Lepo Sumera - Symphony No. 2 (Score Video) @towardthesea_

Pranav Ranjit This video is provided for educational use only; please contact me at pranav.sivakumar@berkeley.edu regarding any copyright issues.

The original audio is from the Estonian National Symphony's YouTube channel: youtube.com/watch?v=qtfmC6dlpek. They post many other excellent performances as well, including more works of Estonian composers that are rarely played elsewhere.

Estonian National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Olari Elts (live performance)

00:03 I. Moderato tranquillo
07:21 II. Interludium (attacca)
10:19 III. Spirituoso

Lepo Sumera (1950-2000) was an Estonian composer. He was an active participant in the country's musical life, serving as culture minister in 1990-92, chairman of the Estonian Composers' Union, and as a professor at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (where I have played on his personal piano.) Despite his early passing, he wrote six symphonies, two concerti, a number of other orchestral pieces, and a significant volume of chamber works, as well as electronic pieces and incidental music for several plays and films.

Sumera's music emphasizes contrast and creative use of very little musical material; these characteristics are on full display in his second symphony of 1984, considered one of his finest works. In just under 20 minutes, Sumera conjures many different moods from the orchestra, from the delicate harp duet that opens and closes the piece to the powerful flourishes near the end. The entire piece is connected by one or two very simple, easily audible motifs which are constantly transformed in fresh ways.

Although the recording is excellent, the true hypnotic magic of Sumera's music can only be heard live; I was fortunate enough to be in attendance for this very performance. If you ever get a chance, I would highly recommend it!

updated 1 year ago

Lepo Sumera - Symphony No. 2 (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2023-01-25 | This video is provided for educational use only; please contact me at pranav.sivakumar@berkeley.edu regarding any copyright issues.

The original audio is from the Estonian National Symphony's YouTube channel: youtube.com/watch?v=qtfmC6dlpek. They post many other excellent performances as well, including more works of Estonian composers that are rarely played elsewhere.

Estonian National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Olari Elts (live performance)

00:03 I. Moderato tranquillo
07:21 II. Interludium (attacca)
10:19 III. Spirituoso

Lepo Sumera (1950-2000) was an Estonian composer. He was an active participant in the country's musical life, serving as culture minister in 1990-92, chairman of the Estonian Composers' Union, and as a professor at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (where I have played on his personal piano.) Despite his early passing, he wrote six symphonies, two concerti, a number of other orchestral pieces, and a significant volume of chamber works, as well as electronic pieces and incidental music for several plays and films.

Sumera's music emphasizes contrast and creative use of very little musical material; these characteristics are on full display in his second symphony of 1984, considered one of his finest works. In just under 20 minutes, Sumera conjures many different moods from the orchestra, from the delicate harp duet that opens and closes the piece to the powerful flourishes near the end. The entire piece is connected by one or two very simple, easily audible motifs which are constantly transformed in fresh ways.

Although the recording is excellent, the true hypnotic magic of Sumera's music can only be heard live; I was fortunate enough to be in attendance for this very performance. If you ever get a chance, I would highly recommend it!

Ahmet Adnan Saygun - Symphony No. 2 (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-10-18 | 00:05 I. Allegro vivo
07:55 II. (no marking)
15:11 III. Moderato
21:22 IV. Allegro

Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz (German State Philharmonic of Rhineland-Palatinate) conducted by Ari Rasilainen

The fourth movement starts extremely softly, so turn up your volume as needed if you can't hear.

Ahmet Adnan Saygun (1907-1991) was a Turkish composer, the most famous of the "Turkish Five" who combined the Western classical tradition with Turkish folk music. During Saygun's lifetime, his work was widely performed across Turkey, Europe, and North America by leading ensembles like the NBC Symphony, Vienna Philharmonic, and Juilliard String Quartet. Read more about Saygun on my blog: unknowncomposers.org/2020/08/15/ahmet-adnan-saygun-a-pioneer-who-brought-together-romanticism-western-modernism-and-turkish-folk-song

I find Saygun's second symphony of 1958 to be a kind of bridge between his earlier works, such as the string quartet or first symphony, and his subsequent symphonies and concerti. While some parts of this symphony retain a rather vivacious and energetic quality, Saygun starts to lean into the dense, meticulous and sometimes sparkling orchestration that would become characteristic of his later period. Historical context aside, this is a terrific, totally engrossing symphonic work and certainly deserves far more recordings and international performances than it's received in the recent past - I hope orchestras and conductors who see this video might be inspired to take it up in the future!

Ahmet Adnan Saygun - Symphony No. 1 (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-10-12 | 00:03 I. Allegro
09:26 II. Adagio
19:21 III. Allegretto
22:35 IV. Allegro assai

Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz (German State Philharmonic of Rhineland-Palatinate) conducted by Ari Rasilainen

Ahmet Adnan Saygun (1907-1991) was a Turkish composer, the most famous of the "Turkish Five" who combined the Western classical tradition with Turkish folk music. During Saygun's lifetime, his work was widely performed across Turkey, Europe, and North America by leading ensembles like the NBC Symphony, Vienna Philharmonic, and Juilliard String Quartet. Read more about Saygun on my blog: unknowncomposers.org/2020/08/15/ahmet-adnan-saygun-a-pioneer-who-brought-together-romanticism-western-modernism-and-turkish-folk-song

If you've heard my score video of his first string quartet (linked here: youtube.com/watch?v=HQGbav4YxGA), you might recognize many of the same themes being recycled here; indeed, that string quartet was written six years prior in 1947. However, Saygun develops the themes in his first symphony in a rather different and often more focused direction, incorporating the significantly greater resources at his disposal in orchestral writing, The symphony also differs somewhat in character from his later orchestral and concerto works, with only glimpses of the sprawling form and explosive orchestration Saygun would often employ in the decades to come.

Julius Juzeliūnas - Cantus Magnificat, symphony-oratorio (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-10-08 | 00:05 1. Cantus aequalis
09:47 2. Cantus inaequalis
16:54 3. Graduale I
26:18 4. Graduale II
37:52 5. Graduale III
47:29 6. Antiphonale
58:45 7. Processionale (attacca)

Performers are listed in the description at 00:00.

Julius Juzeliūnas (1916-2001) was a Lithuanian composer and teacher, one of the most influential in his country during the 20th century. For more on Juzeliūnas, see my score video of his fifth symphony: youtube.com/watch?v=CrdNrmIaa00

While I find the fifth symphony "Lygumų giesmės" to be Juzeliūnas' most well-crafted work, his magnum opus is surely the nearly 70-minute "Cantus Magnificat", composed around the same time in 1979. I can't find much information about the piece from English-language Google search, but it was commissioned to mark the 400th anniversary of Vilnius University (hence the text being in both Latin and Lithuanian.)

Composed for orchestra, vocal soloists, two choirs and organ, this piece displays the composer's command of meticulous orchestration and choral writing, as well as harmonic and rhythmic ideas that, like in his fifth symphony, derive from Lithuanian folk music and contemporary minimalist trends. The text was written by the Lithuanian poet and translator Eduardas Mieželaitis.

If you would like to have the score for educational/study use only, please send me an email at pranav.sivakumar@berkeley.edu.

Eduard Tubin - Symphony No. 11 [unfinished] (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-09-30 | Estonian National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Arvo Volmer

Eduard Tubin (1905-1982) was an Estonian composer and conductor, his country's most prolific and arguably greatest symphonist. Having completed his studies under another very prominent Estonian composer, Heino Eller (whose music I also plan to upload), in independent Estonia, Tubin fled following the Soviet reoccupation of his country in 1944. He settled permanently in Sweden for the rest of his life, writing many of his most important works, being elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, and becoming a Swedish citizen in 1961. In addition to an impressive eleven symphonies, Tubin wrote two operas, the first Estonian ballet ("Kratt"), concerti for double bass and balalaika, choral music, art songs, and chamber and solo works (particularly violin and piano music.)

For those unacquainted with Tubin, his orchestral music - particularly the symphonies of his middle and later period - shares some common elements with Shostakovich, often marrying relatively rigid formal structures like fugues with rather astringent harmonic ideas and an unexpected emotional intensity. He also often brought Estonian folk music into several of his works. Although Tubin's work was initially somewhat unrecognized outside Estonia (even in Sweden), it has gained prominence in the last few decades due to the efforts of Estonian conductors including Neeme and Paavo Järvi.

