We have here the second part of the first movement of Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony. You can find the first part below.

Arguably Tchaikovsky’s most under-appreciated work (I don’t feel like making comparisons right now, so let’s just say that it is), we have here his only Symphony to go without a number. The Manfred Symphony represents Tchaikovsky’s sole attempt at writing multi-movement programmatic music. This video contains descriptions of what is going on in the “story,” which is always an interesting element. At the risk of sounding “unrefined,” I think that the analysis on wikipedia of this piece is quite good, so I won’t go into too much detail about my own feelings. However, it is interesting to note that there is no main key for this movement. I’m not completely sure why he does this, but I do think that Tchaikovsky takes his time to get started; at least for me, it takes me a while to really get into the music. But when it gets good, it gets to be Tchaikovsky good.

Here’s a real treat that’s a quite a bit more off the beaten path compared to the last selection I just posted. This piece was played by the CSO a few years ago (I think it was their premier) with Pierre Boulez conducting, and the audience erupted unlike anything I’d ever seen before. The piece is Ionisation by Edgar Varese, and it is an exciting piece for percussion ensemble. Varese was an experimenter with instruments, and is most famous for his Poeme Electronique; here we hear his full vision with regards to what sound is possible, yet from a perspective that might be more palatable to the typical concert goer. Indeed, this piece makes for quite a concert.

Returning from a several month hiatus (though this break might prove to be very temporary…), I can’t think of a better call to attention than what I am posting here. It is the opening movement of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto. Certainly one of my favorites, it demands the listeners attention in the first few measures of the piece, though the opening introduction is relatively independent from the rest of the movement. In fact, though it does have its dramatic moments, it also has a lot of time for subtle emotions. Another piece you can’t listen to just once (you can find the third movement elsewhere on the blog… the second might make its way on here at some point).

It’s hard to imagine that I’ve neglected this favorite for so long, from one of the greatest American musical minds in history. It is the overture of Bernstein’s wonderful operetta Candide, based on the work by the same name by Voltaire. A very jazzy piece, Bernstein was an expert in all things music, and there seems to be wide appeal to those who prefer more standard classical music.

It’s hard to believe that this was Rossini’s 11th opera, since he was only 21 when he wrote it. But this piece, the overture to his opera “The Italian Woman in Algiers,” is an excellent example of Rossini’s style. It’s easy to here the influence of both the Classical and Romantic era in this piece; the opening is simple and elegant, but quickly builds into something dramatic.

Here we have the last movement of Mozart’s famous Piano Concerto Number 24 (you can find the first movement elsewhere on this blog). I don’t really have a whole lot to say about this one, other than it’s from an extremely popular work from an extremely popular composer. This movement is in the theme and variations style, and is quite catchy.

A classic works from one of the giants of mid 19th century classical music, we have here Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Franz Liszt. It’s a fairly familiar piece, though perhaps not in its entirety, and despite its exceptional technical difficulty. But it’s not just that this piece is difficult on the technical level; it has quite a bit of delicacy, elegance and grace, which requires the performer to be both agile and emotional. Both a popular and a deep work, it will be hard to listen to this one just once.

One last piece from Carnival of the Animals; it is the swan, which wikipedia says is the most famous movement, though I might dispute that. Still, the claim is that it is a staple in the cello repertoire, due to Saint-Saens wonderful display of the full range of the cello. He really does do a great job of showing off what it can do, and the melody isn’t bad either. On the whole, another gem.