Symphony Orchestra Page

Reference Recordings

Tchaikovsky: https://youtu.be/ReddbQtQ0mA?si=hTHA5RPA9GnKlqct

Shostakovich: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KMZOqOnmBE

Still: https://open.spotify.com/track/1FfUtjMoGL6IN8DnVaw4NL?si=c3aa9da87fa24380

Saint-Saëns (mvt. I): https://open.spotify.com/album/18helfICKnVjfO9v43SWPI?si=NzwTOMIATn2g9Yk_HiSqog

Messages

Greetings Symphony Members!

I am very excited for the new cycle of music and rehearsals that we've just begun! I am sharing some resources about the music in our folders.

There are many recordings of the Shostakovich Symphony -- and many diverse interpretations despite Shostakovich's very clear markings in the score. You're encouraged to check out as many of them as you care to. Below is a link to a performance conducted by Rudolf Barshai which I share because Barshai was a great musician and a wonderful string player -- founder of the Borodin Quartet in the USSR and who played on many important occasions and made many important recordings. He's also the founder of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra (which I later conducted many times, so I have a soft spot for this legacy). And, most importantly, Barshai knew Shostakovich well. Shostakovich wrote his 14th Symphony for Barshai's orchestra and they gave the premiere in 1969. Barshai also made the arrangement of the 8th Quartet for string orchestra, which the composer approved and published as one of his own opus numbers! So, if you value experience that brings you close to the source, you can hardly do better!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KMZOqOnmBE

There are also many performances of the Symphony composed by Still. Of the ones I have heard, I am impressed by the playing and pacing of the one below, which is why I recommend it. As I mentioned, I am waiting to receive a recording conducted by the composer and if that seems worth sharing, I will pass that along. Until then, this one is a good model.

https://open.spotify.com/track/1FfUtjMoGL6IN8DnVaw4NL?si=c3aa9da87fa24380

And, for the Saint Saens Concerto, there are, again, many fine recordings. Here's one by famed English cellist, Jacqueline DuPre.

https://open.spotify.com/album/18helfICKnVjfO9v43SWPI?si=NzwTOMIATn2g9Yk_HiSqog

-- Listening to the music is a key to understanding how your part sounds and how it fits into the whole. 

-- Listen with your part. 

-- Mark in cues for better orientation for who you play along with and who you follow or lead.

Let's make steady progress on this music! See you Saturday!

Mark

p.s. We will also play through the Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet at several rehearsals this month and next, so keep that fresh, too!

Rehearsal Notes

November 22