Ruders' Gong

Started by Mirror Image, May 28, 2012, 08:16:06 AM

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vandermolen

Quote from: vandermolen on May 28, 2012, 11:58:03 AM
The 'Tranquillo molto' from the Symphony is beautiful.

I meant from the Symphony on Chandos.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

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Mirror Image

Quote from: vandermolen on May 30, 2012, 02:00:11 AM
I meant from the Symphony on Chandos.

Which would be Symphony No. 1 for those of you viewing at home. :)

lescamil

#22
Reviving this thread because Ruders's Solar Trilogy was just performed in Amsterdam and you can listen to it on radio4.nl (I would highly suggest it).

http://www.radio4.nl/gids/2016-06-25/420022/holland-festival-prom

It's a much better performance than the one on Da Capo (which is about as flaccid as a man in a cold shower), but it doesn't quite match the intensity of Segerstam on Chandos. Stenz still gives such an exciting and dense piece a great reading. Shame that some people ruined the beautiful second movement Zenith with coughing in the super quiet moments.
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Archaic Torso of Apollo

Could somebody say a bit more about the 2nd Symphony? I heard bits & pieces of it some time ago, and it sounded interesting.
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lescamil

Quote from: Archaic Torso of Apollo on June 26, 2016, 09:01:23 AM
Could somebody say a bit more about the 2nd Symphony? I heard bits & pieces of it some time ago, and it sounded interesting.

If I remember correctly, it's in the composer's more austere style, which is in direct contrast to the crash and bang sound of his first symphony, Solar Trilogy, etc. Long and melodic lines, pared down orchestration, and single movements are common for this style. I don't remember this symphony too well but I remember enjoying it when I heard it. The piano concerto that it was paired with on that Da Capo CD was also worth hearing, though not as strong as his more recent Piano Concerto No. 2.
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not edward

Quote from: lescamil on June 26, 2016, 12:27:22 PM
If I remember correctly, it's in the composer's more austere style, which is in direct contrast to the crash and bang sound of his first symphony, Solar Trilogy, etc. Long and melodic lines, pared down orchestration, and single movements are common for this style. I don't remember this symphony too well but I remember enjoying it when I heard it. The piano concerto that it was paired with on that Da Capo CD was also worth hearing, though not as strong as his more recent Piano Concerto No. 2.
I'd largely second this, though again, it's been a while since I heard it. I thought the smaller forces suited the material very well, and the whole disc was a thoroughly satisfying experience.
"I don't at all mind actively disliking a piece of contemporary music, but in order to feel happy about it I must consciously understand why I dislike it. Otherwise it remains in my mind as unfinished business."
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Leggiero

#26
My ramblings-on about this composer's Nightshade Trilogy can be found here: https://leggierosite.wordpress.com/2016/03/31/nightshades-and-new-tonality/

[For anyone who may have happened across a near-identical post to this on another forum, yes, I'm shamelessly repeating myself in the hope of generating further discussion!]


Turner

#27
The main items in my small Ruders collection. So far, I vastly prefer the 1st Piano Concerto on Dacapo and the 1st Symphony on Chandos among his works - The Solar Trilogy seems to repeat traits of the 1st Symphony too much, I think. The 1st Violin Concerto on Unicorn is very different in style and quite conservatively lyrical. The Clarinet Concerto at times reminds me of an updated Nielsen one. Among the piano works, I´ve noticed the rather Gothic Sonata 1, Dante Sonata. But there´s still some of the material I´m not very acquainted with.

Personally I don´t plan to buy more within the foreseable future, but quite a lot of new Ruders discs have appeared in recent years, including now his 5th Symphony: https://bridgerecords.com/products/9475

SymphonicAddict



So many remarkable discoveries and rediscoveries these last days, among them the Symphony No. 1 by this composer. Two relentless and chaotic outer movements of imposing belligerance with a contrasting middle movement (I'm joining the short 3rd movement Scherzando prestissimo with Maschera funerale for better understanding). That 2nd movement has a unique beauty. It's like a cosmic portrait, suggesting the magnificence and the apparent quietness of the sidereal space. That was something else. There is a repetitive pattern that enhances the strength of the ideas, almost like minimalism. I liked this symphony more than Solar Trilogy.

