Category Archives: In concert

Rattle conducts Sibelius – Symphony no.1

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Rattle conducts Sibelius – Symphony no.1, the start of a three-concert residency from the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, performing all the composer’s symphonies

sibelius-1-rattle

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Sir Simon Rattle – Barbican Hall, live on BBC Radio 3, 11 February 2015.

Listening link (opens in a new window):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b051czq9

on the iPlayer until 11 March

For non-UK listeners, here is a Spotify link. Although Sir Simon has recorded the first symphony, with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, I could not find this for listening. I have therefore inserted a ‘replacement’ version with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Colin Davis:

What’s the music?

sibelius-symphony-1
© Brian Hogwood

Sibelius – Symphony no.1 in E minor, Op.39 (1899) (39 minutes)

What about the music? With his first symphony Sibelius begins one of the most important canons of music in the 20th century. Quite appropriately the work sits just at the turn of the century, absorbing influences from the likes of Berlioz and Tchaikovsky but showing signs of speaking with a new and very clear voice.

It is also clear that the 33-year old composer already has a very strong instinct for structure and what commentators call ‘symphonic thought’. Sibelius structures the four movements in a way that acknowledges the past masters in the form, but there is some really vital and emotional material here too.

Although the symphony does not have a subtitle it was interpreted as Nationalistic by the Finnish people, especially as the Russian presence in and dominance over the country was increasing all the time. but showing signs of speaking with a new and very clear voice.

Performance verdict

Sir Simon Rattle finds the drama in this music from the off, but is keen to also show off the inner workings of Sibelius’s distinctive orchestration – an invitation the Berlin Philharmonic is hardly going to pass up!

There is a lean sound to the strings, and particularly the violins, with very little in the way of padding to the sound. The sense of music pushing forward is always there, Rattle focused on the symphony’s overall sweep rather than picking out particular solos.

The woodwind playing is superb, and because the orchestra are so well drilled Rattle’s tempi make sense – a quick first movement and Scherzo work really well here. Occasionally the conductor is a bit perfunctory where others make more of the Romantic gestures, but that is a question of taste rather than accuracy.

What should I listen out for?

First movement (marked Andante, ma non troppo – Allegro energico) (at a walking pace but not too fast…then fast and energetic)

4:00 – the clarinet solo that begins the work, wonderfully played by the Berlin Philharmonic clarinettist Andreas Ottensamer with quietly rolling timpani in the background

6:28 – the culmination of the first part of the first movement, with surging strings and simmering lower voices of the orchestra

12:04 – the main idea of the first movement sings out on the violins, with timpani thundering in response

14:00 – a tremendous build up from the orchestra, which subsides to two pizzicato chords from the strings (14:41)

Second movement (marked Andante (ma non troppo lento)) (at a walking pace, but not becoming too slow)

15:22 – the murky beginning to the second movement, beginning almost as an apparition of Tchaikovsky in the melody for strings

18:24 – the pulsing woodwind lead to a more luxuriant passage supported by harp

20:47 – Rattle moves up a gear here, the distinctive motif passed from strings to woodwind

23:05 – a return to the main theme, a little detached on violins now, subsiding to the end (24:50)

Third movement (Scherzo*: marked Allegro) (fast)

25:07 – quick, urgent delivery of the distinctive seven-note theme from Rattle and his charges here. The timpani once again are at the root of much of Sibelius’ thinking when writing for orchestra.

27:02 – the trio, a brass chorale that sounds slightly awkward in its means of expression (not a criticism!)

29:04 – the scherzo theme returns and the music wheels ever faster to its end (30:17)

Fourth movement (marked Finale: Andante – Allegro molto – Andante assai – Allegro molto come prima – Andante (ma non troppo)( alternating slow and fast passages)

30:26 – the passionate outpouring from the violins with which the fourth movement begins. The music gathers itself until…

32:57 – a quick statement of a faster tune. Rattle is quite matter-of-fact here; some conductors allow the music to take a big breath at this point, but Rattle surges forwards

35:10 – a thick string section and harps with another deeply felt tune

38:02 – a reflective and almost sorrowful return to the clarinet theme from the first movement, joined by the woodwind

39:20 – a sublime expansion of this melody on the strings, waking the ghost of Tchaikovsky once again. All this takes place over huge, long bass ‘pedal’ notes, a great illustration of the massive expanse Sibelius can achieve with the orchestra. Then there is a build towards the end (41:57) at which point Rattle slows, labouring the big chords, until the big fnish, timpani right at the limit (42:50)

Want to hear more?

