| 41. |
Morton Gould (1913-1996)
Concerto Grosso for 4 Solo Violins & Orch. (1983?) [19'35"]
Seattle Symphony / Gerard Schwarz - conductor
Tracks 18-21, The Music of Morton Gould {Delos 3166} |
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An exciting orchestral tour-de-force by a man who devoted his life to writing music that audiences would enjoy, and an important memorial to the man who gave the keynote address at the 1994 MPC.
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| 42. |
Roger Sessions (1896-1985)
Symphony No. 1 (1927) [18'00"]
Japan Philharmonic Orchestra / Akeo Watanabe - conductor
Tracks 1-3, Roger Sessions: Symphonies Nos. 1,2 & 3 {CRI 573} |
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Roger Sessions was probably 180 degrees away from Morton Gould when it comes to being listener-friendly. However, this early work predates his later erudition and deserves to be in the standard repertoire of every American orchestra. Gripping and powerful outer movements and a hauntingly beautiful middle movement.
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| 43. |
Harry Partch (1901-1974)
Daphne of the Dunes (1958) [17'25"]
Harry Partch-adapted viola, Ensemble conducted by Danlee Mitchell
Side 1, The World of Harry Partch {Columbia Masterworks LP MS 7207} |
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Although Partch created music for his own bizarre-looking homemade instruments which were tuned to his own bizarre 43-tone scale, his music is anything but erudite. (Partch appearing as Number 43 on this list is a total coincidence, by the way.) Mode has released a new 1991 recording of this work on CD {Mode 33}, but try to track down Partch's exciting original recording which to the best of my knowledge still hasn't been re-issued on CD.
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| 44. |
Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901-1953)
Sonata for Violin and Piano (1926) [15'28"]
Ida Kavafian - violin, Vivian Fine - piano
CRI American Masters: Ruth Crawford {CRI 658} |
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A subtle expressionistic work by the step-mother of Pete Seeger. An important document in America's musical history. Really not easy listening, but worth the risks.
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| 45. |
Walter Piston (1894-1976)
Quintet for Flute and String Quartet (1942) [20'05"]
Doriot Anthony Dwyer - flute, The Portland String Quartet
Tracks 8-11, Walter Piston: The Complete String Quartets, Volume 2 {Northeastern 9002} |
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Barely over the limit, but too beautiful to exclude. A very successful use of a great instrumental combination.
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| 15 Under 15 (46-50) |
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| 46. |
Duke (Edward K.) Ellington (1899-1974)
Reminiscin' In Tempo (1935) [12'32"]
Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra
{Recorded on September 12, 1935 - Brunswick 7546-7}{Sony} |
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Including a work by the greatest African-American composer of the 20th century raises several arguments beyond the scope of this particular crusade, i.e. What is classical music? Ignoring the work of this genius whose music is being performed more and more by symphony orchestras, however, seemed unconscionable. For the Ellington selection, I chose his own original recording of one of his first larger-scale works, a piece that is all written out with no solos, that was originally issued on four 78rpm sides.
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| 47. |
Jacob Druckman (1928-1996)
Aureole (1979) [12'10"]
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra / Leonard Slatkin - conductor
Works by Michael Colgrass and Jacob Druckman - St. Louis Symphony {New World 318} |
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A work commissioned by Leonard Bernstein filled with shimmering melodies by a master orchestrator.
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| 48. |
Conlon Nancarrow (1912-1977)
Piece No. 2 for Small Orchestra (1986) [10'37"]
Ensemble Modern / Ingo Metzmacher - conductor
Track 14, Nancarrow Studies {BMG Classics 61180} |
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Nancarrow wrote almost exclusively for player pianos because his rhythms are so complicated. That doesn't mean it's hard to listen to. Au contraire, and Ensemble Modern makes this music sound easy and fun!
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| 49. |
Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1884-1920)
The Pleasure-Dome of Kubla Khan (1912-17) [10'32"]
Boston Symphony Orchestra / Seija Ozawa - conductor
Track 10, The Music of Charles Tomlinson Griffes {New World 273} |
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The orchestral masterpiece by America's answer to Debussy. It is one of the "safest" choices on this list, and it is great. Less safe, but even greater are the unearthly gorgeous Three Poems of Fiona MacLeod (1918) feauring soprano Phyllis Bryn-Julson [Tracks 11-13, 11'25"].
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| 50. |
Bernard Herrmann (1911-1975)
Suite from Vertigo (1958) [10'29"]
London Philharmonic / Bernard Herrmann - conductor
Tracks 4-6, Bernard Herrmann: Music From The Great Movie Thrillers {London Phase 4 Stereo 44126} |
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The definitive recording of one of the most powerful and beautiful scores ever created for a motion picture. This music is so great that it has been used in other films and is being programmed more and more by major symphony orchestras.
10 more reasons
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