I've come to enjoy it again. I wouldn't say I love it but I do like it. In a good performance the build of the music is actually a wondrous thing which demonstrates Ravel's mastery over an orchestra I think. And done well I do feel compelled to air-conduct the last bits.
Songs of the Auvergne, as belatedly predicted. I will say, hearing more than just the mandatory Baillero which is on so many compilations, not every song in the collection is as saccharine and dull as it is. But they still do nothing for me.
Berlioz's master work, the Symphonie Fantastique, on the other hand. Well, given my love of dramatic music I think I need say no more really. A truly monumental work and an absolute thrill to listen to.
One slight surprise was that Debussy's Prelude a l'apres d'un faun (which I think I've been calling a pavane for a couple of days, put that down to Faure fever) came in at only No 6. I thought it would be top five for sure and expected it may even have won. It is such an amazing piece, it conjures a dreamscape unlike any other, just as the poem it's based on says it should. And from all accounts it was a revolutionary and inspirational piece at its time, setting the mood for the whole century to follow.
I confess I don't really know The Pearl Fishers, and while I don't mind the famous duet from it, it's not one of those few opera songs which has managed to grow on me yet anyway.
Satie's Gymnopedies ... what can I say? Utter beauty on the keyboard. The first is one of those quintessential swoon moments that takes time and stuffs it in a bin for a while, there is only the music. The other two are almost equally as tranquil and it's great to hear them played together.
Not only did Faure's Requiem come third, it was also the third requiem in the countdown. It has neither the dark landscape or Durufle or the drama of Berlioz, but resonates the peace and rest the others offer in part all the way through. It is a positive requiem if we can say that, death as culmination of life, as the coming of peace.
The last of my votes at No 2! Very happy with that, Saint-Saens Symphony No 3. With the exciting opening movement, the lovely breeze blowing in the slow second movement and of course the surprise organ at the end. It has it all, a masterpiece of innovation within a classical form. I really didn't think it would do this well so now maybe I should've voted for the Danse Macabre but ultimately I'm very happy with the overall outcome.
Which of course left Bizet's Carmen to take out the top spot. Deemed too scandalous even for the French at the time, he never got to see it succeed, must be a surprise to him to know just how popular it is. In the suite form I love it, slightly exotic flavour, lots of action, wonderful rhythms, a total delight. In the opera form I'm less thrilled but in this one a number of the songs have grown on me and I enjoy it a lot. A fitting finale to what was a tumultuous and rich musical countdown.
The Bolero started us off. It's quite a divisive piece, lots of lovers and almost as many haters. I went through a period of disliking it, I don't think I ever hated it though. But through avoidance for a time and monitoring how often I listen to it now I've come to enjoy it again. I wouldn't say I love it but I do like it. In a good performance the build of the music is actually a wondrous thing which demonstrates Ravel's mastery over an orchestra I think. And done well I do feel compelled to air-conduct the last bits.
Songs of the Auvergne, as belatedly predicted. I will say, hearing more than just the mandatory Baillero which is on so many compilations, not every song in the collection is as saccharine and dull as it is. But they still do nothing for me.
Berlioz's master work, the Symphonie Fantastique, on the other hand. Well, given my love of dramatic music I think I need say no more really. A truly monumental work and an absolute thrill to listen to.
One slight surprise was that Debussy's Prelude a l'apres d'un faun (which I think I've been calling a pavane for a couple of days, put that down to Faure fever) came in at only No 6. I thought it would be top five for sure and expected it may even have won. It is such an amazing piece, it conjures a dreamscape unlike any other, just as the poem it's based on says it should. And from all accounts it was a revolutionary and inspirational piece at its time, setting the mood for the whole century to follow.
I confess I don't really know The Pearl Fishers, and while I don't mind the famous duet from it, it's not one of those few opera songs which has managed to grow on me yet anyway.
Satie's Gymnopedies ... what can I say? Utter beauty on the keyboard. The first is one of those quintessential swoon moments that takes time and stuffs it in a bin for a while, there is only the music. The other two are almost equally as tranquil and it's great to hear them played together.
Not only did Faure's Requiem come third, it was also the third requiem in the countdown. It has neither the dark landscape or Durufle or the drama of Berlioz, but resonates the peace and rest the others offer in part all the way through. It is a positive requiem if we can say that, death as culmination of life, as the coming of peace.