The best thing to suggest after Sibelius’s First Symphony…is his Second, coming up soon on Arcana!

Glossary

*Scherzo – a term used for a faster section of music, usually placed second or third in a piece that has four movements. It originated with Beethoven and his contemporaries, who often added a touch of humour to the music.

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Songs for Europe – Olena Tokar and Igor Gryshyn

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Songs for Europe – Ukrainian duo Olena Tokar and Igor Gryshyn perform a selection of songs by Brahms, Rimsky-Korsakov, Dvořák and Richard Strauss

Olena-Tokar-und-Igor-Gryshyn-©-Jörg-Singer-682x1024Olena Tokar and Igor Gryshyn – Wigmore Hall, live on BBC Radio 3, 9 February 2015. Photo © Jörg Singer

Listening link (opens in a new window):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b051chkl

on the iPlayer until 10 March

For non-UK listeners, this Spotify playlist is available:

For those unable to hear the broadcast I have put together a Spotify playlist. Olena and Igor have not recorded this repertoire, so I have chosen suitable available versions:

 

What’s the music?

Brahms – a selection of four songs (1868-1877) (10 minutes)

Rimsky-Korsakov – a selection of four songs (1897) (7 minutes)

Dvořák – Gipsy Songs (1880) (14 minutes)

Richard Strauss – a selection of four songs (1885-1918) (11 minutes)

What about the music?

This recital was a reminder of the power of music as a universal language – a Ukranian duo performing works from across Europe in the languages in which they were written. The intriguing hour-long recital alighted in some diverse parts of the continent, exploring song writing from the 19th century.

Brahms and Richard Strauss are no strangers to a recital such as this, but Dvořák and especially Rimsky-Korsakov are less commonly heard. It was interesting to hear Rimsky’s brief songs and Dvořák’s equally concise cycle, placed alongside some well-chosen Brahms and some of Richard Strauss’s most popular output, four of some 200 songs he wrote through his career – culminating in Cäcilie, the song that became a wedding present to his wife.

Performance verdict

Olena Tokar has a bright tone, sometimes a little on the shrill side – for Richard Strauss in particular – but singing the notes with commendable security and expression. Her communication with the audience was good, helped by the fact she had memorised the program – no mean feat given its use of three languages.

The Dvořák was especially good, harnessing the dance rhythms with pianist Igor Gryshyn’s springy accompaniment while finding a little melancholy in some of the slower songs. The Brahms was unexpectedly light. He is often cast as a composer who writes music of dense texture but that was not the case here, and Gryshyn gave some nice, light touches to Über die Herde (Over the Heath) as well as a turbulent, frothy seascape for Verzagen.

The Strauss selection had a curious order – and I couldn’t help but feel that Mörgen would have worked better in last position. It was nice to hear a young singer tackle the big songs, though at the same time a more experienced voice can lend the depth this music often thrives on.

The encore – and its massive piano part – was a bit breathless, but this was a spirited and often invigorating recital.

What should I listen out for?

Brahms

4:10 – Über die Herde (Over the Heath) – this song has palpable uncertainty, particularly in the third stanza when ‘Bravende Nebel geisten umher’ (‘Swirling mists ghost about’)

6:25 – Es träumte (I dreamed) – a song full of longing. Tokar’s floated vocal is lovely, while Grysyhn gives the piano part plenty of sustain (maybe a bit much for some tastes!)

Rimsky-Korsakov

13:29 – Of what I dream in the quiet night – a good illustration of the simplicity of Rimsky’s songwriting, with a basic yet effective piano part to support Tokar’s clear singing.

15:32 – Cool and fragrant is thy garland – heady words, but an airy song, from the gentle piano arpeggios to the top ‘G’ from the soprano at the end.

Dvořák

22:12 – My Song of Love Rings Through the Dusk – there is an immediate indication from the piano part that we have changed countries. Tokar’s clear voice and the piano exchange a melancholy motif.

