GRIEG Symphonic Dances, Op 64

The four Symphonic Dances of the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, form the collection notated as Op. 64. They were written c. 1896 and published in 1897. They draw their inspiration from the earlier folk works collected by Ludvig Mathias Lindeman, a Norwegian composer and organist who was most noted for compiling Norwegian folk music.

 VIDEO: Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra Neeme Järvi

(PHOTO: GRIEG c1890)

   

Giardini Trios Op 20 no 2

Felice Giardini (April 12, 1716 – June 8, 1796) was an Italian composer and violinist. Giardini was a prolific composer, writing for virtually every genre which then existed. His two main areas, however, were opera and chamber music. Virtually all of his music is out of print with the exception of a few songs and works of chamber music. As a string player, he knew how to make string instruments sound their best. His chamber music combines the so-called Style Galant with the mid-18th-century classicism of J.C. Bach, the Stamitzes and the Mannheim school. In the Style Galant, the writing emphasizes the soloistic qualities of the instruments, rather than integrated part-writing, to create a whole. Giardini, although he did write string quartets and quartets for other instruments — a new and evolving form at the time — concentrated on writing trios, primarily those for violin, viola and cello, of which he wrote at least 18. First Publication of string trios op 20 in 1778.

GRIEG: In Autumn, Op. 11,

In Autumn, Op. 11, is a concert overture written by Edvard Grieg in 1865. On a visit to Copenhagen, Grieg showed his overture to Niels Gade, who told Grieg: "This is trash, Grieg; go home and write something better." After this, Grieg arranged this overture for piano duet and sent it in to a competition at the Swedish Academy, one of the judges being Gade. The overture took first prize and was published in its duet form in Stockholm.

 VIDEO: The Strathmere Festival Orchestra performs Edvard Grieg's Im Herbst - In Autumn Op. 11. Conducted by music director Per Brevig. Recorded live September 13, 2011 in the sanctuary of St. Michael's Episcopal Church, NYC.

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GRIEG Cello Sonata in a Op 36

 Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) usually gave the traditional musical forms a wide birth, seeking to express himself in lyrical images and with rhapsodic freedom. The Cello Sonata of 1883 was commissioned by the Leipzig music publisher Peters, but Grieg found more personal motivation by dedicating it to his cellist brother John. The premiere performance was given by John's teacher, the famous cellist and composer Julius Klengel, with Edvard at the keyboard. Along with the Piano Concerto and the third Violin Sonata, the Cello Sonata is one of Grieg's most full-blooded works. Yet instead of classical balance, Grieg aimed at seething emotional expression -- passions reflected in both extremes of tempo and radiant, singing themes and folk song motifs. Edvard Grieg composed the Cello Sonata in A minor, Op. 36 for cello and piano, his largest chamber work, (and his only work for this combination) in 1882–83, marking a return to composition following a period when he had been preoccupied with his conducting duties at the Bergen Symphony Orchestra as well as illness. WIKIPEDIA

VIDEO: Anastasia Injushina piano, Jian Wang cello 

Giuliani Rossiniana No.1

Rossiniana is the name of two works, one by Mauro Giuliani, the other by Ottorino Respighi, both based on compositions by Gioachino Rossini. "Rossiniane" are a virtuoso variations cycle for the guitar based on themes by Rossini. One of the unique features of these Galant Classical compositions is that they were jointly composed by Giuliani, Paganinni (who was also an accomplished guitarist), and Rossini himself at Rossini's villa. Mauro Giuliani (who died in 1829) alone is formally credited with composing the six sets of jointly composed variations for guitar on themes by Rossini, Opp. 119–124 (c. 1820–1828). Each set was called "Rossiniana", and collectively they are called "Rossiniane". This was the first known tribute by one composer to another using a title with the ending -ana. Giuliani's achievements as a composer were numerous. Giuliani's 150 compositions for guitar with opus number constitute the nucleus of the nineteenth-century guitar repertory. He composed extremely challenging pieces for solo guitar as well as works for orchestra and Guitar-Violin and Guitar-Flute duos. Outstanding pieces by Giuliani include his three guitar concertos (op. 30-36 and 70); a series of six fantasias for guitar solo, op. 119-124, based on airs from Rossini operas and entitled the "Rossiniane." WIKIPEDIA

VIDEO: German guitarist Isabella Selder interprets Rossiniana No.1 op. 119 by Mauro Giuliani. This video was made in St. Stefan, Friedberg in September of 2011. Guitar: Nicolaus Wollf 2007

 

