The Art-Music, Literature and Linguistics Forum
March 28, 2024, 09:38:29 am
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?

Login with username, password and session length
News: Here you may discover hundreds of little-known composers, hear thousands of long-forgotten compositions, contribute your own rare recordings, and discuss the Arts, Literature and Linguistics in an erudite and decorous atmosphere full of freedom and delight.
 
  Home Help Search Gallery Staff List Login Register  

John Pickard

Pages: [1] 2   Go Down
  Print  
Author Topic: John Pickard  (Read 1396 times)
0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.
tapiola
Level 5
*****

Times thanked: 18
Offline Offline

Posts: 575



View Profile
« on: August 05, 2013, 03:09:09 am »

Can anyone give me an idea of what the music of John Pickard can be compared to?
I am interested in purchasing the BIS releases but have no feel for the music may be like.
I love Christopher Wright, Matthew Taylor, David Matthews, Lionel Sainsbury, Cecilia McDowall, John Metcalf, Ian Venables, etc.
Report Spam   Logged

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

kyjo
Guest
« Reply #1 on: August 05, 2013, 04:58:17 am »

Pickard writes exciting, colorful and accessible music without "writing down" to his audiences. His language is always tonal, drawing from a wide variety of composers but never sounding eclectic or unoriginal. If I were to name one composer whom Pickard's style is closest to I would suggest Kalevi Aho, but Pickard's music is generally more accessible and has more surface glitter (not that that is a bad thing). I really enjoy his music and I'm sure you will too! Perhaps these MusicWeb reviews of the two BIS discs (which I strongly recommend) will give you a better idea of his style:

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=187727 (couldn't find the review on the MusicWeb website for some reason)
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2013/Aug13/Pickard_Tenebrae_BISCD1873.htm

 :)
Report Spam   Logged
tapiola
Level 5
*****

Times thanked: 18
Offline Offline

Posts: 575



View Profile
« Reply #2 on: August 05, 2013, 07:23:38 am »

Very good. Thank you  so much.
Report Spam   Logged
cjvinthechair
Level 6
******

Times thanked: 49
Offline Offline

Posts: 804



View Profile
« Reply #3 on: August 05, 2013, 12:28:44 pm »

There's music - 'Tenebrae' - from one of the BIS discs on YT.
Report Spam   Logged

Clive
Dundonnell
Level 8
********

Times thanked: 137
Offline Offline

Posts: 4081


View Profile WWW
« Reply #4 on: August 05, 2013, 01:55:32 pm »

"Tenebrae"....which has received huge amounts of praise from reviewers of the Bis cd-is a 24 minute work for orchestra.

What is on YOU TUBE is a 7 minute excerpt.

What however remains so worrying about this sort of thing is that You Tube is being used by people to put up complete performances of works recently issued on cd.
This inevitably will reduce the sales of the actual cd.

Simon Parry of Hyperion said a short time ago that You Tube was killing companies like his. Now, whether this is true or not, I do not know...but it is alarming.

A short excerpt from a piece is one thing. Nor do I have a problem with a work which was only available on LP(as with our rule on here) but NOT a complete performance of a work which is currently available on cd. That should NOT be allowed by YT.

(Apologies if this has been discussed elsewhere. I have been a fleeting visitor to AMF in recent months.)
Report Spam   Logged
cjvinthechair
Level 6
******

Times thanked: 49
Offline Offline

Posts: 804



View Profile
« Reply #5 on: August 06, 2013, 02:19:09 pm »

I apologise for my habitual ignorance regarding the length of the music.
In respect of other comments from Mr. Dundonnell, is it felt that I/we should not be posting 'steers' to YT music, as this seems, apparently, to contradict the AMT philosophy ?
Advice to me, & to other members, would be welcome. I have no wish to create ill feeling amongst more learned colleagues.
Report Spam   Logged

Clive
Dundonnell
Level 8
********

Times thanked: 137
Offline Offline

Posts: 4081


View Profile WWW
« Reply #6 on: August 06, 2013, 02:42:05 pm »

If people have put music up on YT then there is absolutely no reason why we should not know about it and we should be grateful to those who direct us to it.

I have no problems with that and I have myself downloaded quite a few pieces from YT.

My point is that people should not put up on YT complete performances of works which are currrently available on cd. We do not allow that on this site-quite properly-because we want to encourage music-lovers to buy the cds themselves. If people can get the music without cost to themselves from YT then the record company makes no profit from the potential sale of its cd and, as a result, will be less likely to be able to issue cds in the future.

In saying this I should confess to my own hypocrisy in that I have, on a few occasions, downloaded a short piece(some Peteris Vasks for example) which is on current cd but which I would have been unlikely to buy otherwise on cd. My only defence-and it is feeble, I know-is that, as I say, I would not have bought the cd anyway. If however I find -let's say-a full symphony on YT which IS on cd then I will buy the cd rather than get it for nothing via YT.

