Classical Music - October 2018

Brahms - Piano Pieces, op.76
Bridge

• Capriccio No.2
• A Sea Idyll
• Lean Close Thy Cheek
• Fair Daffodils
• Adoration
• So Perverse
• Tears, Idle Tears
• The Violets Blue
• Come to me in my Dreams
• My Pent-up Tears Oppress my Brain

Debussy - Fêtes galantes, set 2
Debussy - Three Ballades of François Villon
Dvorak

• From the Bohemian Forest
• Violin Sonata in F
• 2 Waltzes for string quartet
• Polonaise for cello and piano
• Bagatelles for strings and harmonium

Haydn - Symphonies 100 and 104
Holmboe - To the Unsettled Weather
Nielsen

• Piano Trio
• String Quartet in D minor
• String quartet movements / possible quartet in F
• Violin Sonata in G
• Duet for violins
• Fantasy piece for clarinet and piano
• Humoresque Bagatelles for piano

Schubert

• Erinnerung (Totenopfer)
• An die Natur
• Lied (Ferne von der grossen Stadt)
• Täglich zu singen
• Ganymed
• Die Erde
• Wehmut
• Die Mutter Erde
• Die Allmacht
• Das Lied im Grünen

Schumann - Lieder-Album for the Young
Schumann - Konzertstück for 4 horns and orchestra
Shostakovich - Seven Romances on Poems of Alexander Blok
Shostakovich - Six Poems by Marina Tsvetayeva
Sibelius

• Kullervo
• En Saga
• Karelia Suite
• Overture in E
• Scene de Ballet
• Rakastava (choir and orchestra version)
• Two Chorales for choir and orchestra
• Pensées Lyriques
• Kyllikki

The focus in October was very much on new purchases, both the ones that arrived in September and a few more.  The new additions were several albums from Hyperion's set of the complete Schubert songs (which I decided were more interesting to get as the single recitals, a decision that might lead to years of frustrated hunting on eBay), and 2 different collections of Sibelius' orchestral music.  After a very protracted period of research I worked out that these particular boxes would provide 80 to 90 percent of the works I wanted to add to my collection.

Sibelius is, in my opinion, one of the greatest orchestral composers. I've decided to explore this part of his work chronologically, which does present some very interesting early works. Kullervo being the exceptionally large and grand example. Not every work is a masterpiece, but they are certainly instructive. For example, the Overture and Scene de Ballet started life as the 2 movements from Sibelius' first attempt at writing a symphony.

Apart from the Sibelius, one of the other highlights of this list was Dvorak's From the Bohemian Forest. It's the only one of his piano duet works that he did not orchestrate. It's also perhaps the finest of them.