Six favourite symphonies by (really) lesser-known composers.

[Dundonnell]

Thanks for being our guinea pig . A full appraisal will be in order !

Watch this space

[vandermolen]

Yes..but guess who just went ahead and ordered it anyway

My nerve went - I have ordered it too  . I shall take a very dim view if Colin has the last copy 

erato - I hope that you are ashamed of yourself for feeding our OCCDCD (Obsessive Compulsive CD Collecting Disorder).

[The new erato]

I'm on commission. 

[schweitzeralan]

I pushed the Kleiberg on here some months ago, Jeffrey-

"Stale Kleiberg(born 1958) is a Norwegian composer of whom I had never heard until a few days ago. Thank you, J.

This magical cd should be a must buy if you can find it!!

Two symphonies-No.1 "The Bell Reef" and No.2 "Kammersymfoni"-and a 'Lamento-Cissi Klein in memoriam'(a short moving memorial to a 13 year old Jewish girl deported from Trondheim to die in Auschwitz).

Kleiberg's music is a revelation! The best word I can use to describe it is pellucid. There is a gorgeous crystalline clarity which is a wonderful mixture of Debussy and Bax(particularly in "Bell Reef"  Symphony) but refracted through the prism of a gentle post-modern expressionism. As the review below says, there are even a few passages which recall Moeran!

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classRev/2004/Jan04/Kleiberg.htm

Strongly recommended!"

I have the Skold on my shelves but can remember nothing about it! Another cd to replay

Just ordered it; always looking for potetial new recordings.  I like the Bax/Debussy/Moeran mentions.  Will give it a try.

[schweitzeralan]

I have listed to Santoro's 4th Symphony, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It reminded me of Paul Creston (Symphony No 2), Guarnieri and even a bit of our old friend Braga Santos - a nice discovery. The inspiriting choral last movement reminded me of Vaughan Williams in places.

Any composers that you may know whose works are similar to those of Colin McPee? I have several works by this Canadian composer who and taught, I believe, in California.  His work tends to be quite colorful, modal, and impressionistic in places.  Expressioism,serialism, bitonality have slipped in my preferences to date. McPhee is a dedicated coservative who encapsulated and developed Balinese folk music.

[vandermolen]

I'm on commission. 

[vandermolen]

Any composers that you may know whose works are similar to those of Colin McPee? I have several works by this Canadian composer who and taught, I believe, in California.  His work tends to be quite colorful, modal, and impressionistic in places.  Expressioism,serialism, bitonality have slipped in my preferences to date. McPhee is a dedicated coservative who encapsulated and developed Balinese folk music.

Ok, I have my only McPhee CD playing at the moment - Tabuh-Tabuhan (great piece!) with old Howard Hanson conducting. Two composers come to mind -one is Carlos Chavez (and I was then very interested to discover that Chavez conducted the first performance of Tabuh-Tabuhan!) Do you know Sinfonia India by Chavez? You might like that.  The other composer who immediately came to mind was John Foulds - you might like his 'Three Mantras'.

[schweitzeralan]

Ok, I have my only McPhee CD playing at the moment - Tabuh-Tabuhan (great piece!) with old Howard Hanson conducting. Two composers come to mind -one is Carlos Chavez (and I was then very interested to discover that Chavez conducted the first performance of Tabuh-Tabuhan!) Do you know Sinfonia India by Chavez? You might like that.  The other composer who immediately came to mind was John Foulds - you might like his 'Three Mantras'.

Thanks for the response.  I know of Chavez but am unfamiliar with his works.  I also discovered that I have an original MacPhee work by the Louisville Orchestra.  A favorite.

[Christo]

Am I the only one having this: 



Well reviewed here: http://www.musicweb-international.com/classRev/2003/Aug03/syberg_symphony.htm and in Fanfare in its time, but I haven't heard it for years so don't really have an opinion.

I have it, together with the other Syberg cd. Remember that I liked it in similar terms as described on the musicweb site, but couldn't find anyone in this forum with a similar experience. I do remember Vandermolen didn't know it - and that's what he's repeating here (so he actually forgot that we tried to discuss it - genuine proof of his `not knowing Syberg'. 

[vandermolen]

I have it, together with the other Syberg cd. Remember that I liked it in similar terms as described on the musicweb site, but couldn't find anyone in this forum with a similar experience. I do remember Vandermolen didn't know it - and that's what he's repeating here (so he actually forgot that we tried to discuss it - genuine proof of his `not knowing Syberg'. 

