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Assorted items / General musical discussion / Re: Tolkien in music
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on: October 24, 2022, 02:11:23 am
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Great forgetfulness from me,animated film of 1978 was Bakshi's masterwork and it is truly a pity that it has not been followed up,Rosenman's soundtrack is one of 70's best where the techniques of the musical avant-garde integrated with those of the great classical tradition were used effectively  I must say that making the beauty and complexity of the novel on the screen is an arduous undertaking in particular it is very difficult to mark the difference between the first volume, fairytale and similar to "the Hobbit" and the remaining two with a historical and epic tone I saw the film when it first came out and was puzzled that it ended 2/3 of the way through the book (did they run out of money?) The soundtrack was very good and I snapped up the CD. unfortunately it did not achieve the commercial success it deserved I saw the film as a kid and remember it was very, very weird. Mixed live action footage with animation and an incomplete story. What were they thinking? Clearly it ran out of money and the producers didn't care. |
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Assorted items / General musical discussion / Re: What are you currently listening to?
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on: September 02, 2021, 12:56:12 am
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Bernard Herrmann: Symmphony National Philharmonic Orchestra / Bernard Herrmann Unicorn-Kanchana
Epic! Exciting,by turn! A powerful,brooding slow movement! If you,like me,you're a fan of Herrmann's Film Scores,there's allot of his trademark sounds,here. In the Scherzo,for example!The Koch recording is good,but this one,easily,beats it,imo! A big surprise,for me,when I bought this cd,was The Fantasticks (song-cycle to words by Nicolas Breton). I thought I might,quite,enjoy it;but not that much! As it is, it's a fine,often very beautiful,song- cycle;with excellent performances by Michael Rippon (bass) Meriel Dickinson (contralto) John Amis (tenor) Gillian Humphreys (Soprano) and The Thames Chamber choir.
The inclusion of John Amis reminds me of watching My Music,with my parents on a rented tv,years ago! When the Beeb had some programs,worth watching!
He's really a fantastic composer. Nothing he did was poor or not worth exploring. Even his library music for generic tv is full of gems worth exploring. |
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MEMBERS' CORNER / Members' wish lists & requests / Re: Aaron Jay Kernis and other US symphonists
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on: July 10, 2021, 01:19:37 am
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Kernis is yet another underrated US composer of symphonies, along with Harris, Creston, Piston, Adler, Bolcom, Rouse et al.
Whilst there are recordings of some symphonies by these composers, there is no comprehensive coverage of their works, let alone complete symphony sets in most cases. Even ignoring the present Covid-related problems of recording and performing, there seems little interest within most US orchestras to promote their own symphonic legacies, so potential audiences are missing out on a glorious selection of music deserving of multiple hearings.
George Rochberg is also fantastic. His Symphony No. 6 reminds me of Shostakovitch, Malcolm Arnold, and Bernard Herrmann. A great cross sample of styles. His symphonies are epic too, with no. 1 being 65 minutes. American symphonies are excellent actually because it is a melting pot of ethnicity. Sort of like how Mahler incorporated pastorals, beer tunes and funeral marches of his bohemian youth in his symphonies, the same was the case with American symphonies with jazz, french, Russian, film, etc., into tragic history. |
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Downloads by surname / Only direct links / Re: Vagn Holmboe
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on: May 25, 2021, 01:05:02 am
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Vagn Holmboe (1909-1996) Symphony No. 5, Op. 35 (1944) Allegro non troppo Andante affetuoso Vivace South Jutland Symphony Orchestra Carl von Garaguly, conductor Symphony No. 8, Op. 56 "Sinfonia boreale" (1951-52) Allegro molto intensivo Tempo giusto Andante con moto Allegro passionato Royal Danish Symphony Orchestra Jerzy Semkow, conductor https://www.mediafire.com/folder/52qg5dw6j2wbp/HolmboeThe 5th Symphony is taken from a Danish Radio broadcast. The 8th Symphony is a studio recording and was released and re-released on several labels over the years -- Fona, Vox Turnabout, Danish HMV, and possibly others. This upload is taken from a pristine copy of the HMV release. Neither performance has ever been released on CD, to the best of my knowledge. This upload is in response to a request on this forum. The 5th Symphony is in MP3 format, while the 8th Symphony is in lossless FLAC due to the quality of the recording, and as requested. These were fantastic! Thanks for uploading. I'm surprised how "British" this music sounds to me. I hear elements of RVW and Malcolm Arnold on these works, but they are wonderful and excellent interpretations. :) |
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Downloads by surname / Only direct links / Re: Schoenberg: The Death of Spring
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on: May 22, 2021, 01:38:58 am
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Arnold SchoenbergFrühlings Tod [The Death of Spring] (symphonic poem after Nikolaus Lenau, 1898, unfinished) Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra Riccardo Chailly, conductor [broadcast, 1985] one MP3 file (including intro & outro) https://www.mediafire.com/file/bb88mwf0t4fc6qh/Schoenberg__The_Death_of_Spring.mp3/fileActually, quite a bit more than a fragment, almost ten minutes long. Gorgeous late Romanticism, predating Verklaerte Nacht and Gurrelieder. Sadly, it ends very abruptly -- a great shame it wasn't completed but at least we have the opportunity to hear what there is. That was wonderful! Yes, the ending was abrupt but it could be completed. I hear how it would end. It wouldn't be what Schoenberg imagined but would create a finished work....a satisfying approximation. |
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Assorted items / General musical discussion / Re: What are you currently listening to?
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on: May 11, 2021, 01:45:46 am
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This evening: :format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-6096677-1410978642-8350.jpeg.jpg) A wonderful performance all round with the great André Previn at his masterful best and glorious singing from the stellar trio of Sheila Armstrong, Robert Tear and John Shirley-Quirk. Ahh, those were the days... It's a great piece, but Joseph Holbrooke's setting of the text knocks the spots off it in terms of capturing Poe's febrile imagination and translating it into music... :o ...and does it in half the time! ;) Yeah, that's high praise and frankly Holbrooke doesn't hold up to that level of praise. You are looking for a beat down here. Rachmaninoff is hands down a far greater composer and The Bells is one of his greatest works. |
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Assorted items / General musical discussion / Re: Sergei Slonimsky: RIP
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on: March 16, 2021, 02:54:01 pm
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As Saint Saens said,"I produce music like an apple tree produces apples".
This extremely gifted man produced music like a hundred apple trees. I never heard a piece I didn't like and every piece was an original.
A great loss, not sure what his last numbered symphony but perhaps somewhere around 32?
According to the link in OP, Slonimsky leaves 8 operas, 34 symphonies and a warehouse full of chamber music. |
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