Aram Khachaturian - SPARTACUS - Ballet

Spartacus (Russian: «Спартак», Spartak) is a ballet by Aram Khachaturian (1903–1978). The work follows the exploits of Spartacus, the leader of the slave uprising against the Romans known as the Third Servile War, although the ballet's storyline takes considerable liberties with the historical record. Khachaturian composed Spartacus in 1954, and was awarded a Lenin Prize for the composition that same year. It was first staged, with choreography by Leonid Yakobson, in Leningrad 1956, but only with qualified success since Yakobson abandoned conventional pointe in his choreography. The ballet received its first staging at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow in 1958, choreographed by Igor Moiseyev; however it was the 1968 production, choreographed by Yury Grigorovich, which achieved the greatest acclaim for the ballet. It remains one of Khachaturian's best known works and is prominent within the repertoires of the Bolshoi Theatre and other ballet companies in Russia and the former Soviet Union. WIKIPEDIA

 VIDEO: The Bolshoi Ballet and Orchestre Colonne ...

Khachaturian: Masquerade Suite

Masquerade was written in 1941 by Aram Khachaturian as incidental music for a production of the play of the same name by Russian poet and playwright Mikhail Lermontov. It premiered on 21 June 1941 in the Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow. The music is better known in the form of a five-movement suite. Khachaturian was asked to write music for a production of Masquerade being produced by the director Ruben Simonov. The famous waltz theme in particular gave Khachaturian much trouble in its creation: moved by the words of the play's heroine, Nina – "How beautiful the new waltz is! ... something between sorrow and joy gripped my heart." – the composer struggled to "find a theme that I considered beautiful and new". His former teacher, Nikolai Myaskovsky, attempted to help Khachaturian by giving him a collection of romances and waltzes from Lermontov's time; though these did not give immediate inspiration, Khachaturian admitted that "had it not been for the strenuous search" for the appropriate style and melodic inspiration, he would not have discovered the second theme of his waltz which acted "like a magic link, allowing me to pull out the whole chain. The rest of the waltz came to me easily, with no trouble at all." Khachaturian dedicated the waltz to the actress who played Nina, Alla Kazanskaya.

  WIKIPEDIA...|...KHACHATURIAN Bio

 VIDEO: Khachaturina:Masquerade Suite(Waltz/Nocturne/Mazurka/Romance/Galop) The Japan Sinfonia cond.by Hisayoshi Inoue 2010/05/09/Daiichi-Seimei Hall,Tokyo.

William Alwyn (1905-1985): Odd Man Out Suite

William Alwyn CBE, born William Alwyn Smith (7 November 1905 – 11 September 1985), was an English composer, conductor, and music teacher.WIKIPEDIA Bio 

Odd Man Out is a 1947 British film noir set in an unnamed Northern Irish city and directed by Carol Reed, it is based on the novel by F. L. Green and stars James Mason and Robert Newton. Composer William Alwyn was involved writing the leitmotif-based score from the very beginning of the production. It was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Muir Mathieson.

  VIDEO: Arr. C. Palmer London Symphony Orchestra. Richard Hickox.

Ippolitov-Ivanov - Caucasian Sketches

Mikhail Mikhailovich Ippolitov-Ivanov (Russian: Михаи́л Миха́йлович Ипполи́тов-Ива́нов; 19 November [O.S. 7 November] 1859 – 28 January 1935) was a Russian composer, conductor and teacher. WIKIPEDIA Bio Caucasian Sketches (Russian: Кавказские эскизы) is a pair of orchestral suites written in 1894 and 1896 by the Russian composer Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov. The Caucasian Sketches is the most often performed of his compositions and can be heard frequently on classical radio stations. The final movement of the Caucasian Sketches, Suite No. 1, entitled Procession of the Sardar (French: Cortège du Sardar; also popularly known as March of the Sardar or Sardar's March), is often heard by itself, and is a favorite of "Pops" concerts. WIKIPEDIA

 VIDEO: TAU Wind Band, conducted by Uri Reisner, performs 3 movements form Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov's Caucasian Sketches
 

Lord Berners: The Triumph of Neptune (1926)

Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt-Wilson, 14th Baron Berners (18 September 1883 – 19 April 1950), also known as Gerald Tyrwhitt, was a British composer of classical music, novelist, painter and aesthete. He is usually referred to as Lord Berners. WIKIPEDIA 

