Heino Eller - Symphony #1 In modo mixolydio (1936) Beautiful Marginalia 2026-09-28 | Heino Eller - Symphony #1 In modo mixolydio (1936)
Iannis Xenakis - Eonta (1964) Beautiful Marginalia 2025-01-20 | Ensemble Schwerpunkt, Lorenzo Soulès (piano), Peter Rundel (conductor)Live PerformanceI prefer this live performance over the recording the same people made for bastille musique. My preference is just based on my own emotional reaction, which becomes very strong with the first climax and the way the pianist articulates the introduction. It's so strange when only one specific performance speaks to you. I barely have musical skills to value one, but I know when something affects me. When I listen to other performances of Eonta (including Takahashi's) I simply don't feel the same. ps. I wish I were uploading more music, but I lack time and energy. Besides, there are too many good channels on Youtube making this effort and they have better resources than me. Let's enjoy these riches for as long as we can.
Trinh Cong Son/arr.Jaakko Kuusisto - Circle of Unity (1968/arr.2021) Beautiful Marginalia 2022-08-05 | 2/5/2022, Minnesota OrchestraJunping Qian, conductorWorld Premiere of the arrangement.It made me sad to discover that weeks after this premiere, Jaakko Kuusisto had passed away. RIP
Jean Françaix - Petite valse européenne (1979) Beautiful Marginalia 2022-08-05 | In ''Petite valse européenne'', with its unusual instrumentation (tuba solist and double wind quintet), Françaix looks at Europe ''with a jester’s eye'': all the national anthems are ironic and suggestively subjected to three-four time.21 MAY 2021 - Live - Konzerthalle BambergHeiko Triebener, Tuba Bamberger SymphonikerJuraj Valčuha
Bruno Maderna - Venetian Journal (1972) Beautiful Marginalia 2021-06-16 | for tenor, orchestra and soundtrackBenjamin Hulett, tenorRoyal Concertgebouw OrchestraMarkus Stenz, conductor16 December 2011, Concertgebouw, AmsterdamImage: Félix Ziem - Venetian Scene
Kurt Schwertsik - Musik: Leicht flüchtig Op.110 (2012-13) Beautiful Marginalia 2021-06-16 | "Sinfonia in 3 Teilen"Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz Dir.: Ariane MatiakhBASF-Feierabendhaus, LudwigshafenDec/3/2013
Betsy Jolas - A Little Summer Suite (2015) Beautiful Marginalia 2021-06-06 | 3(afl, pic).3(ca).3(bcl).3(cbn)/4.3.3.1/timp.4perc/hp.pf/str(16.14.12.10.8)"I've been toying lately, in much of my work, with the notion of "wandering music"; in other words, music which seems aimless and could land anywhere at any time. This concept, obviously inherited from Moussorgsky's justly famous Pictures at an exhibition, is at the root of the seven movement structure of my little Summer suite : a walking stroll in four sections, designated « away, about, under and home », leading to three clearly identified , and fairly stable moments, labeled: « knocks and clocks, Shakes and quakes, chants and cheers »" ---Betsy Jolas (2016)Boston Symphony OrchestraAndris Nelsons - conductor19 July 2019, Tanglewood (Live... and certainly not the best sound quality)
Richard Strauss - Concert Overture in C Minor (1884; TrV.125; AV80) Beautiful Marginalia 2021-05-15 | Munich Radio OrchestraUlf Schirmer, ConductorRecorded in June 18, 2014 in the Congress Hall, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Sulkhan Nassidse - 3rd Symphony Kammersinfonie (1969) Beautiful Marginalia 2021-05-15 | This piece is already available on 2 other Youtube channels but take this as my support to promote a forgotten georgian composer. MDR Sinfonieorchester Dir.: Karl-Heinz SteffensLeipzig, Gewandhaus, 07. 05 2017Image: Detail from Melancholy by Edgar Degas
Manfred Trojahn - Terzinen über Vergänglichkeit (2014) Beautiful Marginalia 2021-05-15 | (after Hugo von Hofmannsthal; World Premiere)Image: Dánae (Klimt)18.06.2014 - Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Richard-Strauss-Festival): Marlis Petersen (Sopran), Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Ulf Schirmer conductor.