The last of my votes at No 2! Very happy with that, Saint-Saens Symphony No 3. With the exciting opening movement, the lovely breeze blowing in the slow second movement and of course the surprise organ at the end. It has it all, a masterpiece of innovation within a classical form. I really didn't think it would do this well so now maybe I should've voted for the Danse Macabre but ultimately I'm very happy with the overall outcome.
Which of course left Bizet's Carmen to take out the top spot. Deemed too scandalous even for the French at the time, he never got to see it succeed, must be a surprise to him to know just how popular it is. In the suite form I love it, slightly exotic flavour, lots of action, wonderful rhythms, a total delight. In the opera form I'm less thrilled but in this one a number of the songs have grown on me and I enjoy it a lot. A fitting finale to what was a tumultuous and rich musical countdown.
Friday, 12 October 2012
Classic 100 Music of France - Day 6
Happy to say most of the pieces in today's countdown were in my predictions of yesterday. I didn't pick Adam's carol O Holy Night or Widor's Organ Symphony No 5. I also had two Debussy Preludes where the countdown put the lot together as one entry. Bit annoyed about that actually, I agree they should be one entry like they were last year but on the voting page there was only about half of them and they were all listed as separate votes. So some fiddle-faddling has taken place there.
So not much in the way of discovery today. Coppelia was new for me and I enjoyed it a lot. Knowing the story it came from, ETA Hoffman's The Sandman, I felt it could have been a bit darker but it was certainly dramatic enough and anyone who reads this blog much will probably have noticed I do like dramatic music.
It was also great to hear the rest of the Suite Bergamasques. I know Clair de Lune deserves its place as a masterpiece and quintessential swoon, but the rest of the pieces in this work deserve to be heard more often too. Differing moods, all strongly represented and offering the pianist a wonderful experience I'm sure.
In my predictions I did forget Canteloube's Songs of the Auvergne, somewhat foolish or maybe just wishful thinking. I'm sorry but I just don't dig it. Probably just lacking in drama or something but I find it saccharine and dull. However, I expect they will come in fairly high. Which means I must accept the demise of Faure's Bereceuse and Poulenc's Sextet, which were both stretches I admit for personal favouritism. Actually, thinking about I don't think Ravel's Tzigane is a likely top 10 piece, not over his String Quartet and Piano Concerto ... so there's something else coming too.
A quick apology too - I meant Saint-Saens Organ Symphony not Concerto ... I voted for it so I do know that. Whoops.
So not much in the way of discovery today. Coppelia was new for me and I enjoyed it a lot. Knowing the story it came from, ETA Hoffman's The Sandman, I felt it could have been a bit darker but it was certainly dramatic enough and anyone who reads this blog much will probably have noticed I do like dramatic music.
It was also great to hear the rest of the Suite Bergamasques. I know Clair de Lune deserves its place as a masterpiece and quintessential swoon, but the rest of the pieces in this work deserve to be heard more often too. Differing moods, all strongly represented and offering the pianist a wonderful experience I'm sure.
In my predictions I did forget Canteloube's Songs of the Auvergne, somewhat foolish or maybe just wishful thinking. I'm sorry but I just don't dig it. Probably just lacking in drama or something but I find it saccharine and dull. However, I expect they will come in fairly high. Which means I must accept the demise of Faure's Bereceuse and Poulenc's Sextet, which were both stretches I admit for personal favouritism. Actually, thinking about I don't think Ravel's Tzigane is a likely top 10 piece, not over his String Quartet and Piano Concerto ... so there's something else coming too.
A quick apology too - I meant Saint-Saens Organ Symphony not Concerto ... I voted for it so I do know that. Whoops.
Thursday, 11 October 2012
Classic 100 Music of France - Day 5
Two great symphonies in today's countdown. Franck's opened proceedings this morning and it was quite a journey I must say. From the brooding opening chords to the celebration of light at the conclusion. A real journey and good fun. And from that straight into Saint-Saens' second piano concerto which is simply brilliant in its shifts from light poetry to strong declamation then back to dancing instruments and all seamlessly. The second symphony was Bizet's which is a sheer joy to listen to.
Keeping with new pieces (for me), Chabrier's Espagna was a jolly jaunt with Spanish flair. Interesting just how many pieces were written by non-Spanish people inspired by the country. I love that Franck wrote his violin sonata as a wedding present for a violinist who managed to take the score and play it at the wedding. The slow movement seemed strangely sorrowful and I don't think the rest of the piece is entirely lovey-dovey but it's mostly celebratory, at least of violin playing. Overall I prefer the cello version but I prefer cello in general so that's to be expected.