Grieg - Piano Concerto in A minor, Op 16

 The Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, composed by Edvard Grieg in 1868, was the only concerto Grieg completed. It is one of his most popular works and among the most popular of all piano concerti. The work is among Grieg's earliest important works, written by the 24-year-old composer in 1868 in Søllerød, Denmark, during one of his visits there to benefit from the climate. Grieg's concerto is often compared to the Piano Concerto of Robert Schumann — it is in the same key, the opening descending flourish on the piano is similar, and the overall style is considered to be closer to Schumann than any other single composer. Incidentally, both wrote only one concerto for piano. Grieg had heard Schumann's concerto played by Clara Schumann in Leipzig in 1858 (1859 is given by alternative sources), and was greatly influenced by Schumann's style generally, having been taught the piano by Schumann's friend, Ernst Ferdinand Wenzel. WIKIPEDIA

VIDEO: Arthur Rubinstein, piano London Symphony Orchestra André Previn, conductor
 

GERSHWIN Piano Concerto in F

Concerto in F is a composition by George Gershwin for solo piano and orchestra which is closer in form to a traditional concerto than the earlier jazz-influenced Rhapsody in Blue. It was written in 1925 on a commission from the conductor and director Walter Damrosch. Damrosch had been present at the February 12, 1924 concert arranged and conducted by Paul Whiteman at Aeolian Hall in New York City titled An Experiment in Modern Music which became famous for the premiere of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, in which the composer performed the piano solo. The day after the concert, Damrosch contacted Gershwin to commission from him a full-scale piano concerto for the New York Symphony Orchestra, closer in form to a classical concerto and orchestrated by the composer. Gershwin would later receive formal training and lessons from influential figures like Henry Cowell, Wallingford Riegger and Arnold Schoenberg in advanced composition, harmony and orchestration; however, in 1924 he had had no such training. Under the pressure of a deadline to complete the work in 1925, Gershwin bought books on theory, concerto form and orchestration and taught himself the skills needed. Because of contractual obligations for three different Broadway musicals, he was not able to begin sketching ideas until May 1925. He began the two-piano score on July 22 after returning from a trip to London, and the original drafts were entitled "New York Concerto". The first movement was written in July, the second in August, and the third in September, much of the work being done in a practice shack at the Chautauqua Institution. The work was premiered by the New York Symphony Orchestra with Damrosch conducting (three years later the orchestra would merge with the Philharmonic Symphony Society into the New York Philharmonic Orchestra) at Carnegie Hall in New York on December 3, 1925, and featured the composer as the soloist. The concert was sold out and the concerto was very well received by the general public. However, the reviews were mixed, with many critics unable to classify it as jazz or classical. Indeed, there was a great variety of opinion among Gershwin's contemporaries; Igor Stravinsky thought the work was one of genius, whereas Sergei Prokofiev disliked it intensely.

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VIDEO:George Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F major. The soloist is Marc-André Hamelin, the conductor is Leonard Slatkin.
 

Glazunov Symphony No 8 in Eb Op 83

Op. 83: Symphony No. 8 in E-flat major (1905-1906) Glazunov was acknowledged as a great prodigy in his field and, with the help of his mentor and friend Rimsky-Korsakov, finished some of Alexander Borodin's great works, the most famous being the Third Symphony and the opera Prince Igor, including the popular Polovtsian Dances. He reconstructed the overture from memory, having heard it played on the piano only once. By the time Glazunov wrote his Seventh Symphony, his duties at the Conservatory had slowed his rate of composition.[30] After his Eighth Symphony, his heavy drinking may have started taking a toll on his creativity, as well. He sketched one movement of a Ninth Symphony but left the work unfinished.

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VIDEO: Glazunov: Symphony No. 8 in E flat major, Op. 83 (Anissimov, Moscow Symphony Orchestra)

 

Glazunov Symphony No 7 in F, Op77 Pastorale

The Symphony No. 7 in F major, Pastoral, Op. 77, was completed by Alexander Glazunov on July 4, 1902. It is dedicated to Mitrofan Belyayev who was an Imperial Russian music publisher, outstanding philanthropist, and the owner of a large wood dealership enterprise in Russia.

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VIDEO: Glazunov: Symphony No. 7 in F major 'Pastorale', Op. 77 (Anissimov, Moscow Symphony Orchestra)

 

Glazunov Symphony No 6 in c, Op 53

1898? Glazunov's Sixth Symphony was the work that established its 32-year-old composer as Tchaikovsky's natural successor. Like much of his music, its debts and aims are a bit too overt. José Serebrier and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra make a superbly articulated case for the piece but can't disguise the fact that the Tchaikovskyan overtones are self-consciously done, as if Glazunov was angling for the supposed succession from the outset. La Mer and Salome, meanwhile, inevitably invite comparison with the more familiar works with which they share their titles. La Mer, written in 1889, is a striking Wagnerian seascape that bears no resemblance to Debussy's. Salome consists of the incidental music for a 1908 production of the Oscar Wilde play that also forms the basis of Strauss's opera. Given that Glazunov was a great ballet composer, one might have expected him to at least get the Dance of the Seven Veils right. Instead he falls back on a kind of bogus orientalism, which is unoriginal and unconvincing.-T Ashley, The Guardian.

