Ouled Nails
New member
The French and South Americans are not going to fare well in this thread because they frequently chose not to call their orchestral works a symphony. So, the question is a tad subjective in that the concept of a symphony became more and more subjective during that century. Are not several of Villa Lobos's Bachianas Brasileiras symphony like? Sorry Heitor! You won't make this cut!
Still, playing along, I would first state that "symphonies" have become extremely numerous during the twentieth century, from a half dozen per year to about fifty recognized, performed and published symphonies every year!
The choice is thus agonizing, so agonizing that I can't choose!
Today, I listened to William Schuman's third, not sure why, other than I just like it. Once a year, I give a spin to Hovhaness's Mount St. Helen Symphony because he tried to express eruption in music. When I want to hear an eruption, I turn to him.
World War II! There's a whole collection of symphonies the Northern Flower label has produced from Russia alone! Sure, we all know about Shostakovich's seventh, but a whole bunch of Soviet composers were writing symphonies about the war or inspired by wartime realities. People in the Soviet Union were by far the greatest victims of that war and it shows. Popov, Weinberg, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Shcherbakov, etc., all contributed their own voice. I have a special place in my heart for M. Weinberg if only because he never forgot and kept composing a lot of symphonies so that people would never forget.
Old man Sibelius is good listening too, particularly in the wilds of Maine.
I'll just stop here because I have got to stop writing spontaneously like this.
Still, playing along, I would first state that "symphonies" have become extremely numerous during the twentieth century, from a half dozen per year to about fifty recognized, performed and published symphonies every year!
The choice is thus agonizing, so agonizing that I can't choose!
Today, I listened to William Schuman's third, not sure why, other than I just like it. Once a year, I give a spin to Hovhaness's Mount St. Helen Symphony because he tried to express eruption in music. When I want to hear an eruption, I turn to him.
World War II! There's a whole collection of symphonies the Northern Flower label has produced from Russia alone! Sure, we all know about Shostakovich's seventh, but a whole bunch of Soviet composers were writing symphonies about the war or inspired by wartime realities. People in the Soviet Union were by far the greatest victims of that war and it shows. Popov, Weinberg, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Shcherbakov, etc., all contributed their own voice. I have a special place in my heart for M. Weinberg if only because he never forgot and kept composing a lot of symphonies so that people would never forget.
Old man Sibelius is good listening too, particularly in the wilds of Maine.
I'll just stop here because I have got to stop writing spontaneously like this.
