# "Work of the Week" Series Discussion and Suggestions



## mathisdermaler (Mar 29, 2017)

*On Friday, August 11 I will be starting a series of "Work of the Week" threads. We will discuss one piece in depth each week randomly selected from a list compiled by TC users.
*
The purpose of this thread is for users to submit pieces to go into the drawing for the Work of the Week. I intend for this thread to be permanent as long as the "Work of the Week" series is ongoing, and will pick from this same (albeit ever expanding) list each week.

If you are interested in submitting a piece, please post a response to this thread with its name, its composer, a link to in your opinion the best YouTube (or other safe, free online streaming platform) video version of the piece, any other material that you think is relevant to the composition and your own personal thoughts on the piece. Begin your post with the heading "SUBMISSION."

On Friday I will randomly select one of the submissions and post the first "Work of the Week" thread on the selected piece with the comments added by the submitter.

A few guidelines for submission:
-Do not pick a piece that everyone has already heard.
You do not have to pick a very obscure or unknown piece, but try to pick something that is not _totally _ubiquitous.
-Pick a piece that is under 1 hour 
1 hour is already a very long time and anything longer will take away from the accessibility of these threads.
-Pick a piece that is free to listen to on YouTube or another free, safe online streaming platform (Soundcloud, Vimeo, etc.)
You may also suggest better versions on a paid streaming service or CD release, but your piece must be accessible for free online.
-You may submit one piece per week. 
You may submit the same piece twice to increase its chance of being picked.


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

2 hours is excessive; even 1 hour is excessive. The average symphony is only 40 minutes. Shouldn't people also be submitting works that are accessible in terms of length? There's no need to submit entire operas or cycles of works. One major work/movement from an opera, ballet symphonic cycle is surely enough to generate discussion that will expand into discussion of relevant material.


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## mathisdermaler (Mar 29, 2017)

eugeneonagain said:


> 2 hours is excessive; even 1 hour is excessive. The average symphony is only 40 minutes. Shouldn't people also be submitting works that are accessible in terms of length? There's no need to submit entire operas or cycles of works. One major work/movement from an opera, ballet symphonic cycle is surely enough to generate discussion that will expand into discussion of relevant material.


I think you're right.


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## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

Symphony No. 3, Op. 75

*Composer:* Ernst Toch






This work won Toch the 1956 Pulitzer Prize in music. The jury described it as "one of his finest works, of sure craftsmanship, contemporary in feeling, without self-conscious striving for the new and the original, beautiful and brilliant in orchestral sound." One of my favorite symphonies.

I like this rendition better than the old Steinberg one - I feel it really captures the urgency of the creative burst that dominated the last 15 years of Toch's life.


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra

*Composer:* Arnold Schoenberg






This work was written in 1933, composed after Handel's Concerto Grosso, Op. 6, No. 7. I find it one of Schoenberg's most accessible works. Every movement is tonal and delightful. Schoenberg, said of the piece, "I was mainly intent on removing the defects of the Handelian style. Just as Mozart did with Handel's Messiah, I have had to get rid of whole handfuls of rosalias and sequences, replacing them with real substance. I also did my best to deal with the other main defect of the Handelian style, which is that the theme is always best when it first appears and grows steadily more insignificant and trivial in the course of the piece."

Few recordings have been made of this work, but this is the most satisfying off of youtube.


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## Oldhoosierdude (May 29, 2016)

Submission: Ferde Grofe. Grand Canyon Suite.
Grofe did the original orchestration for Gershwin's Rhapsody and was a friend and contemporary until they had a falling out of sorts. Grofe composed a number of these American Suites with this being the best known.


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

mathisdermaler said:


> *On Friday, August 11 I will be starting a series of "Work of the Week" threads. We will discuss one piece in depth each week randomly selected from a list compiled by TC users.
> *
> The purpose of this thread is for users to submit pieces to go into the drawing for the Work of the Week. I intend for this thread to be permanent as long as the "Work of the Week" series is ongoing, and will pick from this same (albeit ever expanding) list each week.
> 
> ...