29:25 – Songs my mother taught me – one of Dvořák’s best-loved songs, laced with nostalgia and with a rather beautiful melody.

31:29 – Come and join the dance – an energetic dance song with a distinctive call.

Richard Strauss

37:26 – Mörgen (Morning) – the most serene intro to one of Strauss’s most performed songs. It’s easy to hear how this song works so well in orchestral guise too – though Tokar and Gryshyn are a bit fast here.

41:20 – Schlechtes Wetter (Dreadful weather) – a later song. The tumbling piano part paints a picture of the elements, and it’s easy to imagine an umbrella blown inside-out to this song!

43:25 – Allerseelen (All Souls’ Day) – another of Strauss’s famous songs, the last from his set of eight. Again it has an expansive piano intro.

46:37 – Cäcilie (Cecily) – the rapturous birthday love letter from Strauss to his wife, Pauline de Ahna.

Encore

50:18 – Tchaikovsky’s Whether day dawns – another bold song, with something of a piano concerto as a postlude! Very expansive and romantic.

Want to hear more?

It’s difficult to know what to suggest next after such a varied program – but one disc that comes to mind early on is Bernarda Fink and Roger Vignoles’ relatively recent disc of Dvořák songs, including the Gipsy Songs alongside several other song groups. It can be heard on Spotify here:

 

Meanwhile one of Brahms’ very best vocal works is also recommended, the Alto Rhapsody available on Spotify here:

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A Russian Song and Dance

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A Russian Song and Dance – a varied program of Shostakovich, Musorgsky and Glazunov from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Ilan Volkov

ilan-volkov

Yuri Vorobiev (bass voice), BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Ilan Volkov (pictured) – City Halls, Glasgow, live on BBC Radio 3, 5 February 2015

Listening link (opens in a new window):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b050xqzs

on the iPlayer until 6 March

For non-UK listeners, this Spotify playlist is available.

With no recordings of this music made by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra to date, I have chosen suitable alternatives:

 

What’s the music?

Shostakovich – a selection from King Lear (1971) (18 minutes)

Musorgsky – Songs and Dances of Death (1875-1877) (18 minutes)

Glazunov – The Seasons (1900) (38 minutes)

What about the music?

king-lear

A poster for the 1971 Grigori Kozintsev’s King Lear

Russian composers took frequent inspiration from the works of Shakespeare, especially Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev, responsible for arguably the two most famous interpretations of Romeo and Juliet. Shostakovich wrote a mass of film and ballet scores, but only encountered The Bard twice – once in Hamlet and twice in the darkly scored King Lear – for the stage in 1940 and then in 1971 for Grigori Kozintsev’s film.

Musorgsky wrote Songs and Dances of Death, his last and most popular song cycle* for voice, between 1875 and 1877, but he did not live to be old enough to orchestrate the four songs. The collection was orchestrated initially by Glazunov and Rimsky-Korsakov, who worked together in making a number of the composer’s scores fit for orchestral purpose. Shostakovich himself arranged a version in 1962, but here the conductor Ilan Volkov opts to use a ‘cleaner and simpler’ version by Edison Denisov from 1982.

As to the texts, they are each a nail in the coffin – but Lullaby, Serenade, Trepak and The Field Marshal do on occasion have slightly lighter moments, the rich timbre of the Russian bass is offset by gallows humour from the accompaniment. The texts are difficult – a mother’s last vigil over an infant in Lullaby, with death standing at the door, then the story of a terrible courtship in Serenade, an apparition in a forest for Trepak and finally, famously, The Field Marshal, who surveys his dead soldiers as though in victory.

Glazunov is often looked down on by people outside of the history of Russian music, regarded as an inferior composer to those around him such as Rachmaninov or his teacher Rimsky-Korsakov. Yet he had a big part to play in the country’s musical history and was hugely admired by Shostakovich and Prokofiev if not Stravinsky. As well as teaching and conducting he wrote nine symphonies, ballets, concertos and a number of orchestral pieces – The Seasons among them. As Ilan Volkov says in a brief interview before the performance here, Glazunov is in effect a bridge between Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky where ballet is concerned. As you will hear from this work, there is rarely anything less than a hummable tune!

