Status Updates From Ten Masterpieces of Music

The Requiem Canticles have never found their way onto the list of S’s greatest hits. For one thing, the work’s general tone can seem hard to penetrate, on first or second hearing, to those unaccustomed to, or simply uncomfortable, with a mainly post-tonal musical language. And then to get all the musicians and this less than 15min piece on top of that.

The Firebird had nearly brought late Russian romanticism to a close, although the style would continue to thrive for a while in the hands of Rachmaninoff and others; Petruška had gently mocked romanticism; the Rite had pulverized it.

Firebird 1910, Petrushka 1911 and Rite of Spring 1913 brought S international fame.

Stravinsky: Requiem Canticles for contralto, and Bass Soli , chorus, and orchestra 1966.
This was a commission that he charged 25K (over $200,000 in 2020 purchasing power parentheses) and got to commemorate A woman that was a major benefactor of Princeton university.

Despite his age and ill health, S felt the need to plunge into new creative projects, just as he had done over and over again for 60 years. He was determined to use whatever strength remained in his frail body to raise once again to the challenge of turning musics raw materials into compositions that would meet his terrifyingly self critical standards.

In the fall of 1964, Stravinsky, who is living in LA, received a cable gram from Nadia B, offering him $10,000 for a commission. S answered “regret infinitely” but it’s 10,000 to conduct a concert today and no less than 25,000 commission for a short piece.
He was 82 and had medical bills and his time was precious to him. Health and age.
Pretty cool.

We have recordings by Gilels, who studied P’s 8th with the composer and gave its premiere.
12/30 1944
Live performance 1967 and
studio recording 1974.
Richter also 1946 recording also learned the work under P’s tutelage.
Checkout also Richter’s 1974 live perf
Ashkenazy’s 1993 studio rec
Bronfman’s 1988 studio rec

P’s 5th symphony also one of his most frequently performed

3rd piano concerto is today his most often performed work in the genre.

P wrote his first piano concerto at age 20.
Takes immense piano technique which he had.
This work displays the percussive, mechanistic characteristics as well as the lyrical, post-Romantic elements that would continue to converge in so much of P’s subsequent output and that would become his musical fingerprint.

Prokofiev Piano Sonata No 8 op84 (1944)

Sonatas 6-8 completed between 1940-1944 are often called the War Sonatas because of the world at large when they were written.
We’re not sure how much of the wars were part of P’s psych when writing them. Interesting tho.

Erik Tawaststjerna musicologist wrote 3 volume on JS life. Essential for fans.

JS should not have been surprised by the blank stares and barely polite applause as reaction to the premier of the 4th. Certainly folks wondered what had happened to the composer of the 1-3.
It eventually began to garner some respect.

About the 4th, JS said “my new symphony is a complete protest against the composition of today.”
Maybe referring to Mahler and/or Strauss

Listen to at some point
Debussy La Mer
Strauss Alpine Symphony

Sebelius’ 2nd symphony remains the most often performed of all his symphonies.

Jean Sibelius Finnish
Symphony No 4 in A Minor op63 (1911)

A symphony is not just a composition in the ordinary sense of the word; it is more of an inner confession at a given stage of one’s life.
Diary entry Nov 5 1910

Brahms adored Mozart’s six magnificent string quintets.

Of all the 19th century composers, Brahms was probably the most curious and best informed about the music of not only Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and their contemporaries, but also 16th and 17th century music, like Palestrina.

JB.
String quintet No 2 in G Major op 111
(1890)

Composed til his mid eighties.
Born 5 months after Wagner and a few years after Liszt, Schumann, Chopin and Mendelssohn, he outlived them all.

Stravinsky and Brahms loved Verdi.

Sorry Verdi. I’m sure you’re a master but I just don’t like opera. Unless it’s Mozart.
Don Carlo is one of Verdi’s masterpieces and greatest works in the lyric repertoire. But not until the 20th century did it receive its due. For one thing, it’s terribly difficult to perform. You need the 4 greatest singers. A chorus and orchestra capable of power and subtlety. And a conductor that understands how to

Verdi 1813-1901
Don Carlos (1867)
Completed 19 operas during the first 14 yrs of his career (1839-53).
Don Carlos happened only after his wife and publisher hinted at it in pursuance. They wanted more from him.

Berlioz had not much admired the Italian opera composers -Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini-creators of the so-called bel canto style, who were famous during his first 40 years but he came to hold Verdi in considerable regard.

Verdi wrote Don Carlos. Considered one of his greatest operas.

But since the 1950s an ever increasing fascination with his music has led to a revival of almost all of his in protest works. Like Schubert, recognition came too late to bring him any joy. The joy is all ours.

Berlioz would not have been surprised to learn that only Symphonic fantastique would be part is the standard classical repertoire until nearly a century after his death. He had no imitators or become the head of a school of composition. His works were too individualistic, too distant from the principal trends of the day.

Berlioz was a music critic as a way of making money. He didn’t love it but was good at it. Also wrote a memoir which he wanted printed after his death. Remains the most entertaining autobiography by any major composer.
Berlioz also was expert composer.

I don’t love his music right out of the gate.

Virgil, Shakespeare and Goethe all made profound impressions on Berlioz. For his further music trajectory it was upon hearing Beethoven (who wasn’t being played in Paris much at that time-1820s) Berlioz realized that he himself must take music as far down a different path as he can as Beethoven had perfected his path. Basically.

Hector Berlioz
La Damnation de Faust op24 (1846)