Havergal Brian.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Ligeti, Xenakis, Boulez, Cage, and other avant-garde composers with huge reputations...

[cilgwyn]

I'm not really 'into' that sort of music,I must admit;but I remember being rather taken by a broadcast of Ligeti's 'Le Grande Macabre',years ago. I think I actually taped it,at the time.
  As to things I wouldn't mind exploring;the BIS Villa Lobos boxed set of the complete 'Choros',would be very nice. I had his Choros No 11 lined up for the charity shop a while back. I think my mother put me off it;but she's elderly,fair play & it is long! I thought I'd give it another go.
  What an amazing piece of music. The intricacy of the orchestration. Like the 'Gothic',very difficult to take in at first. You need to listen a few times to 'map it' all out in your head.
  As to Khatchaturian,maybe I'll give him another go! I used to love his music when I was young. My parents home would be,regularly, shaken to the foundation with Lp's & cassettes of the 'Gothic','Das Siegeslied','Ilya Murometz','Gayaneh','Spartacus',Masquerade,Emerson,Lake & Palmer & Janis Joplin. All full blast!

The Chandos Lp of Bax's 'Winter Legends' had lots of great 'noisy bits' too!

Listening to a complete 1912 pathe recording of Gounod's Romeo & Juliet,now. A 3cd set from the VAI label. Amazing transfers,by that wizard,Ward Marston. Dear g*d,the sets are pricey,though!

And what's this about a 'Brian particle'?!!!

[kishnevi]

I am now the proud owner of a Havergal Brian LP.  Never mind that I haven't had an LP player for about twenty years and don't have one of those converting to MP3 things.  That's what Best Buy is for, after all.

Went to a used record store, started leafing through the vinyl selection for entertainment,  and found myself looking at Havergal Brian on the cover.  It's the LSSO recordings of Symphonies 10 and 21.  The LP jacket is sort of falling apart, but for $3.95 (US) why complain. 

And I would have never expected it.  A resident of Fort Lauderdale interested enough in Havergal Brian back in the LP era would probably be about as common as a menu in Italy that offers spaghetti and meatballs*, although there is enough influence from resident Brits and touristy Brits to make it somewhat better than zero. 

*If you've never been there--the Italians take great culinary pride in explaining to Americans that spaghetti with meatballs is an American invention, and true Italian cuisine knows it not.

[John Whitmore]

I am now the proud owner of a Havergal Brian LP.  Never mind that I haven't had an LP player for about twenty years and don't have one of those converting to MP3 things.  That's what Best Buy is for, after all.

Went to a used record store, started leafing through the vinyl selection for entertainment,  and found myself looking at Havergal Brian on the cover.  It's the LSSO recordings of Symphonies 10 and 21.  The LP jacket is sort of falling apart, but for $3.95 (US) why complain. 

And I would have never expected it.  A resident of Fort Lauderdale interested enough in Havergal Brian back in the LP era would probably be about as common as a menu in Italy that offers spaghetti and meatballs*, although there is enough influence from resident Brits and touristy Brits to make it somewhat better than zero. 

*If you've never been there--the Italians take great culinary pride in explaining to Americans that spaghetti with meatballs is an American invention, and true Italian cuisine knows it not.

If you don't have a record player you can now get this LP refurbished from Klassic Haus either as a CD or as a download. Take a look at their website. Hope you enjoy hearing it - No.10 especially.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

If I remember correctly, the HBS used to have a member living in Fort Lauderdale during the 1980s... Martyn (hbswebmaster) will know (ideally)...

[cilgwyn]

I am now the proud owner of a Havergal Brian LP.  Never mind that I haven't had an LP player for about twenty years and don't have one of those converting to MP3 things.  That's what Best Buy is for, after all.

Went to a used record store, started leafing through the vinyl selection for entertainment,  and found myself looking at Havergal Brian on the cover.  It's the LSSO recordings of Symphonies 10 and 21.  The LP jacket is sort of falling apart, but for $3.95 (US) why complain. 

And I would have never expected it.  A resident of Fort Lauderdale interested enough in Havergal Brian back in the LP era would probably be about as common as a menu in Italy that offers spaghetti and meatballs*, although there is enough influence from resident Brits and touristy Brits to make it somewhat better than zero. 

*If you've never been there--the Italians take great culinary pride in explaining to Americans that spaghetti with meatballs is an American invention, and true Italian cuisine knows it not.