The eleventh symphony, which Tubin was working on when he passed away in 1982, combines the aforementioned characteristics with a rather bright orchestration typical of his later music. The last minute or so of the first movement was completed by the Estonian-Canadian composer Kaljo Raid, resulting in the recording here; the score I have available is a copy of Tubin's manuscript and thus does not contain this completion.

I now have scores of all of Tubin's symphonies except the first; some of them are scans of old and battered copies, so they will take a little longer to upload - especially as most of his symphonic works are quite substantial in both musical material and length. I also plan to post his balalaika concerto soon, so if you enjoyed this work, stay tuned for more!

John Blackwood McEwen - Violin Sonata No. 6 (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-09-24 | 00:05 I. Allegro limpido-semplice - Tranquillo
07:40 II. Andante mesto - Più mosso
14:11 III. Vivace ma non troppo

Olivier Charlier, violin
Geoffrey Tozer, piano

John Blackwood McEwen (1868-1948) was a Scottish composer and educator, most notable for his decades-long tenure teaching composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London. For more on McEwen, see my score video of his fourth string quartet: youtu.be/Dvk6pWg_VAc

As compared to the less adventurous second violin sonata, McEwen's sixth - written in 1929, when he was over sixty years old - is much more harmonically daring. The influence of Scottish folk music is also much more noticeable than in the second sonata, particularly in the third movement where the violin plays a jig.

I plan to upload this score and the violin part to IMSLP and will post the link here when they are available.

John Blackwood McEwen - Violin Sonata No. 2 (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-09-23 | 00:03 I. Allegretto sostenuto - Tranquillo
05:04 II. Come una improvisazione - Poco adagio
08:58 III. Poco allegro - Allegro molto - Tranquillo

Olivier Charlier, violin
Geoffrey Tozer, piano

Note that the phrase from 09:41 to 09:51 in the third movement is not included in this score. I used the IMSLP score, which appears to be complete, so it is likely this phrase was added in a later edition. To follow the score again at 09:51, start from the second bar of the first system rather than the first.

John Blackwood McEwen (1868-1948) was a Scottish composer and educator, most notable for his decades-long tenure teaching composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London. For more on McEwen, see my score video of his fourth string quartet: youtu.be/Dvk6pWg_VAc

McEwen was a prolific composer of chamber music, writing not only seventeen string quartets but also six quite individual, expressive, and often virtuosic violin sonatas. This sonata, the second of the series, was written in 1914 and draws from the composer's typical mélange of influences; English pastoralism, harmonic ideas from around the European continent, and a dash of Scottish folk music (albeit less prominently than in some of his other works.)

The score and violin part can be found on IMSLP here: imslp.org/wiki/Violin_Sonata_No.2_(McEwen%2C_John_Blackwood)

Pranav Ranjit - Highlandscapes for contrabass (or bass) clarinet and string trio

Pranav Ranjit 2024-09-19 | Premiered at the inaugural concert of the Cumnock Tryst International Summer-School for Composers, 10 August 2024, Dumfries House, Ayrshire, Scotland

Scott Lygate, contrabass clarinet
Gordon Bragg, violin
Ruth Gibson, viola
Christian Elliott, cello

Recording provided by The Cumnock Tryst
All photos shown are my own, taken in the Arrochar Alps; many thanks to Björn Heile, Helina Sommer, and Sarah Watts for the pictures they provided me before my own visit to the Highlands. I am indebted to the composition faculty of the course - James MacMillan, the artistic director of the Cumnock Tryst festival, and Oscar Bettison - for their invaluable advice and mentorship, which helped my exploration of space and silence in this piece to reach its full potential.

Many abstract paintings deliberately eschew clear detail, exciting the mind through mere artistic suggestions of an object or person, Likewise, "Highlandscapes" seeks to depict the vastness, beauty and ruggedness of the Scottish Highlands through a variety of isolated sounds and the emotions and perceptions associated with them, constructing a fragmentary narrative that seeks to engage the imagination. In writing this piece, I not only visited and hiked in the Highlands myself but also gathered a variety of photos depicting the region from friends and acquaintances prior to visiting, seeking abstract associations through the literal lenses of others.

Much of the notation in "Highlandscapes" is non-traditional, especially in its use of space, and the performers were also spatially separated to surround the audience at the premiere. I will make a score video available once I have made some minor edits to the score, as well as providing a complete score for purchase on my composer website.

Grace Williams - Fantasia on Welsh Nursery Tunes for orchestra (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-09-13 | BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Tecwyn Evans (radio broadcast of live performance from 2016)

Grace Williams (1906-1977) was a Welsh composer, often considered Wales's most notable and influential female composer. Although influenced by the music of her teacher Ralph Vaughan Williams, she carved out her own musical niche by incorporating elements from Welsh folk music. Read more about Williams on my blog: unknowncomposers.org/2019/12/25/grace-williams-a-20th-century-composer-who-embraced-welsh-national-identity

The "Fantasia on Welsh Nursery Tunes" of 1940 was one of Williams' first works to achieve major recognition. While perhaps not reaching the scale and imaginativeness of "Penillion", written fifteen years later (which I would consider her finest orchestral work), the Fantasia is a lively, engaging and impressively orchestrated piece which seamlessly weaves together a variety of nursery tunes from her native Wales ("Jim Cro" ; "Beryn y Bwn" ; "Migildi, Magildi" ; "Si lwli 'mabi" ; "Gee, geffyl bach" ; "Csga di fy mhlentyn tlws" ; "Yr eneth ffein ddu" ; and "Cadi ha !", according to the "Grace Mary Williams" YouTube channel.)

While Williams' works are now performed and/or broadcast with some regularity in the UK, her compositions remain relatively little-known elsewhere; I hope my score videos of her music will help change the status quo. You can find my score video of "Penillion", which I find to be her finest orchestral work, here: youtube.com/watch?v=MsGklxtOs2M

Jón Leifs - String Quartet No. 2 Vita et mors (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-09-12 | 00:08 I. Bernska (Childhood)
07:02 II. Æska (Youth)
14:42 III. Sálumessa, Eilifð (Requiem, Eternity)

Performed by the string quartet of the Reykjavík Chamber Orchestra (Kammersveit Reykjavíkur)

Jón Leifs (1899-1968) was an Icelandic composer, the most famous from his country in the 20th century. For more about Leifs, see the description in my score video of his "Reminiscence du Nord" for string orchestra: youtube.com/watch?v=XVdalbh6CWM

"Vita et mors", completed in 1951, is the second of Leifs' three string quartets, the title (meaning "Life and death") being inverted from the first. Like his first string quartet, it is a highly personal work tinged with tragedy, being one of four compositions (including his Requiem) written after his younger daughter Líf tragically drowned off the coast of Sweden at the age of 17. Although understandably bleak in character, it nevertheless contains moments of brightness, innocence, and even lyricism - the latter of which is not so often seen in Leifs' oeuvre. The third movement opens with a paraphrase of his choral Requiem, written the year before he began this quartet, and subsequently often returns to similar themes.

As with the first quartet, you can hear a longer (and likely bleaker) rendition by the Yggdrasil Quartet here: youtube.com/watch?v=myKWQ_MxzDw&list=OLAK5uy_ldQbL1K-oGT9zU_R5JArTNT-RYMeapV-Q&index=2

Jón Leifs - String Quartet No. 1 Mors et vita (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-09-09 | Performed by the string quartet of the Reykjavík Chamber Orchestra (Kammersveit Reykjavíkur)

Jón Leifs (1899-1968) was an Icelandic composer, the most famous from his country in the 20th century. For more about Leifs, see the description in my score video of his "Reminiscence du Nord" for string orchestra: youtube.com/watch?v=XVdalbh6CWM

Leifs wrote three string quartets in all, and the first two are highly personal works tinged with tragedy. The second, which I will upload very soon, was one of four pieces written after his teenage daughter tragically drowned off the coast of Sweden. The first is not titled "Mors et vita" ("Death and life" in Latin) without reason; it was written in 1939, when not only Leifs' career in Germany but also the very existence of his Jewish wife, the pianist Annie Riethof, was under threat. While a typically sparse example of Leifs' writing for smaller instrumentations, the one-movement quartet is quite a moving work, mixing darkness and sudden bursts of life - or, perhaps more metaphorically, the bleakness of the composer's situation with humanity's constant striving for hope.