Aldo Clementi - Fantasia su frammenti di Michelangelo Galilei (1978) Beautiful Marginalia 2021-04-03 | Anders Forisdal (guitar)Friday 18 June 2010Whitechapel GalleryImage: It's "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1962 film) as it is shown in the doc "Listen to Me Marlon" (2015)
Boris Tchaikovsky - Six Etudes for Organ and Strings (1976) Beautiful Marginalia 2021-04-03 | (Re-Upload) I uploaded this piece around 2009 (12 freaking years ago!), but the video had terrible quality (all the pieces I still have here from the late 00s look poorly). At the time I decided to show only the first and fourth pieces, which remain my favourites, but this time I decided to upload all 6. This is a wonderfully atmospheric piece. Boris Tchaikovsky, a Russian composer I wish were performed more often, went into some curious timbric explorations: this isn't a concerto and yet there's a part for organ, which comes across as an obbligato. The most interesting aspect of its use is that it materializes the sort of shape shifter the piece actually is: it's amazing the contrast between the mystery of the 1st piece, the quasi kitsch of the 3rd or the aggressive gestures of the 4th. These "Six Etudes" have only 1 recording, as far as I know (Hyperion), but this is a live concert (no idea about who is performing, sorry) so you will endure lots of coughs...1. Andante. 00:002. Allegro non troppo. 05:513. Moderato con moto. 09:314. Allegro moderato. 13:515. Andante moderato. 17:186. Allegretto. Allegro. 23:01[Live Concert. Unknown performers]
John Woolrich - In the Mirrors of Asleep (2007) Beautiful Marginalia 2021-04-03 | for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano.Birmingham Contemporary Music Group - Chamber PlayersCBSO CentreFriday 2 March 2012Flute : Marie-Christine ZupancicClarinet: Timothy LinesPiano : Malcolm WilsonViolin : Alexandra WoodCello : Ulrich Heinen
Ivan Vandor - Canzone daddio (1966) Beautiful Marginalia 2021-03-22 | Ivan Vandor (13 October 1932 – 15 November 2020)Canzone d'addio (1966) for female voice, flute, viola, prepared piano, mandoline and percussionText by Rihaku Contempoart Ensemble:Mauro Ceccanti, conductorKeiko Morikawa, sopranoAndrea Secchi, pianoMaurizio Ben Omar, percussionVladimiro Buzzi, mandolineRenzo Pelli, fluteEdoardo Rosadini, viola02.26.2010 -- RomaImage: Dhruvi Acharya (artist)
Paul Chihara - Redwood (1968) Beautiful Marginalia 2021-03-18 | 20.09.2020 Teatro Farnese di Parma . Live Performance[John Stulz, viola - Samuel Favre, percussioni]Image: Hijack, The Toppling Effect (2019).
Friedrich Cerha - Spiegel II für 55 Streicher (1961) Beautiful Marginalia 2021-03-18 | [Ingo Metzmacher, RSOW Wien 03.12.20, Live Performance]Composed in 1961 and premiered in 1964 by Ernst Bour.55 Str. (14 Vl.I · 13 Vl.II · 10 Va. · 10 Vc. · 8 Kb.)
Giacomo Manzoni - Il rumore del tempo (2011) Beautiful Marginalia 2021-03-16 | «Il rumore del tempo» for soprano and 4 instruments, song cycle on texts by Aleksandr Blok, Velimir Chlebnikov, Georg Trakl und Andrea Zanzotto.Maurizio Pollini, pianoChristophe Desjardins, ViolaAlain Damiens, clarinetDaniel Ciampolini, percussion Anna Prohaska, sopranoCommissioned by LUCERNE FESTIVAL | premiere Luzern, 17. August 2011Image: Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Triumph of Death (detail), c. 1562
Georges Aperghis - Merry Go Round (2019/20) Beautiful Marginalia 2020-07-20 | [Performer: T.Anzellotti - When: Stuttgart - 9/Feb 2020; Image: from Ralph Bakshi's "Heavy Traffic" (1973)]Hi folks, It's been a long while since I posted my last music video (1 year), but, as you well know, the world has been going through a lot and, besides, It has become harder and harder to find something that I truly want to upload. I had that temptation when I heard James Dillon's Circe, but it's already there in a couple of channels, so I decided to skip that one. There's so much good stuff on Youtube that uploading new videos becomes kind of meaningless (although CR warnings keep popping up all the time and it's quite annoying to deal with it, to be honest; in my case a reason to keep the amount of videos I upload to a bare minimun). So, I've been waiting for the right piece and when, early this year, I found this little gem, I knew I was going to show it on my channel. I hope you enjoy it too.Please, stay healthy and safe.
