NTT: Orchestrationally and melodically, my first thought was Tchaikovsky, but I don't know that I'm as sold harmonically that way (plus probably need to make a more obscure guess for the hint). Maybe shouldn't have read Laurie's guess before my own because I could buy it being from a stage work but with that might lean more toward the French side with Thomas or Massenet.
NTT notes: lush, way-too high strings, cymbal crash, big round brass, totally tonal with high Romantic chromaticism. Using that it is an (obstinately) obscure pick, I'll go with some random unknown piece by: Grieg, Puccini, or... hell.... Humperdinck!
And I think I'll ask ChatGPT to make me a piano recital of music by the less popular Pulitzer prizewinners.
NTT: This piece sounds so very familiar! And I love it. I know I've heard it live, but it wasn't recently. And I'm pretty sure it's from an opera rather than a symphony, but I can't place it. It's not something in the most frequently performed rep as I recall, which also makes sense based on Will's clue that he doesn't think anyone will be able to identify the composer or piece.
I'd say this is Romantic era, maybe late 1800's - early 1900's. My first strong impression was Richard Strauss - this is very reminiscent of Der Rosenkavalier.
But that doesn’t necessarily fit either half of the profile as an unidentifiable composer or piece, although maybe it's from a less well known opera.
Maybe something from an unfamiliar Puccini opera? It's lyrical, but it's not the Intermezzo from Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana. Both are from Italy.
But I am hearing musical language that sounds to me like it was composed by someone in a style similar to Strauss from the Austro-Hungarian Empire or Germany. Lush, lyrical, melodic, tonal, rich harmonies, full orchestral forces. With a hint of Slavic folk elements.
If I heard it at Seattle Opera in the past 4 decades, it could have been perhaps Dvorák's Rusalka - gorgeous orchestral moments. Or maybe something by Janacek - they have done 3 of his. Maybe Katya Kabanova.
But I think it may actually go back to something I saw during the 1975 fall semester I studied music in Vienna. Standing room only tickets were somewhat affordable back then for students, and I saw a wide variety of operas, some of which were by unfamiliar composers or ones that I no longer specifically recall. I do fondly remember the grand premiere of a Zeffirelli production of Wagner's Die Meistersinger. While this NTT has some lighter weight Wagnerian quality - like Seigfreid's Idyll, I don't think it's from either of these - or from him.
So my basket has Unknown's Some-Obscure-Opera-in-Vienna-in-1975 at the Wiener Staastoper or Volksoper Wien, Strauss' Something-Less-Than-Famous-Opera, Dvorák's Rusalka, and Janacek's Katya Kabanova.
NTT: Orchestrationally and melodically, my first thought was Tchaikovsky, but I don't know that I'm as sold harmonically that way (plus probably need to make a more obscure guess for the hint). Maybe shouldn't have read Laurie's guess before my own because I could buy it being from a stage work but with that might lean more toward the French side with Thomas or Massenet.
NTT notes: lush, way-too high strings, cymbal crash, big round brass, totally tonal with high Romantic chromaticism. Using that it is an (obstinately) obscure pick, I'll go with some random unknown piece by: Grieg, Puccini, or... hell.... Humperdinck!
And I think I'll ask ChatGPT to make me a piano recital of music by the less popular Pulitzer prizewinners.
NTT: This piece sounds so very familiar! And I love it. I know I've heard it live, but it wasn't recently. And I'm pretty sure it's from an opera rather than a symphony, but I can't place it. It's not something in the most frequently performed rep as I recall, which also makes sense based on Will's clue that he doesn't think anyone will be able to identify the composer or piece.
I'd say this is Romantic era, maybe late 1800's - early 1900's. My first strong impression was Richard Strauss - this is very reminiscent of Der Rosenkavalier.
But that doesn’t necessarily fit either half of the profile as an unidentifiable composer or piece, although maybe it's from a less well known opera.
Maybe something from an unfamiliar Puccini opera? It's lyrical, but it's not the Intermezzo from Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana. Both are from Italy.
But I am hearing musical language that sounds to me like it was composed by someone in a style similar to Strauss from the Austro-Hungarian Empire or Germany. Lush, lyrical, melodic, tonal, rich harmonies, full orchestral forces. With a hint of Slavic folk elements.
If I heard it at Seattle Opera in the past 4 decades, it could have been perhaps Dvorák's Rusalka - gorgeous orchestral moments. Or maybe something by Janacek - they have done 3 of his. Maybe Katya Kabanova.
But I think it may actually go back to something I saw during the 1975 fall semester I studied music in Vienna. Standing room only tickets were somewhat affordable back then for students, and I saw a wide variety of operas, some of which were by unfamiliar composers or ones that I no longer specifically recall. I do fondly remember the grand premiere of a Zeffirelli production of Wagner's Die Meistersinger. While this NTT has some lighter weight Wagnerian quality - like Seigfreid's Idyll, I don't think it's from either of these - or from him.
So my basket has Unknown's Some-Obscure-Opera-in-Vienna-in-1975 at the Wiener Staastoper or Volksoper Wien, Strauss' Something-Less-Than-Famous-Opera, Dvorák's Rusalka, and Janacek's Katya Kabanova.