Latest discoveries

Philip Glass

Akhanaten. Amenhotep III:n hautajaiset

Michael Nyman

Musique à Grande Vitesse

The Queen of the Night

etc.

Sometimes I like to listen to minimalistic music. The Queen of the Night recalls Finnish Suvivirsi hymn in my twisted mind.

Janáček

Sinfonietta

Charmingly positive music with distinctive mood that is not easy to describe. I was reading a book on Tove Jansson and the Moomin world when I listened this work first time. Mystical black-and-white drawings of Jansson and Sinfonietta have something in common. (9.7.2001)

Adams

Nixon in China

Modern opera on Nixon's visit to China. Simple, but powerful music with a touch of humour. The last act is not as good as the first and second, but as a whole this is one of the best 20th century operas I have heard.

Shostakovitch

24 Preludes and Fugues, op. 87

I listened this masterpiece very intensively for many days. These are my favourites with short descriptions.  

Prelude and fugue no. 4

Prelude and fugue no. 5 (serene and beautiful, very positive music)

Prelude no. 8 (obsessive)

Prelude no. 15 (exaggerative and rcstless)

Prelude and Fugue no. 24 (Answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything))

Shostakovitch: The Nose

This is an incredible opera about a man who wakes up without a nose. The opera is based on Gogol's short story. I would describe the opera with the adjectives hysterical and absurd.

In one of the unforgettable scenes barber's wife becomes hysterical and sounds like a frightened dog barking. I also loved the scene with the man mourning his nose – he howled like a wolf. It is touching and beautiful, believe it or not.

Festive music

Modest Musorgski: Crowning scene from the opera Boris Godunov (Act I)

Benjamin Britten: Fugue from 'A Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra' (the theme music of the Scandinavian classical music quiz programme 'Kontrapunkt')

Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov: Procession of the Nobles from Mlada

Leoš Janáček: Sinfonietta

Powerful Music

Peter Tchaikovsky: Incidental music to the Snow Maiden, op. 12

Maurice Ravel: Final from Daphis et Chloet

Modest Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition. I prefer the original piano version to the orchestrated version by Ravel. In my opinion, the best orchestration is made by Leo Funtek.

Modest Mussorgsky: Khovanchina, orchestrated by Dmitri Shostakovitch

The Gratest Symphonies

Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony no. 9, especially the final

Dmitri Shostakovitch: Symphony no. 7, "Leningrad"

Antonin Dvorak: Symphony no. 9, 'From the New World', op. 96

Havergal Brian: Symphony no. 1 "Gothic"

Witty music

Benjamin Britten: Albert Herring

Antonin Dvorak: Symphony no. 8, op. 88

Dmitri Shostakovitch: Symphony no. 9

Fury

Dmitri Shostakovitch: Symphony no. 10, second and fourth movement

Giuseppe Verdi: Dies Irae from Requiem

Gloomy Music

Peter Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 4 (particularly the Final)

Peter Tchaikovsky: Mazeppa

Peter Tchaikovsky: Francesca Da Rimini

Dmitri Shostakovitch: Symphony no. 10, second and fourth movement

Giuseppe Verdi: Dies Irae from Requiem

Mystic Music

Peter Tchaikovsky: Manfred Symphony

Organ Music

Touching Music

Peter Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty

Peter Tchaikovsky: Souvenir from Florence

From the 20th Century

Dmitri Shostakovitch: The Limpid Stream / The Bolt

Dmitri Shostakovitch: Symphony no. 15

Benjamin Britten: Prelude and Fugue

Benjamin Britten: Welcome Ode

Finnish Music