Havergal Brian.

[springrite]

He still feels responsible.

That's why we love her.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

That's why we love her.

Agreement is always gratifying.

[cilgwyn]

Actually,on a more mundane level,it was probably just the fact that you were looking in the bookshelves for a book on Bruckner and the one of the librarians had put the book about Brian there!

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Actually,on a more mundane level,it was probably just the fact that you were looking in the bookshelves for a book on Bruckner and the one of the librarians had put the book about Brian there!

It was a fateful (and very happy) swap... 

[cilgwyn]

As I said!!!

"I tried to listen to Bruckner again recently. A stretch of serene,dignified music,followed by a huge granitic solemn outburst,then another stretch (and it feels like one!) of serene music,followed by another solemn granitic outburst.......and the next symphony going through the same routine!"

Not to mention Delius! Page after page of meandering musings,most of it low volume,about cuckoos,sleigh rides and summer nights on rivers,with only the occasional passionate outburst breaking the flow!

That's why we Delians love him!

[John Whitmore]

Here's a review of the Peter Hill Brian piano music.
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2014/Jul14/Brian_piano_CC9016CD.htm

[cilgwyn]

I hadn't heard this story before until I found this appended comment by a Dr RG Bullock today while browsing reviews of Arnold Cooke cds. Of course most Brianites will undoubtedly be familiar with it!

"You describe Brian as 'curmudgeonly' and that reminded me of a piece by Robert Simpson I read about thirty years ago. He was describing a visit to Brian's house in Shoreham and an incident when Brian opened his cellar door to look down. Simpson was standing nearby with Brian's wife. "Sometimes I get the urge to shove him down the steps!", she whispered to Simpson (or something to that effect). I think she meant it in jest but I got the impression that the composer could be a bit of a so-and-so".

Not sure if I should quote that in full,but thank you to Dr Bullock (before it gets pulled!! ) for your interesting comments there,and the other chap!. I used to have the Kenneth Eastaugh biography of HB;unfortunately,like a number of HB scores,it went missing,never to be found again. As far as I know it's out of print now and the only one of it's kind;although maybe not strictly speaking an autobiography? I note that one review on Amazon compares it to Schaffer's 'Amadeus',suggesting that you end up viewing Brian "through a glass darkly!" I think I had the Reginald Nettel book too at some point. I believe this was pioneering in certain respects,but the author of the review obviously doesn't think too much of it! I wonder if the Eastaugh is worth obtaining s/h? At least I might know what I'm talking about sometimes!

I also noticed that a biography of Robert Simpson was released in May this year. Released in a paperback edition in June this presumably has some interesting stuff about his time at the BBC,various runs-ins and promotion of you-know-who!! Has anyone got this here I wonder. It's very tempting at only £11.22 for 424 pages,post free. It has one five star review there!

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Thanks for the anecdote, cilgwyn! Very characteristic. I think both Mr and Mrs Brian were strong and self-willed, so they must have been an ideal match... Regarding the Eastaugh biography, I read it twice. It has some interesting bits, but it isn't a memorable read. I have forgotten most of it. Again.

[cilgwyn]

So it could have been Mrs Brian down the old staircase?!! Personally,I think this is just a black humour rhat some couples engage in. But he did get a bit grumpy sometimes,after a few bottles,I gather?!! I also gather that I'm not missing too much by missing out on this volume. The Simpson book sounds more interesting,but I think I will wait until I get it cheaply s/h. (I'll be reading it for nuggets other than Simpson's own music,I fear!) The Schaffer comparison is interesting,if OTT comparison.Poor old Salieri,eh?!! I think that the tendency is to dig out negative aspects and emphasise them in the belief that it will make more entertaining reading. Unfortunately,in some cases mud appears to stick! You just have to be discerning enough to form your own opinion. A bit like watching the news or reading a newspaper. You don't want to take everything that's thrown at you at face value! And of course,with any volume like this,good or bad,your only hearing it secondhand. If someone ever wrote a biography of Mrs Brian,unlikely I fear (!),maybe we would hear allot of negative things about her! My own feeling is that Brian had various issues early on in his life but that he was by no means a bad person. Later on he seems to have mellowed,become more philosophical in outlook and I find the elderly Brian a quite admirable person with a nice turn in dry,self deprecatory humour. In fact,Brian' strong sense of humour throughout his life is one of the things that I particularly like about him and separates him from some of his embittered contemporaries,like Scott and Holbrooke,who could have done with a dash of it themselves. On a personal level it obviously helped to keep him going! And,unlike Scott and Holbrooke (who were more grieviously neglected,to be fair) he died a contented man! Anyway,as Joe E Brown put it,at the end of the movie,'Some like it Hot'......"well nobody's perfect".

