Musical Anniversaries 2015

[Suffolkcoastal]

I'd forgotten about Taneyev, three varied Russian composers to explore then in 2015, Glazunov, Scriabin & Taneyev. I wonder how the new regime will treat Rutter, if it was still RW then we'd probably have had a 'wall to wall' Rutter day, timed to coincide with one on CFM.

[Alison]

Actually I am genuinely surprised Rutter is 'only' 70!

[maestro267]

Someone that hasn't been mentioned yet is the New Zealand composer Douglas Lilburn, born in 1915. Three fine symphonies to his name.

Also, 25 years since Copland and Bernstein died, 50 years since Varese died, 80 years since Nicholas Maw was born.

As for the two major Scandinavian composers, I really think Nielsen is in need of a reappraisal this year, much more so than Sibelius. I was checking the Proms Archive earlier, and found that all the symphonies apart from 4 & 5 have only ever been performed once or twice each. Quite shocking, really. They must be heard. But no doubt they'll play it safe and programme the less adventurous Sibelius symphony cycle.

[teamsaint]

Someone that hasn't been mentioned yet is the New Zealand composer Douglas Lilburn, born in 1915. Three fine symphonies to his name.

Also, 25 years since Copland and Bernstein died, 50 years since Varese died, 80 years since Nicholas Maw was born.

As for the two major Scandinavian composers, I really think Nielsen is in need of a reappraisal this year, much more so than Sibelius. I was checking the Proms Archive earlier, and found that all the symphonies apart from 4 & 5 have only ever been performed once or twice each. Quite shocking, really. They must be heard. But no doubt they'll play it safe and programme the less adventurous Sibelius symphony cycle.

It is also the 50th anniversary this year of the death of Henry Cowell. (Died December 1965)

Not a single piece of his music has ever been performed at the Proms, according to the archive.

[EdgeleyRob]

I want to explore more of Taneyev d 1915.

Marvelous music Alison,but only IMVHO.
I know you enjoy Glazunov so Taneyev will be right up your street.
The critics say his output is uneven,I'm not sure about that.
Plenty on you tube.
I have a few Naxos cds,symphonies and string quartets mainly,my favourite record is this star studded Piano trio and quintet.

[Roehre]

Marvelous music Alison,but only IMVHO.
I know you enjoy Glazunov so Taneyev will be right up your street.
The critics say his output is uneven,I'm not sure about that.
Plenty on you tube.
I have a few Naxos cds,symphonies and string quartets mainly,my favourite record is this star studded Piano trio and quintet.

and you always could start with Tchaikovsky's Andante and finale for piano and orchestra op.79

Three orchestral works to start wirth IMO: Overture Ortesteia, Symphony [no.4] in c op.12 and Symphony [no.2] in b-flat (incomplete, though composed in 1878. Alexander Blok prepared the 3rd mvt - the rest is authentical S. Tanaiev, and if you like the slow mvt of Schumann 2 than this mvt found its match here)

[EdgeleyRob]

and you always could start with Tchaikovsky's Andante and finale for piano and orchestra op.79

Three orchestral works to start wirth IMO: Overture Ortesteia, Symphony [no.4] in c op.12 and Symphony [no.2] in b-flat (incomplete, though composed in 1878. Alexander Blok prepared the 3rd mvt - the rest is authentical S. Tanaiev, and if you like the slow mvt of Schumann 2 than this mvt found its match here)

Thanks Roehre,I had to look that up,didn't know Taneyev had orchestrated and realised these movements.

[kea]

Sibelius, Nielsen, Glazunov et al should satisfy the public's current fetish for neo-romanticism easily I think. Imagine it'll be Sibelius all year for the English speaking world, but I expect at least one Nielsen cycle on Radio 3 and someone telling us at great length about how 'undeservedly neglected' Glazunov is

(2015 also marks Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre's 350th and Jacques Duphly's 300th, incidentally. Robert Volkmann's 200th is a nice reminder even though he only wrote about one really good composition)

I'm more interested in who they'll focus on in 2016. Busoni? Granados? Reger? Froberger? Can't imagine any of them would make for a very exciting Proms season... not a single symphony between the lot >.>

[Pabmusic]

Two war casualties:

W. Denis Browne (3 June 1888 - 4 or ?later June 1915) Achi Baba, Cape Helles

Rudi Stephan (29 July 1887 - 29 September 1915) Tarnopol, Galicia

[DublinJimbo]

Pierre Boulez 90th birthday on 26th March.
Terry Riley 80th birthday on 24th June.
Evelyn Glennie 50th birthday on 19th July.
Mikis Theodorakis 90th birthday on 27th July.
Hans Gál born 125 years ago, 5th August.
Giya Kancheli 80th birthday on 10th August.
Humphrey Searle born 100 years ago, 26th August.
Ivor Gurney born 125 years ago, 28th August.
Itzhak Perlman 70th Birthday on 31st August.
Seiji Ozawa 80th birthday on 1st September.
Siegfried Behrend died 25 years ago, 20th September.
Paul Dukas born 150 years ago, 1st October.
César Franck died 125 years ago, 9th November.
Earl Wild born 100 years ago, 26th November.
Helmut Lachenmann 80th Birthday on 27th November.
Aaron Copland died 25 years ago, 1st December.
Bohuslav Martinu born 125 years ago, 8th December. (Sharing the date with Sibelius is unfortunate. Martinu is bound to suffer as a result.)
Frank Sinatra born 100 years ago, 12th December.
Niels Wilhelm Gade born 125 years ago, 21st December.

Leonard Bernstein (25 years dead, 14th October) and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (born 100 years ago, 9th December) have been mentioned already, I think.

[rauschwerk]

As for the two major Scandinavian composers, I really think Nielsen is in need of a reappraisal this year, much more so than Sibelius. I was checking the Proms Archive earlier, and found that all the symphonies apart from 4 & 5 have only ever been performed once or twice each.

Never mind the Proms. Oramo and the BBCSO have already started a Nielsen cycle at the Barbican which is naturally being broadcast. I'm looking forward to No. 4 in a few weeks time.

[Petrushka]

Great list, DublinJimbo

[edashtav]

Great list, DublinJimbo

Seconded!

[gurnemanz]

Great list, DublinJimbo

Echo that! Quite a few personal memories evoked. Eg:

Boulez Parsifal at the Proms over two nights
Giya Kancheli: Magnum Ignotum from Bournemouth Sinfonietta (now sadly defunct) in Swindon.
A great LP with Siegfried Behrend doing Concierto de Aranjuez,
Evelyn Glennie at the Cricklade Music Festival (also now sadly defunct)

One addition from me: 50 years since Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited, an absolute classic, including Like A Rolling Stone, Ballad Of A Thin Man, Desolation Row

[MickyD]

500th Anniversary of John Sheppard's birth - now that's worth celebrating!!

(I'm less familiar with de Rore... )

And anyone not familiar with Sheppard should hear Stile Antico's "Media Vita" disc...one of my favourite choral discs of all.