Glazunov opts to begin with the Spirit of Winter, expressed through dance variations for Frost, Ice, Hail and Snow that have orchestral touches similar to those used by Tchaikovsky in The Nutcracker. The music gets warmer as Spring arrives, then positively bathes in the Summer sunshine, before the big tune of the whole evening is revealed at the onset of Autumn. Not for Glazunov the bleakness of the trees stripped bare – rather he prefers to celebrate the leaves whirling around his head!

Performance verdict

A really well thought out program from the typically enterprising Ilan Volkov, leading his BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra charges in a powerful concert. The Shostakovich is dark and rather foreboding, and although lacks the intensity of the composer’s symphonies it still carries some of his distinctive musical fingerprints, which the woodwind in particular find.

Yuri Vorobiev gives a thoroughly authentic performance of the Musorgsky, and even listening on the radio you can catch a glint in the eye at times. The reduced orchestration of Denisov helps with clarity when placing the words.

The Seasons is a warm-hearted performance, with charm aplenty from the orchestra. The woodwind sparkle, with excellent contributions from flute (winter) and oboe, while the strings have a really nice bounce to their rhythms.

The rustic Autumn Bacchanal is a winner!

What should I listen out for?

Shostakovich

3:40 – a stern brass statement

9:03 – The creeping (and creepy) line assigned to low bass strings – pure Shostakovich, this! It opens out into a tense orchestral discourse at 10’58”

14:47 – The start of the storm. A curiously slow storm, this does nonetheless have staying power.

19:33 – another dark passage of music, culminating in a bold clarinet cry at 20:42 (brilliantly played!)

Musorgsky

The words can be found here, on page 20 of the pdf booklet

23:40 – A reedy introduction cuts to the singer who sings sorrowfully. Listen to the single strike of the percussion when he proclaims how “death the deliverer is here!” Vorobiev shows beautiful control at the end

28:05 – The Serenade, and the “magical, tender night!” has a silvery sheen in Denisov’s orchestration. There is a terrible stroke of death right at the end from the orchestra.

31:58 – The dance of Trepak is a rather grotesque affair, Vorobiev taking the lead even as the forest closes in through swirling woodwind and strings.

36:12 – a triumphant start to The Field Marshal, with strings swirling and trumpets blazing in the heat of battle. A thrilling and ultimately uplifting end, the singer defiant even in death.

Glazunov

1:05:22 – the cold winter casts its frozen spell, but with elaborate flourishes from the orchestra less than two minutes in Glazunov quickly sets out his stall for a colourful piece.

1:11:37 – a jaunty second part of the Ice variation, showing off the composer’s prowess with orchestration

1:21:07 – a sweeping violin melody that sees the culmination of Spring.

1:22:35 – The lovely Waltz of Corn Flowers and Poppies, music that brings summer in with a real swing – though Volkov is very subtle in this performance, the poise of the waltz reminding me of the Strausses.

1:26:36 – the Variation within Summer, complete with burbling clarinet.

1:31:58 – probably the most famous tune heard within The Seasons. This is the soaring Bacchanal, the dance that opens Autumn. The accompaniment effectively describes the leaves swirling around!

1:39:55 – the bracing final section, The Satyr.

Want to hear more?

For more Glazunov, the Violin Concerto is heartily recommended, a single movement piece lasting 20 minutes that packs in thrills and spills with plenty more good tunes.

This website is already exploring a fair bit of Musorgsky, having talked about Pictures at an Exhibition earlier in the week. For even more I would take a deep breath and explore the incredible epic opera Khovantschina, one of the great cornerstones of Russian opera.

For Shostakovich there is plenty more to hear, but keeping in with his works for stage and screen, I would suggest the ballet The Age of Gold, a story about football!

Glossary

*song cycle – as the name suggests, a group of songs written by a composer tending to focus on a specific theme or author.

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Pictures at an Exhibition – Steven Osborne

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Pictures at an Exhibition – Musorgsky’s much loved collection for piano played by Steven Osborne

steven-osborneSteven Osborne (piano) – Wigmore Hall, live on BBC Radio 3, 2 February 2015

Listening link (opens in a new window):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04wmjx6

on the iPlayer until 3 March

For non-UK listeners, this Spotify playlist is available:

Please note that recordings of these works by Steven Osborne are not available on Spotify – the Musorgsky however is available to hear on the Hyperion website. I have therefore chosen suitable alternatives and will change the time references below when the BBC iPlayer link expires.

