Vagn Holmboe (1909-1996)

[kishnevi]

Excellent work. 
But speaking of Tuba Concertos, there is one by RVW.

[Madiel]

Worth knowing, as RVW is on my 'get-to-know' list.

Meanwhile, I've added an entry to the discography for the Preludes. I don't know if I'll keep up this pace. To be honest, starting with orchestral works meant that I did a lot of the easiest entries first. Now, if I head into the concertos, it becomes harder to work out how to arrange the material so that it's comprehensible.

[Daverz]

Vagn Williams?

Today's VH: Chamber Symphony No. 1, a whopping 192/24 download from eClassical.  Absolutely gorgeous.  And the Symphony No. 6, ripped from CD, but certainly not embarassing itself soundwise compared to the Dacapo hi-rez recording.

[Madiel]

Added an entry to the discography for the Numbered Concertos.  This is where things got complicated - not least because you can't even rely on everyone to name the works in the same way! Rather difficult to make it readable, hope it's okay.

[calyptorhynchus]

Thanks very much for your discographical work Orfeo, I'll look forward to reading the Concertos page this evening.

I think things are going to get very lengthy when you get to the chamber works. Not only did VH write an incredible number for all sorts of combinations, and not all are recorded, but many that are recorded are found as single works on "Trombone Music from Denmark and Norway" type disks along with the works by 3 or 4 other composers. Good luck!

[Madiel]

Actually, the chamber music isn't that bad. It's the unaccompanied choral music that's the killer.

[calyptorhynchus]

I can't remember whether I've said this before here but I was reading a biography of Robert Simpson recently and there it was stated that Simpson, when asked who, in his opinion, the greatest living composer was, would always reply "Holmboe".

Simpson said that he was always amazed by how prolific Holmboe was, and yet each of his works embodied successfully musical movement, which Simposn regarded as the highest skill of a composer.

Simpson used to visit Denmark regularly in the 1950s mainly to visit Nielsen's family and other Danish musicians and composers. This included Holmboe and he visited the Holmboes regularly at their home.

[Christo]

I can't remember whether I've said this before here but I was reading a biography of Robert Simpson recently and there it was stated that Simpson, when asked who, in his opinion, the greatest living composer was, would always reply "Holmboe".

Simpson said that he was always amazed by how prolific Holmboe was, and yet each of his works embodied successfully musical movement, which Simposn regarded as the highest skill of a composer.

Simpson used to visit Denmark regularly in the 1950s mainly to visit Nielsen's family and other Danish musicians and composers. This included Holmboe and he visited the Holmboes regularly at their home.

I stayed a whole afternoon with the Holmboes (officially for an 'interview' for the Dutch Radio), concluded with a walk through the garden - actually a 'park' with a small forest they had planted themselves when they bought this plot of land with the prize money Holmboe won with his Second Symphony in the late 1930s - in August 1995, when he had completed his Thirteenth Symphony (the manuscript was on the piano, he showed it) and was more or less recovering from an even worse health in the year before.

It was indeed Robert Simpson who brought Holmboe to our attention. In my case in the second volume of 'The Symphony' 'Elgar to the Present Day', edited by him. I used it as a guide to many 'new' symphonists in the 1980s. The chapter on Vagn Holmboe was however written Robert Layton, the British specialist in Nordic composers.

[The new erato]

That book was seminal for me as well !

[Christo]

That book was seminal for me as well !

Great to learn! We share a similar background then.  The Penguin Vol. 2 of 'The Symphony', clearly led by Robert Simpson's view on the modern symphony, guided me through my musical 1980s. I think I explored all the symphonists it praises and I almost always complied, and still do. Without it, I wouldn't have known Holmboe, I think. And be less impressed by Havergal Brian, Martinu or Franz Schmidt.

Only later I began to see how many were still missing in the Penguin Guide: Tubin, Melartin, Englund, Braga Santos, Langgaard, Koppel, Vermeulen, Saygun, and so on. Who are you missing?

