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Holbrooke disc from CPO (with a major change!)

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cilgwyn
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« Reply #30 on: January 28, 2013, 10:36:18 pm »

Thanks for that information: so I'm guessing we needn't start queuing outside the record shops just yet (assuming there are any left in business by the time this is released). On a (slightly) related note, I finally got round to buying the English Music Festival Recording of the work as a sonata and was very impressed with the recording compared to the Naxos, and even more taken with the Bantock Viola Sonata on the same disc, one of the best bits of Bantock I think I have heard.
I'll bear that recommendation in mind. Which reminds me,I must have another,more attentive,listen to the recent Naxos recording of Holbrooke. There is an instrumental version of the 'Grasshopper' Violin Concerto,on this. Or,is it?! I have read the reviews & booklet note,but still find the connection a little confusing. Is this a 'literal' instrumental transcription of the Violin Concerto? The title of the piece refers to it as a Violin Concerto,but it is also Violin Sonata No 2?!!! Maybe someone here can clarify this for me? I notice Rob Barnett,on Musicweb,appears a little confused by this,too!!

Some of these neglected chamber & instrumental works by British composers are very enjoyable & sometimes more effective than their more 'glamorous' orchestral output. Cyril Scott is a case in point! Working with solo or chamber forces seemed to focus his mind.The music on the Chandos cd of his Chamber music is much more concentrated.
I find Holbrooke more interesting,though. His output is more varied. Scott was very interested in the Occult & even wrote books on the subject & it shows in the music! If only he'd had Scriabin's sense of form! Not that his orchestral works are exactly famous for this! Even so,while 'The Poem of Ecstasy','Prometheus' & 'The Divine Poem' may be a bit  OTT & even melodramatic at times;in between all the mysticism & incense there is an urgency,a feeling of momentum. Scott has a wonderful gift for orchestration,but there's allot of murky,Blavatsky-an note twiddling! (His third symphony is a notable exception!) Holbrooke,on the other hand,even if he is a bit too garrulous for his own good,at times,always seems to have something interesting to say. Even his most ramshackle scores display a rich imagination & ear for exciting,colourful orchestration that keeps you listening.
More please!! :)
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jimfin
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« Reply #31 on: January 28, 2013, 11:55:15 pm »

I think I'd agree with you about Holbrooke vs. Scott. As for the 'Grasshopper', it seems to exist, rather confusingly, in two versions (the finale having been revised), both of which exist either for violin and piano or for violin and orchestra. The English Music Society recording is of the violin/piano arrangement of the earlier version, the Naxos of the later, and I think the CPO recording will also be the later one, in its orchestral guise. I do find it rather amazing that three recordings of this work are going to be available: is there any other Holbrooke work that this is true of?
       He seems to have been fond of renaming the same work as two different things: the eighth symphony (for piano and orchestra) is also known as the third piano concerto, and his two folk song suites for string quartet were sometimes designated as his third and fourth string quartets (and sometimes as his fifth and sixth!). No wonder people have trouble cataloguing his work!
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Grandenorm
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« Reply #32 on: May 31, 2013, 09:12:52 pm »

I learned today from Franz Groborz that the recording sessions for Holbrooke's "Auld Lang Syne" Variations with the Brandenburgisher Staatsorchester, scheduled for May, have had to be postponed. This is a pity as this work would have completed the disk containing Holbrooke's VC and The Raven. The reason the sessions were postponed was so that the orchestra could finish recording the Jadassohn symphonies.
It seems the Variations are now scheduled for February 2014. And apparently Howard Griffiths is determined to get them in the can then.
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Albion
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« Reply #33 on: May 31, 2013, 10:27:45 pm »

Thanks for keeping us up-to-date, Gareth, even though the news of further delay is not what we might have hoped for.

 :(

However, if a splendidly well-prepared performance will be the end-result, there will be something to look forward to next year (possibly)!

 :)

I do so wish that somebody would give us a coupling of Symphony No.3 (Ships) and Piano Concerto No.2 (L'Orient), with The Wild Fowl thrown in for good measure.

 ;)
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"A piece is worth your attention, and is itself for you praiseworthy, if it makes you feel you have not wasted your time over it." (Sydney Grew, 1922)
Grandenorm
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« Reply #34 on: June 01, 2013, 10:24:03 am »

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I do so wish that somebody would give us a coupling of Symphony No.3 (Ships) and Piano Concerto No.2 (L'Orient), with The Wild Fowl thrown in for good measure.

That would be a splendid disk. Perhaps we should lobby Lewis Foreman on this one and see if he can persuade Dutton.
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cilgwyn
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« Reply #35 on: June 01, 2013, 12:55:31 pm »

Thanks for keeping us up-to-date, Gareth, even though the news of further delay is not what we might have hoped for.

 :(

However, if a splendidly well-prepared performance will be the end-result, there will be something to look forward to next year (possibly)!

 :)

I do so wish that somebody would give us a coupling of Symphony No.3 (Ships) and Piano Concerto No.2 (L'Orient), with The Wild Fowl thrown in for good measure.

