It is good to read someone shouting the virtues of a little-known composer on the Messageboard. One of the rare delights of the past 10-20 years has been those recording companies who have expanded the recorded repertoire by championing composers such as Braga Santos, Casella, Braunfels, etc and while the magic of the first-named has not quite captivated me as much as the other two mentioned, I know of many others who have been bowled over by his uber-romantic and colourful scores. His music is certainly worth investigating far more than many of the entries of a well-known radio station's "Greatest" of all time lists that we have discussed eleswhere, but no, it is doubtful if any of them will be paying a visit to a concerthall near you any time soon - which is ironic, since I would happily pay to go and see such a concert rather than another Brahms symphony ordinarily conducted by the current flavour of the month. That said, maybe I am just starting to get old and (even more) grumpy and cantankerous ......
Best regards,
Lee
How good to see Braga Santos featuring as a ‘déjà review’ in his centenary year – he was born on 14 May 1924. His first four symphonies are all big romantic works and the Fourth in particular an absolute winner – I think Rob Barnett praised several of these when they were first issued. Anyone who doesn’t know the composer should give the Fourth a try and they will be hooked – I played it to a music club here many years ago and two members couldn’t rest until they had their own copies. It would be wonderful to think the Fourth might appear in the Proms but I have little doubt that it won’t!
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