The Triumph of Neptune was written for Diaghilev’s Russian ballet to a harlequinade scenario by Sacheverell Sitwell. The choreography was by Balanchine, later director of the New York City Ballet. The cast included Danilova, Soklova, Lifar and Balanchine himself. There were waltzes, hornpipes, classical dances and spectacular scenes called ‘Cloudland’ or ‘The Frozen Forest’ (the latter known to the Lyceum stage hands as ‘Wigan by Night’). © Ronald Crighton 

The Triumph of Neptune (10 tableaux; composed for Sergei Diaghilev, scenario Sacheverell Sitwell, choreography George Balanchine; 3 December 1926, Lyceum Theatre, London) 

VIDEO: Lord Berners (Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt-Wilson) (1883-1950): The Triumph of Neptune, balletto (1926) -- Clive Bayley, basso -- English Northern Philharmonia diretta da David Lloyd-Jones --

SHOSTAKOVICH: The Second Waltz, Op. 99, music to the film The First Echelon (ru) (1955–1956)

Shostakovich's orchestral works include 15 symphonies and six concerti. His chamber output includes 15 string quartets, a piano quintet, two piano trios, and two pieces for string octet. His piano works include two solo sonatas, an early set of preludes, and a later set of 24 preludes and fugues. Other works include three operas, several song cycles, ballets, and a substantial quantity of film music; especially well known is The Second Waltz, Op. 99, music to the film The First Echelon (ru) (1955–1956), "The Second Waltz (from "Eyes Wide Shut")"... as well as the Suites composed for The Gadfly.

 The Second Waltz of Dmitri Shostakovich is from the 1955 Soviet feature film “The First Echelon“. It is actually only the “Waltz” (eighth movement) from The First Echelon (suite from the film score), Op. 99a. Its popular name is coming from “Suite for Variety Orchestra” (also named Suite for Variety Stage Orchestra); a suite in eight movements, written after 1956 by the Russian composer. The “waltz” is the seventh movement of the suite, and it is the “second” waltz in the work, hence the name “The second waltz”. Here it is played by André Rieu‘s “Johann Strauss Orchestra“.
 VIDEO: André Rieu - The Second Waltz (Shostakovich)

Don Banks (1923-1980) : Coney Island, for orchestra (c. 1960)

Donald (Don) Oscar Banks (1923-1980) was an Australian composer who is probably best known for his ‘serious’ compositions However, his career included considerable contributions to the worlds of jazz, commercial recordings and film music. His musical mentors included Milton Babbitt, Luigi Dallapiccola and Luigi Nono. When in London, he studied with the exiled Hungarian composer, Mátyás Seiber. It was through Seiber that he was introduced to the world of film music – specialising in cartoons and Hammer Horror films. Many folk will have heard Don Banks’ music without recognising the name or his wider interests. Don Banks’ vision of Coney Island suggests all the romance of a day at Coney Island -probably in the nineteen-fifties. John France 

VIDEO: Don Banks (1923-1980) (Australie) Coney Island, for orchestra (c. 1960) Dir : Douglas Gamley

Alan Bush: Fantasia on Soviet Themes Op. 24 (1943)

Alan Dudley Bush (22 December 1900 – 31 October 1995) was a British composer and pianist. He was a committed communist, and politics sometimes provided central themes in his music. Alan Bush belongs to a generation-class of composers that unfortunately fell into neglect for their adherence to romantic musical values, in an age where experimentation was primeval in academic music. His political allegiances did few to help him, as he supported USSR socialist regime. During WW2 he composed this Fantasia on popular Soviet themes as a gift to the heroism of the Soviet Nation. The compositional career of the British composer Alan Bush extended from the early 1920s to the mid 1980s. He died aged 94 in 1995. His oeuvre includes large-scale orchestral and/or choral works, operas and other theatrical music, chamber music, piano works. songs and brass band arrangements. First performance details are given where known; many of Bush's works have been published.

  WIKIPEDIA BIO

  WORKS OF ALAN BUSH 

VIDEO: Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by/ Real Orquesta Nacional Escocesa dirigida por Martin Yates. 

Lennox Berkeley: Divertimento in B Flat Major, Op. 18

Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley (12 May 1903 – 26 December 1989) was an English composer. The Divertimento for orchestra in B Flat Major Op 18 of Lennox Berkeley was commissioned by the BBC and dedicated to Nadia Boulanger. First performance was on October 1st in 1943 by the BBC Orchestra conducted by Clarence Raybould.