I have no memory of such a conversation - I expect that you hallucinated the whole episode 

[schweitzeralan]

OK, I have started this for purely selfish reasons; to see if I can discover another great symphony by a 'sadly-neglected' composer. Here are my six. I have tried to include works by composers of different nationalities - but this is not a 'rule' for the thread:

Cyril Rootham: Symphony No 1 (British) Lyrita CD

Kaljo Raid: Symphony No 1 (Estonian) Chandos CD

Klaus Egge: Symphony No 1 (Norwegian) Aurora CD

Ross Edwards: Symphony No 1 'Da pacem Domine' (Australian) ABC CD

Rudolph Simonsen: Symphony No 2 'Hellas' (Danish) CPO CD

Douglas Lilburn: Symphony No 1 (New Zealander) Naxos/Kiwi Pacific/Continuum CD

An unknown composer now who was probably well acquainted with the French musical culture during his lifetime, Phillipe Gaubert's "Symphonie In F," along with his "Chants de la Mer" contain some marvelous moments.  I personally like the Debussyian influence which are quite prominent in the "Symphonie."  There are also many D'Indy influences.  If there is anyone out there who loves impressionism and likes Debussy, I recommend this work. The few moments for me outweigh the ongoing tedium of many of the accompanying works.

[Lilas Pastia]

Good rec, schweitzeralan, I'll try to locate that. Another fine 'Sean Symphony' is that of Paul Gilson. A belgian composer, Gilson was born in 1865, a banner year for classical music (Nielsen, Sibelius, Dukas were also born in that year). It's a 4 movement work with descriptive subtitles, each conforming to the standard pattern (Allegretto, allegro etc). I think it has been recorded a few times. Mine is with the Belgian Radio and Television Philharmonic under Rickenbacher. Not a masterpiece, but a very well crafted and peasant work. On this disc it's coupled with another obscure symphony, by August de Boeck. Coincidentally, the latter is also belgian and was born in 1865 too!

[Dundonnell]

Good rec, schweitzeralan, I'll try to locate that. Another fine 'Sean Symphony' is that of Paul Gilson. A belgian composer, Gilson was born in 1865, a banner year for classical music (Nielsen, Sibelius, Dukas were also born in that year). It's a 4 movement work with descriptive subtitles, each conforming to the standard pattern (Allegretto, allegro etc). I think it has been recorded a few times. Mine is with the Belgian Radio and Television Philharmonic under Rickenbacher. Not a masterpiece, but a very well crafted and peasant work. On this disc it's coupled with another obscure symphony, by August de Boeck. Coincidentally, the latter is also belgian and was born in 1865 too!

'Sean Symphony' If you mean 'Sea Symphony', Andre, then I presume that you are referring to Gilson's composition 'The Sea'. The question is whether or not it is actually a symphony. Gilson himself called it 'Four Symphonic Sketches'.

Sorry if I am being pedantic

[The new erato]

Sean has made me confused as well, a long time ago.

[vandermolen]

An unknown composer now who was probably well acquainted with the French musical culture during his lifetime, Phillipe Gaubert's "Symphonie In F," along with his "Chants de la Mer" contain some marvelous moments.  I personally like the Debussyian influence which are quite prominent in the "Symphonie."  There are also many D'Indy influences.  If there is anyone out there who loves impressionism and likes Debussy, I recommend this work. The few moments for me outweigh the ongoing tedium of many of the accompanying works.

Have ordered 'Chants de la Mer' 

[jimmosk]

I have that Syberg disc, and for me the real winner isn't the symphony, but the 1934 Sinfonietta. It manages to link Nielsen and Holmboe (and dates from a year before Holmboe's First), with a bracing but melodically interesting style.  The symphony, from five years later, isn't really any more advanced, but I find it aimless where the sinfonietta is gripping. The third work on the disc, his Adagio for Strings, has a lot of Nielsen but some sentimental Grieglike moments too. I enjoy the disc as a whole, but it's that 1934 work that I return to most often.

[Lethevich]

Have ordered 'Chants de la Mer' 

Great choice, Gaubert is brilliant.

[Lilas Pastia]

'Sean Symphony' If you mean 'Sea Symphony', Andre, then I presume that you are referring to Gilson's composition 'The Sea'. The question is whether or not it is actually a symphony. Gilson himself called it 'Four Symphonic Sketches'.

Sorry if I am being pedantic

What's in a typo   ? In any case, as with other overtly or vaguely programmatic works such as the Pastorale, Fantastique, Italian or Alpine symphonies, we're treading an interesting territory, where impressions mattter as much as intentions. I quote the notes to the Discover disc of Gilson's  "De Zee":

"The Sea is usually considered a programmatic symphony. The order of the four movements does indeed correspond to the conventional scheme. The cyclic use of the principal theme lends a strong sense of unity to the whole. However, it is obvious that the key in this work must be sought in its poetic and visual imagery. As in Claude Debussy's  immortal masterwork of the same title composed ten years later, the title suggest the composer's expressive intentions, although literal description of exact details is not intended"

[vandermolen]

Message from Crotchet: Syberg 'No longer available'.  I bet that Colin has the last copy  

[Christo]

Message from Crotchet: Syberg 'No longer available'.  I bet that Colin has the last copy  

Some time, in the next threehundred years probably, I'll try to make a copy and send it you.    0:)