What Have You Been Listening To Lately? - #3

[Mambo]

Originally Posted by Roehre

Mambo, I know Brian 8 quite well.
I have never had the opportunity to listen to 14.
How's that one?

Hey Roehre - I enjoyed both he 8th and 14th - it was my first
playing of that Aries disc. The 14th was similar to the 8th, with
Brian's liking of low pitch brasses (euphonium and tuba).
I will be playing them again soon to get more familiar .
On my first hearing of the 14th, there were some great themes
- they were more like short episodes though, not to be repeated;
so it and the 8th need lots of repeated hearing.
My impression of Brian so far is that he is master of grand gestures
with imposing orchestrations to back them up, like all great
symphonists. I can see why some may call his music loosely
constructed, but for me, the variety was a plus.

yesterday on Spotify:

Walter Piston - Symphony No. 6

Havergal Brian - Symphony No. 1 -this was the Marco Polo CD
with the Slovak Philharmonic et al. Did not see much else;
to get familiar with this work though will take awhile.

[Green Knight]

On Spotify:

Antonin Dvorak--Symphony No.5 in F Major, B.54, featuring the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra led by Mariss Jansons, and Symphony No.6 in D Major, Op.60, performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra of London under the baton of Sir Andrew Davis.

[Green Knight]

Ludwig Van Beethoven--Symphony No.7 in A Major, Op.92 and Symphony No.8 in F Major, Op.93, both performed by the Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique under the baton of John Eliot Gardiner.

[Green Knight]

Pyotr Tchaikovsky--Symphony No.1 in G Minor, Op.13 {"Winter Reveries"} and Symphony No.2 in C Minor, Op.17 {"Little Russian"}, both featuring the London Symphony Orchestra led by Igor Markevich.

[Roehre]

Thanks Mambo. Much appreciated.
-----------------------------

Today:

Goldmann:
Symphony no.1 (1972/’73)

Udo Zimmermann:
Sinfonia come un grande Lamente (1977)

Jann:
Movement du silence (1997)

[Green Knight]

On Spotify:

Vaughan Williams--Symphony No.3 {"Pastoral"} and Symphony No.6 in E Minor, both performed by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Kees Bakels. His use of the "wordless vocal" in the Pastoral is very reminiscent of Nielsen's employment of the same device in his Third Symphony {"Sinfonia Espansiva"}. Highly effective and quite moving, indeed!

[Green Knight]

On Spotify:

Gustav Mahler--Symphony No.4 in B Major, featuring the New york Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Bernstein.

[James C. Fretz]

Originally Posted by Mambo

Havergal Brian - Symphony No. 1 -this was the Marco Polo CD
with the Slovak Philharmonic et al. Did not see much else;
to get familiar with this work though will take awhile.

Hi Mambo and Roehre. I would greatly appreciate any advice you might offer as to what one should listen for and how one should go about learning to appreciate the Brian idiom.

I've had that Marco Polo recording of #1 on my shelf for quite a while, and though it does get played from time to time I find myself seriously at a loss to appreciate the music. There must be some key which will unlock all this for me; I just don't know how to go about finding it.

I used to think that Mahler VIII was over the top.....until I came across Brian I.

My problem tends to be summoning up enough concentration and patience to stick with it through to the end.

Thanks.

Jim

Addendum: Listening to Schreker's opera Irrelohe.

[Roehre]

For a start, James, one thing you should be aware of: the "Gothic" is really the only OTT symphony of Brian's, in terms of scale as well as in length.

His fingerprints are definitely to be found in this piece, but there are a couple of CDs / recordings with his smaller (in time and in scale) symphonies, of which especially no.32 (13 minutes) gives in a concentrated but very listenable form all these too (to be found on an EMI CD or 2CD set).
On Naxos there are a couple of the other recordings originally released on Marco Polo to be found, of which I only want to "warn" for Symphony no.4 "Siegeslied" as an a-typical work (it is choral and German).
His violin concerto (Naxos) is very enjoyable too.
Other works of his are to be found on full priced Toccata Classics CDs, with his english suites available on YouTube too. "Lighter" music than the symphonic works, IMO enjoyable.

[It might be of interest, that one of the Brian fingerprints are to be found in some of Arnold Bax' symphonic works too (it's a specific bass line + rhythm). ]

[Roehre]

Today:

Kuula (iPlayer TtN May 2nd):
Merenkylpijaneidot, op.12 (The Sea Bathing Nymphs)(1910)
South Ostrobothnian Suite no.2 op.20 (1913)
Kesäilta (Summer Evening)
Tuijotin Tulehen Kauan, Op.2 No.2 (Long I Stared into the Fire)( orch. Merikanto)(1905)
Karjapihassa, Op.31a No.2 (In the Cattle Yard)
Purjein Kuutamolla Op.31a No.1 (Sailing in the Moonlight)
Orjan Poika (Son of a Slave) - Concert Suite, Op.14b (1912)
Impi Ja Pajarin Poika (The Maiden and the Son of a Boyar), Op.18
Prelude and Fugue, Op.10 (1909)
Virta Venhetta vie ('Rivers Gentle Flow Carry The Boat') (Op.37 No.1)

Klami:
Numisuutarit (suite for orchestra) (iPlayer TtN april 30th)

Cherubini (all CotW iplayer):
Petrus apostolus (1778)
Nemo gaudeat (1781)
Il Giulio Sabino: Sinfonia (1786)
Chant sur la mort de Joseph Haydn (1805 sic!)
Pas redoublé no.4 (1814)

Voigtländler:
VOICI – Feuerklang (1995)