[calyptorhynchus]

Re the Robert Simpson biography Cilgwyn mentioned.

In September 2013 on the RS thread I wrote:

"The Power of Robert Simpson by Donald Macauley (a family friend of Simpson) is available from Google Books as an e-book for $10.

I've just finished reading through the main part (still have various appendices to read). I reckon it's well-worth downloading, it certainly has lots of information about Simpson I wasn't aware of before and background to his various compositions."

Is this the same work?

I'd still recommend it, the book is rather naively written by someone who isn't an expert on music or British musical life of the period (but doesn't claim to be). Lot of information in it.

[relm1]

What happened to the Testament recording of Brian's Tigers opera? I don't see it on their website as a new or upcoming release anymore.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

I know someone connected to the project. All seemed to be on course, last time he spoke to me about it (on Facebook).

[Albion]

What happened to the Testament recording of Brian's Tigers opera? I don't see it on their website as a new or upcoming release anymore.

https://www.testament.co.uk/default.aspx?PageID=74

[cilgwyn]

I may be mistaken,but isn't the picture on the front of the box set the one that appeared in the Radio Times when 'The Tigers' was broadcast?

[cilgwyn]

Thanks for the anecdote, cilgwyn! Very characteristic. I think both Mr and Mrs Brian were strong and self-willed, so they must have been an ideal match... Regarding the Eastaugh biography, I read it twice. It has some interesting bits, but it isn't a memorable read. I have forgotten most of it. Again.

It's unfortunate that the only biography of HB is apparently so dull! Still we have his music,don't we!
I do however find it interesting and ironic that one of Reginald Nettel's other books is about Santa Claus! Maybe there is some connection? You never know?! Of course,I was a little to old to believe in Santa Claus by the time I discovered Havergal Brian. I remember it was thanks to that tubby little b****** in the school playground that I finally found out! I had my suspicions of course. Especially after I found that space gun in mothers dressing table! I remember thinking she was a bit old for that kind of thing! Also,she got grumpy and closed the drawer!! Mind you,if I had discovered HB earlier I would have probably lost count of the requests for recordings of unrecorded works floating up the family chimney and thereby,as you might say,literally going up in smoke!

[cilgwyn]

Interesting post!! The very kind the "remove" button was created for! Must keep off the 'juice'! (It was a great space gun,though!!) My 82 year old father reckons a can helps him sleep!! Yes,well............?!!

I shouldn't really post this here,but listening to the first of the pile of Tubin cds that came through the letterbox today,and particularly No 6 (after the marvelous No2) which is only the second one I've listened to,so far. Some of this is very loud and exciting,in a visceral kind of way. Not bombastic at all,imho. But it did make me think of John and his love of all things Khatchaturian......except that Tubin unlike Khatchaturian has depth! And let's face it,there's nothing wrong with music being noisy as long as it's noisy for a very good reason.Although,I might make an exception for John's power tool crazed neighbours! (Interesting that the girl in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre passed away this week!) Leave those poor,quiet,harmless trees alone,I say!!!