foxandpeng

Quote from: SymphonicAddict on August 21, 2019, 04:23:52 PM


So many remarkable discoveries and rediscoveries these last days, among them the Symphony No. 1 by this composer. Two relentless and chaotic outer movements of imposing belligerance with a contrasting middle movement (I'm joining the short 3rd movement Scherzando prestissimo with Maschera funerale for better understanding). That 2nd movement has a unique beauty. It's like a cosmic portrait, suggesting the magnificence and the apparent quietness of the sidereal space. That was something else. There is a repetitive pattern that enhances the strength of the ideas, almost like minimalism. I liked this symphony more than Solar Trilogy.

Thought I would pick this up and also repost from the WAYLT thread. Symphony #1 is excellent, as are all of the Ruders works that I've revisited this week. I've particularly enjoyed Nightshade Trilogy and Symphony #5, but all have been very worthwhile. Spending so much time with Nørgård recently makes Ruders an inevitable corollary, I guess, as both tick similar boxes for me.

Quote from: foxandpeng on November 05, 2021, 03:35:38 AM
PoulRuders
Dreamcatcher
Sound and Simplicity
Symphony #3 'Dreamcatcher'

Odense Symfoniorkester
Bridge


This disc is great. Sound and Simplicity is a great aural prep for #3. Notes from Ruders, below!

The subtitle of my Symphony no. 3 is taken from one of the slow movements of my Serenade (for Accordion and String Quartet, 2004). A Dream Catcher belongs to Native American lore, it is a small loop with a feather attached, a device supposedly trapping the good dreams, letting them filter down to the sleeper.

In my symphony, however, things evolve in a far less benign way.

After a fast-paced "wake-up call", scored for full orchestra, I introduce the "Dream Catcher"-tune from the Serenade, letting it creep up on the listener from behind, played entirely by the strings. Then the tune undergoes a full symphonic transformation, before it "disappears" seamlessly into the second (and last) movement, a Scherzo of extreme velocity and savagery.

One could claim, that what really happens "behind the scenes" in the symphony is the tale of Beauty being devoured by the Beast, a symphonic journey with a less-than happy ending, open to all sorts of individual, metaphorical interpretations.

- Poul Ruders, September 2006
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Tolstoy

amw

The Symphony no. 2 is a very important work for me, both creatively and emotionally. There is nothing else by him that has so far approached either threshold for me but everything I have heard has been at least interesting.

foxandpeng

Quote from: amw on November 05, 2021, 05:22:28 AM
The Symphony no. 2 is a very important work for me, both creatively and emotionally. There is nothing else by him that has so far approached either threshold for me but everything I have heard has been at least interesting.

I'm more familiar with #2 from the symphonies, but #3 and #5 have got their claws in me at the moment. Ibthink Nightshade Trilogy is currently my favourite piece, though.

What a great sound world.
"A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people ... then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one's neighbour — such is my idea of happiness"

Tolstoy

Symphonic Addict

Quote from: foxandpeng on November 05, 2021, 03:46:08 AM
Thought I would pick this up and also repost from the WAYLT thread. Symphony #1 is excellent, as are all of the Ruders works that I've revisited this week. I've particularly enjoyed Nightshade Trilogy and Symphony #5, but all have been very worthwhile. Spending so much time with Nørgård recently makes Ruders an inevitable corollary, I guess, as both tick similar boxes for me.

I've heard all of his symphonies and the ones that struck me like very impressive were the first two. I found the others less engaging. I should revisit them to see if my opinion has changed, though.
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foxandpeng

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on November 05, 2021, 05:53:54 PM
I've heard all of his symphonies and the ones that struck me like very impressive were the first two. I found the others less engaging. I should revisit them to see if my opinion has changed, though.

Here's hoping they make more of an impression this time round! I have been listening to just about everything I can get my hands on, particularly the works I've mentioned, with immense pleasure all week, and find him only marginally behind Nørgård for inventiveness. He isn't Holmboe, but he has real depths, IMO.
"A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people ... then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one's neighbour — such is my idea of happiness"

Tolstoy