[The new erato]

That book was thumbed to death in the late 70ies, but to check who is missing I would need to check the contents. It really put me on the track to some 8at the time) seldom heard music. I would guess Sallinen weren't in it, but that is only a very rough guess (the book are still on my shelves at home, but I'm at work now). Koppel and Englund are on my favorite list as well, and I see you mention them as missing. Vermeulen I don't know, and I've never quite come to grips with Tubin.

[Christo]

That book was thumbed to death in the late 70ies, but to check who is missing I would need to check the contents. It really put me on the track to some 8at the time) seldom heard music. I would guess Sallinen weren't in it, but that is only a very rough guess (the book are still on my shelves at home, but I'm at work now). Koppel and Englund are on my favorite list as well, and I see you mention them as missing. Vermeulen I don't know, and I've never quite come to grips with Tubin.

I'm lucky - working at home today (at least ought to  ). My copy of the Penguin/Pelican guide to The Symphony - a present by a friend in 1982 - is only complete because I glued it all together again, but is otherwise completely corrupt, caused by a similar use. Haha!

Sallinen is mentioned, in the closing paragraph of the chapter on 'Vagn Holmboe and the Later Scandinavians', as one of the promising newbies. But my own first response was: WHO's this Holmboe - the only name in the chapter titles I had never heard of before? To be honest: the first I heard of him were Symphonies Nos. 6 and 7, on the release of the BIS CD somewhere around 1990. I still remember how the opening bars of the Sixth felt: WOW!!! Spelbound. 

[Madiel]

My introduction to Holmboe praise was the Penguin CD guide. Remarks about the music tended to dominate the Holmboe reviews in there (back 10-15 years ago when they were a decent length) because there usually wasn't a comparison to be made between recordings.

[Madiel]

I've added a post to the discography for the other concertos.

I'll have to think about what I tackle next. I think it's going to be the string quartets, then other chamber music.

[Karl Henning]

Cool;  I should re-survey the string quartets!

[Madiel]

I added the string quartets.  There's an old recording of SQ No.3 in a new Decca box set of mono recordings. Looks like it's only available on disc, not download, which means you have to get all 53 discs to get anything you want? Ugh.

[kishnevi]

You would think individual SQs would get some attention...
I admit that at first glance I mistook the artwork on those Copenhagen Quartet LPs for some sort of anime monster.

You are doing yoeman's work here.   Thank you for it.

[Madiel]

You would think individual SQs would get some attention...
I admit that at first glance I mistook the artwork on those Copenhagen Quartet LPs for some sort of anime monster.

You are doing yoeman's work here.   Thank you for it.

1. Absolutely. This exercise is simultaneously making me think "gee, look how many old recordings there are, buried away" and "gee, look how many of these works only have one readily available version". And there are still mature works with no recordings at all. The Kontra Quartet ought to be roundly thanked for taking up the quartets, because there's little other evidence of any modern group so much as touching what many commentators say is one of the best quartet cycles of the 20th century. Approach your local quartet and get them involved today! 

2. I can totally understand why you'd think it was some sort of anime monster.

3. Thanks. It's a labour of love/obsession, but some portions of it are quite difficult so it's nice to know that other people are getting something out of it. Trying to wrestle the other chamber music into submission now...

[Madiel]

Well, um, that took a long while. I knew it would take a while, but it turned to be probably the most complicated task so far. I do hope it's reasonably readable.

I've made two more entries on chamber music. Part 1 deals with piano trios, a piano quartet, a string trio, works for violin and piano and the solo cello sonata.

The chamber music with woodwinds and brass is in Part 2 .  There's a Youtube clip and download link buried in there, on the grounds that the only recording of the op.18 Serenade is unlikely to get to you any other way!

[vandermolen]

That book was thumbed to death in the late 70ies, but to check who is missing I would need to check the contents. It really put me on the track to some 8at the time) seldom heard music. I would guess Sallinen weren't in it, but that is only a very rough guess (the book are still on my shelves at home, but I'm at work now). Koppel and Englund are on my favorite list as well, and I see you mention them as missing. Vermeulen I don't know, and I've never quite come to grips with Tubin.

Yes, that book was a huge influence on me - in the 70s I guess. It is excellent, although I never agreed with Robert Layton's snooty remarks about Pettersson.