Bax: Complete Symphonies

Advantages: A new way to hear Beethoven
Disadvantages: Surpassed by some later period cycles

...depiction of a trio of birds, a village band and a thunderstorm. The Seventh brought a completely new emphasis on the use of rhythm, something that had never been heard of before at this scale, while the Eighth proved that little is sometimes more with its witty and humor-filled attitude completely off-setting the greater Seventh. And finally there came the Ninth Symphony that not only out-scaled the Eroica, but also introduced human voices in a symphony. The addition of a chorus and soloists in a profoundly instrumental work would be much explored by the Romantics that followed. In essence and deed, Beethoven was one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) influences in the way music evolved through the Classical era to the Romantic. And, of course, his influence also effected many other genres like piano sonatas, chamber music, concertos, etc... Read review

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Advantages: Great passion, beautiful melodies, unrestrained romanticism
Disadvantages: The finale doesn't quite convince in it's purpose

...of conducting, he began a tour of Europe and the US with the purpose of promoting his works. To this purpose came about the need for a new symphony where Tchaikovsky returned to his struggle with Fate, that malevolent power that prevents our striving for happiness. Not since his Fourth Symphony of 1877 (apart from Manfred) had Tchaikovsky really battled with Fatum again. For the Fifth Symphony Tchaikovsky made a short programme note that he used as the basis of his musical argument, though he never made his thoughts public knowledge. The note ran as follows: "Introduction. Complete resignation before Fate, or, which is the same, before the inscrutable decrees of Providence. Allegro (I) Murmurs, doubts, lamentations, reproaches agains XXX. (II) Shall I throw myself into the arms of Fate?" The Fourth Symphony featured Fate as a malignant... Read review

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Advantages: Varied movements, esp. 1st and 4th. One of Mahler's most popular works.
Disadvantages: 2nd movement a little weak.

...to complete it. --- MUSIC --- Mahler himself thought of this work as transparent, relatively brief, and non-aggressive. Comprising of 4 movements, it is fairly short compared to his other symphony's and certainly more upbeat, using only a small section of the orchestra compared to his other works. The first movement would almost look like a pyramid if drawn. The start and end are very gradually built up/down (the same melody used at the start and finish) with the climax of the piece about 10mins in with bells and horns making an appearance. The second movement relies far too much on strings for my liking and lacks the distinctiveness of the 1st movement. The 3rd draws a more subtle manner which makes you believe it is the same as the 2nd at first, but then provides differences to illustrate its superiority; it also leads magnificently... Read review

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