Snooch’s Silly Symphony

Liszt-Les préludes cover (Breitkopf & Härtel, 1885)

This week I have begun to study Les préludes by Franz Liszt, a very popular orchestral work which, once again, has somehow managed to escape my eye for many years. This is what has made my symphonic journey such a pleasure, week after week. In many disciplines, you may find yourself dreading continuing, but from the start I knew this would work because it is an evolving project, with something new every week. I constantly find new works for myself, and the satisfaction only seems to grow.

Sibelius-Karelia Suite first page (Breitkopf & Härtel, 1906)

It was a bit of a circuitous route choosing this week’s piece. I’ve enjoyed when it’s possible to theme a piece around a current event or anniversary, and so I set out to find something that would complement my journey to the White Mountains.

Copland: Billy the Kid first page (manuscript)

It’s always exciting to come across a piece that’s instantly approachable, especially when it is one that I’m not previously aware of. That is the case with Billy the Kid by Aaron Copland. It’s a title, at least, that I’ve heard of for a while, but not until this morning had I ever said, “Ya’know, I’m gonna sit down and listen to Billy the Kid now.”

Wagner: Siegfried Idyll first page (Breitkopf, 1900)

This week, I’ve chosen a piece which I was first introduced to last fall when Andris Nelsons came to conduct his first concert at Symphony Hall after being named the incoming Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Stravinsky-Pulcinella Suite first page (Chester, 1920)

It’s been an unusual past few weeks, and I haven’t written a Snooch’s Silly Symphony post in about a month. Hopefully, I will get back on track with the current one, and backfill what I missed. Pulcinella is a piece I first learned of in college in either a Music Theory IV listening list, or briefly in Music History II.

Brahms-Academic Festival Overture first page (Breitkopf & Härtel, 1926)

This week, I’ve chosen Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture, a piece with which I know I have some previous familiarity, but which I chose for two particular reasons. The first is that, in studying the Tragic Overture a few weeks ago, I learned in my research that Brahms wrote but two overtures, so I thought it would be interesting to compare the two, and to be able to say I knew both. Additionally, with graduation season fast upon us, it seemed a fitting tribute to investigate this piece a bit further.

Ravel-Ma mère l’oye Suite cover (Durand, 1912)

This week, I’ll focus on Ravel’s Ma mère l’oye Suite, which is an entirely new piece to me. It was written for four-hand piano, and later orchestrated by Ravel himself in 1911-12. Each movement represents a different fairy tale from Mother Goose, and many contain additional information to further address the programmatic nature of the music.

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Saint-Saëns-Africa cover image (Durand, 1892)

This week I’ll be experiencing a piece I’ve never even heard of until this morning. There seems to be a lack of information about the piece online, and I have not been able to even a few introductory bits of information. Camille Saint-Saëns wrote Africa in 1891, and that’s about all I know. The rest will have to come from the primary source.

Brahms-Tragic Overture cover (Simrock, 1881)

This week, I will look at Brahms’ Tragic Overture in D minor, op. 81. I had assumed that it would sound more familiar to me that it did upon my first listenings.

Brahms wrote both of his overtures, the Tragic and the Academic Festival in 1880, when he was halfway through his symphonic writing (having finished his second in 1877, with the third to follow in 1883). The Tragic is not meant to lead into any particular work, and has been frequently presented as the lead-in to longer works on symphonic concerts worldwide.

Debussy-La Mer cover (Durand, 1905)

As I start off a week in Newport, Rhode Island, I chose Debussy’s La Mer as my piece to learn. I thought it would be an interesting and fun choice as I stare at ocean waves. I think it’s possible that this piece was on a listening test at some point in my undergrad curriculum (probably Music Theory IV), but I have next to no recollection of it at this point.