If you enjoyed this piece, do check the pinned comment for other works by Leifs that I have made available on my channel! I preferred this somewhat brighter recording for the video, but in case you would like to hear an even slower, bleaker rendition of the quartet, you can listen to the Yggdrasil Quartet's performance here: youtube.com/watch?v=Lbyc2lVlp8Y

Ahmet Adnan Saygun - String Quartet No. 1 (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-09-08 | 0:05 I. Allegro moderato
8:37 II. Adagio
18:00 III. Allegretto
21:32 IV. Grave - Allegro assai

Performed by the Quatuor Danel: Marc Danel & Gilles Milet, violins; Tony Nys, viola; Guy Danel, cello

Ahmet Adnan Saygun (1907-1991) was a Turkish composer, the most famous of the "Turkish Five" who combined the Western classical tradition with Turkish folk music. During Saygun's lifetime, his work was widely performed across Turkey, Europe, and North America by leading ensembles like the NBC Symphony, Vienna Philharmonic, and Juilliard String Quartet. Read more about Saygun on my blog: unknowncomposers.org/2020/08/15/ahmet-adnan-saygun-a-pioneer-who-brought-together-romanticism-western-modernism-and-turkish-folk-song

Saygun's first string quartet was written in 1947 at the age of 40, when he had already brought together the key elements of his mature style: evocations of Turkish modes (makams) and traditional instruments, influences from modernism similar to those of the composer's good friend Béla Bartók, and a rather intuitive and improvisatory sense of form. An enchanting work throughout, the four-movement quartet - energized, tense and lyrical by turns - is an excellent example of Saygun's quite singular compositional voice.

If you would like to see score videos of Saygun's other two string quartets as well, @invertedninthchord has uploaded them: youtube.com/watch?v=65IOSQDzAY0 (2nd quartet) and youtube.com/watch?v=65IOSQDzAY0 (3rd quartet).

Zunduin Khangal - Violin Concerto (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-08-27 | 00:05 I. Lento molto
07:34 II. Allegro molto

Sergey Kravchenko, violin
Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra conducted by Mark Ermler

Thanks to @YaponyBagsh for the original recordings (linked below); these are the only ones in existence I know of, and I've just cleaned up some of the static and audio clicks. The violinist - a student of Leonid Kogan - isn't quite together with the orchestra, plays a few wrong notes (at least according to this score) and takes some sections up an octave for unknown reasons, but it's hard to blame him as the violin part is fiendishly difficult.
youtube.com/watch?v=ImAs01LPdCY
youtube.com/watch?v=vBFQIVziRmE

Zunduin Khangal (Зундуйн Хангал; 1948-1996) was a Mongolian composer, the first modernist among composers of "Western" classical music in his country. At the same time, he wrote many lyrical melodies for popular songs and films as well as one of the few concerti for the morin khuur, a Mongolian traditional horsehead fiddle. Khangal received his musical education at the music school in Almaty, in what is now Kazakhstan, as well as at the Sverdlovsk Conservatory in Russia.

Written in 1974, Khangal's violin concerto - one of his less obscure works - is a fragmented and uncompromising work typical of post-Shostakovich composers in the Soviet sphere, but with some surprisingly lyrical moments (touches of Mongolian traditional music, perhaps.) As I mentioned previously, the violin part is incredibly difficult, somewhat like the similarly challenging string writing of Alfred Schnittke.

Lepo Sumera - Symphony No. 4 Serena borealis (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-08-27 | 00:03 I. Allegro ma non affettuoso
06:41 II. Lontano e sonore — (attacca)
11:18 III. Lontano e sonore
14:29 Cadenza per chitarra e percussioni
18:51 IV. Feroce — (attacca)
22:16 V. Dolce e pianissimo

Malmö Symphony Orchestra conducted by Paavo Järvi
Jan Olof Jönsson, percussion
Guitarist not listed

Note that there are some small differences between the score and recording, and that the guitar/percussion cadenza is not written out in the score.

Lepo Sumera (1950-2000) was an Estonian composer and teacher whose music often emphasizes contrast and creative use of very little musical material. For more on Sumera, see my score video of his second symphony: youtube.com/watch?v=NUPr_tzujiE

Sumera's fourth symphony of 1992 is a typically engaging example of his work; unrestrainedly bombastic at times, quite tender at others, but always with great originality and attention to texture. For me, the most striking parts of the piece are the slow movements in the middle; the ostinato of the maracas over a pad of strings, augmented with delicate harmonic glissandi and bowed percussion, envelops the listener in a mysterious yet highly compelling world of sound, one that is further developed with the arrival of the guitar minutes later.

Jón Leifs - Requiem op. 33b (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-08-25 | Skylark Vocal Ensemble conducted by Matthew Guard

Jón Leifs (1899-1968) was an Icelandic composer, probably the most notable from his country in the 20th century. For more about Leifs, see the description in my score video of his "Reminiscence du Nord" for string orchestra: youtube.com/watch?v=XVdalbh6CWM

While much of his later music has a more contemplative quality, Leifs' Requiem of 1947 is his most poignant work of all, and it has become almost as well known as his famously explosive "Hekla" and "Geysir". Dedicated to the memory of his daughter, who tragically drowned off the coast of Sweden earlier that year before her 18th birthday, it is far from a requiem in a traditional sense; it is quite a short work at five or six minutes long, it is set not to the Catholic Mass but rather to texts from Icelandic folklore and poetry by the early 19th-century writer Jónas Hallgrímsson, and the character of both the text and music is quite reflective of a lullaby. As opposed to the usual somber atmosphere of a requiem, the largely homophonic sound, alternation between A major and A minor, and frequent refrains all contribute to a lingering feeling of youth and innocence.

Text (original English translator unknown, poetic edits by Peter Walker)

Sofinn er fifill
fagr í haga,
mús undir mosa,
már á báru,
lauf á limi,
ljós í lofti,
hjörtr á Heiði
en í hafi fiskar.

Sefr sell í sjó,
svanr á báru,
már í holmi,
maangi au svæfir.
Sofa manna börn
í mjúku rúmi,
bía og kveða,
en babbi þau svæfir.
Sof þú nú sæl og sigrgefin.
Sofðu eg unni þér.

Sofinn er
fifill fagr í haga,
mús undir mosa,
már á báru,
Blæju yfir bæ
búanda lúins
dimmra, drauma
dró nóttúr sjó.

Við skulum gleyma
grát og sorg;
gott er heim að snúa.
Láttu þig dreyma
bjarta borg,
búna þeim, er trúa.

Sofinn er fifill
fagr í haga,
mús undir mosa,
már á báru,
Sof þú nú sæl og sigrgefin.
Sofðu, eg unni þér.

The fair flower
sleeps in the field,
The mouse under moss,
The mew gull on the swell,
The leaf on the limb,
The light in the lofty air,
The hart on the heath,
And the haddock in the ocean.

The seal sleeps in the sea,
The swan on the wave,
The mew gull on the rock-isle,
With no one to lull them.
The young child sleeps
In a soft bed,
Cooing and prattling,
As a parent lulls her.
Sleep now saintly and sanctified.
Sleep, I love you.

The fair dandelion
sleeps in the field,
The mouse under moss,
The mew gull on the swell,
A veil covers the village
The man is very tired
Dreams drew
dark night from the sea.

We should say goodbye
To grief and sorrow,
And go home to happiness.
May you dream
of the shining city,
Where the souls of the faithful dwell.

The fair dandelion
sleeps in the field,
The mouse under moss,
The mew gull on the swell,
Sleep now saintly and sanctified.
Sleep, I love you.

