Miloslav Kabelac(1908-79)

Started by Dundonnell, February 11, 2012, 10:41:18 AM

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cilgwyn

#80
February 27, 2012, 12:19:34 PM
Quote from: vandermolen on February 25, 2012, 01:49:08 AM
Wife and daughter being out 'Mystery of Time' is on at top volume here again this morning (hope the neighbours enjoy it  ;D). The propulsive middle section reminded me of Honegger's 'Pacific 231'.
At times like this,I'm glad you're there and I'm here! :o
Slip a months supply of ear plugs through their letter box & they'll love you even more!!! ;D

Rinaldo

#81
March 14, 2012, 09:01:39 PM
I actually wish that Mysterium času / Mystery of time never left its haunting initial stage. I could listen to that non-development for hours. When the music switches gears, I lose most of my original interest.
"The truly novel things will be invented by the young ones, not by me. But this doesn't worry me at all."
~ Grażyna Bacewicz

Rinaldo

#82
July 13, 2012, 09:16:39 PM
Quote from: Rinaldo on March 14, 2012, 09:01:39 PM
I actually wish that Mysterium času / Mystery of time never left its haunting initial stage. I could listen to that non-development for hours. When the music switches gears, I lose most of my original interest.

Okay, scratch that. With a ten-foot, acid-filled marker.

Last week, I gave Mystery of Time a few more listens. And on top of that, three in a row during the past hour or so as I just couldn't restrain myself from hitting repeat.

It. Is. Amazing. Right. Through. To. The. End.

I've learned to embrace the musical development (which arches in an entirely different direction than I would have originally hoped for) and now the piece feels so complete, so encompassing. I perceive it as a chronicle of the universe going from the Big Bang to the Big Chill, which makes the opening passage even more mysterious (as time didn't exist before the universe went "wazzzzup!", right?). But Kabeláč was fond of the Bible so I'd say the intro is conjuring the idea of the elemental soup already being stirred.
"The truly novel things will be invented by the young ones, not by me. But this doesn't worry me at all."
~ Grażyna Bacewicz

vandermolen

#83
July 14, 2012, 02:06:03 AM
Quote from: Rinaldo on July 13, 2012, 09:16:39 PM
Okay, scratch that. With a ten-foot, acid-filled marker.

Last week, I gave Mystery of Time a few more listens. And on top of that, three in a row during the past hour or so as I just couldn't restrain myself from hitting repeat.

It. Is. Amazing. Right. Through. To. The. End.

I've learned to embrace the musical development (which arches in an entirely different direction than I would have originally hoped for) and now the piece feels so complete, so encompassing. I perceive it as a chronicle of the universe going from the Big Bang to the Big Chill, which makes the opening passage even more mysterious (as time didn't exist before the universe went "wazzzzup!", right?). But Kabeláč was fond of the Bible so I'd say the intro is conjuring the idea of the elemental soup already being stirred.

I find it very moving when the tempo begins to slow down towards the end. With Bate Symphony No 4 this has been one of the great recent discoveries for me.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

cilgwyn

#84
September 15, 2012, 12:45:04 PM
Quote from: vandermolen on July 14, 2012, 02:06:03 AM
I find it very moving when the tempo begins to slow down towards the end. With Bate Symphony No 4 this has been one of the great recent discoveries for me.
I'm now on my second listen to Kabelac's Fifth symphony. I will listen to 'The Mystery of Time' again,afterwards! This is actually the first time I have heard this composer. I finally made some cdrs this evening & I am listening now!
Marvellous! The Fifth symphony is quite something :o & when you've heard as much over the years as I have,it has to stand out a bit! The downloads are from AMF,by the way & some praise has to be in order for the singer! Wow! This must be a heck of a part to learn!
  Funnily enough,this Symphony actually,for some reason,evoked memories of a broadcast of Patric Standford's Fifth Symphony. A marvellous,somewhat surreal score,sung gloriously by Joan Rodgers. The stodgy,humourless critics panned it! The miserable sods! >:( Of course,I'm not suggesting any similarities;but they are both very original,striking scores which both have very challenging parts for a female soloist.
  I also downloaded the Dobias Second Symphony,which Dundonnell seems to rate very highly!