Despite comments from the announcers about Faure being boring, I found his Cantique de Jean Racine to be one of those tranquil pieces you can really just stop the world and listen to.
And my wish from yesterday came true! Giselle came in, what a treat that was. Great story behind it, and the music really rocks along. Then a second ballet with Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe. I'd only heard the second suite before today which doesn't do the whole work justice. As a whole it weaves a spell that can't function as well when it's broken into pieces.
A few more operas made it in today. Interesting to note Offenbach used the can-can in his Orpheus in the Underworld as well as in Gaite Parisiene. Gounod's Faust was a bit different and quite nice. I love the Bacchanale from Samson et Delilah too, it's fantastic. But I'm still not an opera fan overall despite the beautiful music between the main singing. Sorry opera buffs.
From here it's tempting to start predicting the rest of the pieces to come in. So here it is - in no particular order - my predictions. Happy to be wrong.
1. Debussy – Suite de Bergamasque
2. Debussy – Pavane ... Faun
3. Debussy – Submerged Cathedral
4. Debussy – Girl with the Flaxen Hair
5. Debussy – La Mer
6. Ravel – Pavane for a Dead Princess
7. Ravel – Bolero
8. Ravel – String Quartet
9. Ravel – Piano Concerto
10. Faure – Pavane
11. Faure – Requiem
12. Delibes – Lakme
13. Delibes – Coppelia
14. Satie – Gymnopedies
15. Satie – Gnossiennes
16. Saint-Saens – Danse Macabre
17. Saint-Saens – Carnival of the Animals
18. Saint-Saens – Organ Concerto
19. Dukas – Sorcerer’s Apprentice
20. Bizet – Carmen
21. Bizet – Pearl Fishers
22. Bizet – L’Arlsienne
23. Berlioz – Symphonie Fantastique
24. Massenet – Thais
25. Poulenc – Sextet
26. Offenbach – Tales of Hoffmann
27. Faure – Bereceuse, Op 16
28. Ravel – Tzigane
Keeping with new pieces (for me), Chabrier's Espagna was a jolly jaunt with Spanish flair. Interesting just how many pieces were written by non-Spanish people inspired by the country. I love that Franck wrote his violin sonata as a wedding present for a violinist who managed to take the score and play it at the wedding. The slow movement seemed strangely sorrowful and I don't think the rest of the piece is entirely lovey-dovey but it's mostly celebratory, at least of violin playing. Overall I prefer the cello version but I prefer cello in general so that's to be expected.
Despite comments from the announcers about Faure being boring, I found his Cantique de Jean Racine to be one of those tranquil pieces you can really just stop the world and listen to.
And my wish from yesterday came true! Giselle came in, what a treat that was. Great story behind it, and the music really rocks along. Then a second ballet with Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe. I'd only heard the second suite before today which doesn't do the whole work justice. As a whole it weaves a spell that can't function as well when it's broken into pieces.
A few more operas made it in today. Interesting to note Offenbach used the can-can in his Orpheus in the Underworld as well as in Gaite Parisiene. Gounod's Faust was a bit different and quite nice. I love the Bacchanale from Samson et Delilah too, it's fantastic. But I'm still not an opera fan overall despite the beautiful music between the main singing. Sorry opera buffs.
From here it's tempting to start predicting the rest of the pieces to come in. So here it is - in no particular order - my predictions. Happy to be wrong.
1. Debussy – Suite de Bergamasque
2. Debussy – Pavane ... Faun
3. Debussy – Submerged Cathedral
4. Debussy – Girl with the Flaxen Hair
5. Debussy – La Mer
6. Ravel – Pavane for a Dead Princess
7. Ravel – Bolero
8. Ravel – String Quartet
9. Ravel – Piano Concerto
10. Faure – Pavane
11. Faure – Requiem
12. Delibes – Lakme
13. Delibes – Coppelia
14. Satie – Gymnopedies
15. Satie – Gnossiennes
16. Saint-Saens – Danse Macabre
17. Saint-Saens – Carnival of the Animals
18. Saint-Saens – Organ Concerto
19. Dukas – Sorcerer’s Apprentice
20. Bizet – Carmen
21. Bizet – Pearl Fishers
22. Bizet – L’Arlsienne
23. Berlioz – Symphonie Fantastique
24. Massenet – Thais
25. Poulenc – Sextet
26. Offenbach – Tales of Hoffmann
27. Faure – Bereceuse, Op 16
28. Ravel – Tzigane
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