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Heavy_Metal wrote: ↑Thu Dec 31, 2020 9:50 pm At some point in our lives, I'm sure many of us have heard a piece of music for the first time that blew us away. What was yours?

There are have been several. I'll just list two.

High school, Summer of 90, I think. The 399th Army band would invite "accomplished" high school students to play with them during their Independence Day concert. They would end the performance with 1812 Overture. During rehearsals some kind of percussion instrument was used to simulate the canons. For the real thing the guns were positioned behind the outdoor stage, and I think it was probably the closest I ever came to an actual religious experience. I came back for more the next 2 summers. I'd imagine this is something that not many people, aside from military musicians, will ever experience.

More recently. Like within the last month or two. I heard Gene Pokorny's Tuba Tracks for the first time. Wow! What a tone!

I think I was 24 when I first heard Vaughan Williams’s Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. Had to start it over and listen again—three times.

I heard it for maybe the hundredth (or five hundredth) time at age 50, performed by the New Philharmonia under the late and much lamented Richard Hickox. It was performed at the Royal Festival Hall, and I was there. I confess I cried like a baby.

The Redhead and I met Jonathan Hodgetts for dinner later that evening after the concert, long before Wessex.

Rick “one of the great masterpieces of the 20th Century, and no brass parts, let alone tuba parts” Denney

Well, while we're on THAT subject:

Rick Denney wrote: ↑Sat Jan 02, 2021 6:09 pm I think I was 24 when I first heard Vaughan Williams’s Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. Had to start it over and listen again—three times.

I heard it for maybe the hundredth (or five hundredth) time at age 50, performed by the New Philharmonia under the late and much lamented Richard Hickox. It was performed at the Royal Festival Hall, and I was there. I confess I cried like a baby.

The Redhead and I met Jonathan Hodgetts for dinner later that evening after the concert, long before Wessex.

Rick “one of the great masterpieces of the 20th Century, and no brass parts, let alone tuba parts” Denney

Too many to list, although this is one. Favorite recording here:



When I was a kid, I got the Star Wars soundtrack album before going to see the actual movie. I played the grooves off that thing. That was the same summer I took up the tuba, so double impactful.

This piece is performed by what was, arguably, one of the best brass ensembles in history, The Los Angeles Horn Club. Listening to this on YouTube still takes my breath away.
https://youtu.be/VCcZw_u7f64?t=1

I heard this astonishing ensemble in 1950 at the Local 47 Musicians Union hall in Hollywood where the club featured 27 players on horn, tuben, and contrabass tuba. Most of the horn players were from film studios and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Nostalgia: https://youtu.be/4BfWYdpxMBI?t=1

Ace

Okay, better answer:

Empire Brass, Baroque Brass, Contrapunctus No. 9 by J.S. Bach. I got this my first year in college. I had listened to various pieces by Bach before this, but this one blew my socks off. It was also my first brass quintet album, and the first time I heard Sam Pilafian. I remain a huge Sam Pilafian fan based on this performance.

The first time hearing Jimi Hendrix. I played the entire record several times before the wow factor wore off and the exceptional musicianship started to sink in.

The first time hearing Bruckner 7 (Chicago/Solti). The brass section (as with most of their recordings) left me with my mouth hanging open. That began my serious interest in orchestral music.

And does Mnozil Brass count?

Simply hearing they existed was enough.

hrender wrote: ↑Tue Jan 05, 2021 11:21 am Okay, better answer:

Empire Brass, Baroque Brass, Contrapunctus No. 9 by J.S. Bach. I got this my first year in college. I had listened to various pieces by Bach before this, but this one blew my socks off. It was also my first brass quintet album, and the first time I heard Sam Pilafian. I remain a huge Sam Pilafian fan based on this performance.

Wow! That playing of the Contrapunctus is super.

Ace

Heavy_Metal wrote: ↑Sat Jan 02, 2021 9:12 pm Well, while we're on THAT subject:

humBell wrote: ↑Wed Jan 06, 2021 3:18 pm And does Mnozil Brass count?

Simply hearing they existed was enough.

As far as I'm concerned, it does. I love the stuff they do.

