Leonard Slatkin’s 10 Forgotten American Masterpieces
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Leonard Slatkin’s 10 Forgotten American Masterpieces
Thanks to one of our members, who knows who he is, who posted this on Facebook. There is a maxim (well, someone wrote it in something I read once so it must be a maxim ) that a forgotten piece can never be revived. I actually heard a live performance of Sessions's Second Symphony, which is excellent. Also, the pic of George Crumb, while unflattering, is realistic. One of my fellow grad students did his undergrad work at the University of Pennsylvania. He told me once that no matter what the topic of the course was supposed to be, Crumb spent the entire semester playing through the Well-Tempered Clavier with a cigarette dangling from his lips.
http://blogs.wfmt.com/offmic/2015/07/15 ... terpieces/
http://blogs.wfmt.com/offmic/2015/07/15 ... terpieces/
There's nothing remarkable about it. All one has to do is hit the right keys at the right time and the instrument plays itself.
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Re: Leonard Slatkin’s 10 Forgotten American Masterpieces
Quite a good list, Mr. Slatkin has ID'd some fine works that are deserving of more exposure.
Re: Leonard Slatkin’s 10 Forgotten American Masterpieces
Agree. Mysterious Mountain, however, got one recording by Reiner/Chicago and another by Stokowski, and when searched for on amazon pulls up 30 pages, so I'd hardly call it a neglected piece of music. Ruggles's Suntreader is quite good and currently appears on 5 CDs on amazon, but I've never heard it live. The others are all good music, but I'd hardly call them masterpieces on the level of Copland's symphonies, for example.
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Re: Leonard Slatkin’s 10 Forgotten American Masterpieces
I accepted the challenge; and the search does read "1-12 of 30 results"; so the first objection is, 30 results is not 30 pages.
Of those 12 results, 3 refer to the same Reiner recording; 2 refer to one Schwarz recording with Seattle, and 2 to another Schwarz recording with the Liverpudlians; 2 refer to one DRD recording. That is, 9 of the 12 results refer to a total of 4 actual recordings. So "30 results" is not 30 recordings, either.
All (absolutely all) of the remaining 18 results are redundant references to recordings listed in the first 12 results.
The second point is that the article says "forgotten masterpieces," not "neglected." You nudged the goal-posts a little, there.
A genuinely neglected masterpiece by Hovhaness would be (e.g.) the Symphony for Metal Orchestra, Op.203.
Mysterious Mountain, though, has been forgotten. It enjoyed more of a celebrity honeymoon than many another piece, but it has not become standard rep, either.
Cheers,
~k.
PS/ I'd normally really like to refine my typography with italics, &c. but the new website makes it harder than necessary, so I just ain't bothering.
Karl Henning, PhD
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston, Massachusetts
http://members.tripod.com/~Karl_P_Henning/
http://henningmusick.blogspot.com/
Published by Lux Nova Press
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Composer & Clarinetist
Boston, Massachusetts
http://members.tripod.com/~Karl_P_Henning/
http://henningmusick.blogspot.com/
Published by Lux Nova Press
http://www.luxnova.com/
Re: Leonard Slatkin’s 10 Forgotten American Masterpieces
OK, I typed "pages" when I should have said "selections. But, as the recording from 1997 below shows, Hovhanness has not been completely forgotten.....
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Re: Leonard Slatkin’s 10 Forgotten American Masterpieces
Well, we all make the odd typo, of course.
You'll forgive my pressing the cause of the Loyal Opposition here, dear fellow . . . you say "has not been forgotten," but 1997 is 20 years gone ; )
Cheers,
~k.
You'll forgive my pressing the cause of the Loyal Opposition here, dear fellow . . . you say "has not been forgotten," but 1997 is 20 years gone ; )
Cheers,
~k.
Karl Henning, PhD
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston, Massachusetts
http://members.tripod.com/~Karl_P_Henning/
http://henningmusick.blogspot.com/
Published by Lux Nova Press
http://www.luxnova.com/
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston, Massachusetts
http://members.tripod.com/~Karl_P_Henning/
http://henningmusick.blogspot.com/
Published by Lux Nova Press
http://www.luxnova.com/
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Re: Leonard Slatkin’s 10 Forgotten American Masterpieces
I count eight recordings of MM by seven significant conductors, all made in the last century. Schwarz took two of the eight bows. A cursory glance at YT turns up at least three recent performances by youth orchestras, so maybe that's where this beautiful work is most likely to be programmed in our century.
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Re: Leonard Slatkin’s 10 Forgotten American Masterpieces
I decided to listen to this-I liked the lushness! So could you and others tell me what are considered his best symphonies-I see he did over 60-I have some of his works including #2 but haven't listened to any. Regards, Len
PS-I seem to have these as well-6, 13, 10, 28, 18, 25, 19
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Re: Leonard Slatkin’s 10 Forgotten American Masterpieces
If you look at the comments that follow Slatkin's article you will see some recommendations by music pros. Mine, fwiw, would be the Mt. St. Helens and St. Vartan symphonies.
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Re: Leonard Slatkin’s 10 Forgotten American Masterpieces
Thanks, the 50th and 9th-don't have them but that's easily rectified! Regards, Lenjserraglio wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2017 12:35 pmIf you look at the comments that follow Slatkin's article you will see some recommendations by music pros. Mine, fwiw, would be the Mt. St. Helens and St. Vartan symphonies.
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Re: Leonard Slatkin’s 10 Forgotten American Masterpieces
Thanks.jserraglio wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2017 5:45 amI count eight recordings of MM by seven significant conductors, all made in the last century. Schwarz took two of the eight bows. A cursory glance at YT turns up at least three recent performances by youth orchestras, so maybe that's where this beautiful work is most likely to be programmed in our century.
Cheers,
~k.
Karl Henning, PhD
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston, Massachusetts
http://members.tripod.com/~Karl_P_Henning/
http://henningmusick.blogspot.com/
Published by Lux Nova Press
http://www.luxnova.com/
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston, Massachusetts
http://members.tripod.com/~Karl_P_Henning/
http://henningmusick.blogspot.com/
Published by Lux Nova Press
http://www.luxnova.com/
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Re: Leonard Slatkin’s 10 Forgotten American Masterpieces
More of My Favorite Hovhaness in addition to the Symphony for Metal Orchestra, Op.203:
Lousadzak, Op.48 (as mentioned)
Requiem and Resurrection, Op.224
These are all first-rate works, and (so far as I can tell) suffer only from a lamentable combination of general neglect, and a readiness to dismiss Hovhaness as “second-rate.”
Cheers,
~k.
Lousadzak, Op.48 (as mentioned)
Requiem and Resurrection, Op.224
These are all first-rate works, and (so far as I can tell) suffer only from a lamentable combination of general neglect, and a readiness to dismiss Hovhaness as “second-rate.”
Cheers,
~k.
Karl Henning, PhD
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston, Massachusetts
http://members.tripod.com/~Karl_P_Henning/
http://henningmusick.blogspot.com/
Published by Lux Nova Press
http://www.luxnova.com/
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston, Massachusetts
http://members.tripod.com/~Karl_P_Henning/
http://henningmusick.blogspot.com/
Published by Lux Nova Press
http://www.luxnova.com/
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