What’s the music?

Rachmaninov – a selection of 4 Etudes-Tableaux (1916-17) (13 minutes)

Musorgsky – Pictures at an Exhibition (1874) (36 minutes)

What about the music?

Musorgsky‘s Pictures at an Exhibition is a much-loved group of pieces, capturing the imagination of performers and arrangers alike. Although written originally for piano it has enjoyed life in several guises, most famously in a tremendous orchestration by Ravel but also through arrangements for all sorts of instrumental combinations, including brass band and even pop group – which Emerson, Lake and Palmer released as a live album in 1971.

The composer wrote it so the listener takes the part of the viewer at an art exhibition – in this case a series of paintings by the Russian artist Viktor Hartmann. Some of the pictures are separated by Promenades, where Musorgsky takes a breather to portray the viewer moving between paintings, reacting to what they have just seen. The pictures often refer to Russian legend, and some of them are grotesque – Gnomus, for instance, a gnome with crooked legs, or The Hut on Fowl’s Legs, a depiction of the terrifying Russian witch Baba-Yagá. There are social interactions – children playing (Tuileries), a rich man meeting a poor man (Samuel Goldberg and Schmüyle) and a violent quarrel (The Market at Limoges) – as well as two striking depictions of buildings in The Old Castle and an imposing Great Gate of Kiev, with which the exhibition ends.

Complementing Pictures are four of Rachmaninov’s Etudes-Tableaux, part of a set of pictorial studies published in 1917. In this case the objects of Rachmaninov’s characterisation were hardly if ever revealed, but the four chosen invite the listener to create an image. They are a brisk march, a contemplation, a scene at a fair (as described by the composer) and a restless mood.

Performance verdict

Steven Osborne won a Gramophone Award for his Hyperion recording of Pictures in 2013, and it was easy to see why here – there was the odd wrong note but this was generally because he was striving for maximum expression, which he found in a compelling performance. His pacing was ideal, so that some of the really loud moments – the old cart Bydlo grinding into action, or The Great Gate of Kiev in all its splendour – built inexorably from start to climax point.

The Rachmaninov was terrific, an indication that Osborne is spending a lot of time at the moment discovering his piano music. The Etudes-Tableaux do not really feature regularly in concert, partly because they are hard to bring off, but Osborne managed it handsomely here.

After the Musorgsky we had the considerable bonus of a serene Rachmaninov Prelude in D major, which tugged at the heart strings in all the right places.

What should I listen out for?

Because they are so well-loved, I have opted to describe each of the Pictures below:

Rachmaninov

6:31 – the second Étude-tableau, a spacious reverie with a particularly beautiful floated central section, where the key changes from C minor to C major (8:44).

11:41 – the third Étude-tableau, brightly voiced with crisp rhythms.

Musorgsky

18:36 – the first Promenade. Musorgsky’s viewer has a quick stride!

19:51 – Gnomus. Dark, grotesque and unpredictable, with a heavy line for the piano’s left hand and some ominous trills (22:11). After this the viewer ambles on to….

23:40 – The Old Castle. The melody is a depiction of a troubadour singing – but the mood is grey and heavy of heart, the harmony almost completely static. A weighty Promenade moves the viewer on to…

28:43 – Tuileries. A delicate description of children’s play, over in a flash!

29:40 – Bydlo. A depiction of a Polish cart grinding into action. The heavy weight of the machinery is supplied by the piano’s left hand, and the cart recedes into the distance at the end. Osborne applies as much weight to this as possible while the vehicle lumbers past! The viewer pauses briefly to take stock, before…

34:10 – The Ballet of Unhatched Chicks in their Shells. An amazingly vivid depiction of the little birds in clipped figures for the piano right hand, played very delicately here.

35:21 – Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuÿle. An imposing dialogue with the grandeur of the rich man (Goldenberg) and the quavering speech of the poor man (Schmüyle). After this the viewer moves on with another Promenade.