  WIKIPEDIA

VIDEO: Lennox Berkeley: Divertimento in B Flat Major, Op. 18 [Igor Buketoff-Royal Philharmonic Orchestra]. LP

Nino Rota, Dances from The Leopard film

The Leopard (Italian: Il Gattopardo, "The Serval"; alternative title: Le Guépard) is a 1963 Italian film by director Luchino Visconti, based on Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's novel of the same name. The Dances are loosely based on the music of Giuseppe Verdi, yet the freedom of the musical lines and light, intelligent orchestration allows us to witness the true genius of Nino Rota.
 VIDEO: Nino Rota, Dances from The Leopard film, Chamber Orchestra of New York - Salvatore Di Vittorio Nino Rota, Dances from the film The Leopard (Ballabili del film Il Gattopardo). Chamber Orchestra of New York; Salvatore Di Vittorio, Music Director. Adelphi University Performing Arts Center. April 16, 2016; Souvenirs from Films concert.

Granville Bantock,The Witch of Atlas.

The Witch of Atlas, Bantock's Tone Poem No 5,

is a particularly effective example of his preoccupation with the interpretation of unusual subjects. It was composed in 1902 and first performed on 10 September at the Worcester meeting of the Three Choirs Festival; the composer himself conducted. The subject is derived from Shelley's poem of the same name.

 VIDEO: London Philharmonic/Vladimir Jurowski.

Things To Come - Sir Arthur Bliss

Things to Come (also known in promotional material as H. G. Wells' Things to Come) is a 1936 British black-and-white science fiction film from United Artists, produced by Alexander Korda, directed by William Cameron Menzies, and written by H. G. Wells. Score composed by Arthur Bliss. The film stars Raymond Massey, Ralph Richardson, Cedric Hardwicke, Pearl Argyle, and Margaretta Scott. Things to Come sets out a future history from 1940 to 2036. In the screenplay, or "treatment" that H G Wells published in 1935, before the film was released, the story ends in the year "A.D. 2054". They originally wanted the music to be recorded in advance, and have the film constructed around the music, but this was considered too radical and so the score, by Arthur Bliss, was fitted to the film afterwards in a more conventional way. A concert suite drawn from the film has remained popular and there are numerous recordings of it in print. WIKIPEDIA

VIDEO: This suite is derived from the music which Bliss wrote for the film of the same name. There are six movements: 1. Ballet 2. Attack 3. Pestilence 4. Reconstruction 5. Machines 6. March Performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the composer, Arthur Bliss.

 

IRELAND Symphonic Studies

John Nicholson Ireland (13 August 1879 – 12 June 1962) was an English composer and teacher of classical music. The majority of his output consists of piano miniatures and of songs with piano. John Ireland's 2 Symphonic Studies were arranged for orchestra by by G. Bush, No. 1. Fugue: Pesante No. 2. Toccata: Lento

 VIDEO:

 

IRELAND Concertino Pastorale

The Boyd Neel String Orchestra commissioned John Ireland (1879-1962) one of England's better-known composers, to write a new string orchestra work. Concertino Pastorale (Threnody), for string orchestra was composed in 1938 for this ensemble. 



VIDEO: John Ireland (1879 - 1962 ) Concertino Pastorale I. Eclogue Bournemouth Sinfonietta George Hurst

Frederick Delius - North Country Sketches

Frederick Theodore Albert Delius, CH (/ˈdiːlɪəs/ 29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934) was an English composer. Born in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family, he resisted attempts to recruit him to commerce. He was sent to Florida in the United States in 1884 to manage an orange plantation. There he soon neglected his managerial duties, and in 1886 returned to Europe. Having been influenced by African-American music during his short stay in Florida, he began composing. After a brief period of formal musical study in Germany beginning in 1886, he embarked on a full-time career as a composer in Paris and then in nearby Grez-sur-Loing, where he and his wife Jelka lived for the rest of their lives, except during the First World War. Delius's first successes came in Germany, where Hans Haym and other conductors promoted his music from the late 1890s. In Delius's native Britain, it was 1907 before his music made regular appearances in concert programmes, after Thomas Beecham took it up. In the North Country Sketches of 1913–14, Delius divides the strings into 12 parts, and harps, horns, clarinets and bassoons evoke a lifeless winter scene. In Payne's view, the Sketches are the high water mark of Delius's compositional skill... Movements/Sections 4 pieces Autumn - The Wind Soughs in the Trees Winter Landscape Dance The March of Spring - Woodlands, Meadows and Silent Moors First Publication 1922 – London: Augener WIKIPEDIA

 VIDEO: Delius orchestral piece performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by the sublime Sir Thomas Beecham, recorded in February 1951. The video is a series of extracts from 'The Restless Year', a ground-breaking time-lapse photographic film from 1996. 