John Blackwood McEwen - String Quartet No. 7 Threnody (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-08-20 | Performed by the Chilingirian Quartet (Levon Chilingirian, violin 1; Charles Sewart, violin 2; Asdis Valdimarsdottir, viola; Philip de Groote, cello)

John Blackwood McEwen (1868-1948) was a Scottish composer and educator, most notable for his decades-long tenure teaching composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London. In my view, his cycle of seventeen string quartets (which excludes two unnumbered, withdrawn quartets from early in his career) is one of the most accomplished of the late Romantic era. For more information about McEwen, see my score video of his fourth string quartet: youtu.be/Dvk6pWg_VAc

Every one of McEwen's string quartets, at least each of those he decided not to withdraw (hence why, despite being published as his ninth quartet, "Threnody" is usually numbered as the seventh), has a decidedly individual quality, although many are connected by common compositional tendencies. "Threnody", perhaps the darkest and most reflective of the set, is no different.

Written in 1916 during World War I, it reflects many of the composer's primary influences, including the English pastoral tradition, the harmonic language of the French Impressionists, and above all the folklore of McEwen's native Scotland. Consisting of four sections played attacca (without pause), I find the crown jewel to be the final four-minute section, a heartbreakingly beautiful setting of the Scottish tune “The Flowers o’ the Forest” played by the cello, giving a sense of fulfillment to many earlier phrases and outbursts of the piece that never reach their full potential. Just as the folk tune commemorates the devastating Scottish defeat at the 1513 Battle of Flodden, McEwen sought to convey the pain of "the war to end all wars" just over four hundred years later.

Erkki Melartin - String Quartet No. 1 (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-08-09 | Performed by the Meta4 Quartet - Minna Pensola & Antti Tikkanen, violins; Eriikka Nylund, viola; Tomas Djupsjöbacka, cello

Erkki Melartin (1875-1937) was a Finnish composer and conductor, a contemporary of Jean Sibelius. For more on Melartin, see my score video of his fourth string quartet: youtube.com/watch?v=dhVEiey4sjI

Melartin's first string quartet was written in 1896 when he was just 21. As a result, it carries stronger influence from late Romanticism than, for example, his more varied and inventive fourth quartet; nevertheless, it is a colorful and vivacious work typical of the composer which is well worth hearing, containing multiple elements foreshadowing his mature works in the genre.

Somei Satoh - Kisetsu for orchestra (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-08-01 | This video is provided for educational use only; please email me at pranav.sivakumar@berkeley.edu regarding any copyright issues.

Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra conducted by Tetsuji Honna

Somei Satoh (1947-) is a Japanese contemporary composer whose work incorporates such diverse influences as Japanese court music, 19th-century Romanticism, Shinto and Zen Buddhist philosophies, and often the electronic innovations of the late 20th century - in which Satoh was particularly involved early in his career. Besides solo, chamber, choral, and orchestral works for Western instruments, he has also written purely electronic music, works of music theatre and pieces for Japanese instruments.

Satoh has long been one of my favorite composers almost ever since I discovered the wider world of contemporary music around 2015; I find his carefully considered treatment of silence to be the most beautiful and profound aspect of his work. Few of Satoh's pieces display these traits more strongly than "Kisetsu" ("Season" in English), which was written in 1999 as a commission from the New York Philharmonic and premiered the same year. As Satoh himself prefers, I will let this work, which says no more musically than it needs to, speak for itself and simply end with the composer's reflections on his music:

"My music is limited to certain elements of sound and there are many calm repetitions. There is also much prolongation of a single sound. I think silence and the prolongation of sound is the same thing in terms of space. The only difference is that there is either the presence or absence of sound. More important is whether the space is "living" or not. Our [Japanese] sense of time and space is different from that of the West. For example, in the Shinto religion, there is the term 'imanaka' which is not just the present moment which lies between the stretch of past eternity and future immortality, but also the manifestation of the moment of all time which is multi-layered and multi-dimensional .... I would like it if the listener could abandon all previous conceptions of time and experience a new sense of time presented in this music as if eternal time can be lived in a single moment."

Henry Cowell - Symphony No. 13 Madras (Score Video, complete)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-07-21 | 00:00 I. Alapna
04:25 II. Tala Adi (attacca)
08:55 III. Allegro
12:26 IV. Andante
16:18 V. Allegro

New Juilliard Ensemble conducted by Joel Sachs
Ray Spiegel, tabla soloist; Michael Truesdell, jalataranga soloist (third movement)
Currently, this is the only recording of the complete version available on YT.

Henry Cowell (1897-1965) was an American composer and pianist whose penchant for musical experimentation took him through myriad musical styles and around the globe. Perhaps best known for several pieces in the 1920s and 1930s that pioneered new playing techniques on and inside the piano, his innovations met with puzzlement, hostility, and even riots as he toured the US and Europe playing his own music.

Starting in the late 1930s, having been arrested on a "morals" charge (he was bisexual) and spent four years in the notorious San Quentin State Prison in California, Cowell simplified his compositional approach - increasingly turning toward folk music and "non-Western" musical styles for inspiration. During the 1950s, he became a significant authority as an ethnomusicologist, lecturing and spending time in a variety of Asian countries including Iran and India. Cowell continued to compose for several more years but passed away from cancer in December 1965.

Cowell was an extraordinarily prolific composer of symphonies, writing 20 works in the genre, but his most singular symphonic work of all might be the "Madras" symphony, written in 1958 after two months spent in the namesake Indian city (now Chennai) in 1956 and 1957. Dedicated to the Madras Music Academy, one of the most important schools for propagating Carnatic (south Indian) music and which still exists today, it was influenced by various aspects of both Carnatic and Hindustani (north Indian) classical music.

Having myself written one or two works with influences from Carnatic music, I find this symphony to be a remarkable work. It not only incorporates key formal and stylistic aspects of Indian musical traditions - as well as traditional instruments like the tabla and jalataranga (tuned bowls filled with water) - but also retains the distinctive stamp of Cowell's own interpretation, particularly in its diverse harmonic language (often using multiple modes at the same time) and the composer's complementary use of European orchestral instruments.

Despite a few other performances (besides the premiere during Cowell's lifetime, it was also performed in 2005 by the San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra, albeit without Indian instruments), this piece still has no commercial recording. Especially with the increasing availability of Indian traditional instruments around the world, I hope an adventurous chamber orchestra will take up that project sooner rather than later.

Pranav Ranjit - Timeless Tale for piano (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-07-15 | Carson Cooman, piano

This is one of a series of pieces where most expressive aspects are decided by the performer. Likewise, there are no program notes; based on the title and the music, it is up to you what you wish to imagine.

Many thanks again to Carson Cooman for recording these pieces! I don't know when the collection of them will be finished or how many volumes it will contain, but I will keep uploading them as I have time to improvise and/or transcribe and pianists have time to record.

Aarre Merikanto - 4 Piano Pieces, Op. 13 (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-06-19 | 00:04 1. Elegia
03:58 2. Burlesco
05:43 3. Rêverie
09:37 4. Valse miniature

Itaru Ogawa, piano
Recording from the pianist's YouTube channel: youtube.com/watch?v=8WzeeUnaVUw

Aarre Merikanto (1893-1958) was a Finnish composer, the son of the prominent Romantic composer Oskar Merikanto. Initially influenced by the prevailing national Romantic style at the time in Finland, Merikanto migrated toward a more modernist idiom in the 1920s, drawing influences from Expressionism and developing a strain of non-tonal music independent of the twelve-tone system; in this period, he was - along with Väinö Raitio and Ernest Pingoud - a leading light of Finnish modernism.

Despite moderate success in central Europe, Merikanto's modernist music was never popular with the conservative Finnish public during his lifetime. Discouraged by this negative reception, Merikanto began writing in a more traditional Neoclassical style in the last 25 years of his life and even destroyed many of his earlier pieces. However, his work as both a composer and a teacher at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki was recognized after his death; he taught many important figures among the next generation of Finnish composers, including Einojuhani Rautavaara and Paavo Heininen, and it was Heininen who reconstructed some of the works Merikanto had destroyed. Today, Merikanto's music is becoming increasingly well-represented on concert programs in Finland, where several of his works have been performed and recorded by major orchestras.

This collection of four piano pieces dates from the late 1910s, before Merikanto's stylistic shift toward modernism. However, they are finely crafted and very individual in their own right, and some of the more chromatic harmonic language already offers hints at his mature style.