I wish I'd kept mine! Just for the nostalgia/sentimental value of it,I suppose. But it would be nice to have;my first Havergal Brian recording (after my C90 of the Gothic!) It would take me back to my youth.....but,"Oooh,me back!" Maybe,not quite! Of course,you now have the best of both worlds,Jeffrey. You can play the Klassic Haus cd,or download & prop the Lp up in front of you,like I used to do (and some other's apparently!),while you're listening!
  I do think the original Lp cover would have preferable to the rocky 'mountain scape' chosen for Unicorn's reissue;although some of it would been a bit small. Also,I can see some connections there,with Brian's music; ie 'craggy','granitic' (at times).Also,the mountain brings to mind another symphonic storm of a more pictorial,meteorological nature;the one in Strauss's 'Alpine Symphony',which has been mentioned in relation to the tenth a few times in the past;not because there's any real connection,but because they are so different. Brian's being a storm of the mind, I presume? And,at this point,I really DO need to go and look at that book I bought on ebay,again!
  Of course,someone at Unicorn could have just grabbed the first photo,that 'came along'! It certainly,strikes me as a better choice of cover art than the one Lyrita chose for their reissue of Brian's 6 & 16. The original Lp cover seemed to go allot better,with it's contents..........maybe,I should go and bit on the Lp,now! Of course,I'm just nit picking,there & the Lyrita cd isn't JUST brian,anyway!
  Another s/h Brian Lp that would look really lovely,propped up against my old CRT tv's tv stand (while I listen to the cd) would be the emi 8 & 9.with one of the best photographs of Brian,ever (another is the one adjacent to Johan's posts).
  Incidentally,there are some very good photo's of Brian. I particularly like the one of his moustache!
 
 

[hbswebmaster]

Johan,
I'm in Salt Lake City airport, waiting to ship out home so can't confirm definitively, but I haven't posted a newsletter to anywhere in Florida since I've been doing it. A lot of US members now take the electronic version so I couldn't say where they are located. Certainly nobody I've met this week has heard of Elgar or RVW, let alone HB!

[kishnevi]

Johan,
I'm in Salt Lake City airport, waiting to ship out home so can't confirm definitively, but I haven't posted a newsletter to anywhere in Florida since I've been doing it. A lot of US members now take the electronic version so I couldn't say where they are located. Certainly nobody I've met this week has heard of Elgar or RVW, let alone HB!

Not heard of Elgar or RVW....I thought South Florida was a cultural wasteland.  (Listening in fact to RVW's Ninth even as I post this.)
The LP has a date from last year, so whoever sold it to them (of course, there's no saying if it was the original owner or his/her estate) had it up to last spring.    There are some items in the store that were tagged six years or more ago.

[John Whitmore]

Johan,
I'm in Salt Lake City airport, waiting to ship out home so can't confirm definitively, but I haven't posted a newsletter to anywhere in Florida since I've been doing it. A lot of US members now take the electronic version so I couldn't say where they are located. Certainly nobody I've met this week has heard of Elgar or RVW, let alone HB!

They don't like music over there. They are big into The Osmonds.

[John Whitmore]

I wish I'd kept mine! Just for the nostalgia/sentimental value of it,I suppose. But it would be nice to have;my first Havergal Brian recording (after my C90 of the Gothic!) It would take me back to my youth.....but,"Oooh,me back!" Maybe,not quite! Of course,you now have the best of both worlds,Jeffrey. You can play the Klassic Haus cd,or download & prop the Lp up in front of you,like I used to do (and some other's apparently!),while you're listening!    I do think the original Lp cover would have preferable to the rocky 'mountain scape' chosen for Unicorn's reissue;although some of it would been a bit small. Also,I can see some connections there,with Brian's music; ie 'craggy','granitic' (at times).Also,the mountain brings to mind another symphonic storm of a more pictorial,meteorological nature;the one in Strauss's 'Alpine Symphony',which has been mentioned in relation to the tenth a few times in the past;not because there's any real connection,but because they are so different. Brian's being a storm of the mind, I presume? And,at this point,I really DO need to go and look at that book I bought on ebay,again!
  Of course,someone at Unicorn could have just grabbed the first photo,that 'came along'! It certainly,strikes me as a better choice of cover art than the one Lyrita chose for their reissue of Brian's 6 & 16. The original Lp cover seemed to go allot better,with it's contents..........maybe,I should go and bit on the Lp,now! Of course,I'm just nit picking,there & the Lyrita cd isn't JUST brian,anyway!
  Another s/h Brian Lp that would look really lovely,propped up against my old CRT tv's tv stand (while I listen to the cd) would be the emi 8 & 9.with one of the best photographs of Brian,ever (another is the one adjacent to Johan's posts).
  Incidentally,there are some very good photo's of Brian. I particularly like the one of his moustache!
 

