Camille Saint-Saens
(1835-1921)
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Symphony No. 3 in C minor "Organ"
The first movement is long but give it time. If you can listen to the last
movement and NOT think of pigs you are sophisticated
indeed. (The movie Babe) This is not like an organ concerto but the organ is used as a part
of the orchestra. This work was dedicated to the memory of Franz Liszt who
died the same year this symphony was first performed.
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Paul Hindemith
(1895-1963)
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Symphonic Metamorphoses
Based on themes of Carl maria von Weber. I really like this piece even though he
is a very modern composer in my book. The
blending can be a little discordant but are wonderful to listen to. Great
modern piece.
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Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov
(1844-1908)
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Scheherazade
A little lengthy (45 min) for young kids but if you know the story of Arabian Nights you can
visualize all the sailing ships, Sinbad the sailor, Aladdin, Ali Baba, exotic places,
etc.
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Antonin Dvorak
(1841-1904)
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Symphony No. 8 in G major
Great flute parts. He used so many different musical themes and
chose to stuff them all in this one symphony. Many composers do not come up with
that many in a lifetime. How many can you count?
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Modest Mussorgsky
(1839-1881)
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Pictures at an Exhibition
These were written in memory of a friend Victor Hartmann, whose drawings,
watercolors and sketches were on exhibit. I recommend the orchestral
version over the original piano version. Lots
of variation and color here. I am still trying to find photos of any of the
pictures of Hartmann but we are not sure of the contents of the exhibition..
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Aaron Copland
(1906-1992)
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Billy the Kid: Ballet Suite
You can really have fun with this one, gun fight and all. An American classic.
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Sergei Prokofiev
(1891-1953)
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Symphony No. 1, "Classical"
Prokofiev said "I imagined how Joseph Hayden might have composed, had he
lived to our day; That was the kind of symphony I wanted to write; a symphony in
classical style." It
has fantastic flute parts, you must hear them.
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Bela Bartok
(1881-1945)
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Romanian Folk-Dances
Bartok collected 1115 dance melodies and arranged these 7 short pieces for piano
then orchestra. They are so pure, simple and beautiful. Can you
imagine if he arranged all 1115 of them!!.
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Ralph Vaughan Williams
(1872-1958)
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English Folk Sing Suite
The Lark Ascending
A nice set of light English works by a great composer. The lark Ascending usually
can be found on a CD with other stuff and is beautiful.
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Franz Schubert
(1797-1828)
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Symphony No. 8, "Unfinished"
It is not as morbid as it sounds. Schubert did not die in the middle of
composing this symphony, he just set the work aside and never got back to
it. Many of us wish he did and you will too when you hear it.
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Ludwig van Beethoven
(1770-1827)
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Symphony No. 6, "Pastoral"
This symphony has 5 movements, and was complained about as being "too
much of a good thing" when first rehearsed. Even members of the
orchestra gave opposition to performing it, but it was received well when it did
open. Beethoven loved nature and this is a tone-painting of the country.
This piece is featured in the Disney movie Fantasia.
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Johannes Brahms
(1833-1897)
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Symphony No. 1
Nice example of Brahms' work and of the Romantic period. He was a good friend of Dvorak and it took him
a long time to finally release this work. (25 years)
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Gustav Holst
(1874-1934)
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Wind Quintet in A flat
Flute, horn, oboe, clarinet and bassoon. A hauntingly beautiful set of
4 movements almost lost forever. The score vanished while Holst was living
but was rediscovered over 40 years after his death. Hard to find on a CD
of but it is worth the effort.
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Claude Debussy
(1862-1918)
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Predlude a l'Apres-midi d'un faune
(afternoon of the fawn, standard flute stuff)
Clair de lune
Petite Suite
Usually you can find at least two of these three works are on one CD and they are
all worth having and knowing.
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Johann Sebastian Bach
(1685-1750)
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Brandenburg Concertos
Written for the Margrave of Brandenburg, it took Bach 2 1/2 years to
complete. I guess he was distracted by other duties.
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Ludwig van Beethoven
(1770-1827)
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Symphony No. 7
What more needs to be said about this composer. Get all 9 symphonies if
you are inclined.
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Johannes Brahms
(1833-1897)
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Variations on a Theme by Haydn
Eight variations, or a little musical sketch rooted in a theme. The
first use of the triangle as an instrument is in these themes. Listen for
it. The themes, by the way, were probably NOT by Haydn. I guess we will
never know.
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Felix Mendelssohn
(1809-1847)
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A Midsummer Night's DreamAn outstanding work. This is an overture
to the Shakespeare play of the same name.
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Gustav Holst
(1874-1934)
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The Planets
His most well known piece. The orchestra version is what I have in
mind. A piece written about each planet know in Holst's time. (No
Pluto) Nice variety.
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Antonio Vivaldi
(1678-1741)
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The Four Seasons
See if you and your kids can identify with the way
Vivaldi portrayed the seasons with 3 movements for each season.
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