Monday 6 November 2017

Classical Music - July 2017

Bach, J.S. - Geist und Seele wird verwirret (Spirit and soul become confused)
Bach, J.S. - Gott soll allein mein Herze haben (God alone shall have my heart)
Barber - Serenade (for strings), op.1
Barber - Three Songs, op.2
Beethoven - Music to a Ritter ballet
Beethoven - 12 Minuets for orchestra, WoO 7
Bridge
  • Berceuse (instrumental work, orchestral version)
  • Berceuse (song)
  • The Hag
Dvorak - String Quartet No.1
Dvorak - Polka in E for piano 
Haydn - Symphony No.59
Holmboe - Symphony No.7
Holmboe - Fanfare 
Mozart - Symphony No.27
Nielsen - Symphony No.2
Nielsen - Piano Trio
Rachmaninov - Etudes-Tableaux, op.39
Schoenberg - Transfigured Night
Schumann
  • Violin Sonata No.3
  • Papillons
  • Early songs, including WoO 19 and 21 
Scriabin - Piano Sonata No.1
Scriabin - 6 Preludes, op.13 
Sibelius - Segelfahrt
Sibelius - Souda, souda, sinisorsa
Villa-Lobos - Choros 5 and 7

Most of this list represents at least one of two ideas.

The first idea is, as always, to try and listen to new purchases and so justify making the purchase. I picked up quite a few things during my overseas travel. I am one of those dinosaurs who still prefers CDs. The Beethoven and Scriabin works were bought, as were the Schumann songs.

Of course, I'm still working through the previous batch or two of purchases (such as Villa-Lobos, and Schumann violin sonatas, and Sibelius songs), but trips to other destinations are something of an exception to my general prohibition against buying more when there's already a pile of music not listened to.

The second idea is my penchant for planned surveys, particularly chronological ones. And so after I got home I started on new surveys of Barber, Bridge, Dvorak, Mozart, Nielsen, Schoenberg and Schumann. The Mozart one I am limiting to works I own, whereas for the others I am taking advantage of online services to hear works that aren't part of my collection.

The inspiration in most cases is in fact the growth of my own collection, primarily the large set of purchases I made around November 2016, as I wanted to put those works in more context. And so I will hear Barber's orchestral works, Bridge's chamber works, and Dvorak's piano works for a second time. Some of the Mozart is relatively new as well. For Schumann I will integrate my first hearing of many of the songs into this exercise (which started with very early songs most listeners are not familiar with, from before his focus on solo piano works for the whole of the 1830s). In the case of Schoenberg this is sheer curiosity because I only know 2 of his opuses.

It's all very "planned", I know, but personally I find this useful. I don't want to just listen to music, but to understand it better. This method helps me do that.

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