Rinaldo

#85
October 04, 2012, 02:06:30 PM
I've attended a fantastic performance of Kabeláč's Reflections tonight. It opened a programme that climaxed with a rousing Beethoven's Eight (the timpanist literally headbanged his way through the final movement) but I couldn't stop thinking about the profound experience of finally hearing Kabeláč's music live. I wish he was performed more, at least in his homeland >:(

There was an older man sitting in a row behind me who, during one of the pauses, uttered "terrible.. terrible.." to his friends — I've almost jumped out of my seat and strangled him! I couldn't believe the difference in perception of such a wondrous piece. I haven't heard Reflections prior to the concert but now I can't wait to hear them again.
"The truly novel things will be invented by the young ones, not by me. But this doesn't worry me at all."
~ Grażyna Bacewicz

Rinaldo

#86
October 05, 2012, 04:39:45 AM
Well, some good news — there's a complete symphonic cycle in the works, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Marko Ivanović. Finally!
"The truly novel things will be invented by the young ones, not by me. But this doesn't worry me at all."
~ Grażyna Bacewicz

vandermolen

#87
October 06, 2012, 12:39:18 AM
Quote from: Rinaldo on October 05, 2012, 04:39:45 AM
Well, some good news — there's a complete symphonic cycle in the works, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Marko Ivanović. Finally!

Very good news and wonderful to hear his music live. Is there a recording of 'Reflections'? 'Mystery of Time' is one of the great discoveries of the last year for me.  I never tire of plying and find the sequence where the momentum starts to slow down, towards the end, to be very moving.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Rinaldo

#88
October 06, 2012, 05:50:01 AM
Quote from: vandermolen on October 06, 2012, 12:39:18 AM
Very good news and wonderful to hear his music live. Is there a recording of 'Reflections'? 'Mystery of Time' is one of the great discoveries of the last year for me.  I never tire of plying and find the sequence where the momentum starts to slow down, towards the end, to be very moving.

Reflections are available on this disc:

[asin]B000024WC0[/asin]
which I've yet to acquire. Worth getting for the 4th symphony alone, or so I've been told.
"The truly novel things will be invented by the young ones, not by me. But this doesn't worry me at all."
~ Grażyna Bacewicz

The new erato

#89
October 06, 2012, 06:09:51 AM
Quote from: Rinaldo on October 05, 2012, 04:39:45 AM
Well, some good news — there's a complete symphonic cycle in the works, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Marko Ivanović. Finally!
Very interesting.  What label is that?

Rinaldo

#90
October 06, 2012, 07:03:41 AM
Quote from: The new erato on October 06, 2012, 06:09:51 AM
Very interesting.  What label is that?

Not sure, I just stumbled upon this short notice from the Czech radio. There's a video interview embedded (in Czech) but the conductor talks only about the artistic merits of Kabeláč and the difficulties in performing his music.
"The truly novel things will be invented by the young ones, not by me. But this doesn't worry me at all."
~ Grażyna Bacewicz

The new erato

#91
October 06, 2012, 07:12:53 AM
Quote from: Rinaldo on October 06, 2012, 07:03:41 AM
Not sure, I just stumbled upon this short notice from the Czech radio. There's a video interview embedded (in Czech) but the conductor talks only about the artistic merits of Kabeláč and the difficulties in performing his music.
OK; thanks. I hope it's not cpo; that will mean we'll have to wait for 10 years......

vandermolen

#92
October 06, 2012, 11:06:32 PM
Quote from: Rinaldo on October 06, 2012, 05:50:01 AM
Reflections are available on this disc:

[asin]B000024WC0[/asin]
which I've yet to acquire. Worth getting for the 4th symphony alone, or so I've been told.