What an exciting time you must have had in your youth. Life in the fast lane or what?

[cilgwyn]

What an exciting time you must have had in your youth. Life in the fast lane or what?

Not with my dads Humber Sceptre! Every 200 yards,or so,he  had to get out and fill it up with water. We were regularly overtaken by pedestrians & dead cats. It was quicker standing!
The Renault 4 was even worse. You could see the road through the floor. Mind you,if we'd stuck our feet through we probably could have saved some petrol!
  Not that I particularly minded. All the local kids with cars seemed to have learned their driving skills from watching Starsky & Hutch and the Dukes of Hazzard!
  Watching paint dry,in between records,was a real riot!

The good old days,eh!

[thranx]

*If you've never been there--the Italians take great culinary pride in explaining to Americans that spaghetti with meatballs is an American invention, and true Italian cuisine knows it not.

But you'll never get them to admit that American pizza is better than the Italian version.

[calyptorhynchus]

I;ve just been doing some sums to help me put the HB symphonies on CD to listen to in the car, thought these might be useful. I've started at the end and worked back, and haven't got up to beginning yet, but anyway:

15-18 70 minutes
19-21 75 minutes
Conc for Orchestra and 22-24 56 minutes
25-28  76 minutes
29-32 68 minutes

:-)

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Drive carefully. 

[cilgwyn]

I;ve just been doing some sums to help me put the HB symphonies on CD to listen to in the car, thought these might be useful. I've started at the end and worked back, and haven't got up to beginning yet, but anyway:

15-18 70 minutes
19-21 75 minutes
Conc for Orchestra and 22-24 56 minutes
25-28  76 minutes
29-32 68 minutes

:-)

Nothing like a spin around town,with the windows open,Havergal Brian on the cd player & the bass on,blasting out those heavy HB beats!
It'd take a few circuits,to give 'em the Gothic & you'll get some funny looks from kids!

[cilgwyn]

Especially,when you've got a bicycle!

[cilgwyn]

http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/movies/devil-of-a-time-staging-cursed-symphony-20120715-223zu.html

Hm! Is this entirely serious? Not sure of the likeness! I suppose they couldn't get Hugh Grant?   And did Olga Pringle REALLY say that?
A cinema release,though! I assume I'm the last to know!

Hope the link works! Mine are,all too frequently, more like the missing link

[John Whitmore]

http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/movies/devil-of-a-time-staging-cursed-symphony-20120715-223zu.html

Hm! Is this entirely serious? Not sure of the likeness! I suppose they couldn't get Hugh Grant?   And did Olga Pringle REALLY say that?
A cinema release,though! I assume I'm the last to know!

Hope the link works! Mine are,all too frequently, more like the missing link

Cilgwyn, have you been hibernating to avoid the rain? This has been around for some months now. Keep up old chap............

[cilgwyn]

Cilgwyn, have you been hibernating to avoid the rain? This has been around for some months now. Keep up old chap............

Unfortunately,one of the three other bears,sharing my bed,woke me up,John! Also,the date on the article is pretty new,even if the subject matter IS yesterdays news & believe it,or not this really IS my first glimpse of the actor who played Havergal Brian (and yes,I have heard Beethoven's Fifth! )
To be honest,I think he's okay. It could have been worse. They could have chosen Paul Hogan,and maybe that blonde in Crocodile Dundee (his missus,I believe!) as his wife. Mind you,on second thoughts..............?
  As to Olga Pringle. I,erm, somehow missed that quote!
If she thinks the Gothic should have been buried in a box,I wonder what she thinks should be done with Das Siegeslied?!!!

[cilgwyn]

Cilgwyn, have you been hibernating to avoid the rain? This has been around for some months now. Keep up old chap............

You'll be telling me the Gothic was performed at the Proms,next!

Yeah,right!!!
Now,where's my porridge!!!