I'm just wondering, how will you randomly select it?


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

mathisdermaler said:


> I think you're right.


I strongly disagree - 90 minutes perhaps. We are all classical music enthusiasts here which means that we are (hopefully) able to absorb a long, complex work and, presumably, we have the time to do so. As to only choosing parts of a work ... the less said, the better.


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

SUBMISSION

Samuel Barber: Symphony No.1
SLSO, Leonard Slatkin

This 4 movement work is presented without pause in a ONE movement format. It is one of the great American symphonies, superbly crafted, passionate, and is a must listen to have a more complete understanding of Samuel Barber, the composer. I hope you enjoy it!

Saint Louis SO, Leonard Slatkin 
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfRTDeRJyaTUdpRJEFnxZJ6ZHkba1C_5D

LA Phil Program Notes
https://www.laphil.com/philpedia/music/symphony-no-1-samuel-barber

Wikipedia article, useful for a view of the notated themes
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_in_One_Movement_(Barber)

Quote by Samuel Barber about the work:
"The form of my Symphony in One Movement is a synthetic treatment of the four-movement classical symphony. It is based on three themes of the initial*Allegro non troppo, which retain throughout the work their fundamental character. The*Allegro ma non troppo*opens with the usual exposition of a main theme, a more lyrical second theme, and a closing theme. After a brief development of the three themes, instead of the customary recapitulation, the first theme in diminution forms the basis of a scherzo section (vivace). The second theme (oboe over muted strings) then appears in augmentation, in an extended*Andante tranquillo. An intense crescendo introduces the finale, which is a short passacaglia based on the first theme (introduced by violoncelli and contrabassi), over which, together with figures from other themes, the closing theme is woven, thus serving as a recapitulation for the entire symphony."


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

*Submission*

Hans Abrahamsen - let me tell you - for soprano and orchestra.

This piece uses texts from Paul Griffith's novella of the same name wherein he has Hamlet's Ophelia tell her story. The interesting conceit behind the book is that Griffith only uses the words that Shakespeare gave to Ophelia in the play.

The work was commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic on the suggestion of Barbara Hannigan. Abrahamsen had never done a vocal work before so Hannigan gave him a masterclass in 4 centuries of vocal techniques before he started the composition. That he was successful is evidenced by the piece winning the 2014 Grawemeyer prize and it having been performed by many major orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony, Gothenberg Symphony, City of Birmingham Symphony (including at the 2016 Proms), Cleveland Orchestra and Boston Symphony.

There is one complete performance on Vimeo with the Gothenberg Symphony conducted by Kent Nagano. For those with access to the Berlin Philharmonic's Digital Concert Hall, the world premiere performance is also available in the archive.






Here is a short video in which Hans Abrahamsen and Barbara Hannigan talk about the piece...


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## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

Hans Abrahamsen and Barbara Hannigan... _Remarkable_... I love the work and her stunning performance... _Two geniuses_.


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## mathisdermaler (Mar 29, 2017)

Tchaikov6 said:


> I'm just wondering, how will you randomly select it?


I will assign a number to each submission and use a random number generator to pick.

EDIT: The I-Ching.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Tchaikov6 said:


> I'm just wondering, how will you randomly select it?


I'm sure he'll follow some sort of aleatory procedure...


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## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

Tchaikov6 said:


> I'm just wondering, how will you randomly select it?


Personal taste, of course!


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## mathisdermaler (Mar 29, 2017)

Becca said:


> Hans Abrahamsen - let me tell you - for soprano and orchestra.
> 
> This piece uses texts from Paul Griffith's novella of the same name wherein he has Hamlet's Ophelia tell her story. The interesting conceit behind the book is that Griffith only uses the words that Shakespeare gave to Ophelia in the play.
> 
> ...


Very interesting to me as a lover of Shakespeare and Hamlet! Thanks for your submission.