Othmar Schoeck - Sommernacht Op.58 (1945) Beautiful Marginalia 2019-05-13 | Suisse Romande Orch Armin Jordan2005
Mario Davidovsky - String Quartet #5 (1998) Beautiful Marginalia 2018-10-31 | 31.10.2018: Happy HalloweenJuilliard String Quartet:Nick Eanet, 1. ViolineRonald Copes, 2. ViolineSamuel Rhodes, ViolaJoel Krosnick, VioloncelloArp Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck in Remagen, 19. Januar 2010
Elizabeth Maconchy - Romanza for viola & Orchestra (1979) Beautiful Marginalia 2018-10-11 | Paul Silverthorne, violaL. SinfoniettaNicholas Collon, conductorSaturday 13 AugustCadogan Hall
Werner Egk - Französische Suite nach Rameau (1949) Beautiful Marginalia 2018-09-09 | I. 00:00II. Gigue en rondeau 03:30III. Les tendres plaintes 05:40IV. La vénetienne 12:00V. Les tourbillons 13:35[Live Concert; Wiener Symphoniker; Wladmir Fedosejew; Großer Musikvereinssaal in Wien, 7.Oct.2012]Painting: Open Air Street Market Metro Manila by Andre Salvador
Mark Andre - S2, for percussion (2015) Beautiful Marginalia 2018-07-14 | If you wonder how Andre made these sounds with percussion, there's a video of a live performance on Youtube. I'm not a great Andre fan yet, but that could change soon: many years ago, when I discovered Lachenmann, it took me a good deal of time to appreciate him; I predict the same for Andre (I really like this one, though; easy when it's this atmospheric.)Performer:Christian Dierstein 28 April 2018 Märkischen Museum, WittenPainting:Harold Roth, "Necromancer" slightly altered by color grading
Alexander Raskatov - Xenia (1992) Beautiful Marginalia 2018-05-04 | Raskatov's haunting, beautiful Xenia. Easily one of my favorite pieces from the 90s. (Took me a lot of time to find a live performance of this piece; too much cough in this one, though)Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen RundfunksMichael GielenJanuary 17, 2003, live broadcast, Herkulessaal der Münchner ResidenzMusica Viva 2002/03Picture: "Balloon Girl" (2002), mural by graffiti artist Banksy.Edit 10/2018: I hope this piece doesn't get self-destroyed...lolIndications: Lontano -Molto tranquillo -Quasi senza tempo -Senza metro. Dolcissimo -Lontano, tranquillo. (the reprise with the toy piano is a great moment)"In 1990s Raskatov’s music went through new changes. As the composer describes himself, he started to be interested in ‘weaker or relaxed musical forms’. He sees a form as ‘a static non-action’, a ‘pleasant doing nothing’. As he said, ‘stylistically, modern world’s sound environment reminds him of childhood illusions and requires some escape from the limits of serious academic music making’. One of his works of 1991 even bears the title ‘Dolce Far Niente’ (‘Sweet doing nothing’) for cello and piano. This is why in many of his compositions performers have to whistle, blow into a shell, play unusual instruments such as vargan ( Asian type of jew’s Harp) , siren, bamboo tubes and so on. There are a number of Raskatov works in which the avant-garde language is used in an anti-avant-garde way, becoming rather a symbol of the naïve world of a child. Some avant-garde elements of instrumental technique change their meaning in a new context of Raskatov's music. They look and sound like toys, like recollections of a childhood. Typical examples of this new ‘naïve’ palette can already be found in Raskatov’s earlier and slightly absurdist piece Gra-ka-kha-ta for tenor, violin and four percussionists (1988) on texts of the Russian futurist poet Velimir Khlebnikov (1885-1922). Raskatov has developed this style in one of his central works, Xenia, for chamber orchestra (1992), which includes rather unusual instruments such as a toy piano, Javanese gongs as well as the orchestra players’ singing. Xenia, inspired by the poems of one of Russia’s most original and least known poets Xenia Nekrasova (1912-1958), once again presents an innocent, pure, child-like world. In order to create this atmosphere the composer uses here only high-register instruments." ©Alexander Ivashkin, 2010. [Schott-Music Notes: The work was inspired by the work of the Russian poet Xenia Nekrassova, who, after achieving some success in the 1950s, died forgotten and in complete poverty. The "childish and naïve character of her poetry" prompted Raskatov to the develop the musical language of the piece and suggested the title "Xenia". He also alludes to the mythological significance of this name.Instrumentation: 2(2. Auch Altfl.)0.2(2. Auch Bassklar.).0 - 2.0.0.0 - S. (2 Spieler: Tempelgong · Trgl. · Sonagli · Chimes · Vargan · Tamt. Profondo · Crot. · Vibr. · Gl. · javan. Gongs) - Cel. · Klav./Spielzeugklav. · Hfe. - Str.]