                                                                

VIDEO: London Symphony Orchestra - Yondani Butt

Glazunov Symphony No 5 in Bb, Op 55

The Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 55 (also known as The Heroic), was written by Alexander Glazunov from April to October 1895. Although in this symphony Glazunov returned to his conventional four-movement layout (his Fourth Symphony had only three) he frequently utilizes thematic transformation. Glazunov described it as "silenced sounds" and "an architectural poem" Glazunov dedicated his Fifth to Sergei Taneyev, a Russian composer, pianist, and teacher, and it was first performed at the Second Russian Concert at the Hall of the Nobility in St. Petersburg on 17 November 1896; the premiere was conducted by the composer himself. A Leipzig newspaper called the symphony "very profound" and "sparkling" and reported that the scherzo had to be reprised on opening night to the delight of the audience

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VIDEO: (Audio) Glazunov: Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 55 (Anissimov, Moscow Symphony Orchestra)

Glazunov Symphony No 4 in E-Flat Major, Op 48

The Symphony No. 4 in E flat major, Op. 48, was written by Alexander Glazunov in 1893. The symphony was a departure from Glazunov's three earlier symphonies, which were based on nationalistic Russian tunes and, according to the composer, allowed him to give "personal, free, and subjective impressions of myself." The symphony is dedicated to Anton Rubinstein, a fellow composer and pianist, and has three movements compared to Glazunov's regular four. Glazunov finished the symphony on 4 December 1893, and it was premiered at the Third Russian Concert at the Hall of Nobility on 22 January 1894. The premiere was conducted by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, another eminent Russian composer, who declared the work "marvellous, noble, expressive". Later, Glazunov's daughter, Elena Glazunova-Gunther, would tell her biographer that the Fourth Symphony was the favorite Glazunov symphony in Europe, while the Fifth was favored in America.

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 VIDEO: Aleksandr Glazunov: Symphony no.4 op.48 (Gennadij Rozhdestvenskij, conductor - USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra) 

Glazunov Symphony No. 3 in D major, Op. 33,

Alexander Glazunov composed his Symphony No. 3 in D major, Op. 33, in 1890, and it was published by 1892 by the Leipzig firm owned by Mitrofan Belyayev. The symphony is dedicated to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and was first performed in St. Petersburg in December 1890 under the baton of Anatoly Lyadov. The symphony is considered a transitional work, with Glazunov largely eschewing the influences of Balakirev, Borodin, and Rimsky-Korsakov inherent in his earlier symphonies for the newer influences of Tchaikovsky and Wagner. Because of this change, the Third has been called the "anti-kuchkist" symphony in Glazunov's output (kuchkist from kuchka, the shortened Russian name for the nationalist music group The Five). He would tone down these new influences in his subsequent symphonies as he strove for an eclectic mature style. The Third also shows a greater depth of expression, most evident in the chromatic turns of its third movement, reminiscent of Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde.

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VIDEO: (Audio) USSR Ministry Of Culture Symphony Orchestra - Gennadi Rozhdestvensky 

Glazunov: Symphony No. 2 in F sharp minor, Op. 16 (1886)

Shortly after his First Symphony was performed in Europe. It was included in the programme of the Weimar Festival where Glazunov and Belyayev set off to attend its performance. That was where Glazunov met Franz Liszt. Later Glazunov was a frequent visitor to Liszt's house and played his music for the host. After Liszt's death, Glazunov dedicated his Second Symphony (1886) to his memory. Borodin's influence was the most evident in it, especially its extreme parts. This music epic is filled with the spirit of ancient heroes and popular tales, while its slow portion channels Balakirev's images.



               

GLAZUNOV Symphony No 1 in e, Op 5

Alexander Glazunov wrote his Symphony No. 1 in E major, Op. 5, in 1881, when he was 16 years old. It was premiered the following year in St. Petersburg. It is known as his Slavonian Symphony. While the symphony itself was a resounding success, the audience was even more astonished to see a teenage boy come to the stage to take his bows in his school uniform. This was not the first time Alexander Glazunov had astounded people. He displayed his musical talent early, was discovered by Mily Balakirev (former leader of The Mighty Handful) and further encouraged by his teacher Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, who gave him a thorough grounding in counterpoint, form, harmony and orchestration between 1879 and 1881., during which Rimsky-Korsakov wrote in his memoirs that it seemed Glazunov did not progress so much from day to day as from hour to hour. After two years, as Glazunov remembered, Rimsky-Korsakov told his pupil "that henceforth he regarded it as unnecessary to instruct me systematically, in return for payment, as I had already more or less become a mature musician

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VIDEO: (Audio) USSR Ministry Of Culture Symphony Orchestra - Gennadi Rozhdestvensky