I also went on A Vagn Holmboe binge! I am very impressed by this composer,but I was a little worried about some of the posts about No 4 on the GMG Holmboe thread. There seems to be a consensus of opinion that No4 is Holmboe's weakest symphony. It's also his least popular! What really worried me was the fact that it's a choral symphony and some of the posts seem to imply that it was loud,on the bombastic side and might even sound a bit like a certain other Fourth symphony that isn't too popular with some people! In fact,by the time the package came I was thinking.........is this (gulp!) going to be a Danish Das Siegeslied?!! As it turns out Holmboe's Fourth is allot quieter in places. Not that some of it isn't noisy,but it doesn't need one of those old warnings on the front about damaging things,like some of those early cds did! In fact,after listening to Das Siegeslied,I might even go so far as to suggest winding down to Holmboe's Fourth,then some Jon Leifs for general relaxation!!

Of course,Holmboe's Fourth is subtitled "Sinfonia Sacra",so it's not entirely surprising really! Those GMG posts did get me going though!!

This is all calyptorhyncus's fault,mind!!

[cilgwyn]

Listening to some Russian nationalists (the music kind!) from the late 19thc I couldn't resist the Klassik Haus resoration of Rimsky Korsakov's Antar Symphony,coupled with Miaskovsky's Twenty First;both conducted by Morton Gould! These recordings,are rated very highly indeed by some. In fact,the Gould Antar is regarded as one of the finest ever. First released on RCA( and never reissued by them) I downloaded them from Klassik Haus yesterday,coupling them on a cdr with The Tale of Tsar Saltan suite (& the Bumblebee!) in a recording made by Ashkenazy,in the 80s (I think). I was a bit worried that the earlier recordings might sound their age in juxtaposition with the newer ones. My fears were unfounded. In fact the older Morton Gould recordings probably sounded even better (less resonance,more detail) in some ways than the newer ones. I wonder if vandermolen knows about these superb transfers? (Although he has a 'Bearac' cd transfer,apparently!) Absolutely,superb performances. Possibly the best I have ever heard and in magnificent sound for the era. The Miaskovsky 21 even beats the Measham Unicorn performance,it's that good! RCA should be absolutely ashamed of not reissuing these performances. Another triumph for Klassik Haus it appears and a fraction of the price of the Bearac transfer,which is only available as a cd!

Can't wait for The Tigers Testament release. This will happen in the Autumn,sometime,I presume? I can't find a release date on their website (I DID go to Specsavers!!)!

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Thanks for the info, cilgwyn! I usually get an email from Klassic Haus with their latest releases, but I missed this. I love Myaskovsky. I might well spend some money there...

[John Whitmore]

Listening to some Russian nationalists (the music kind!) from the late 19thc I couldn't resist the Klassik Haus resoration of Rimsky Korsakov's Antar Symphony,coupled with Miaskovsky's Twenty First;both conducted by Morton Gould! These recordings,are rated very highly indeed by some. In fact,the Gould Antar is regarded as one of the finest ever. First released on RCA( and never reissued by them) I downloaded them from Klassik Haus yesterday,coupling them on a cdr with The Tale of Tsar Saltan suite (& the Bumblebee!) in a recording made by Ashkenazy,in the 80s (I think). I was a bit worried that the earlier recordings might sound their age in juxtaposition with the newer ones. My fears were unfounded. In fact the older Morton Gould recordings probably sounded even better (less resonance,more detail) in some ways than the newer ones. I wonder if vandermolen knows about these superb transfers? (Although he has a 'Bearac' cd transfer,apparently!) Absolutely,superb performances. Possibly the best I have ever heard and in magnificent sound for the era. The Miaskovsky 21 even beats the Measham Unicorn performance,it's that good! RCA should be absolutely ashamed of not reissuing these performances. Another triumph for Klassik Haus it appears and a fraction of the price of the Bearac transfer,which is only available as a cd!

Can't wait for The Tigers Testament release. This will happen in the Autumn,sometime,I presume? I can't find a release date on their website (I DID go to Specsavers!!)!

I haven't heard this. Must get hold of it. I've emailed Curt to tell him you are pleased.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Just listened to the sample - yes, 'Antar' sounds excellent, but the Miaskovsky sounds amazing.


P.S. Just bought it.