 ;)
It would,indeed. Thank you for the update 'Grandenenorm'! :) Some of us are pretty desperate for more Holbrooke! :( ;D
With respect to 'The Wild Fowl',Albion. Which piece are you referring to? Is it another name for the 'Dylan prelude',perhaps? While I was staying with my father,one of the cds I chose to listen to was the old Marco Polo cd of orchestral excerpts from the 'Cauldron of Annwn' cycle. This has to be one of my favourite Holbrooke cds. I know that the playing is a bit rough & ready,but I get a feeling of commitment from the musicians. They really ARE trying their best & the selection of music is fantastic,even if the playing time is a little miserly!! It really does give you a 'window' on the atmosphere & allure of these dark,romantically inspired operas. Having said that,I can just imagine being 'blown away' (as the cliche goes) by some really first rate performances & recordings. As I was with the Handley Hebridean vs the Marco Polo recording I heard first. Although,I suspect the musicians for the Holbrooke cd are a little better!
The 'Dylan prelude',in particular,is so good I can't understand why it isn't mentioned more often in suggestions for Holbrooke recordings. (Having said that,I wouldn't be without the 'Children of Don' overture!) The whole piece totally refutes,imho,the notion of Holbrooke the 'Cockney Wagner'. Yes,the influence of Wagner is there,but having said that,a heck of allot of very good composers,even great ones,took inspiration from his music. And even his detractors only avoided him by very consciously avoiding him. I can't stand Wagner,but even I have to admit the man was a musical colossus.  Anyway,imho the steely hewn astringency of much of the music actually evokes some of the later music of Sibelius?!! :o :) Or maybe it's just my ears playing tricks on me?! ;D I seem to recall Michael Oliver making observations along similar lines in a Gramophone review of the fascinating Symposium cd (of historical recordings),so maybe I'm not being too daft!! ::) ;D

By the way,thank you 'Grandenorm',or Gareth,if I may call you that,for all the sterling work you have done on behalf of this fascinating & very rewarding composer. And Albion too,by the way. I am given to understand you are responsible for a good deal of Holbrooke's Wikipedia entry?  In my opinion nearly as impressive an edifice as the 'Cauldron of Annwn' cycle,itself. Did you write it all?! It's one of the best I've seen. I remember when I first looked there were barely more than a couple of lines!
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Grandenorm
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« Reply #36 on: June 01, 2013, 01:46:23 pm »

The Fantasy The Wild Fowl derives from an orchestral interlude in the opera Dylan, where the wild fowl of the title bear the news to the Sea King of the death of his son, Dylan.
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« Reply #37 on: June 01, 2013, 02:17:18 pm »

Quote
I do so wish that somebody would give us a coupling of Symphony No.3 (Ships) and Piano Concerto No.2 (L'Orient), with The Wild Fowl thrown in for good measure.

That would be a splendid disk. Perhaps we should lobby Lewis Foreman on this one and see if he can persuade Dutton.

I have been lobbying Lewis Foreman for some time ;D He has a lengthy "wish-list" which certainly includes Holbrooke (as well as many other British composers).

Persuading Dutton that the music is worth recording is not the problem. Raising the finance IS :(
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Albion
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« Reply #38 on: June 01, 2013, 05:10:31 pm »

I am given to understand you are responsible for a good deal of Holbrooke's Wikipedia entry?  Did you write it all?!

Yes, I wrote the Wiki article and compiled the accompanying worklist (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Joseph_Holbrooke), which is an ongoing project based on the large number of printed catalogues which I have managed to assemble (published 1904-52): there didn't seem to be a reasonably comprehensive biographical summary otherwise available.

I have also provided a simplified version of the worklist here - http://imslp.org/wiki/List_of_works_by_Joseph_Holbrooke.

 :)

Much of Holbrooke's best writing is, indeed, currently 'entombed' within the unrecorded Cauldron of Annwn trilogy. All three full vocal scores are at last available complete (regional copyright permitting) on IMSLP:

http://imslp.org/wiki/The_Children_of_Don,_Op.56_(Holbrooke,_Joseph)

http://imslp.org/wiki/Dylan,_Op.53_(Holbrooke,_Joseph)

http://imslp.org/wiki/Bronwen,_Op.75_(Holbrooke,_Joseph)

 ;)

Paul Watt and Anne-Marie Forbes' book on Holbrooke is scheduled for publication next June - https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780810888913
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Grandenorm
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« Reply #39 on: June 03, 2013, 02:06:36 pm »

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Persuading Dutton that the music is worth recording is not the problem. Raising the finance IS Sad

Almost always the case. But we couldn't have a better ally than Lewis.
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Albion
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« Reply #40 on: June 03, 2013, 04:59:26 pm »

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Persuading Dutton that the music is worth recording is not the problem. Raising the finance IS  :(

Almost always the case. But we couldn't have a better ally than Lewis.

According to statistics (hmm...) one in ten households in the UK has £1,000,000 in assets (http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2013/may/21/british-household-1m-assets).

 :o

There must be more than ten British members of this forum, perhaps twenty, thirty, forty or even fifty (obviously equating to five millionaires).

 ;) 

If said member(s) would care to down-size and use the proceeds to fund a recording of The Cauldron of Annwn with a top-flight cast and orchestra, I'm sure that knowing that a great philanthropic deed had been done would be reward enough.

 ;D
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Grandenorm
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« Reply #41 on: June 03, 2013, 07:48:00 pm »

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Paul Watt and Anne-Marie Forbes' book on Holbrooke is scheduled for publication next June

Do we have any idea what the book will contain? I note it is "edited" by Paul Watt and Anne-Marie Forbes, so, presumably consists of writings by other people.  If they are intending to publish the unedifying correspondence between Josef and Ernest Newman when their friendship came to an end, or any other of Jo's personal tirades I hope they will think twice before doing so. What we need is a proper and sympathetic examination of the music and a tribute to everything Jo did for the music of his British contemporaries. It is his music and musicianship which counts, not his quarrels with some of his contemporaries.
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cilgwyn
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« Reply #42 on: October 27, 2013, 02:40:04 pm »

No,can't find a Holbrooke thread. Of course I could start one!
By the way,is there any news on a release for the second volume in CPO's 'ongoing' ??? ::) ;D Holbrooke series?!! It will have been a long time a-coming!! :(
 

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