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Week 62: Drop the Needle! 

Welcome to Week 62 of The Works! Start with this week's podcast episode.

The pieces for this week are listed below, along with links to scores where available. Here is the Spotify playlist for Week 62.

William Byrd
Selected Keyboard Works:
     Pavan & Galliard, BK16
     Pavan & Galliard, BK23
     Ground, BK43
     Pavan & Galliard, BK14
     Pavan & Galliards “The Earle of Salisbury”, BK15 - score
     Pavan & Galliard “Sir William Petre”, BK3 - score
     Galliard “Mistress Mary Brownlo”, BK34 (T460) - score
[scores for all of the above can be found in volume one of this edition - BK numbers refer to the order they are presented in this collection]
     recommended recordings: Leonhardt; Moroney

John Taverner
Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas - score
     recommended recording: The Sixteen
Western Wind Mass - score
     recommended recording: Tallis Scholars

Cesar Franck
String Quartet - score

Dmitri Shostakovich
Cello Concerto No. 1
     recommended recording: Rostropovich with Philadelphia Orchestra

Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy (1954 album)
“What a Wonderful World” (1967 single)

Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington
The Great Summit (originally issued as two albums: Together for the First Time (1961) and The Great Reunion (1963), both from the same recording sessions in 1961)

Week 7: Musicality 

It's Week 7 of The Works! Start with episode 7 of the Listening to the Works podcast, including a review of the pieces from Week 6 and a discussion of musicality.

Here's the Spotify playlist for the coming week.

Here are the works on the list for Week 7, along with links to scores where available and texts for vocal works:

Jelly Roll Morton
Selected recordings from 1923-1927 with Morton on solo piano and leading a trio and the Red Hot Peppers
A few piano scores of Morton's compositions are available here. Don't forget to check in the “collections” tab.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 10 (for two pianos)
(recommended recordings: Argerich/Rabinovitch; Labèque Sisters; Emil and Elena Gilels)

Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 3
This symphony includes vocal parts. Here is the text and translation.
(recommended recordings: Berlin Philharmonic/Abbado; New York Philharmonic/Bernstein)

Maurice Ravel
Works for solo piano (note: You have to click on the “arrangements and transcriptions” tab to find the scores of the orchestrated versions, even though they are Ravel's own orchestrations.)
 - Menuet antique (also an orchestral version)
 - Pavane pour une infante défunte (also an orchestral version)
 - Jeux d'eau
 - Sonatine
 - Alborada del gracioso (No. 4 from Miroirs; also an orchestral version)
(recommended piano recordings: Robert Casadesus; Alexandre Tharaud; orchestral recordings: Cleveland Orchestra/Boulez; Montréal Symphony/Dutoit)

Week 6: Musical Texture 

It's Week 6 of The Works! Start with episode 6 of the Listening to the Works podcast, including a review of the pieces from Week 5 and a discussion of musical texture.

Here's the Spotify playlist for the coming week.

Here are the works on the list for Week 6:

Giacomo Puccini
Tosca - score; synopsis and libretto with translation
recommended recording: Maria Callas as Tosca at La Scala, conducted by de Sabata
recommended video: Hildegard Behrens as Tosca at the Met, conducted by Sinopoli

Franz Joseph Haydn
Symphonies 6 (Le Matin), 7 (Le Midi), and 8 (Le Soir)
(recommended recording: Northern Chamber Orchestra/Ward; Hanover Band/Goodman)

Mily Balakirev
Islamey for solo piano (and version orchestrated by Casella)
(recommended recordings: Boris Berezovsky; Simon Barere; Philadelphia Orchestra/Ormandy)

Dmitry Shostakovich
Sonata for Violin and Piano
(recommended recordings: Oleg Kagan; Rostislav Dubinsky)

Fats Domino
Selected early recordings

Little Richard
Selected early recordings

Bonus listening selection: Tamara by Balakirev

Week 5: Inventions, Resurrection and More 

Week 5 of The Works begins with episode 5 of Listening to the Works, on your favorite podcast platform. We talk about how film music fits into the project and the difference between recordings of piano music and programming for actual recitals and concerts.

Here's the Spotify playlist for the coming week.

Here are the works on the list for Week 5:

Aaron Copland
Fanfare for the Common Man
(recommended recordings: Boston Pops/Williams; US Air Force Band; London Symphony/Copland; Philadelphia Orchestra/Ormandy)
Symphony No. 3
(recommended recordings: New York Philharmonic/Bernstein; Philharmonia Orchestra/Copland)

Leos Janacek
Glagolitic Mass
(recommended recordings: Czech Philharmonic/Mackerras; London Symphony/Tilson Thomas)

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Stanzas to the Blessed Virgin (consists of 8 madrigals)
1. Vergine bella (score; text)
2. Vergine saggia (score; text)
3. Vergine pura (score; text)
4. Vergine santa (score; text)
5. Vergine sola al mondo (score; text)
6. Vergine chiara (score; text)
7. Vergine quante lagrime (score; text)
8. Vergine tale è terra (score; text)
(recommended recordings: Hilliard Ensemble; Akademia)

Original Dixieland Jazz Band
Selected early recordings

New Orleans Rhythm Kings
Selected early recordings

 

Week 4: Not a universal language, but more universal than actual languages 

Week 4 of The Works! Here's the new podcast episode, in which I review last week's pieces, talk about listening to music in other languages, and preview the works coming up this week.

Here is the Spotify playlist containing the recordings for Week 4.

Here are the works on this week's list, including some links to the scores (and other relevant information) where available:

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
Album: On the Boardwalk (read the liner notes here)

Eubie Blake
I wanted to listen to his appearance on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz, but I don't have access to it. If you do, listen to it this week! Here's information about the album, and here's one piece from it.

Dmitri Shostakovich
Music (Op. 116) from the film Hamlet (not to be confused with the incidental music he wrote for the play)
Watch the film or listen to the recording of the suite (Op. 116a) conducted by Yablonsky (alternate recording conducted by Sinaisky)

Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 2
This symphony includes vocal parts. The texts and translations can be found here.
Recommended recording: Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Klemperer (alternates: City of Birmingham Symphony/Rattle; New York Philharmonic/Bernstein; NYPO/Walter)

J. S. Bach
15 Two-Part Inventions
15 Three-Part Sinfonias (or Inventions)
Recommended recording on piano: Angela Hewitt (alternates: Glenn Gould; Andras Schiff) and on harpsichord: Ton Koopman