They may be small, they pack a big punch:
Penderecki: Sinfoniettas Nos. 1-3
Roussel: Sinfonietta
Britten: Sinfonietta
Hindemith: Lustige Sinfonietta
B. Tchaikovsky: Sinfonietta for Strings
Wirén: Sinfonietta
Reger: Sinfonietta
Gould: Symphonettes Nos. 1-4 (incl. Latin American Symphonette)
Prokofiev: Sinfonietta
Lopes-Graça: Sinfonietta
Moeran: Sinfonietta
Poulenc: Sinfonietta
Weinberg: Sinfonietta No. 1
Zemlinsky: Sinfonietta
Martinu: Sinfonietta “La Jolla”
Martinu: Sinfonietta Giocosa
Korngold: Sinfonietta
Janáček: Sinfonietta
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What a list! Great idea.
Very interesting video, introducing me to unexplored musical vistas.
I have a recording of three Sinfoniettas by Malcom Arnold. Quirky but charming miniature pieces.
My own list includes the utterly tuneful, charming and uplifting Eduard Tubin's Sinfonietta on Estonian Motifs. If many of you don't know it yet, please do give it a try.
Recently played the Piston Sinfonietta – good piece. But many good ones mentioned here – Roussel ❤️. How about a talk about Concertante works? Like the awesome Haydn – I don’t think I’ve heard you mention that piece of ear candy yet, unless I’m mistaken?
It was Gould's American Symphonette No. 2 which gave the world his immortal "Pavanne" (sic), theme music for innumerable radio programs. They don't write 'em like that any more. For over a decade in the '90s and '00s, my radio station held a used LP sale called "Vintage Vinyl," for which we solicited donations. And we would get them by the ton. It attracted both bargain hunters and serious collectors from all over the world. And we would put out boxes and boxes of big honking sets from the Longines Symphonette, Time-Life, Reader's Digest, etc. — and never sell a single one. Their remains are probably in some huge pit somewhere, no doubt next to the place where they dump all the gluten they take out.
Great talk, Dave! And now – to its natural sequel: Chamber Symphonies 🙂 [Boy, is there a real meaty bunch of them!]
Love this! From my collection, a few more Sinfonietta composers: Alwyn, Arnold, Bax, Chadwick, Gallagher, Halffter, Herrmann, Juon, Lajtha, Marek, Moroi, Piston, Tubin, and Waxman.
Pride of place should go to the Mendelssohn string symphonies, which he called 'Sinfonias'. But maybe there's a distinction between Sinfonia and Sinfonietta?
The Janacek and Martinu I already know and love; will check out the others.
Another great list David,, can we have a list of orchestral suites as well? I often think they are also often akin to smaller scale symphonies, albeit sometimes with more movements – my submissions would be Cui, Bizet's wonderful Roma Suite and Moszkowski
I love your videos and personality. Have a great day Dave. I have learned so much……btw…you are costing me a lot of money too….but LPs, not CDs.
Great list, but no Halffter?? I’m surprised by its absence here, given that you called it INCOMPARABLE in your separate talk on it from a while ago. 😉 It’s an absolutely delightful, inventive work in the best neoclassical tradition – quite frankly, I prefer it to some of Stravinsky’s neoclassical works, which it occasionally resembles.
There are few orchestral works more sheerly delightful than the Poulenc Sinfonietta IMO, which has yet to receive the recognition that it deserves. I agree that the Naxos recording conducted by Tingaud makes the best possible case for it. And the Zemlinsky – what a fascinating, often dark and acerbic work! It shows him in a totally different light from his lush, opulent earlier works.
Korngold's Sinfonetta is off the wall. Written when he was a teenager.
A wonderful list (as usual). In terms of the Weinberg Sinfoniettas, while nice pieces in their own way, I've never thought of them as being a great intro to his work. I've always thought the Chamber Symphonies (arranged by the composer later in life from his early chamber works, mostly string quartets) were better for that.
A couple other wonderful sinfoniettas that came to mind:
Julius Rontgen – Symphonietta humorista (gets labeled in the symphonic numbering system that CPO uses as the Symphony No. 4, although the disc it's on doesn't mention that). A light, charming work of similar scale to his later multimovement symphonies.
Carlos Surinach – Sinfonietta flamenca. A very nice work. Rhythmic. Colorful. Definitely by the same composer as the better known "Ritmo Jondo".
Hi, great list!! I would put Skalkottas's Sinfonietta either. So charming, happy, light and funny music. Also Villa-Lobos has a beautiful Sinfonietta. Thank you for the video