American Classics

[Roehre]

Must investigate both Villa Lobos and Guarnieri more.

Through the Night Friday June 13th (coming Friday morning therefore): 12.54-1.11 am Guarnieri Symphony no.4

[Roehre]

Ruggles was a rather eccentric character to say the least! Certainly outspoken and prone to racist outbursts and plain rudeness. He had a very long life (1876-1971) but composed very little apparently destroying many of his earlier works. The style he arrived at in the 1920's is quite unique, it could be loosely described as atonal but isn't really similar to any of the other atonal composers. There is a great interest in the sonority of harmonies and various progressions. The MTT CDs contain all the surviving works that he wrote except an early piece for violin & piano entitled Mood, which is incomplete. Sun-Treader is his most important and impressive work, I also admire Portals for String Orchestra and Evocations originally for piano but later orchestrated by the composer, I prefer the piano original. Ruggles was also a rather prolific painter and I believe made more money from painting than music.

I immediately bought that CBS 2LP set as soon as it was released.
My reason for buying it was another (and IMO preferable) MTT recording of Sun-Traeder [be aware of the timpani at the beginning of the work, save your speakers and your relationships with neighbours ], which was released on DGG combined with Ives' 3 Places in New England (that's the Ruggles re-released on DGG combined with Schuman Violin concerto and Piston 2).

My experience with Ruggles is simply listen to the works as they appear on the CDs, it's only two hours of music varying between the brutal Sun-Traeder and the piano version of Evocations (the orchestral version is included too of course).
Sipping is perhaps recommended after a first playing through.
It is gripping music, going at your throat, likely to stay with you for some time.

[teamsaint]

Through the Night Friday June 13th (coming Friday morning therefore): 12.54-1.11 am Guarnieri Symphony no.4

thanks Roehre.

THe PCs 1-3 is a favourite disc of mine.

[Pabmusic]

Here's a recording of violin music by Ives and Sessions in 1950 recordings by a violinist I didn't know of - Patricia Travers. It seems she retired very young (in her early 20s) but lived on till 83 or so. She's very good, too.

http://shellackophile.blogspot.com

[Beef Oven!]

Glenn Miller - The Essential Glenn Miller

[Pulcinella]

Thanks to both Suffolkcoastal and Roehre for their comments on Ruggles' music.
What with that and the Weinberg string quartets, I've got some heavy-duty listening at present.

[teamsaint]

Heitor Villa Lobos.

Bachianas Brasileiras nos 5/1/7.

RPO/Batiz /Hendricks /Fox.

Lovely singing from Hendricks. Not sure what I make of the works so far.Enjoyable enough on first listen, and certainly lots to think about.

[Roehre]

Heitor Villa Lobos.

Bachianas Brasileiras nos 5/1/7.

RPO/Batiz /Hendricks /Fox.

Lovely singing from Hendricks. Not sure what I make of the works so far.Enjoyable enough on first listen, and certainly lots to think about.

Though BB 5 is best known, IMHO it is certainly not the best. It's short, only 2 mvts and all those cellos with a soprano gives it an individual flavour. But the others are IMO more interesting, i.a. the more symphonic poem like no.2.
It's also interesting to listen to the very different approaches to the handling of the orchestra in all those 9 BBs as well as the wide variety of themes, some Bachian (hence the name), some european, other unmistakingly brasilian (or at least latinamerican).
The concertos, the symphonies or for that matter the string quartets (Villa Lobos doesn't need the orchestral palette and bright colours to express himself) are much more unified in that respect.
My experience with villa Lobos: a bit uneven (and structurally sometimes very meandering), but hardly a dull moment and always interesting.

[teamsaint]

Though BB 5 is best known, IMHO it is certainly not the best. It's short, only 2 mvts and all those cellos with a soprano gives it an individual flavour. But the others are IMO more interesting, i.a. the more symphonic poem like no.2.
It's also interesting to listen to the very different approaches to the handling of the orchestra in all those 9 BBs as well as the wide variety of themes, some Bachian (hence the name), some european, other unmistakingly brasilian (or at least latinamerican).
The concertos, the symphonies or for that matter the string quartets (Villa Lobos doesn't need the orchestral palette and bright colours to express himself) are much more unified in that respect.
My experience with villa Lobos: a bit uneven (and structurally sometimes very meandering), but hardly a dull moment and always interesting.

Thanks for those thoughts, Roehre.
I got interested in his music after hearing Choros # 10 a few years ago, and have been dabbling ever since.
A guide is welcome though, with his vast output, but, as you say, there is usually something to enjoy and keep the interest.
I'll bear your comments about handling the orchestra in mind. Thanks.

[Roehre]

Thanks for those thoughts, Roehre.
I got interested in his music after hearing Choros # 10 a few years ago, and have been dabbling ever since.
A guide is welcome though, with his vast output, but, as you say, there is usually something to enjoy and keep the interest.
I'll bear your comments about handling the orchestra in mind. Thanks.

The choros series is the most widely varied series in his output, including a "piano concerto no.6" in disguise (with a beautiful recording by christina Ortiz). By far the better part of exotically named [orchestral] works are kinds of symponic poems, very colourful and sometime with an interesting storyline behind them (Memoprecoce i.a., another piano concerto in disguise)

[Beef Oven!]

Charles Ives - Robert Browning Overture
Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Kenneth Schermerhorn. Naxos.

[teamsaint]

now THAT is a proper sized photo.

[Beef Oven!]

I got mine when it was released on EMI Angel.

[Don Petter]

I see Hanson's opera Merry Mount is being released by Pristine:

http://www.pristineclassical.com/paco108.html

[EdgeleyRob]

Virgil Thomson Symphonies.

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra / James Sedares.