José García Román - De Civitate Aquae (2000) Beautiful Marginalia 2018-04-15 | Orquesta Filarmónica de Málaga - Arturo TamayoPainting: "Jardín abandonado", 1898 - Santiago Rusinol
Josep M. Mestres Quadreny - Sonades de la Calor del Foc (1984) Beautiful Marginalia 2018-03-04 | (Re-upload, it was divided in 3 parts before)Mestres Quadreny has occasionally used (I assume, as it's not clear why it's so widely used) the french title of "Sonates au coin du feu" (Sonatas next to fire); written for small ensemble. Pity that this composer is seldom performed today, his output is huge...I haven't listened to a lot of his output, but this piece resembles sometimes a collage; in his late works Mestres Quadreny tends to use decontextualized tonal fragments and popular tunes (the first movement operates in this way) among other experimental techniques.Josep Maria Mestres Quadreny (born 4 March 1929 in Manresa, Spain) studied sciences at the University of Barcelona and composition with C.Taltabull. His music is distinguished in its constant spirit of renovation in the musical language used and by the incorporation of new techniques, both in the composition itself and in the use of instruments. The scope of his explorations is very broad, ranging from works performed by the public themselves to works composed with the aid of a computer. He has collaborated with such plastic artists as Miró, Tàpies, Villegravelia and T.Codina and has written incidental music for theatre and cinema and also, with Joan Brossa, various works for musicals, ballet and opera.http://www.lamadeguido.com/mestres.htmlIf someone is interested in the score it's available for free here : http://www.lamadeguido.com/jm_mestres.html
Jean Sibelius - Snöfrid, Op.29 (1900) Beautiful Marginalia 2018-01-31 | Leif Segerstam - Orquesta Sinfónica y Coro de RTVE - Amaya Prieto, narrator - Teatro Monumental, Madrid, 1 November 2013Wikipedia:Snöfrid, Op. 29, is a melodrama or "improvisation for narrator, mixed choir and orchestra" by Jean Sibelius. He completed it in 1900 on a text by Viktor Rydberg. It was first performed in Helsinki on 20 October 1900, with the Orchestra of the Helsinki Philharmonic Society, conducted by Robert Kajanus.Sibelius composed the work in the fall of 1900 on a poem by Viktor Rydberg. He later noted: "I wrote Snöfrid more or less at one sitting after I came home from three days of lively celebrations". The plot on which it is based is inspired by old Scandinavian balladic stories. A female protagonist appeals to her compatriots, in particular a hero, to fight for freedom as a higher goal than fortune, fame and pleasure. Sibelius was inspired by several works by Rydberg, including solo songs and Skogsrået (The Wood Nymph). He liked Rydberg's free verse, expressing both erotic and political ideas. The heroic element possibly appealed to his own battles "with everybody and everything". Sibelius chose dramatic scenes from the poem, such as Snöfrid's "If you choose me, then you choose the tempest." The instrumental prelude depicts a storm at night, with whining strings, howling brass, thundering percussion, but "dominated by melodic and harmonic elements".
