Other than Ma Vlast, Smetana is woefully underrated. I especially love the Piano Trio, and Kuchar is a very exciting conductor for the orchestral works.
That Doktor Faust Overture is insane. Spooky as hell. And what is that scrap of a polka doing in there? Weird, weird stuff. Perhaps composed during his final syphilitic days? You’ll never have heard anything like this.
Roberto PLano performed the Grieg concert with my orchestra some years ago; he had just won the big international competition that's held annually in Michigan (forget the name). Excellent pianist and a very nice guy; congrats to him! The program was Scandanavian: 2 works for Strings by Lars-Eik Larsson, the Berwald Symphony in Eb (the only-ever performance in-and-around Chicago/Intermission/Grieg Concerto (with maestro PLano) to end the concert. LR
Other than Ma Vlast, Smetana is woefully underrated. I especially love the Piano Trio, and Kuchar is a very exciting conductor for the orchestral works.
That Doktor Faust Overture is insane. Spooky as hell. And what is that scrap of a polka doing in there? Weird, weird stuff. Perhaps composed during his final syphilitic days? You’ll never have heard anything like this.
And it was for a puppet play (shudder).
I had to check. Sadly, he's called Roberto Plano, not Piano.
We can't win.
Roberto PLano performed the Grieg concert with my orchestra some years ago; he had just won the big international competition that's held annually in Michigan (forget the name). Excellent pianist and a very nice guy; congrats to him! The program was Scandanavian: 2 works for Strings by Lars-Eik Larsson, the Berwald Symphony in Eb (the only-ever performance in-and-around Chicago/Intermission/Grieg Concerto (with maestro PLano) to end the concert. LR
Love the Symphony. Boom, Boom badaboom, boom.
I especially like the scherzo, which is built upon two very catchy tunes and is free from awkward attempts at development.