Symphony No. 8 (Milhaud)
Encyclopedia
The Symphony No. 8, op. 362, subtitled Rhôdanienne, is a work for orchestra
by French composer Darius Milhaud
. The piece was written in 1957 on a commission from the University of California
. Its four programmatic
movements paint a musical landscape of the course of the Rhone
River.
Milhaud's Eighth Symphony has a total running time of about 22 minutes. The titles of the movements, as descriptive of their character as of tempo, are as follows:
This symphony is published by Heugel & Cie. Recordings of this symphony currently available include:
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
by French composer Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud was a French composer and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as The Group of Six—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and make use of polytonality...
. The piece was written in 1957 on a commission from the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
. Its four programmatic
Program music
Program music or programme music is a type of art music that attempts to musically render an extra-musical narrative. The narrative itself might be offered to the audience in the form of program notes, inviting imaginative correlations with the music...
movements paint a musical landscape of the course of the Rhone
Rhône
Rhone can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
River.
Milhaud's Eighth Symphony has a total running time of about 22 minutes. The titles of the movements, as descriptive of their character as of tempo, are as follows:
- Avec mystère et violence (approx. 5'25")
- Avec sérénité et nochalence (approx. 7'25")
- Avec emportement (approx. 4'30")
- Rapide et majestueux (approx. 4'50")
This symphony is published by Heugel & Cie. Recordings of this symphony currently available include:
- a stereo recording of the composer conducting the orchestra of French RadioOrchestre Philharmonique de Radio FranceThe Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France is a French radio orchestra providing music for Radio France. It specializes in contemporary music and was founded in 1937.- Names of the orchestra :*Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France...
, re-released in 2003 on the Apex label - a 1993 all-digital recording by Alun FrancisAlun FrancisAlun Francis is a Welsh conductor.-Professional career:Francis was the principal conductor of the Ulster Orchestra from 1966 for ten years...
and the Radio-Sinfonieorchester BaselSinfonieorchester BaselThe Sinfonieorchester Basel is a Swiss orchestra based in Basel. The orchestra performs symphony concerts at the Musiksaal, Basel. The orchestra also serves as the opera orchestra and ballet orchestra for the Theater Basel...
, part of a boxed set of Milhaud's Symphonies No. 1-12 on CPO