Classical Music - September 2016

Bach, J.S. - Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit (What My God Wants, May It Always Happen)
Beethoven

• Symphony No.1
• Romance for violin and orchestra No.1
• Piano Sonatas 6, 10 and 13
• Violin Sonatas 2, 5, 6 and 7
• String Quartet No.2
• String Quintet 

Chopin

• Mazurkas, op.67/2, 67/4 and 68/4
• Galop Marquis
• Largo in E flat
• Nocturne in C minor
• Waltz in A minor

Dvorak

• Requiem
• Mass in D
• Te Deum 

Haydn

• Missa Sancti Bernardi von Offida ('Heiligmesse')
• Missa in tempore belli ('Paukenmesse')
• Missa in augustiis ('Nelsonmesse')

Holmboe

• Symphonies 2, 3, 5, 8, 9 and 13
• Concerto No.1 (for piano)
• Epitaph
• Tempo Varibaile
• String Quartets 1, 2, 3, 9, 12, 13 and 16
• Violin Sonatas 1 and 2
• Primavera

Mozart - Piano Concertos 1 to 4, 15, 16 and 25
Nielsen - [various songs and choral works translated into English]
Nørgård - Inre och yttre landskap (Inner and outer landscape)
Nørholm - Three Songs for male choir, to words by Garff
Poulenc - Sonata for 2 pianos
Rachmaninov - Suite No.2 for 2 pianos
Ravel

• Piano Concerto in G
• Piano Concerto for the Left Hand
• Violin Sonata No.2

Schubert - String Quartet No.15
Schubert - Piano Sonata in G, D.894
Shostakovich - Symphonies 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12 and 15
Sibelius - Lemminkainen Suite
Vivaldi 

• Concerto for Strings in D minor ('Madrigalesco'), RV 129
• Sonata a 4 in E flat ('Al Santo Sepolcro'), RV 130
• Sinfonia for Strings in B minor ('Al Santo Sepolcro'), RV 169
• Violin Concerto in C minor, RV 202 (Op.11/5)
• Violin Concerto in C minor ('Amato bene'), RV 761
• Concerto for 2 violins in G minor, RV 517
• Concerto for violin and cello in B flat, RV 547

Quite a long classical list again. Although the length of the list doesn't always reflect the listening. For example, nine of Shostakovich's symphonies take up just one line. And Dvorak's colossal Requiem, which in some ways is one of the more challenging things I've listened to despite his innate tunefulness, doesn't take up any more space than the little scraps of Chopin's last works.

The Beethoven chronology is a little more scrambled than usual, because it catches the end of one of my time slices (works from around 1798-1800) and the beginning of another (works from around 1801-3). There's a lot development in those years, and the end of Beethoven's "early period" isn't all that far from the beginning of it!

One of the most pleasant surprises of the month was early Mozart. I had assumed that the first 4 piano concertos, which are essentially his arrangements of piano works by others, would be relatively uninteresting. But they were a real delight. It's true they might not have the depth of the more mature piano concertos, but listening to them was highly enjoyable.

And at the other end of a career, the late Haydn masses. I think it will take a while to really get to know these works well, but they are making a good first impression. The 'Paukenmesse' and the 'Nelsonmesse' in particular strike me as compositions I will want to return to quite a bit.

And, um... that's it. Having left the last post lingering so long, I don't want to dwell on this one. I want to catch up.