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4211 Kodaly, Bartok & Other Composers
Kodaly’s ‘Dances of Galanta’ is pleasant, but I have always loved his suite from ‘Harry Janos’. In particular, I wanted to have a door chime which played the ‘Viennese Musical Clock’.
As I have said elsewhere, the Spanish composers were popular at that time and we saw concert performances of Falla’s ‘Three Cornered Hat’ and ‘Nights in the Gardens of Spain’; as well as his ballet suite from ‘El Amor Brujo’. We also heard Rodrigo’s Fantasia for a Gentleman’. I still enjoy these Spanish composers, though they have somewhat fallen out of fashion.
For pure lyricism I have always enjoyed Ricard Strauss’ two tone poems; ‘Don Juan’ and ‘Till Eulenspiegal’ (especially where we visisted the Till Eulenspiegel museum in Germany). I am more equivocal about his operas: 'Der Rosenkavalier' & 'Salome'
Ravel is famous for his Bolero, but he was also a great orchestrator. I love his setting of Mussorgsky’s ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’ – especially the ‘Great Gate of Kiev’. In particular, I like his ‘Pavane pour une Infante Defunte’ and especially ‘Le Tombeau de Couperin’ (this is in fact his setting of Couperin’s ‘Le Tombeau de Monsieur Montcrachet’). His opera ‘L’Enfant et des Sortileges’, which we saw as a platform performance, is also interesting, as is his ‘La Valse’.
In terms of Shostokovitch, I used only to like the work which was influenced by jazz; though I have recently heard his fifth symphony conducted by Sean Edwards and it was superb. On the other hand, I love the stringency of Prokofiev’s symphonies and concertos; and especially his ballet ‘Romeo & Juliet’, though I feel his ‘Cinderella’ is less strong. His second violin concerto is, though, somewhat atonal and strangely delicate, and difficult. We heard it played by So-ock Kim who is our local prodigy and brilliant at whatever she touches.
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