As always, if you enjoyed this or any other video on my channel, please do leave a like and subscribe - there is much more Finnish piano music on the way!

William Schuman - Symphony No. 9 Le fosse ardeatine (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-04-18 | The Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy

Translated to English as "The Ardeatine Caves". The symphony is divided into three continuously played sections, "Anteludium", "Offertorium" and "Postludium", but the start and end of each section is not specified in the score.

William Schuman (1910-1992) was a notable American composer of the 20th century, also known for serving as president of the Juilliard School and of Lincoln Center. See also my score video of Schuman's third symphony: youtube.com/watch?v=By4D_Nc1Gr0

Schuman's ninth symphony of 1968, as is the case with many of his later symphonies, is of a rather different character from his earlier orchestral works. It was written after the composer visited the Ardeatine Caves, in which over 300 Italian civilians were massacred by the Nazis in 1944 following an earlier attack by Italian resistance forces.

The musical content of this work has always been controversial and may not resonate with some ears, at least at first. Befitting the subject matter, it is a bleak, gloomy, and essentially atonal piece with far less clarity in development than one might find in Schuman's third symphony. However, it is also a deeply emotional and moving symphony that has much to offer the more contemplative and patient listener.

Gösta Nystroem - Symphony No. 3 Sinfonia del Mare (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-04-14 | Charlotte Hellekant, mezzo-soprano
Swedish Radio Symphony conducted by Yevgeny Svetlanov

Gösta Nystroem (1890-1966) was a Swedish composer. Also a notable painter with tendencies toward expressionism and cubism, Nystroem gave up his painting career around the age of thirty to focus exclusively on composing.

At the time, Nystroem's music was considered just as modernistic in his native Sweden as his art. It may not appear quite so radical today but nevertheless occupies a unique place among Western art music of the 20th century, with elements of Neoclassical style allied to a "typically Nordic" melancholy and seriousness. Nystroem's taste in orchestration also reflects his studies in Paris with Vincent d'Indy and Leonid Sabaneyev.

The "Sinfonia del mare" of 1948 is often considered Nystroem's most famous work. Having spent much of his life near the sea - primarily in Stockholm and Gothenburg - the composer was strongly drawn to it as a source of both musical and personal inspiration. This piece, dedicated "to all sailors on the Seven Seas", was written between the Italian island of Capri and the Swedish seaside town of Marstrand. In it, Nystroem also sets the poem "Det enda" by the Swedish poet Ebba Lindqvist, who - like himself - felt an innate connection to the sea.

Of course, many famous works have been written about the sea, from Debussy's "La mer" to Vaughan Williams' "A Sea Symphony"; in my opinion, this is the most complete and all-encompassing of them. Nystroem masterfully depicts the lifelike qualities of the sea: its vast tempestuousness, the occasional moments of serenity, and a deep longing to return toward it.

While Nystroem's place in the Swedish orchestral repertoire is secure, he remains quite unknown outside the Nordic countries, and scores of his works can be difficult to come by elsewhere. I hope this video will encourage more musicians around the world to take up his stirring and evocative music!

Leevi Madetoja - Suite I from the ballet Okon Fuoko, Op. 58 (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-04-02 | Iceland Symphony Orchestra conducted by Petri Sakari

00:08 I. Okon Fuoko, unitaikuri (The Dream Magician)
03:53 II. Vieraat saapuvat (Entrance of the Guests)
04:58 III. Nukkien tanssi (Dance of the Dolls)
06:50 IV. Miehen tanssi (Man's Dance)
10:04 V. Naisen tanssi (Woman's Dance)
11:45 VI. Irvokas tanssi (Danse grotesque)

Leevi Madetoja (1887-1947) was a Finnish composer and music critic of the early 20th century, one of several contemporaries whose works were overshadowed by Madetoja's teacher Jean Sibelius. However, his music, which is increasingly being performed and recorded in the Nordic countries today, is well worth hearing. According to Wikipedia, "his idiom is notably introverted for a national Romantic composer, a blend of Finnish melancholy, folk melodies from his native region of Ostrobothnia, and the elegance and clarity of the French symphonic tradition, founded on César Franck and guided by Vincent d'Indy."

Beginning in the late Romantic tradition, Madetoja's mature works extend stylistically into the early modern period; the "Okon Fuoko" suite (1927), extracted from the namesake ballet-pantomime set in Japan, is a prime example. Each of the six movements is skilfully and subtlely orchestrated, pervaded by strong moods and lush harmonies that make for compelling listening on their own.

The score is available from Madetoja's page at IMSLP.org (not public domain in the US): imslp.org/wiki/Category:Madetoja,_Leevi .

Väinö Hannikainen - Chant damour for violin and piano Op.15 (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-04-01 | Kaija Saarikettu, violin
Raija Kerppo, piano

Väinö Hannikainen (1900-1960) was a Finnish composer and harpist. Born into an influential musical family which included his brother and fellow composer Ilmari, Hannikainen served for over three decades as harpist of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. While most well-known as a composer for his harp music, including the first ever Finnish harp concerto written in 1922, Hannikainen also wrote a ballet, a symphonic poem, a chamber opera, incidental music for plays and films, and numerous art songs and cantatas. His gift for lyricism and melody is easily audible in the "Chant d'amour", a charming miniature for violin and piano from 1930.

This score is awaiting copyright review on imslp.org, a resource for free public domain music; when it becomes available, note that it is only public domain in Canada.

Heino Kaski - Selection of Piano Works Op. 34-48 (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-03-30 | 00:04 Yö meren rannalla / Night at the Seaside, Op. 34 No. 1 (Janne Mertanen)
03:11 Wiegenlied / Cradle Song, Op. 34 No. 3 (Clark Bryan)
05:29 Legende, Op. 35 No. 2 (Clark Bryan)
09:04 Kesäyö / Summer Night, Op. 38 No. 1 (Janne Mertanen)
12:04 Kevät / Spring, Op. 42 No. 2 (Clark Bryan)
15:36 Poëm, Op. 46 No. 2 (Janne Mertanen)
18:09 Nocturne, Op. 47 No. 2 (Clark Bryan)
21:39 Vuorella / On the Mountain, Op. 47 No. 3 (Clark Bryan)
28:43 Pankakoski (rapids in eastern Finland), Op. 48 No. 1 (Janne Mertanen)
32:05 Vanha kellotapuli / The Old Clock Tower, Op. 48 No. 2 (Clark Bryan)
34:35 Walamo (monastery in Karelia), Op. 48 No. 3 (Jouni Somero)

Heino Kaski (1885-1957) was a Finnish composer most famous for his melodic piano miniatures, especially the popular encore "Yö meren rannalla" ("Night by the seaside"). For more on Kaski, see my score video of his early piano works: youtube.com/watch?v=P7c6pF6a_YU

I've uploaded all of these scores to Kaski's page on imslp.org (not public domain in the EU): imslp.org/wiki/Category:Kaski,_Heino . There are still several of his works that have not been recorded either commercially or on YouTube, so do take a look!

Frederic Mompou - Música callada, Part I: Angelico (Pranav Ranjit, piano)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-02-08 | Although I am very much a hobby pianist, the collection "Música callada" ("Silent music") by the Catalan composer Frederic Mompou (1893-1987) has left a deeper impression on me than most music I have played. Its twenty-eight intimate pieces, divided into three volumes, traverse a wide variety of emotions. The simplicity and clear harmonies of the very first piece make it one of my favorites in the whole cycle; Mompou's marking "Angelico" perfectly describes its atmosphere.

I am still working out some minor issues with my audio recorder, but I hope you enjoy the recording!

Photo taken by myself at Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

Charles Koechlin - Organ Sonatine op. 107 no. 1 (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-01-19 | 00:00 I. Allegretto
02:36 II. Allegretto
04:34 III. Pastorale

Jean Galard, organ

Charles Koechlin (1867-1950) was a French composer who wrote in a variety of styles, renowned for his command of orchestration. For more on Koechlin, see my score video of his violin sonata (youtu.be/oCNe3PmOqhg).

This lyrical organ sonatina, written in 1928-29, shows a different side of Koechlin to some of his more dreamy chamber and orchestral works.

