Vagn Holmboe (1909-1996)

[lordlance]

Listen to Symphony No. 8 2.5 times. Might be *too* stormy but I shall have to rehear it later to see if the piece makes more sense.

[kyjo]

Listen to Symphony No. 8 2.5 times. Might be *too* stormy but I shall have to rehear it later to see if the piece makes more sense.

"Too stormy"? You said you wanted volcanic eruptions of sound and batteries of percussion!

[Symphonic Addict]

If lordlance is looking for something really LOUD and STORMY, then there is no any other option than Leifs's Hekla. Cataclysmic stuff!!!

[Symphonic Addict]

"Too stormy"? You said you wanted volcanic eruptions of sound and batteries of percussion!

It seems that the meaning of "stormy" for him is rather different to ours. 

[Madiel]

If lordlance is looking for something really LOUD and STORMY, then there is no any other option than Leifs's Hekla. Cataclysmic stuff!!!

Just about anything by him would qualify.

[lordlance]

"Too stormy"? You said you wanted volcanic eruptions of sound and batteries of percussion!

Yes I know. Sometimes it can be too much like listening to the transcendental etudes in one go. However I shall revisit 8 at a later date.

Of course there's also vacuous Bombast like Offenbach's Gaite Parisienne.

[krummholz]

The third symphonic metamorphosis, Epilog, definitely qualifies for volcanic eruptions of sound.

Indeed! In fact, I'd say the same for all of the first three, including Epitaph and Monolith.

And for "volcanic eruptions of sound", you need look no further than the outer movements of the 8th Symphony (Boreale).

[MusicTurner]

The wish for some alternative, modern recordings of the symphonies has been mentioned before here; the local reviewer Jens Brincker also wanted them, back in his early review of the first two BIS CDs with Hughes, in the Dansk Musiktidsskrift magazine (1993).
But maybe it's unrealistic to hope for more.
Brincker's Danish review can probably easily be translated via Google translate.

https://seismograf.org/dmt/67/05/alle-holmboes-symfonier-paa-cd

[Madiel]

Well I know that Da Capo was TALKING about making some recordings a number of years ago. Whenever I went to their office...

But I guess it didn't come together. Either that or it's a slow process.

[Symphonic Addict]

The terrific Sixth was playing here in reverse order (the second mov. first) and it made strong sense on me. The stormy and combative 2nd mov. is almost perfect, except for the final fortissimo with those last five notes. Sounds like a joke, like something false or a pantomime. That apart, it's a phenomenal exciting piece into itself. It has something of a more 'virile' Nielsen combined with touches of Shostakovich, mostly.

The slow, earthy 1st. movement has a more bewitching feel to it. I hear a sunrise from another planet, a revelation of sorts. The music unfolds so organically natural. One of my favorite symphonies ever.

N. Järvi, you need to conduct this!

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

The terrific Sixth was [snipped]

I agree, this is a terrific symphony. It amazes me that it apparently has only one recording (the BIS one). I don't see why it's not as popular as some Nielsen symphonies.

The slow, earthy 1st. movement has a more bewitching feel to it. I hear a sunrise from another planet, a revelation of sorts. The music unfolds so organically natural.

Speaking of Nielsen, that first mvt. reminds me a lot of N's Helios Overture, though longer and more complex.

[relm1]

The terrific Sixth was playing here in reverse order (the second mov. first) and it made strong sense on me. The stormy and combative 2nd mov. is almost perfect, except for the final fortissimo with those last five notes. Sounds like a joke, like something false or a pantomime. That apart, it's a phenomenal exciting piece into itself. It has something of a more 'virile' Nielsen combined with touches of Shostakovich, mostly.

The slow, earthy 1st. movement has a more bewitching feel to it. I hear a sunrise from another planet, a revelation of sorts. The music unfolds so organically natural. One of my favorite symphonies ever.

N. Järvi, you need to conduct this!

Which recording did you listen to?

[Symphonic Addict]

Which recording did you listen to?

The one on BIS. Is there another recording of it? If it has decent sound quality, I want to hear it!

[Madiel]

To the best of my knowledge there isn't any other recording of the 6th.

I need to get back to completing my Airtable database at some point... moving house has been a somewhat more pressing task.

[MusicTurner]

To the best of my knowledge there isn't any other recording of the 6th.
(...)

.

Agree. There were some old LP recordings of the 7th, 8th and 10th Symphonies.

[vandermolen]

.

Agree. There were some old LP recordings of the 7th, 8th and 10th Symphonies.

Yes, I have the LPs of 8 and 10 - both terrific and AFAIK never released on CD.

[relm1]

Yes, I have the LPs of 8 and 10 - both terrific and AFAIK never released on CD.

Right, though I have the BIS box set, I really like the LPs maybe a bit more so was hoping No. 6 existed in other forms.

[calyptorhynchus]

The Nightingales are releasing Vol 2 of their SQs series on 2 June: 2, 14 and 21.

[foxandpeng]

The Nightingales are releasing Vol 2 of their SQs series on 2 June: 2, 14 and 21.

I've been sitting on the edge of my seat ever since this was announced. It isn't quite, 'Are we there yet? Are we? Are we nearly there? Are we?', but almost.

It's my anticipated release for this month.

[vandermolen]

Right, though I have the BIS box set, I really like the LPs maybe a bit more so was hoping No. 6 existed in other forms.

I don't think that any of the LPs I owned ever appeared on CD 
8 (Vox/Turnabout/Semkow) and 10 (Ehrling).
I prefer both of these performances to those of the BIS set (as I do with the Allan Petterson recordings of symphonies 6 and 8 on CBS and DGG)