IRELAND A Downland Suite

A Downland Suite is a 1932 composition for Brass Band in four movements by John Ireland. It has also been arranged for string orchestra and various other instruments. The English composer John Ireland wrote the work in 1932 for the National Brass Band Championship of Great Britain at a time when original pieces were regularly commissioned for major contests. It has the dedication "to my friend Kenneth Wright." The winning band on this occasion was the Fodens Motor Works Band, under the baton of Fred Mortimer. The suite is a pictorial depiction enshrining the composer's love for the Sussex downs and has been described by Donald McLeod as "sunnily bucolic". In keeping with its intention as a contest piece, the suite is both technical and expressive, and is complicated and difficult to read; even a trained score-reader needs to take care to decipher it. This leads to the bandmaster having great control over the arrangement. WIKIPEDIA

 VIDEO: GUS (KETTERING) BAND-GEOFFREY BRAND. This piece was used as the test piece for the 1932 Crystal Palace National Brass Band Championship, won that year by Fodens Motor Works Band conducted by Fred Mortimer. In fact Fodens won the Crystal Palace Championship 7 times between 1930 and 1938.

 

DELIUS Dance Rhapsodies

Frederick Delius 1862-1934 

The First Dance Rhapsody c.1908
Many Delius scores have been marked or edited by conductor and greatest advocate of Delius' music Sir Thomas Beecham. This was done with the approval of the composer who knew that only someone with a genuine love of his music would understand the nuances of performance. Beecham was clearly best qualified in this matter and on this recording from the 'Delius Edition' boxed set, it is the case. Delius was familiar with the moorland landscape of North Yorkshire and the West Riding at Bradford where he was born. He apparently used to spend many hours roaming the rugged moorland scenery on horse back absorbing surrounding nature. In later life he would probably have reflected back to these former early days and on the visits to the North Yorkshire coast where the Delius Family used to take holidays. This music I feel breathes the bracing Yorkshire air and is richly imbued with the wild and moody atmosphere of sweeping and remote moorland landscapes as depicted in the video. Welsh National Opera Orchestra Sir Charles Mackerras

VIDEO 1:

 

Dance Rhapsody No 2
Various dramatic Images of scenic Norway set to the lovely music of Frederick Delius .......Delius and his wife Jelka had a small cottage at Lesjaskog, close to where many of these images were taken. Delius was inspired by the dramatic and pastoral scenery of Norway, having accompanied Grieg on his many walking tours. This is not just the HIgh Hills, but down in the beautiful lushly verdant valleys and the deep azure waters of misty fiords. A landscape of dramatic contrasts that happen to flow in sympathy with the steeply rising and falling cadences and rich harmonic sequences of the lovely 'Dance Rhapsody No2'. On this recording - Sir Thomas Beecham conducts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra..... this is certainly one of my personal favourites!

VIDEO 2:

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)

   

TCHAIKOVSKY Op 45 Capriccio Italien

The Capriccio Italien, Op. 45, is a fantasy for orchestra composed between January and May 1880 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. A typical performance of the piece lasts about 15 minutes. The Capriccio was inspired by a trip Tchaikovsky took to Rome with his brother Modest as respite from the composer's disastrous marriage with Antonina Miliukova. It was in Rome, however, that the observant Tchaikovsky called Raphael a "Mozart of painting."

  WIKIPEDIA

VIDEO: The Hallé perform Tchaikovsky's Capriccio Italien Op. 45 at The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester. Conducted by Nikolaj Znaider. Concert recorded on 15 January 2014.

RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Capriccio Espagnol

Capriccio espagnol, Op. 34, is the common Western title for a five movement orchestral suite, based on Spanish folk melodies, composed by the Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1887. Rimsky-Korsakov originally intended to write the work for a solo violin with orchestra, but later decided that a purely orchestral work would do better justice to the lively melodies. The Russian title is Каприччио на испанские темы (literally, Capriccio on Spanish Themes).

  RIMSKY-KORSAKOV...|... WIKIPEDIA

VIDEO: Rimsky Korsakov Capriccio Espagnol Op 34 Berliner Phil Dir Zubin Mehta YouTube