When our community band parted ways with the local junior college that hosted us, we moved to my church. Upon moving, we had to rebuild our library. One of our members was a former band director/music department administrator (retired) and he had a private collection of his own. He donated about 25 charts, many of which I had never heard of, but a few I had. So I set forth checking each chart for condition and searched YouTube for sound files for these songs I'd never heard before. One chart was titled The March from "A Little Suite" by Malcolm Arnold. I plan on our band playing this piece if the church ever allows us to meet and rehearse again.

It was a Sunday morning, December 1983. I was in the final hour of a 24 hour CQ shift at the headquarters building at Ft. Monmouth, NJ. There had been a huge snowfall, and the entire post seemed deserted. The creepy old former hospital that had been repurposed as HQ was definitely deserted. As a misty gray dawn was emerging, the public radio station in New York was playing The Photographer, by Philip Glass. I had never heard minimalism before. I stood at the window, staring at the empty snow-covered fort, transfixed by the music. I can't hear Glass without being back there in my mind.

Acemorgan, your post is very artfully written. Good job. The mood and imagery is nicely conveyed. Reminded me of an October 1959 CQ duty I had at Fort Ord, Monterey, California. 24 hours on is tough to pull, particularly the long night. It is creepy quiet in the wee hours.

Ace

For those who've never listened to much of Tchaikovsky beyond Nutcracker, 1812, Sleeping Beauty, and his last three symphonies, this (LINKED BELOW) is the final ~variation~ of the final ~movement~ of his third orchestral suite (yeah: "Suite #3").

Most people think of "suites" as being chamber much...ha.

This piece requires more technical prowess than any of the symphonies, is composed for a large orchestra, and is nearly 45 minutes long.

This final variation is a "polacca" (polonaise).

It's "quite the thing", and I've cued it up for you here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... e=emb_logo

Wow, Bloke. Wow. That is a heavy weight, large-orchestra piece. Thanks for the post.

Ace

What bettter time for this...

bloke wrote: ↑Thu Jan 07, 2021 3:48 pm For those who've never listened to much of Tchaikovsky beyond Nutcracker, 1812, Sleeping Beauty, and his last three symphonies, this (LINKED BELOW) is the final ~variation~ of the final ~movement~ of his third orchestral suite (yeah: "Suite #3").

Most people think of "suites" as being chamber much...ha.

This piece requires more technical prowess than any of the symphonies, is composed for a large orchestra, and is nearly 45 minutes long.

This final variation is a "polacca" (polonaise).

It's "quite the thing", and I've cued it up for you here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... e=emb_logo

Thanks for posting this. The first classical record I ever bought was as a teenager in the late '60's. It was Yevgeny Svetlanov/USSR State Symphony Orchestra's Tchaikovsky 4th. I still have it, but I flat wore it out over the years and gave up looked for a replacement. I picked up a few more titles by them over the years, but they weren't always easy to find and weren't widely stocked. After years of discovery of other conductors and orchestras (not to mention composers), I had basically forgotten Svetlanov and the USSR State Symphony, which has gone through a number of renamings after the USSR collapsed.

When I looked at the video you linked and saw the name of the conductor and orchestra, it was like the proverbial light bulb went off. Checking quickly on Y'allTube, I found a fair number of videos by Svetlanov and by the orchestra. I always thought he was one of the great interpreters of Tchaikovsky, and I know what I'll be doing in my spare time over the next few weeks. Thanks.

bloke wrote: ↑Thu Jan 07, 2021 3:48 pm For those who've never listened to much of Tchaikovsky beyond Nutcracker, 1812, Sleeping Beauty, and his last three symphonies, this (LINKED BELOW) is the final ~variation~ of the final ~movement~ of his third orchestral suite (yeah: "Suite #3").

Most people think of "suites" as being chamber much...ha.

This piece requires more technical prowess than any of the symphonies, is composed for a large orchestra, and is nearly 45 minutes long.

This final variation is a "polacca" (polonaise).

It's "quite the thing", and I've cued it up for you here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... e=emb_logo

Excellent recording!

GC wrote: ↑Fri Jan 08, 2021 1:17 am I found a fair number of videos by Svetlanov and by the orchestra. I always thought he was one of the great interpreters of Tchaikovsky

Svetlanov was UncleBeer's chief conductor for eight years. While a great interpreter of Russian music, all other styles of music ended up sounding Russian in his hands. And he also managed to import the gulag mentality into our workplace: continuing rehearsals 1/2 hour beyond quitting time. After several of these episodes, players started just getting up and leaving en masse. Not a nice dynamic.