Vagn Holmboe (1909-1996)

[calyptorhynchus]

Schoenberg, Martinu, Lees

I'd sooner hear Holmboe's

[Karl Henning]

The Schoenberg is good fun;  if you haven't heard his 'adaptive' pieces, give it a go!  And, even if you have heard his scoring of the Brahms piano quartet . . . the pieces after Handel (this string quartet concerto) and Monn (the cello concerto) are, as befits the different source era, quite different.

[Madiel]

4 discs worth of Holmboe from the BIS label arrived today: the piano/clarinet/oboe concertos disc, the brass concertos one, the orchestral concertos one and the cello concerto one (which is so old Owain Arwel Hughes isn't the conductor!  )

I haven't checked, but I have a suspicion I might now own every all-Holmboe disc that BIS has produced. Where's the challenge in that?

EDIT: Yep. And in fact, because a couple of performances are duplicated on different discs, there are a grand total of 2 performances issued by BIS that I don't own. The Notturno wind quintet, op.19, and the Concerto for Brass, op.157.

Still a bit of Da Capo to go, though...

SECOND EDIT: Wow. It turns out the BIS recording of the Cello Concerto is from the world premiere in 1975. Can't wait to try that one.

[cilgwyn]

More Vagn Holmboe sales! Thanks to calyptorhyncus (love the way that trips off the tongue!) I am now hooked on Holmboe symphonies! More expense,but a couple came through the letterbox this morning. Currently listening to 8 & 9. I listened to 6 & 7 earlier. No's 1,2 & 3 again later. Hopefully No's 4,5 & 11-13 will arrive tomorrow! If the Landlord ask for the rent I'll have to pay him in Holmboe!!

[vandermolen]

More Vagn Holmboe sales! Thanks to calyptorhyncus (love the way that trips off the tongue!) I am now hooked on Holmboe symphonies! More expense,but a couple came through the letterbox this morning. Currently listening to 8 & 9. I listened to 6 & 7 earlier. No's 1,2 & 3 again later. Hopefully No's 4,5 & 11-13 will arrive tomorrow! If the Landlord ask for the rent I'll have to pay him in Holmboe!!

Yes, he was a very fine composer. 6,7,8 and 10 are my favourites. I wish that the LP versions of 8 and 10 had been reissued on CD. The Turnabout LP of No.8 was my introduction to Holmboe.

[Madiel]

No activity on here for a while...

I just put String Quartet No.6 on. It wasn't one of the ones that made a specific impression on me when I was listening to the whole cycle. Well, that's not entirely true, as I remembered that (with 7 and it was one of the more 'modern' sounding quartets and had a bit of a violent mood at times.

But golly, it was absolutely what I was looking for today. A really dynamic work, with highly propulsive sections offset by haunting slow sections.

[Mirror Image]

Weren't you listen to the Cello Concerto earlier, orfeo? Tell us your impressions of this work. Inquiring minds want to know.

[Madiel]

Weren't you listen to the Cello Concerto earlier, orfeo? Tell us your impressions of this work. Inquiring minds want to know.

Ha. That actually came after the quartet...

I'm not sure yet. Holmboe just isn't ever about quick first impressions for me. It's all in one movement, and one very interesting thing is that there's a quite a lengthy solo (cadenza?) at the end. I almost forgot the orchestra existed until it came back in the very final bars.

[Madiel]

PS In the back of my mind I plan to do a concerto survey, the way I did one for symphonic works. I'm inclined to think, though, that I should wait until I've got hold of the 4 volumes of the Da Capo chamber concerto series.

I do now have all of the later concertos that have been recorded (as far as I know, no-one's done the String Quartet Concerto or the Louisiana Concerto for string).

[Christo]

PS In the back of my mind I plan to do a concerto survey, the way I did one for symphonic works. 

Will be appreciated highly!

[Madiel]

Well, I can provide an instant reaction to the Tuba Concerto which I'm listening to for the third time today. Love it!

[asin]B000027DUV[/asin]

I can't compare it to any other concerto for the tuba because I've never heard one before, but this piece seems to capture the instrument perfectly.

I haven't tried the shorter Intermezzo Concertante yet, that'll be for another day.

[Madiel]

Hmm...

Having just uncovered a couple of recordings I didn't know about in an iTunes search (on mixed CDs, not Holmboe-exclusive ones), I'm seriously considering creating a Holmboe discography. The recording history is extensive enough to make a survey useful, but not so big as to make the task impossible.

The question would be, though, where to put it? It's not really suitable for Wikipedia. I could create a blog post just for it... or a whole new blog?

It's the kind of thing that would belong on a dedicated website, but I don't know enough about such things.

[Madiel]

I'm going to do it. I'm going to build a Holmboe discography. Link in my signature but also right here: http://vagn-holmboe-discography.blogspot.com.au/

Obviously I'm completely insane for taking this on, but over the last few days I've acquired all the raw data I could want. Now it's a question of presenting it in a way that will be readable and helpful.

Comments most definitely welcome, either here or on the blog.

[Madiel]

Having made a few introductory posts which will eventually be useful, I've made my first concrete effort. Let me know whether it reads okay.

The Symphonies.

[Christo]

Having made a few introductory posts which will eventually be useful, I've made my first concrete effort. Let me know whether it reads okay.

The Symphonies.

Great job, many thanks! Maybe you could add that e.g. Youtube contains some of these other recordings, e.g. the Semkov here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz8PuRo8Xyo and that Leon Botstein's can be found on Spotify? 

[Madiel]

Great job, many thanks! Maybe you could add that e.g. Youtube contains some of these other recordings, e.g. the Semkov here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz8PuRo8Xyo and that Leon Botstein's can be found on Spotify?

Yes, I've been thinking about that, so thanks for suggesting it. I've done a general introductory post about recordings and their availability here (which I've just edited a little - just found out about the Semkov myself today!). I'm not sure yet how far I want to get into trying to say where to find things, as opposed to saying that they exist. The problem with saying where to find something is it's more liable to change.

I will keep thinking about it though. I think for things like the Botstein recording I need a succinct way of saying "pretty much available on all your regular download and streaming services".

[Christo]

I will keep thinking about it though. I think for things like the Botstein recording I need a succinct way of saying "pretty much available on all your regular download and streaming services".

Exactly. That diminishes the risk of referring to places where they're no longer available, yet makes it easy to trace those recordings for yourselves. Perhaps adding something like 'for example Youtube, Spotify or Musicweb' - or similar wordings. (I'm not familiar with all of them myself, I only use Youtube and Spotify). Thanks! 

[Madiel]

While I was on a roll I decided to pick off some low-hanging fruit with the chamber symphonies and symphonic metamorphoses.

[vandermolen]

I'm going to do it. I'm going to build a Holmboe discography. Link in my signature but also right here: http://vagn-holmboe-discography.blogspot.com.au/

Obviously I'm completely insane for taking this on, but over the last few days I've acquired all the raw data I could want. Now it's a question of presenting it in a way that will be readable and helpful.

Comments most definitely welcome, either here or on the blog.

Nostalgia trip to see that Semkow LP of Symphony 8 on the Turnabout label - my introduction to the composer, bought in a record shop in Notting Hill Gate, London - also the Ehrling LP of Symphony 10; two great discoveries for me. A pity that neither performance is on CD.

[Madiel]

Added an entry to the discography for Kairos.