Charles Koechlin - Chansons Bretonnes (Breton Songs) for cello and piano, parts 1-2 (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-01-16 | Peter Bruns, cello
Roglit Ishay, piano

Charles Koechlin (1867-1950) was a French composer who wrote in a variety of styles, renowned for his command of orchestration. For more on Koechlin, see my score video of his violin sonata (youtu.be/oCNe3PmOqhg).

While Koechlin's writing for cello is relatively well-known - his cello sonata has been performed or recorded by the likes of Anssi Karttunen and Bruns himself - the "Chansons bretonnes" are not quite so popularly acclaimed. However, these delicate and clear arrangements of Breton folk songs have their own charm, showcasing the wide range of moods and techniques that make the cello a special instrument.

Note that Koechlin also arranged a third set of songs, which you can listen to here (youtube.com/watch?v=ETMZ2fHvJpA&list=OLAK5uy_mw47vuXzKwwwme5E2ClQzg0D4sTGXwp7g&index=17), but the pieces in it are apparently unpublished. If I can obtain the manuscript scans, I'll make a score video with the third part separately and link it in the description.

Charles Koechlin - 3 Sonatines for Solo Flute op. 184 (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-01-09 | 00:00 Sonatine 1
I. Allegro
01:34 II. Andantino
03:35 III. Final. Allegro

06:33 Sonatine 2
I. Lento
10:52 II. Allegretto tranquillo
12:50 III. Final. Allegro

17:37 Sonatine 3
I. Adagio
21:19 II. Sicilienne
23:19 III. Final. Allegro

Claudio Ferrarini, flute

Charles Koechlin (1867-1950) was a French composer who wrote in a variety of styles, renowned for his command of orchestration. For more on Koechlin, see my score video of his violin sonata (youtu.be/oCNe3PmOqhg).

Although they have not been often recorded, Koechlin's three sonatinas for flute - written in 1942 - are typically vibrant, expressive and dreamy works and represent a very fine example of writing for the instrument. I hope this video will introduce flutists and listeners alike to this excellent music!

Pancho Vladigerov - Episodes for solo piano (complete), Op.36 (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2024-01-04 | 00:05 Prelude (Krassimir Gatev)
02:42 Nostalgie (Krassimir Gatev)
05:37 Ratchenitza (Krassimir Gatev)
08:21 Improvisation (Rada Chomakova)
15:42 Toccata (Rada Chomakova)

Pancho Vladigerov (1899-1978) was a Bulgarian composer, arguably the most influential composer in his country's history. For more on Vladigerov, see my blog: unknowncomposers.org/2018/12/18/pancho-vladigerov-and-the-bulgarian-classical-tradition

Written in 1941 - nineteen years after his first violin concerto (youtube.com/watch?v=AT77BOZU244), the other score video of his music available on my channel - the "Episodes" are very different in character and exhibit Vladigerov's mature compositional style. These pieces were influenced both by the increased chromaticism of 20th-century tonal works and the harmonies and rhythms of Bulgarian folk music - the latter characteristics being particularly prominent in the Ratchenitza and Toccata. For me, the true gem of "Episodes" is the Improvisation, with its dreamy nature and ravishing harmonies - I have always been partial to slow music :)

Score videos of the Improvisation (youtube.com/watch?v=PfmN3M6eWdU) and Toccata (youtube.com/watch?v=A8vuGBFdoGs) are already available on @fyrexianoff's YouTube channel. I use the same recordings, by Rada Chomakova, because I find them to be the most compelling interpretations; my intent is not to infringe on the score videos he already made, but rather to make the whole suite available in one place.

There are also some small differences between the score and the recording in a few places. Krassimir Gatev knew Vladigerov personally, so I don't know if these pieces were revised later or if the pianist just made a few minor mistakes. Regardless, I found Gatev's interpretations to be far more nuanced and sensitive than the few other recordings available.

Recordings of Vladigerov's quite skillful orchestrations of the Improvisation (youtube.com/watch?v=QsEL_APjE6M) and Toccata (youtube.com/watch?v=9_PdjmTvYZQ) are also available. Unfortunately I don't know where to get the orchestral scores - if anyone is aware, please let me know!

Giacinto Scelsi - Ohoi The Creative Principles for 16 strings (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2023-11-27 | Walloon Chamber Orchestra conducted by Jean-Paul Dessy

Note that my syncing of the score to the recording might not be 100% accurate, if you have a better ear than I do! I've done my best.

Giacinto Scelsi (1905-1988) was an Italian composer notable for writing music centered around only one pitch, with subtle changes in intonation, timbre, and dynamics - he is often regarded as a precursor of the spectralist movement. Scelsi was famously reclusive; he didn't allow himself to be photographed for most of his life, instead representing himself by the symbol shown at the beginning of the video, and practically never wrote program notes. Because of this and due to the radical nature of his music, little of it received significant recognition in his lifetime. However, performers who worked closely with him, such as the cellist Frances-Marie Uitti, the Arditti Quartet, and the singer Michiko Hirayama, have spread his music to wider audiences, and his pioneering musical contributions have become increasingly appreciated in the decades since his death.

Although not as famous as works like "Four Pieces on One Note", "Uaxuctum", or his string quartets, "Ohoi" (written in 1966) is a beautiful example of Scelsi's exquisitely constrained world of sound, taking advantage of the acoustic properties of strings to produce sounds you'd almost never find in music before his time. This piece was my introduction to Scelsi - the first piece of his I ever heard - and I have remained captivated by his work ever since.

Heino Kaski - Selection of Piano Works op. 24-32 (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2023-11-24 | 00:00 Das Mädchen im Rosengarten (The Girl in the Rose Garden) Op. 24 No. 1 (Janne Mertanen)
01:49 Lied ohne Worte (Song without Words) Op. 24 No. 2 (Janne Mertanen)
03:40 Waldesstille (Peace of the Woods) Op. 25 No. 2 (Janne Mertanen)
06:06 Frühlingsmorgen in Capri (Spring Morning in Capri) Op. 25 No. 3 (Akira Naito, recording courtesy of PTNA Japan)
08:40 Unikuva (Dream Vision) Op. 27 No. 1 (Janne Mertanen)
10:42 Chanson populaire (Popular song) Op. 27 No. 3 (Janne Mertanen)
13:03 Nocturne Op. 30 No. 1 (Jouni Somero, from "Finnish Piano Album")
17:31 Niittypurolla/Am Wiesenbach (By the Meadow Brook) Op. 32 No. 2 (Izumi Tateno)
18:35 Burleske Op. 32 No. 3 (Janne Mertanen)
20:18 Chanson triste (Sad song) Op. 32 No. 4 (Janne Mertanen)

Heino Kaski (1885-1957) was a Finnish composer most famous for his melodic piano miniatures, especially the popular encore "Yö meren rannalla" ("Night by the seaside"). For more on Kaski, see my score video of his early piano works: youtube.com/watch?v=P7c6pF6a_YU

I've uploaded all of these scores to Kaski's page on imslp.org (not public domain in the EU): imslp.org/wiki/Category:Kaski,_Heino . There are still several of his works that have not been recorded either commercially or on YouTube, so do take a look!

Pēteris Vasks - White Scenery (Winter) - Pranav Ranjit, piano

Pranav Ranjit 2023-10-17 | I think this is the first recording I've ever publicly released. My apologies in advance for the creaky chair and page turning noises - I don't have the production skills to fix them completely.

The sound starts at 16 seconds because there are 16 seconds of rest specified at the beginning of the piece. Also note that I have taken some liberties with the lengths of many rests, as well as with one accent.

Pēteris Vasks (1946-) is a Latvian composer. Originally a devotee of the avant-garde, Vasks later turned to a more lyrical style; his works have been performed by well-known soloists and ensembles worldwide. In his own words, Vasks' music reflects "the battle between the darkness and the light, the reflections of nature in the art of sound, echoes of bird songs beloved by the composer, moments of catharsis, the fate of our nation and all humankind with a stamp of the past, the chaos of the present and hope of the future." His specific inspirations include Latvian folk music themes as well as nature - "especially the voices of birds, the forest, starry skies and the sea."