So......No, by all means "give us a steer" to YT but please-if you can and if it is available-buy the cd :)
Report Spam   Logged
relm1
Level 4
****

Times thanked: 23
Offline Offline

Posts: 360


View Profile
« Reply #7 on: August 07, 2013, 01:10:20 am »

Can anyone give me an idea of what the music of John Pickard can be compared to?
I am interested in purchasing the BIS releases but have no feel for the music may be like.
I love Christopher Wright, Matthew Taylor, David Matthews, Lionel Sainsbury, Cecilia McDowall, John Metcalf, Ian Venables, etc.

I am very found of John Pickard and think anyone who enjoys William Mathias, John McCabe, Alun Hoddinott will enjoy this.  It is dramatic music that is finely crafted, colorful, challenging but also rewards effort.  It is no more challenging than the other composers I mentioned. 
Report Spam   Logged
Dundonnell
Level 8
********

Times thanked: 137
Offline Offline

Posts: 4081


View Profile WWW
« Reply #8 on: August 07, 2013, 01:17:12 am »

Not that it is of any great relevance but....John Pickard was sitting immediately behind me at the Proms performance of the Havergal Brian Gothic last year.

In retrospect I wish that I had taken the trouble to compliment him on his music.....but I am afraid that I was too emotional and too much on cloud nine after the Gothic to think about anything else ;D
Report Spam   Logged
tapiola
Level 5
*****

Times thanked: 18
Offline Offline

Posts: 575



View Profile
« Reply #9 on: August 07, 2013, 03:51:57 am »

I listened to Quartets 2, 3 & 4 today. Very impressive! Fire, romance , vitality, and quite original in it's way. I loved the "concertos" of the 4th.  Thanks to everyone for the comments.
Report Spam   Logged
kyjo
Guest
« Reply #10 on: August 07, 2013, 03:57:19 am »

If you enjoy chamber music, I can also highly recommend this Toccata disc of some of Pickard's more recent chamber works. Imaginative yet familiar:

Report Spam   Logged
tapiola
Level 5
*****

Times thanked: 18
Offline Offline

Posts: 575



View Profile
« Reply #11 on: August 08, 2013, 05:00:47 am »

In my shopping basket for payday!
I had the first BIS release but cannot find it among the avalanche. :-\
I'll have to re-order it.
Report Spam   Logged
Dimana
Level 2
**

Times thanked: 1
Offline Offline

Posts: 10


View Profile
« Reply #12 on: August 11, 2013, 06:06:52 pm »

Two pieces of information that might be of interest to followers of this thread.  On the home page of the website of the Brodowski Quartet there are three photos of recent sessions during which they recorded John Pickard's Quartets 1 and 5 for issue on Toccata Classics.  No idea when this might be slated for issue, but Toccata don't usually hand around long between recording and finished CD, so it could be a matter of months only.
Also, the Eikanger-Björsvik Brass Band of Bergen reported recently on their Facebook page that they had recorded the Gaia Symphony and Eden for the BIS label, so there are now at least two more Pickard CDs in the offing, which is very good news, although the Gaia symphony is already available by the Cory Band on the Doyen label and there seem to already be six(!) recordings (the latest issued this month) of Eden from various brass bands (five on different Doyen CDs and one on the BTM Band's own label), not bad at all for a work only written in 2005.
Report Spam   Logged
Dimana
Level 2
**

Times thanked: 1
Offline Offline

Posts: 10


View Profile
« Reply #13 on: September 07, 2014, 05:35:55 pm »

Has anyone heard the new Pickard disc just out on BIS of his Eden and the Gaia Symphony (No.4)?  The recorded SACD sound is absolutely breathtaking.  The Gaia Symphony has to be one of the most impressive brass band works, with rich and varied sonorities that draw one in.  The Eikanger-Bjorsvik band plays with amazing verve.  If you don't know Pickard's music, this is a very approachable place to start.  I can hardly stop listening to it.
Report Spam   Logged
Dimana
Level 2
**

Times thanked: 1
Offline Offline

Posts: 10


View Profile
« Reply #14 on: August 14, 2018, 09:59:25 am »

There's not been much posting in this thread of late, but it's very good to see the CD of Pickard's 5th Symphony is among the top three nominations in the "Contemporary" category for the 2018 Gramophone Awards, along with CDs of works by Dean/Francesconi and Dusapin.  This can only be good for wider awareness of Pickard's excellent music.  The winner is announced on 31st August.  I hope the Pickard wins.
Report Spam   Logged

Pages: [1] 2   Go Up
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by EzPortal
Bookmark this site! | Upgrade This Forum
SMF For Free - Create your own Forum


Powered by SMF | SMF © 2016, Simple Machines
Privacy Policy