Allegro Largo Scherzo Finale

*written for CMPO202 journal* Nikolai Rimsky Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol   Joaquín Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez Claude Debussy: Iberia Manuel De Falla: Three-Cornered Hat Suite No.2 (Three Dances) New Zealand Symphony Orchestra conducted by Christoph König with Xuefei Yang (guitar) at the Michael Fowler Centre The NZSO’s Sketches of Spain concert made me rather glad that [...]

Sergei Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 4 Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 “Leningrad” Michael Houstoun (piano) and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Vasily Petrenko at the Michael Fowler Centre My first encounter with Shostakovich’s 7th symphony came with a book about 20th century symphonies which I inherited from my mother. Although not all of [...]

My final journal for CMPO201 I found reading this Henry Brant interview fascinating not so much for the content (although I agree with most of what he says) but for the forthright way in which he expresses himself. It seems to me that there are broadly two types of composers: one group, whose members feel [...]

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet Overture Benjamin Britten: Passacaglia and Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes Dmitri Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1 The NZSM Orchestra, conducted by Kenneth Young, with Martin Riseley (violin), at St. Andrew’s on the Terrace, 14 May 2011 Before the concert… After their spectacular interpretation of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 11 [...]

It’s probably terrible of me to make a judgment on the NZSO’s recent Sibelius recording without actually listening to the whole CD, but listening to the recording of the Intermezzo from the Karelia Suite just now was pretty disappointing. While the recording may not feature Pietari Inkinen’s chief fault (his tendency to snort heavily over [...]