Jon Leifs - Organ Concerto Op.7 (1930) Beautiful Marginalia 2017-12-15 | From Wikipedia:The Organ Concerto, Op. 7 is an organ concerto by Icelandic composer Jón Leifs. Its origins go back to 1917, when Leifs was just 18, and was completed in 1930. It is an uncompromisingly dark work somewhat linked to medieval music, with influences from the tvísöngur tradition in a dissonant triadic context. It lasts about 21 minutes, and contains three movements, with a short introduction and finale framing a much longer Passacaglia consisting in thirty variations. Its theme comprises the total chromatic, critic Alex Ross described as Bach walking in the tundra.A performance of the work in March 1941 in the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin caused a scandal, with only twenty spectators remaining in the hall by the end and critic Fritz Stege condemning Leifs' agonizingly narrow-minded intellectual world. This marked the end of the Icelandic composer's career in Nazi Germany, though he was not allowed to leave the country until 1944.Los Angeles Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen, 15 Apr 2017James McVinnie, organ
Sibelius/Stravinsky - Canzonetta (arr.) (1904/1963) Beautiful Marginalia 2017-12-15 | Canzonetta, arrangement for winds, harp & double bass by Igor Stravinsky (after Sibelius, Op. 62a). Although Stravinsky was not fond of the oeuvre of the Finnish master, he is remembered by his amanuensis Robert Craft as having remarked during a visit to Helsinki in 1961 that he liked the Canzonetta "the first half of it, anyway. I like that kind of northern Italianate melodism -- Tchaikovsky had it too -- which was a part, and an attractive part, of St. Petersburg culture." Sibelius' Canzonetta is scored for strings; Stravinsky's 1963 arrangement is scored for two clarinets, four horns, harp, and double bass. Stravinsky won the Wihuir-Sibelius Prize in 1963 and this piece was premiered on March 22, 1964, by the Finnish Broadcast Company. Description by James Leonard (Allmusic)_______________All my stuff from 2010 has poor video quality. Seven years back, and for this piece, I had a picture of Stravinsky in front of Sibelius' tomb, but the photo was so blurred you couldn't even say it was Stravinsky. I don't have that picture in good resolution so I decided to delete the video and re-upload this piece with something different.The story of this recording is unknown to me, but I think this comes from a Prom and it is conducted by Oliver Knussen. I think it can be identified easily (someone accidentally drops an unidentified object and makes unexpected noise during the first bars). If you really know who's really the conductor and general context of this performance, let me know.
Alexander Raskatov - A Dogs Heart (2009; excerpt) Beautiful Marginalia 2017-11-01 | A Dog's Heart (Собачье сердце), Opera in 2 acts (2008–2009); libretto in Russian by Cesare Mazzonis after the story by Mikhail Bulgakov.[Information about the performance temporaly withdrawn]
Andrzej Panufnik - Sinfonia rustica (#1) (1948, revised 1955) (mov #4 Con vigore) Beautiful Marginalia 2017-07-18 | I would have prefered this music for Wonder Woman, frankly.[BBC Scotish Symphony Orchestra, Lukasz]
Hans Werner Henze - Symphony #8 (1993) (mov #3) Beautiful Marginalia 2017-07-18 | Probably my favorite of his symphonies. Henze takes Shakespeare as inspiration (A Midsummer Night Dream), and for this particular movement Puck's final speech "If we shadows have offended".[Unknown Performers]Image: Night Magic (Blue Jester), 1988, by Carlos Almaraz
Guillaume de Machaut - Messe de Nostre Dame (1364) - Kyrie & Gloria Beautiful Marginalia 2017-02-20 | I like this version a lot. This was performed along with Birtwistle's Machaut a ma maniere (also in this channel; edit 03/2020: ops, no longer in this channel due to CR issues! Same as usual.)(Huelgas Ensemble, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Paul van Nevel) Live Concert.
Carlos Cruz de Castro - Sagitario (1976) Beautiful Marginalia 2017-02-19 | Recording: Grupo Instrumental, Dir.: José Buenagu. Movieplay S.A. 1979. (I'm not sure)Picture: Gene Hackman in "The Conversation" a film by Francis Ford Coppola.
Giacinto Scelsi - Aion Four Episodes in one Day of Brahma (1961) Beautiful Marginalia 2016-12-03 | Ilan Volkov, live performancehr-SinfonieorchesterOctober 7, 2016Like so many of Scelsi's mature works, Aion is titled by obscure historical or mythological reference, in this case the ancient Greek personification of eternity. The only description he provides for this substantial orchestral score is the subtitle, "Four Episodes in one Day of Brahma." Fortunately, just as in Scelsi's music, every action is packed with meaning, and the aphorism provides an orientation toward the work and also toward his typical style. In Hindu theology, Brahma is the creator-God and the very stuff of the Universe. Like the endless cycle of reincarnation, the Universe flowers and wilts in a great