Light Music? (slightly OT)

[kyjo]

While exploring YouTube last night, I happened upon the hugely enjoyable light music piece "Coney Island" by the Australian composer Don Banks (1923-1980). It's hard to believe that this delightful, colorfully orchestrated piece came from the pen of a normally rather avant-garde composer. After hearing this, an interest in light music has been sparked. Seeing that there are many discs of light music (mainly British) available, I would like to know what light music members here think stands out and is worth investigating. I'm very partial to Leroy Anderson and have enjoyed what (admittedly very little) Eric Coates I have heard. Marco Polo and Asv have recorded much British light music, and Guild has produced a number of sets titled "The Golden Age of Light Music" (one of which includes the Banks piece). There is so much light music out there, and I don't want to be wasting my time on just so-so light music, as there is so much other music out there to discover! So, what composers/pieces of light music to members here think are most worthy of my time :)?

P.S. Apologies if this subject is slightly off-topic :-[

[shamus]

Interesting topic, Kyle, I have always liked the little piano concertos that have been associated with different movies, such as the Warsaw Concerto by Addinsell, Cornish Rhapsody by Hubert Bath (I think), and others. I always hoped someone would finish the concerto that the Phantom played by Claude Rains (in the black and white version of the 30s or 40s), of course the 4 minute piece is out there somewhere. It depends on my mood, I guess, but I like music in so many forms that it would be silly for me to denigrate something just because it is called "Light". In fact, I can't compose two consecutive notes, so I am sure that for these composers the work that went into composing this music was just as involved and informed by their "serious" training, as that for their deeper works.
I say just bring on the music, light or heavy,  I can always just turn John Rutter and John Tavener off!!

[Elroel]

Kyjo/Shamus,

That's a surprise. I was there too and found it in the collectionCB2.

And what about the 'Concerto Macabre from Bernard Herrmann (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEAb8JNfvXs)?


Elroel

[kyjo]

Oh, I love those movie piano concertos-don't forget the mini-PC for Shostakovich's film music to Assault on the Beautiful Gorky, another favorite of mine :). There's also Leroy Anderson's 20-minute PC, which makes you wish he had written more music in traditional forms. I do not think the term "light music" should be used in a pejorative sense, but rather to indicate relatively brief compositions not in traditional forms that are more or less "popular" in sentiment. Does anyone have any views on British light music (e.g. Ketelbey, Coates, and Tomlinson)?

[Jim]

Hi Kyjo, I am a big fan of British Light Music - throughout the 80s I felt I was 'in the closet' as it had fallen so much out of fashion.

If you like Leroy Anderson and the Don Banks piece, it would probably be a good idea to proceed with Robert Farnon - despite being Canadian there is a disc in the British Light Music series on Marco Polo. The brilliant 'Portrait of a Flirt' is track one, a hard act to follow!

I would then go for the Trevor Duncan disc (Marco Polo). Start with 'High Heels' on track five and you'll be hooked. 'Girl from Corsica' is a beautiful portrait with gorgeous high strings. It ends softly with the horn unresolved on the minor seventh - the love story continues with the more serious tone poem, 'Boniface Down'.

Ernest Tomlison who advised on the series has music on two discs. He sounds more English than the forgoing though it is something hard to put a finger on. I find it always has a touch of elegance about it. Personally speaking, the highlights on disc one are 'Little Serenade', 'Cinderella Waltz', 'Kielder water' (which has a touch of Farnon about the high strings) & 'Concert Jig' and the rest of 'Silverthorn Suite'; disc two, 'Light Music Suite' & 'Cumberland Square'.

If you like Tomlinson and the more graceful aspects of light music, I would suggest the Dutton British Light Music Premieres Vol 3 for Philip Lord's two lovely Suites.

If Coates appeals then Haydn Wood would do too.

The rest of the Marco Polo, Dutton are well worth exploring (and Hyperion with Ron Corp - though sometimes the originals have more sparkle and energy!) - if I can be of further assistance just ask.

[guest224]

From a slightly unexpected corner of Europe, perhaps, but Moldova has a composer called Eugen Doga, born in 1937.  He has written a lot of music for Soviet (etc) movies in the "light music" style, and some of his pieces are wildly popular in that part of the world.

Most popular are the Waltz from the movie "My Sweet and Tender Beast" (also called "The Hunting Accident" in English) ()   and the waltz from "A House for Serafim" -    and also from the same movie a piece called "Light Rain" -  

see also my post at http://artmusic.smfforfree.com/index.php/topic,869.0.html   . 

[kyjo]

Many thanks, Jim and Christopher, for your helpful recommendations :)!

[guest224]

Do tell me if you enjoy the Doga.  I have posted about him before here and elsewhere, to a resounding silence (my posts seem to have this effect... :'(.).

[C R Lim]

While exploring YouTube last night, I happened upon the hugely enjoyable light music piece "Coney Island" by the Australian composer Don Banks (1923-1980). It's hard to believe that this delightful, colorfully orchestrated piece came from the pen of a normally rather avant-garde composer.

If you want another similar unexpected experience, try Skalkottas' "Characteristic Piece ‘Nocturnal Amusement’ for xylophone and orchestra" included as a filler on the BIS CD of his Concerto for 2 violins and Concertino for 2 pianos.

[kyjo]

If you want another similar unexpected experience, try Skalkottas' "Characteristic Piece ‘Nocturnal Amusement’ for xylophone and orchestra" included as a filler on the BIS CD of his Concerto for 2 violins and Concertino for 2 pianos.

Thanks for the recommendation (and for "bumping" this thread)! Skalkottas is a composer whose later, tonal works (such as the 36 Greek Dances, the Ballet The Sea and the Symphonic Suite Mayday Spell-A Fairy Drama) I admire immensely but whose 12-tone works still present challenges for me. I don't dislike his 12-tone music, and I can tell that it has merit and underlying power, but I just can't fully grasp it yet. I will try harder, though! I can get more out of it than Schoenberg or Webern, at least ;D

[Gauk]

I don't see it as so surprising either. A well-trained composer can write in any style he/she feels like, and pursuing a serial approach is an act of choice. Similarly, an artist like Mondrian was quite capable of painting in a figurative style, and in fact his early paintings are rather interesting.

[C R Lim]

There you have the crux of the original post by Kyjo. "Capable" doesn't necessarily mean "good at"!
 ;D

[Gauk]

There you have the crux of the original post by Kyjo. "Capable" doesn't necessarily mean "good at"!

I did mean it in that sense. I saw a Mondrian retrospective in Vienna a few years ago.

It is an interesting question whether there exist established modernist composers who could not turn out a mock-Chopin prelude if they had to. I suspect that most could.