Day 279
Pjiper: Symphony no 3
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Eduard van Beinum
Here is another composer whose name is vaguely familiar but of whose music I knew nothing, This time, however, I was very pleased to encounter one of his pieces. Pjiper was a Dutch composer (1894-1947) who earned his living as a music critic. This symphony, the last of his three, was composed in 1926 and is very much a work of its time. It starts in an almost off-hand way with a jazz-like strolling bass motive and is shot through with the rhythms of jazz. I thought that it would be a fairly light divertimento style piece but as it progressed it became more complex with some really dense textures involving, among other instruments a piano duet, saxophones and a mandolin. Towards the end it seemed to me to however between the worlds of Bernstein and Ives, though of course Bernstein was still a child when this was written and I doubt very much whether Pjiper had ever head a note of Ives. Altogether this was a fascinating piece which had a weight which belies its short (15 mins or so) duration. Pjiper is certainly on my list for further listening once this project has been completed.
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