sequence of being, where each interval of creation is known as a Day of Brahma and has a notional length of ninety thousand human years. The day is divided into four epochs reflecting the moral state of humanity, but this fact is likely incidental to the four movements of the present work. The incarnation of sound sustaining the Universe is also known as Nada-Brahma, giving the concept a firm sonic connection, although Scelsi's application is uniquely his own. While the eternal cosmology of the title might suggest a work of interminable duration, the writing is always compact. This self-contained expression parallels Hindu iconography, where the world's cycles are frequently depicted as bubbles, and bubbles within bubbles to ever-smaller spans of time. Perhaps more tangibly, the circle is the form by which the infinite becomes finite, and indeed Scelsi adopted a circle above a straight line as his emblem. The bubble analogy is particularly apt, because he conceives of musical notes as entities, with not only beginnings and ends but bodies as well.Aion is biased toward low-pitched instruments, with an overall sonority resembling strokes on a gong of deep fundamental tone and shimmering higher overtones. Scelsi treats this collective sound broadly as thematic material, developing it by changing registers and varying timbre. Just as the highest overtones of a gong die out faster, similar changes can be carried out with greater precision across a broader canvass, using the entire orchestra to manipulate overtones in ways impossible on a single instrument. In fact, Scelsi returned to the orchestral medium in 1959 with four short pieces consisting of single notes scrupulously articulated. These have become models of orchestration, and the richness of sonority brought to each gesture is a feature of his style. Beyond variation in timbre, the more developed works mutate individual notes with glissandi or pull them by changing their overtones. The microtonal movement is nearly continuous in most of Scelsi's music, lending a strong sense of instability in stark contrast to the slowly evolving designation of particular notes. Chords mark points of stasis, but usually emerge from resonance between individual notes, giving them a special richness which can be displaced by violent eruption. Clearly identifiable melodies do appear, but are developed with primary attention to their constituent notes, often in minute detail. The rich infrachromaticism provides striking and unique harmonic motion within a tonal context, yet never yields to aimlessness.http://www.medieval.org/music/modern/scelsi/aion_note.html
Giorgio Federico Ghedini - Concerto spirituale (1943) Beautiful Marginalia 2016-08-08 | "Concerto spirituale per due soprani, coro femminile e orchestra da camera su testo della lauda "De la incarnazione del Verbo divino" di Iacopone da Todi".Orchestra e Coro del Teatro La FeniceMaestro del Coro: Emanuela Di Pietroconductor: Dmitrij KitajenkoTeatro La Fenice di Venezia, 17 nov 2006Picture by Japanese artist “Hi” aka xhxix
Francesco Landini - Ecco la primavera (ca.1350-97) Beautiful Marginalia 2016-04-30 | "Spring has come apaceTo waken hearts to gladness;Time for lovers' madnessAnd to wear a happy face."[Ensemble Horizonte at Bielefeld 2015]Ink painting by hyperrealist artist Juan Francisco Casas
Paul Hindemith - Organ Concerto (1962) Beautiful Marginalia 2016-04-17 | One of the very last pieces written by Hindemith, in the same vein of Pittsburgh Symphony, at least in terms of sonority. This was composed before the Mass, and certainly there's a lot of appealing spirituality, even if I'm not inclined to define this piece as truly religious or mystic. There's a mundane quality in all Hindemith's music that keeps the listener stuck in the ground. 1. Crescendo - Moderato Maestoso 00:002. Allegro assai 04:553. Canzonetta in triads and two Ritornelli - Moderato 12:054. Phantasy on "Veni Creator Spiritus" 18:10Iveta Apkalna, OrganRundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Marek Janowski28.11.2015
Kurt Weill - Silbersee Suite (1933/45) Beautiful Marginalia 2016-02-22 | [Netherlands Radio Philharmonic; Markus Stenz, Conductor (11-14-14)]
Brett Dean - String Quintet Epitaphs (2010) Beautiful Marginalia 2015-09-27 | Composer's Notes:“Co-commissioned by the Australian String Quartet, La Jolla Music Society and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival”I Only I will know...in memory of Dorothy Porter(Gently flowing, with intimate intensity)II Walk a little way with me...in memory of Lyndal Holt(Moderato scorrevole)III Der Philosoph...in memory of Jan Diesselhorst(Slow and spacious, misterioso)IV György meets the "Girl Photographer"...in memory of Betty Freeman; hommage à György Ligeti(Fresh, energetic)V Between the spaces in the sky...in memory of Richard Hickox(Hushed and fragile)Epitaphs was jointly commissioned by three parties, and premiered at the 2010 Cheltenham Festival in the UK. I saw in this