Written in 1980, "White Scenery" (Latvian: Balta ainava, German: Weiße Landschaft) is the first piece in Vasks' piano cycle "The Seasons", representing winter. Here, the music is accompanied by imagery last winter from my time living in Finland.

If you would like me to post more recordings of simple music, please let me know! I am putting this out because I love this piece very much, but I would also like to know if there's more interest.

The Heart of Lithuania (stereo version)

Pranav Ranjit 2023-10-13 | Premiered 13 October 2023, Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre Multimedia Center, Tallinn, Estonia as part of the EAMT Acousmonium (speaker orchestra) Workshop

Lithuania is a country very close to my heart, both because of its people and due to its rich variety of musical and cultural traditions. The recordings forming "The Heart of Lithuania" are influenced by several of these traditions - a carillon tune played in Telšiai, the capital of the Samogitian cultural region; the traditional multipart songs known as "sutartinės" from northeastern Lithuania (quasi-imitated by an imprecise canon created from my own voice); and the Catholic introitus "Pulkim ant kelių" ("Fall on your knees"), harmonized by late 19th- and early 20th-century composer Juozas Naujalis with words by Antanas Strazdas, recorded outside the Church of St. Theresa in Vilnius's old town.

In a sense, this work follows the ideas of the composer Bronius Kutavičius in his oratorio "Last Pagan Rites"; however, while Kutavičius illustrates the arrival of Christianity and displacement of paganism, my piece highlights the coexistence of multiple traditions as strong parts of Lithuanian identity. This is truly, for me, "the heart of Lithuania" - what makes me constantly drawn to the country as a source of inspiration for both acoustic and electroacoustic music.

Pranav Ranjit - A Whimsical Tune for piano (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2023-10-02 | Carson Cooman, piano
Completed 01 October 2023

This is one of a series of pieces where most expressive aspects are decided by the performer. Likewise, there are no program notes; based on the title and the music, it is up to you what you wish to imagine.

Pranav Ranjit - Gathering Dew, concerto for violin and orchestra (video recording)

Pranav Ranjit 2023-10-01 | Premiered 14 May 2023, Great Hall of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, Tallinn, Estonia
Peeter Margus, violin
Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Toomas Vavilov
Full concert available here: youtube.com/live/3UPRgstcB7c

"Gathering Dew", my first completed concerto, searches for a unison between the pure tone of the violin and the beautiful, often mournful simplicity of Lithuanian folk music. The harmonics and open strings of the violin are gradually transformed into fragments and variations of two folk songs – “Už ežero ugnys dega” ("Behind the lake, fires are burning", about a sorrowful orphan girl) and “Laidos saulalė” ("The sun was setting", depicting a personified sun speaking to villagers harvesting rye) – after which the soloist plays both songs in their full splendor.

The meaning of the title is twofold. Inspired by the delicate qualities of morning dew, I imagined the opening of the concerto as a gradual accumulation or “gathering”, beginning from the “dewdrops” of violin harmonics and extending to the loudest point. In addition, dew (“Rasa” in Lithuanian) is a common female name in Lithuania, exemplifying the very close connection between Lithuanian culture and nature.

"Gathering Dew" is dedicated to the Lithuanian people, in appreciation of the kindness, generosity, and hospitality they have often showed during my travels in Lithuania and abroad.

Recording of “Už ežero ugnys dega” by Liucė: youtube.com/watch?v=1LCvWWpW7sQ
Recording of “Laidos saulalė” from Baltic Folk YouTube channel: youtube.com/watch?v=uEFy4LyKd3I

Pranav Ranjit - Sweetness of Eternity for piano (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2023-10-01 | Carson Cooman, piano
Completed 19 September 2023

This is one of a series of pieces where most expressive aspects are decided by the performer. Likewise, there are no program notes; based on the title and the music, it is up to you what you wish to imagine.

Pranav Ranjit - Threads that Glisten in Evening Light for piano (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2023-09-17 | Carson Cooman, piano
Completed 16 September 2023

This is one of a series of pieces where most expressive aspects are decided by the performer. Likewise, there are no program notes; based on the title and the music, it is up to you what you wish to imagine.

Pranav Ranjit - Echoes from a Distant Land for Piano (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2023-09-07 | Carson Cooman, piano
Completed 06 September 2023

This is one of a series of pieces where most expressive aspects are decided by the performer. Likewise, there are no program notes; based on the title and the music, it is up to you what you wish to imagine.

Pranav Ranjit - Pilvine Öö (Cloudy Night) for piano (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2023-08-26 | Carson Cooman, piano
Completed 25 August 2023

This is one of a series of pieces where most or all expressive aspects of the music are decided by the performer.

Pranav Ranjit - Valley of Fading Memories (organ version)

Pranav Ranjit 2023-08-25 | Carson Cooman, organ
Completed 22 August 2023

There are no program notes; the meaning of the title is up to your own interpretation.

Piano version (with score): youtube.com/watch?v=rI0Jj0OBSj4

Photo taken by myself in the Bavarian Alps, near Bayrischzell, Germany, March 2022

Pranav Ranjit - Valley of Fading Memories for piano (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2023-08-25 | Carson Cooman, piano
Completed 22 August 2023

There are no program notes; the meaning of the title is up to your own interpretation.

Organ version: youtube.com/watch?v=vbTir8Zz92I

Heino Kaski - Selection of Piano Works op.5-19 (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2023-06-22 | 00:00 Impromptu Op. 5 No. 2 (Izumi Tateno)
01:08 Prelude Op. 7 No. 1 (Janne Mertanen)
04:37 Metsänneidot (The Nymphs in the Forest) Op. 10 No. 1 (Izumi Tateno)
07:54 Idyll Op. 10 No. 4 (Janne Mertanen)
10:05 Vuorenpeikkojen iltasoitto (Trolls playing taps) Op. 15 No. 1 (Janne Mertanen)
11:39 Ilta Venetsiassa (Evening in Venice) Op. 15 No. 2 (Janne Mertanen)
14:49 Valsette Op. 17 No. 2 (Clark Bryan)
18:25 Berceuse Op. 17 No. 3 (Janne Mertanen)
20:22 Reverie Op. 19 No. 1 (Izumi Tateno)
22:41 Die Quellennymphe (The nymph near the spring) Op. 19 No. 2 (Izumi Tateno)

For the sake of completeness, and for the purpose of having alternate recordings available as score videos, I've included some works that have been done separately as score videos elsewhere - for instance, check out @fyrexianoff's video on Kaski piano works (youtube.com/watch?v=62wVD9Kq2_U) for alternate interpretations. The Canadian pianist @ClarkBryan has an excellent YouTube channel with many interpretations of lesser-known piano miniatures, including several other works by Kaski; his performance of the "Valsette" is included here.

Heino Kaski (1885-1957) was a Finnish composer most famous for his melodic piano miniatures, especially the popular encore "Yö meren rannalla" ("Night by the seaside"). Kaski also wrote four orchestral suites, a symphonic poem, several chamber works and over a hundred songs.

Although they are not particularly innovative in style or harmonic language, practically all of Kaski's piano works are gems of the repertoire. Ranging from light-hearted, whimsical short pieces to dreamlike impressionistic soundscapes, all of them are written with great care for the qualities of the instrument, and the composer never neglects his obvious gift for melody.

I've now uploaded many of Kaski's piano works to IMSLP (not yet public domain in Europe), so expect to see more score videos of his music soon! Much more Finnish music will be coming to my channel in the future, too.

Colin McPhee - Tabuh-Tabuhan, toccata for orchestra and 2 pianos (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2023-06-13 | This video is provided for educational use only; please email me at pranav.sivakumar@berkeley.edu regarding any copyright issues.

00:06 I. Ostinatos
06:23 II. Nocturne
11:21 III. Finale

Esprit Orchestra conducted by Alex Pauk

Colin McPhee (1900-1964) was a Canadian-American composer. After studies with Gustav Strube at the Peabody Institute and later with Edgard Varèse, he moved to Bali in 1931 with his then-wife, the archaeologist Jane Belo (McPhee was gay, and they later divorced.) While in Bali, McPhee extensively studied the island's gamelan tradition, which he brought into many of his works from that time; his oeuvre represents one of the first ethnomusicological attempts to incorporate a non-Western musical tradition into Western art music. In the following decade, he lived with the likes of W.H. Auden and Benjamin Britten in Brooklyn and introduced Britten to Balinese gamelan, which the latter would take inspiration from in his score for "The Prince and the Pagodas".

