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 ChinaModern 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. 87I listened this masterpiece very intensively for many days. These are my favourites with short descriptions.Shostakovitch: The Nose
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)) 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.
Charles-Maria Widor: Sympony no. 6
Charles-Maria Widor: Toccata from Symphony no. 5
Joonas Kokkonen: Viimeiset kiusaukset (The Last Temptations)