That's great news - especially as I have that CD  :o

On a separate note I wish that Supraphon would issue there fine old recording of Kalabis's 'Sinfonia Pacis' (Symphony No 2) on CD. There is a recording by Smetacek but it was not as good. There is a wonderful tolling bell like passage at the end.  Sorry for OT comment.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Dundonnell

#93
October 20, 2012, 03:24:08 PM Last Edit: October 20, 2012, 03:30:50 PM by Dundonnell
Returning to this thread after my eight months of all-consuming, "obsessional" cataloguing ;D ;D........

I am amazed but delighted that it is still running, absolutely delighted that Jeffrey is still referring to 'Mystery of Time' as his "discovery of the year" :) :), and totally overwhelmed that for Rinaldo it went from "losing interest" in March to it all clicking for him(so to speak) in July :) :) :)

You all know by this time what I think of the piece ;D ;D ;D

I would reiterate though that if you compare the two readings I know (something I seldom do ;D)-the Ancerl of 1957 and the Vladimir Valek of 2008-you cannot fail to be struck that, although the Valek is in modern and clearly vastly superior sound quality, that latter conductor takes us through the piece too "carefully", it is a measured reading, studied, a little too subdued. The Ancerl, on the other hand, has such a sense of tension screwed up to the maximum degree of intensity, of such powerful and inexorable progression through the work that I can forgive the inferior sound quality.  It proves again that Ancerl WAS A SUPERB CONDUCTOR :)

Dundonnell

#94
October 20, 2012, 04:03:49 PM
Guess what I am just now listening to again.....for the first time in months ??? ;D ;D ;D

The passage around 7 minutes into the work....as the tempo steadily increases and the tension rises higher and higher, there is a modulation and then the trumpets blast through the rest of the orchestra as the basic beat is sustained, there is a brief pause and both resume with even greater ferocity until the timpani thunder out a counter-blast.....

WOW ;D ;D ;D

Rinaldo

#95
October 21, 2012, 09:17:01 AM
Quote from: Dundonnell on October 20, 2012, 03:24:08 PMThe Ancerl, on the other hand, has such a sense of tension screwed up to the maximum degree of intensity, of such powerful and inexorable progression through the work that I can forgive the inferior sound quality.  It proves again that Ancerl WAS A SUPERB CONDUCTOR :)

I'm usually unable to appreciate a recording that has poor sound quality (it puzzles me how people are able to argue profoundly about orchestral recordings made in the 30s or 40s.. for me the music is barely there) but this is not the case. While having a shiny, hiss-free SACD would be lovely, the Ančerl recording sounds so complete one can only wonder how it could be bettered.

But I'd kill to hear Mystery of Time live (and done well, obviously). It's been a few weeks since I've been to that performance of Reflections I've mentioned earlier and I still have flashbacks to what I've felt in the concert hall.
"The truly novel things will be invented by the young ones, not by me. But this doesn't worry me at all."
~ Grażyna Bacewicz

georg

#96
May 01, 2014, 02:43:03 AM
Hi!

I play this piece (Mystery of Time - Pasacaglia for large orchestra, op.31) on 23.5.14 in Vienna with the RadioSinfonieOrchester. I am the timpanist, and very looking forward to it. But i need a score. I cannot find it at all.
If anyone has an educated guess?

Karl Henning

#97
May 01, 2014, 04:37:00 AM
Very nice, Georg!

To your query, though, I haven't a clue.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Brian

#99
May 01, 2014, 06:09:37 AM
Quote from: georg on May 01, 2014, 02:43:03 AM
Hi!

I play this piece (Mystery of Time - Pasacaglia for large orchestra, op.31) on 23.5.14 in Vienna with the RadioSinfonieOrchester. I am the timpanist, and very looking forward to it. But i need a score. I cannot find it at all.
If anyone has an educated guess?

How are all the other musicians finding parts? By the way, that is very exciting. Mystery of Time is a thrilling piece.
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