38:59 – The Market at Limoges. An excitable cackle of voices from the piano here, tripping over themselves and becoming increasingly out of control as they career into…

catacombs
Catacombs

40:22. Darkness descends as we move underground, Musorgsky conveying the stillness of space. The melodic figure of the Promenade appears (from 43:16), though here it appears shrouded in mist

45:26 – The Hut on Fowl’s Legs. I often think this piece on its own inspired a lot of rock music – it has the sort of figure you would not find out of place on a King Crimson album. The hammering figure on the left hand feels like drums and bass guitar combined while the right hand is almost completely unhinged. This leads straight into…

great-gate-of-kiev

The Great Gate of Kiev

48:40. The massive outlines of the gate are clear in the big block chords Musorgsky writes for the piano, which become ever more imposing as the piece progresses. Towards the end (50:22) a huge peal of bells rings out, then there is another reference to the Promenade (52:01) ahead of an emphatic final set of chords, by which time the pianist is playing as loud as he possibly can!

Encore

56:06 – Rachmaninov – Prelude in D major. A graceful and rather moving complement to Pictures!

Want to hear more?

Excerpts from Steven Osborne’s recording for Hyperion can be heard here

For more Musorgsky, I would suggest the Songs and Dances of Death, for low male voice and orchestra – which is ironically on BBC Radio 3 this Thursday 5 February , with a listener’s guide to come here! For more Rachmaninov I would suggest an earlier work, the Five Morceaux Op.3. This group of five pieces contains the famous Prelude in C sharp minor.

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Four seasons in one hour

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igor-levitAll the seasons in one concert – Igor Levit performs Tchaikovsky’s cycle of twelve months for piano

Igor Levit (piano) – Wigmore Hall, live on BBC Radio 3, 26 January 2015

Listening link (opens in a new window):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0505zfj

on the iPlayer until 28 February

For non-UK listeners, this Spotify playlist is available:

What’s the music?

Tchaikovsky – Méditation (1893) (5 minutes)
Tchaikovsky – The Seasons (1876) (41 minutes)

What about the music?

It might seem like a recent development where music magazines carried CDs on the front, but the idea of the cover mount was given to Tchaikovsky all the way back in 1875 by Nouvellist, a St Petersburg magazine. They commissioned from the composer one piece per month in manuscript form, and these were often published with a short piece of text from the editor Nikolai Bernard.

Although they are separate pieces they work really well as a whole and are perfect easy listening. Closer inspection reveals a wealth of melodic content and some keen characterisation too – especially in the characteristic October gloom with which Autumn begins, dispelling the three bright and incident packed months of summer. Bookending the collection are January in front of the fire, and December – by which time the Christmas hearth is beckoning once again.

The brief Méditation is rather moving, an epitaph to the head of the Conservatoire in Moscow. Tchaikovsky’s response has a noble beauty.

Performance verdict

Igor Levit is ideal for The Seasons, painting each picture with beautiful detail and sensitivity. Sometimes the months run into each other, which is effective when considering the year as a whole – that’s what time does, after all!

What should I listen out for?

1:41 – the soft, contemplative beginning to the Méditation

The Seasons

8:37 – Tchaikovsky paints the comforting warmth of the fireside in January through music that is easy to listen to – though under the surface there are a few worrisome figures
15:48 – The song of the lark in March, possibly the first clue this cycle offers that it is the work of a Russian composer
24:33 – June is the best-loved month of The Seasons, and this reflective Barcarolle is cast in a similar mood to March – until the sun literally comes out in the middle (26:09),as the music changes from minor key to major key
37:25 – After the bracing horn calls of September, the shadows lengthen noticeably for October, the longest of the twelve pieces by far, stretching out like tendrils into the gathering dusk. Tchaikovsky’s music here is appreciably darker in colour, sitting lower in the piano’s register.
42:44 – November puts a brave face on October’s troubles in music that bears more than a little resemblance to Schumann. There is however a very Russian Troika at its heart (from 43:40 and heard in full at 44:20)

Encore

51:22 – Another short Tchaikovsky piano piece, the Chanson triste – a model of simplicity, beautifully played.

Want to hear more?

Tchaikovsky is generally known for his loud orchestral music – 1812 Overture and the like – so why not try something else along the more gentle line practised here? His Symphony no.1, subtitled Winter Daydreams, is well worth trying next.