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## mathisdermaler (Mar 29, 2017)

Becca said:


> I strongly disagree - 90 minutes perhaps. We are all classical music enthusiasts here which means that we are (hopefully) able to absorb a long, complex work and, presumably, we have the time to do so. As to only choosing parts of a work ... the less said, the better.


I think I will keep the limit at 1 hour for now. However, I removed the clause about submitting individual movements. I don't like that idea very much either.


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## Omicron9 (Oct 13, 2016)

My submission:

Benjamin Britten: S_uite for Cello No. 1_, op. 72 (1964).

The cello suites by Benjamin Britten (Opp. 72, 80, and 87) are a series of three compositions for solo cello, dedicated to Mstislav Rostropovich. The suites were the first original solo instrumental music that Britten wrote for and dedicated to Rostropovich, but Britten had earlier composed a cadenza for Joseph Haydn's Cello Concerto in C major, for Rostropovich, in 1964. Rostropovich gave the first performances of each work, and recorded Suites Nos 1 and 2 commercially.
Britten wrote the First Suite at the end of 1964. The premiere was at the Aldeburgh Festival[2] on 27 June 1965.[3] The suite is in nine movements, played without pause.


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## mathisdermaler (Mar 29, 2017)

Tomorrow I will pick the first piece. Please submit any more pieces.


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

Becca said:


> I strongly disagree - 90 minutes perhaps. We are all classical music enthusiasts here which means that we are (hopefully) able to absorb a long, complex work *and, presumably, we have the time to do so*.


Well I certainly do not and I can't be the only one. I have about one or two days a week when I can actually sit down and listen and they are my days off. All the other listening is done when I'm doing other things. So about 75% of listening is stuff I already know and that's not the same as listening to recommendations with a view to discussing them.



Becca said:


> As to only choosing parts of a work ... the less said, the better.


Clearly there are going to be some works that are very long and posting them in their entirety will just be foolish because the thread will sink like a bucket of lead.


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## mathisdermaler (Mar 29, 2017)

Final chance to submit for this week.


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## Guest (Aug 11, 2017)

Here's the film music for "*Taxi Driver*" by Bernard Herrmann, arranged as an orchestral suite; an under-rated composer and friend of Charles Ives. He really was a modernist who challenged audiences. There is superb, electic music here and it's very sophisticated.






Or you might prefer the better known "*Vertigo*" - a stunning score:


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

The five bagatelles for guitar by William Walton:






Number two is a splendid miniature:


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## Guest (Aug 11, 2017)

I've just listened briefly and it sounds gorgeous!! What time is it in The Netherlands???!!!!


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## Joe B (Aug 10, 2017)

Might I suggest Howard Hanson's "Elegy in Memory of Serge Koussevitsky"


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## mathisdermaler (Mar 29, 2017)

OKAY! The time to make submissions for the first week is over. Anyone who has already submitted may now submit a second piece to be put into the drawing for next week. Please remember that any piece you submitted in the first week will still be in the draw and you may submit the same piece twice to increase the chance that it will be picked.


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## mathisdermaler (Mar 29, 2017)

ATTENTION!
From now on, to submit a piece, please PM me using the same format for submitting as you would use in a public post here. This idea was recommended by @20centrfuge to make the selected piece more of a surprise each week.

This thread will now serve as a place for discussion and suggestions about the "Work of the Week" series.

Mods, if you would please rename the title of this thread to _"Work of the Week" Series Discussion and Suggestions_


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

CountenanceAnglaise said:


> I've just listened briefly and it sounds gorgeous!! What time is it in The Netherlands???!!!!


One this moment 05.25 A.M, time of posting was 04.09.AM


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## mathisdermaler (Mar 29, 2017)

Thank you mods


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

CountenanceAnglaise said:


> I've just listened briefly and it sounds gorgeous!! What time is it in The Netherlands???!!!!


Yes..as Pugg said it was late. I didn't bother going to bed because I had to pick someone up from the airport. I'm incredibly tired now!


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## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

What happened? Is this series still ongoing (or did it ever start to begin with)?


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