Four Centuries of Great Music September 15, 2024 New Classical Music Releases in August

Four Centuries of Great Music - September 15, 2024
August Classical Music Releases

GRIGORY SOKOLOV, piano
PURCELL: Suite No. 2 in G Minor, Z. 661 - I. Prelude
PURCELL: Suite No. 2 in G Minor, Z. 661 - II. Allemande
PURCELL: Suite No. 2 in G Minor, Z. 661 - III. Courante
PURCELL: Suite No. 2 in G Minor, Z. 661 - IV. Sarabande
Grigory Sokolov - Purcell & Mozart
Deutsche Grammophon
August 30th

Dmitri Shostakovich composed the Fifth Symphony in 1937. The 5th symphony was critically and popularly well received receiving a half hour ovation following the performance.  

This was great for him, because the previous year he had experienced a devastating blow when his music came under heavy attack in the Soviet press, largely at the instigation of USSR Premier Stalin. It seems that Stalin had attended a production of Lady Macbeth of Mtensk and had been appalled by the dissonances (which were not really very extreme). There followed a flood of articles in Pravda and elsewhere, condemning Shostakovich, stating and implying that his art conflicted with the ideals of the Soviet Composers’ Union “toward the victorious progressive principles of reality, toward all that is heroic, bright, and beautiful.” Vulnerable to further assaults, Shostakovich immediately withdrew his Fourth Symphony, which he was readying for its premiere.

The following year, shortly before the premiere of the Fifth Symphony, the composer wrote a preface to the symphony titled “A Soviet Artist’s Reply to Just Criticism.”

Klaus Mäkelä -Shostakovich- Symphonies 4, 5 & 6
Oslo Philharmonic
Decca Classics
August 14th
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47 I. Moderato
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47 II. Allegretto
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47 III. Largo
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47 IV. Allegro non troppo

The year before the composition of Amy Beach's Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60, there were a series of bombings by revolutionaries in Macedonian which was seeking independence from the Ottoman Empire .  These were met with brutal reprisals from military of the Ottoman Empire.  So if she read the news, she would have know about these atrocities.

Beach's work, composed in 1904, was specifically inspired by a visit from the Reverend William W. Sleeper, a missionary to Bulgaria. Sleeper played Beach several Balkan melodies on the piano, and the composer was so impressed that she used them as the basis for this set of variations.  The are 4 melodic themes that she used: "O Maiko Moya”,  "Stara Planina,”, "Na- sadil ye Dado” and “a Macedonian appeal for help” that appear throughout these variations.

CLAIRE HUANGCI, piano
MADE IN USA
Alpha Records

02 - Amy Beach - Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60 Thema Adagio
03 - Amy Beach - Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60 Variation I Più mosso
04 - Amy Beach - Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60 Variation II Maestoso
05 - Amy Beach - Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60 Variation III Allegro ma non troppo
06 - Amy Beach - Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60 Variation IV Andante alla Barcarola
07 - Amy Beach - Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60 Variation V Largo con molta espressione
08 - Amy Beach - Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60 Variation VI Quasi Fantasia - Allegro all’ Ongarese
09 - Amy Beach - Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60 Variation VII Vivace - Valse lento
10 - Amy Beach - Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60 Variation VIII Con vigore - Lento calmato
11 - Amy Beach - Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60 Marcia funebre
12 - Amy Beach - Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60 Cadenza Grave - Quasi fantasia

On this episode of Four Centuries of Great Music celebrating new classical music releases all from the month of August, we are going to close with  18 Bach Preludes
Prelude in C major
Prelude in D major
Prelude in D major
Prelude in F major
Prelude in F major
Prelude in G minor
Prelude in G minor
Prelude in A minor
Prelude in E minor
Prelude in C major
Prelude in C major
Prelude in C minor
Prelude in D minor
Prelude in D major
Prelude in E major
Prelude in E minor
Prelude in C major
Prelude in D minor

Here are 18 Bach Preludes performed by Mahan Esfahani from the album Bach- Preludes, Inventions & Sinfonias (8-30-24)

You have been listening to 18 Bach Preludes performed by Mahan Esfahani from the album Bach- Preludes, Inventions & Sinfonias

Thank you for listening to Four Centuries of Great Music.  Join us again next Sunday for a new episode from 3-5pm and remember this episode encores this coming Saturday from 3-5 pm.