"Tabuh-Tabuhan", written in 1936, is McPhee's best-known work; the title translates to "collection of percussion instruments". It brings together authentic Balinese melodies with the sound of the Western orchestra, augmented by a few Balinese percussion instruments (gongs and cymbals) and a "nuclear gamelan" of two pianos, celesta, xylophone, marimba, and glockenspiel. "Tabuh-Tabuhan" is very well constructed and orchestrated, but what fascinates me most is how far ahead of its time the piece was; I don't know the extent to which the American minimalists were familiar with his work, but their music - written decades later - surely owes McPhee a large debt.

Happy Pride month! :)

Hans Otte - Stundenbuch (Book of Hours) (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2023-06-01 | This video is provided for educational use only; please email me at pranav.sivakumar@berkeley.edu regarding any copyright issues.

Roger Woodward, piano

(Time stamps for each piece will be added to the description shortly)

Hans Otte (1926-2007) was a German composer, pianist, poet, and artist. A student of Paul Hindemith at Yale and of the German pianist Walter Gieseking, Otte often worked with very simple musical materials, finding subtle and sensitive forms of expression within them.

Unlike the more varied moods of the more famous "Das Buch der Klänge", the four-part, 48-piece "Stundenbuch" has a more meditative character with many slow pieces that recycle simple intervallic motifs, occasionally interrupted by active works that are more reminiscent of contemporaries like Stockhausen. As one can see from the score, it is even more freely notated than "Das Buch der Klänge", with the distance in time between each note only being defined only by visual space. If you liked the pieces with very slow changes in Otte's other major solo piano collection, you will probably enjoy "Stundenbuch" too!

Pranav Ranjit - Gathering Dew, concerto for violin and orchestra (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2023-05-24 | Premiered 14 May 2023, Great Hall of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, Tallinn, Estonia
Peeter Margus, violin
Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Toomas Vavilov
Full concert available here: youtube.com/live/3UPRgstcB7c

Note that the score may not exactly match up with the recording in a few places, due to limited rehearsal time.

"Gathering Dew", my first completed concerto, searches for a unison between the pure tone of the violin and the beautiful, often mournful simplicity of Lithuanian folk music. The harmonics and open strings of the violin are gradually transformed into fragments and variations of two folk songs – “Už ežero ugnys dega” ("Behind the lake, fires are burning", about a sorrowful orphan girl) and “Laidos saulalė” ("The sun was setting", depicting a personified sun speaking to villagers harvesting rye) – after which the soloist plays both songs in their full splendor.

The meaning of the title is twofold. Inspired by the delicate qualities of morning dew, I imagined the opening of the concerto as a gradual accumulation or “gathering”, beginning from the “dewdrops” of violin harmonics and extending to the loudest point. In addition, dew (“Rasa” in Lithuanian) is a common female name in Lithuania, exemplifying the very close connection between Lithuanian culture and nature.

"Gathering Dew" is dedicated to the Lithuanian people, in appreciation of the kindness, generosity, and hospitality they have often showed during my travels in Lithuania and abroad.

Recording of “Už ežero ugnys dega” by Liucė: youtube.com/watch?v=1LCvWWpW7sQ
Recording of “Laidos saulalė” from Baltic Folk YouTube channel: youtube.com/watch?v=uEFy4LyKd3I

Erkki Melartin - Der traurige Garten for piano (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2023-05-16 | Jean Dubé, piano

0:03 I. Wir zwei (We two)
6:40 II. Liebesallee (Alley of love)
10:39 III. Wiegenlied eines Bettlerkindes (Lullaby of a beggar child)
14:16 IV. Regen (Rain)
18:51 V. Solitude

Erkki Melartin (1875-1937) was a Finnish composer and conductor whose music, like that of many contemporaries, was overshadowed by that of Jean Sibelius. For more on Melartin, see my score video of his fourth string quartet: youtube.com/watch?v=dhVEiey4sjI

"Der traurige Garten" ("The sorrowful garden" in English and "Surullinen puutarha" in Finnish) is an evocative suite of five "symphonic moods" arranged for piano. Written in 1906, it follows from the Romantic models of piano writing by Liszt, Chopin, and others but contains harmonic and formal nuances of its own. I hope this score video will help bring to light a composer of very fine craftsmanship who deserves to be much better known, especially outside Finland!

The score can be found on IMSLP here, under "Surullinen Puutarha, Op.52": imslp.org/wiki/Category:Melartin,_Erkki

Charles Tournemire - Symphony No. 7 Les danses de la vie (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2023-05-12 | 00:00 Danses des temps primitifs (Dances of primitive times)
14:24 Danses de la gentilité (Dances of the gentility)
30:20 Danses médiévales (Medieval dances)
45:26 Danses sanglantes (Bloody dances)
1:00:39 Danses des temps futurs (Dances of future times)

Performed by the Liège Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Pierre Bartholomée

Charles Tournemire (1870-1939) was a French composer and organist, considered one of the greatest organists of his time. For more on Tournemire, see the description of my score video of his sixth symphony (youtube.com/watch?v=K_2T7QW5EjQ) and my blog (unknowncomposers.org/2018/11/04/the-journey-begins/).

Tournemire's seventh symphony is one of the longest French symphonies of the 20th century, at over an hour and fifteen minutes long (about an hour and thirty(!) in Antonio de Almeida's recording with the Moscow Symphony), and in my opinion also one of the most fascinating. Titled "Les danses de la vie" ("The dances of life" in English), it depicts five episodes of humankind from different time periods and perspectives. Although there are transformations of cyclic form as in his earlier symphonies, this work more strongly showcases the mystical and unpredictable element of Tournemire's later orchestral works. The spontaneity of form and harmonic language bring it almost outside the confines of late Romanticism, a trend continued in his eighth and final symphony - which contains the rather contrasting title "of the triumph of death".

The score (with accompanying program notes in French for each movement) is available on IMSLP under "Symphony No.7, Op.49" here: imslp.org/wiki/Category:Tournemire,_Charles

Also, if any native French speaker could confirm whether my translations of the movement names are accurate or not, it would be much appreciated.

Pranav Ranjit - Longing for solo bassoon (world premiere)

Pranav Ranjit 2023-05-02 | Rick Barrantes Agüero, bassoon
4/30/2023, Rock Hall Auditorium, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
The full video of Rick's doctoral recital is available here: youtube.com/watch?v=lsM8wREf8vc

Whenever any of us leave one place for another, we leave something behind. Having lived in four different countries and traveled to two more in the last five years, I often found myself missing aspects of all of them. In "Longing", these sensations are expressed through the sustained notes and register gaps of the bassoon; I hope every listener can find a part of themselves in it.

Charles Tournemire - Symphony No. 1 Romantique (Score Video)

Pranav Ranjit 2023-04-29 | 00:00 Mouvement d´andante - Allegro moderato
08:00 Scherzo: Allegretto spiritoso
14:00 Largo
21:11 Finale: Allegro energico

Performed by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Antonio de Almeida

Charles Tournemire (1870-1939) was a French composer and organist, considered one of the greatest organists of his time. For more on Tournemire, see the description of my score video of his sixth symphony (youtube.com/watch?v=K_2T7QW5EjQ) and my blog (unknowncomposers.org/2018/11/04/the-journey-begins/).

Tournemire's first symphony was completed in 1901; he would not finish another for eight years. Dedicated to the violinist and composer Paul Viardot, it is the most traditional of his symphonies, strongly influenced by his teacher César Franck and various Germanic models; nevertheless, it contains a spontaneous, personal touch that to some extent foreshadows his later music. Despite the increased gravitas of his later work, Tournemire certainly carried on the brightness of this piece in parts of his second, third, and fifth symphonies - all of which are also available on my channel with the score.

You can find the score on Tournemire's IMSLP page, under "Symphony No.1, Op.18": imslp.org/wiki/Category:Tournemire,_Charles