commission the chance to explore the extended sonorities and textural possibilities of the “string-quartet-plus-one” formation, which so fascinated Mozart, Schubert and Brahms before me – and led to some of their finest and most profound utterances in chamber music. The work was especially informed by the very particular colouristic changes that arise by doubling the viola section, with the pair of violas frequently operating as a counterpart to the string quartet's regular pair of violins.However, writing this work simultaneously offered me the opportunity to pay homage to several people, both personal friends and professional colleagues, who passed away during a relatively short space of time in the years 2008 and 2009.Despite the sombre tone of the work's subject matter and purpose, it's intended that this suite of five memorial pieces be heard as much as a celebration of personal qualities, characteristics and achievements as it is also an expression of loss and contemplation; of energetic lives fulfilled as well as of lives cut short.I. Dorothy Porter, Australian poet (1954–2008)Sniff the air. Test the weather. Smell the storm of burning feathers; smell the storm of our last and final flight together.The day we go; The place we go; Only I will know; Only I will know.(Dorothy Porter, from “The Bluebird of Death”; Published in “The Bee Hut”, Black Inc. Books, Melbourne, 2009)II. Lyndal Holt, Australian solicitor, academic, and author (1962–2008)Cancer forces us to recognise what is important in this earthly world. And most people come to believe that it is their relationships that matter most. I so appreciate everyone who is willing to take my hand and walk a little way on my cancer journey with me. Sometimes they have to hold me, a lot of the time we laugh.(Lyndal Holt, from a newsletter of the Cancer Support Centre-Jacaranda Lodge, Sydney Adventist Hospital, Autumn 2007)III. Jan Diesselhorst, Berlin Philharmonic cellist, (1954–2008)Amongst his colleagues of the famous “12 Cellists” he was respectfully and affectionately known as “The Philosopher”: a highly educated humanist and grappa connoisseur who never entered the warm-up room of the Philharmonie without a cultured book in his hand.(From obituary, Potsdamer Neueste Nachrichten, 7/02/09)IV. Betty Freeman, American arts patron, philanthropist and photographer (1921– 2009) / György Ligeti, Hungarian-born Austrian composer (1923–2006)On the business card that Betty Freeman gave me when we first met in 2000, she endearingly referred to herself as “Girl Photographer”. To have been a fly on the wall in Los Angeles in 1993 when Betty photographed György Ligeti, overhearing the conversations between two such irrepressible personalities, would have been truly fascinating.V. Richard Hickox, British conductor and music director (1948–2008)Former Artistic Director of Opera Australia, 2005–2008. Richard was to have conducted the premiere of my first opera, “Bliss”.Ecstasy touched me…I slid between the spaces in the skyAnd smelt things living and dying in the valleys of the forest.(Amanda Holden, from the libretto for “Bliss”.)Brett Dean, Sydney, March, 2010
Paul Hindemith - Philharmonisches Konzert (1932, Vierte Variation) Beautiful Marginalia 2015-06-25 | It actually contains not only the 4th Var but the beginning of the 5th.[Erich Leinsdorf, October 7, 1987, BPO]Painting: "Beach Walk" by Timothy EastonSummer always keeps a promise for new fond memories.
Louis Andriessen - Tapdance (2013) Beautiful Marginalia 2015-06-24 | This concerto for percussion is not exactly what you might expect: the actual tapdance is a small portion of the score, the rest has a reflective, almost mournful tone. We could call this one "Le tombeau du Fred Astaire".Painting: Man Ray.[Dominique Vleeshouwers percussion; Asko|Schönberg; Reinbert de Leeuw; May 10, 2015, Kölner Philharmonie]Update (Summer of 2021): Scoring:Solo percussion: tap table/marimba/timpanum2.2.ssax(=tsax).asax.0.bcl.dbcl.0-2.2.2.0-perc:vib/t.bells/gongs/cyms/bongos/guiro/slit dr/BD/drum kit-harp-pft-bgtr-strings(max:5.4.3.3.2, min:3.3.2.2.1)"The work concludes with slow, calamitous sounding timpanum strokes and a brief reference to the big band era when tap dancers were in vogue. The end is as lonely as a life that ceases to exist."(De Volksrant) Louis Andriessen, rest in peace. (6 June 1939 – 1 July 2021)
Emmanuel Nunes - Wandlungen (1986) Beautiful Marginalia 2015-06-23 | "Fünf Passacaglien für 25 instrumente und Live elektronik ad libitum"[Klangforum Wien, Emilio Pomarico, 14-Ene-2015, Mozatr-Saal des Wiener konzerthauses]
Ferenc Farkas - Old Hungarian Dances of the 17th Century (#2) (1959) Beautiful Marginalia 2015-04-01 | [Recorded July 26, 2014 in the VERDO Konzertsaal, HitzackerEnsemble Chabot: Andrea Lieberknecht, Flute/Marie-Luise Modersohn, Oboe/Wolfgang Meyer, Clarinet/Dag Jensen, Bassoon/Franz Draxinger, Horn]Picture: Artwork from the poster of "Adieu au langage 3D" (2014), a film by Jean Luc Godard.
