Tag Archives: Tone Poem Tuesday

I’ve been slowly developing a greater appreciation for the music of Jean Sibelius over the last few years. He always left me cold in my younger years (Finlandia excepted), but I’m understanding him more and more of late. This work, … Continue reading →

A bit of film music today, suggested by Sheila O’Malley’s twitter thread from the other day, which she offered in context of much of the discussion about suicide and mental illness following last week’s death of Anthony Bourdain. Basically her … Continue reading →

There are times–and lately, they are frequent–when I have to remind myself that despite our flaws, America is still the nation that produced George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein.

OK, posting a march is probably stretching the definition of “tone poem” to the breaking point. So be it. In honor of the wedding the other day of Prince Harry (who is my favorite royal, likely because of the eternal … Continue reading →

Not really a tone poem, but it is a rather complete musical statement: “The Flying Sequence” from the score to Superman, by John Williams. This is in honor of the passing of Margot Kidder over the weekend. This music underscores … Continue reading →

It’s May Day, so here for the occasion is “A May Day Overture,” by British composer Haydn Wood. Enjoy!

Stretching the idea of the “tone poem” somewhat, here is Alexander Glazunov again, this time looking back in time rather than east in direction. This orchestral suite is called “From the Middle Ages,” and it is just that: a musical … Continue reading →

There is something oddly seductive about the way the Russian Romantic composers, while trained in the musical traditions of the west, often looked eastward for inspiration. That exotic flavor lives so sparklingly in the work of Rimsky-Korsakov and Borodin, and … Continue reading →

Max Reger was a late-Romantic era composer who isn’t heard a lot these days, owing to his reputation of having written mostly very dense works that aren’t the easiest listens in the world. I’m all for difficult listening, but I’m … Continue reading →

Film music is often rearranged by the composers into suites that make for better performance in concert settings, and this is one of the better ones. I had this performance on a cassette tape many moons ago, but I never … Continue reading →