Snooch’s Silly Symphony

“Come, Ye Sons of Art, come away.
Tune all your voices, and instruments play,
To celebrate this triumphant day!”

The last three years were no-brainers for me and my classical music listening project. It just made sense to start with a year of symphonies and then concerti were the next thought. 2014’s program music, suites, and ballets, though, showed me that music can’t so easily be put in a box. And there were times this year when I wished I were listening to a particular symphony or concerto, but darn it, wrong year.

Rachmaninov-Symphonic Dances first page (Foley, 1941)

I definitely am familiar with this piece, but haven’t ever really studied it. 

Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol first page (Belaieff, 1887)

I had hoped that during December I might be able to come up with at least a few pieces that would be about winter or Christmas, but I’m not doing too well at finding something that would meet the generalized rules for this year’s theme. So, I’ve just gone with something typical in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol. It was Rimsky that started off the year, with Scheherazade, and now I’ve come full circle. In past years, I’ve stopped early in December, to allow myself more time to enjoy my beloved Christmas music collection, and to relisten and reflect on the year. So, who knows, perhaps this will be the last of the year.

So few weeks left in the year, and I felt like doing something tailored to the week. This is Thanksgiving week here in the United States, so I opted for this piece which has become the standard-bearer for American classical music of the 20th century. I have chosen to listen to the original suite, scored for thirteen instruments. Today I’ve heard it many times and as expected, although every moment effuses Copland, only a few minutes (Simple Gifts) are immediately identifiable as being from Appalachian Spring.

Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C first page (Breitkopf, 1885)

This past week, there was a Carnegie Hall broadcast which inspired me to really learn Bach’s Orchestral Suites. These are pieces which even a non-musician has probably heard snippets of here and there, from the playful Badinerie of the 2nd to the Air from the 3rd. But, for me at least, they tend to jumble together in my mind. I really want to learn their differences, and the individual personalities of each. So, I brought a bit of a rule, and chose these pieces in spite of the fact that they are not new to me by any stretch of the imagination.

I can’t quite tell if I feel like I’m out of ideas, or on a real good streak here. Several weeks of the last few months I have worked on pieces that I’d never even heard of before. In a way that makes me feel very good, because I’m learning completely new material, but also makes me wonder whether it’s just November, and I’m in a rut. Whatever the case, here I am with Ravel’s Valses nobles et sentimentales. Ravel has been on good terms with me this year. I’ve enjoyed learning quite a few pieces of his; from Couperin all the way back in February, and Mother Goose and the Pavane this summer, it’s a good year for me to see there is so much more to Ravel than Bolero.

Sibelius: Tapiola cover (Breitkopf, 1926)

Tapiola was a piece that the New England Philharmonic performed in 2007, when I was there general manager for a three-year spell. As such, I figured that when I gave this one a first spin, I would immediately recognize its themes, having sat next door to the rehearsal room for the months during which it was prepared. How wrong I was. Upon turning it on just a few minutes ago, I realized that I did not recall anything of the piece, even when my source recording was the very NEP concert that I managed. Wow. I guess I have some work to do.

Prokofiev: The Love for Three Oranges cover (Muzyka, 1971)

Here’s a piece that I know very little about, aside from the title. It must have come up in a music history class at one point, because my wife and I have laughed at its title for years as an example of a musical piece that is esoteric, but beloved by a small group. “There’s a real sack of oranges,” we might say. Well, now’s my chance to actually learn something of it, and see if I might find it as beloved as others.

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This week’s piece is Edvard Grieg’s tribute to the Danish -Norwegian playwright Ludvig Holberg, composed in 1884 for the 200th anniversary of his birth. From Holberg’s Time was originally written as a piano suite, but later was adapted for string orchestra, the version I will be studying.

Rachmaninov: The Isle of the Dead first page (A. Gutheil, 1909)

This is a piece that I uncovered for myself while browsing through some online concerts by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. It should be fun to learn some more Rachmaninov.