Charles Ives - Yale Princeton Football Game (1898) Beautiful Marginalia 2015-02-16 | [Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Slatkin. 21-Nov-2014]In The Yale-Princeton Football Game, Charles Ives depicts the 6-0 defeat of the Princeton Tigers by the Yale Bulldogs on November 20, 1897. After this game, the Yale football team went on to play an undefeated season. In the music, Ives condenses the game into two downs spread over three minutes, quoting various college songs, Yale football cheers, and other musical references along the way. Ives’s sketches for the piece include the following annotations, with a new reference falling every few measures: 1. Suppressed excitement of players coming into grounds. 2. A Yale cheer, “Brekke coax” [sic] 3. Another cheer: “Rah, Rah, Rah; Rah Rah Rah; Rah Rah Rah; Yale Yale Yale.” 4. “Three Cheers for Old Nassau” 5. “Harvard has blue stocking girls, Yale has blue stocking men,” etc. 6. “Watch on the Rhein” (Die Wacht am Rhein) 7. “Hold the Fort, McClung is coming.” 8. “Reeves 2nd Regiments Quickstep” (always played by Brass Band at games and reunions etc.) 9. “Hy-can nuck-a-no” 10. “Dodging half-back” 11. “Fat Guards, pushing, grunting.” 12. “First Down.” 13. “Run around left end: loss.” 14. “Dodging tackle.” 15. “Close formation: Wedge” 16. “Last Down” 17. “Run around Right” 18. “When trumpet (=Running half-back [sic], Charley Desseaulles [sic]) reaches this measure, every other instrument must make a hell of a noise and stop”; “Touch Down.” 19. “Game over and won. Everybody tired, players and spectators.”
Franz Liszt - Unstern!, Sinistre, Disastro S.208 (1880-86) Beautiful Marginalia 2014-12-01 | (Re-upload)Martin Stadtfeld, pianoRecorded on 5 November 2011, Gewandhaus, Leipzig(Live Concert)
Ruzicka/Liszt - Über Unstern (2011) Beautiful Marginalia 2014-12-01 | (Re-upload)MDR SinfonieorchesterPeter Ruzicka, conductorRecorded on 5 November 2011, Gewandhaus, Leipzig(Live Concert)
George Aperghis - Monomanie (1991) (Selec. Lieder #2, 3 & 6) Beautiful Marginalia 2014-11-11 | [Petra Hoffmann, Soprano]This was a beautiful encore from this concert:Munchen, Prinzregententheater, 10. October 2013Miraculously I found the text of #3, from a sonnet by Louise Label:SONNET VIIIJe vis, je meurs: je me brûle et me noie,J'ai chaud extrême en endurant froidure;La vie m'est et trop molle et trop dure,J'ai grands ennuis entremélés de joie.Tout en un coup je ris et je larmoie,Et en plaisir maint grief tourment j'endure,Mon bien s'en va, et à jamais il dure,Tout en un coup je sèche et je verdoie.Ainsi Amour inconstamment me mèneEt, quand je pense avoir plus de douleur,Sans y penser je me trouve hors de peine.Puis, quand je crois ma joie être certaine,Et être en haut de mon désiré heur,Il me remet en mon premier malheur.Sonnet VIIII live, I die, I burn with fire, I drown.It matters very little what I feel;All life is now too real, now too surreal;Joy comes and endless boredom weighs me down,And suddenly I laugh and then I cry;With grief and bliss I’m weeping for the past;Good feelings go away and yet they last,And suddenly I bleed and then I sigh.That’s how it goes. Strange, ever changing loveHas worn me out. I wish I were removedFrom such a star-crossed fate! I need a truceWith Lady Luck. Again and yet again,Her wheel is spinning madly to produceThis wanton, wild, intense, exquisite pain.
Henri Dutilleux - Muss es sein? (2000) Beautiful Marginalia 2014-07-31 | [26-6-2014 - Les Siècles - François-Xavier Roth]
Harrison Birtwistle - Clarinet Quintet (1980) Beautiful Marginalia 2014-06-13 | Intérpretes: Scharoun EnsembleImagen: Fragmentos de 6 cuadros distintos
Bernhard Sekles - Der Dybuk op.35 (1928) Beautiful Marginalia 2014-01-13 | Imagen: Dibujo de Bernie WrightsonStaatskapelle HalleDir.: Josep Caballé DomenechHalle, Georg-Friedrich-Händel-Halle, 8 de Diciembre del 2013
