Sir Colin Davis has died

Started by knight66, April 14, 2013, 01:40:12 PM

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Quote from: knight66 on April 15, 2013, 12:44:33 AM

As an aside, if you want a Child of Our Time, I would definitely go for his earlier Phillips recording as against the later LSO live. The solo singing is superior and involving, the choir very good.

Mike

Davis recorded A Child of Our Time three times (LSO, Dresden, LSO Live). I agree that the LSO Philips recording is the best one of the lot.


jwinter

Sad news indeed.  I chose his beautiful set of late Mozart symphonies to civilize today's commute... lovely recordings...

[asin]B000TM0H5C[/asin]
The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils.
The motions of his spirit are dull as night,
And his affections dark as Erebus.
Let no such man be trusted.

-- William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

vandermolen

#22
Quote from: Scots John on April 15, 2013, 01:28:26 AM
+1  I agree - his Sibelius is outstanding, although I have still to get the LSO L:ive cycle, which I've been hankering after for a wee while...time to get it NOW I guess.  He was the best living Sibelian before he went on  permanent leave.

There is also a terrific 'Tapiola' (RCA I think) and an excellent Vaughan Williams Symphony No 6, which I saw him conduct live.
[asin]B00000IFOG[/asin]
[asin]B003YMHRTS[/asin]
"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).

kishnevi

#23
Quote from: knight66 on April 15, 2013, 12:44:33 AM
He seemed to come to Neilsen, Bruckner and Mahler relatively late. It is interesting to see the repertoire gaps in what some conductors of long standing seem to perform. I have not tried to drill down into the live performances, and their recorded repertoire may well not be representative of what they have been performing. But I have read the odd comment here and there to indicate that Sir Colin was very choosy of the works by the above three that he took on. Neilsen was a vey late adoption i gather when he was already well over 80. I was looking through sites to see what might surprise me and I found a Mahler 8 on CD that was pretty well reviewed. I don't recall mention of it here for example. This, plus a Missa Solemnis are winging their way to me. Something extra to remember him by.

As an aside, if you want a Child of Our Time, I would definitely go for his earlier Phillips recording as against the later LSO live. The solo singing is superior and involving, the choir very good. Ditto Peter Grimes.

Mike

I assume you didn't order from the vendor who is offering a used copy of the Mahler for $537.
(Actually on investigation, the only reasonably priced alternative for that recording seems to be Amazon itself.  Now I need to find something else to throw in the shopping cart to get free shipping.....)

His recording of Messiah was one of the first recordings I got;  I don't remember having much else of his, actually:
--the LSO Live recording of Benvenuto Cellini,  the LSO Live Sibelius set--Kullervo was the standout there for me--the LSO Live Falstaff (from the same performances Mandryka mentioned, I assume).  Other LSO Live that left me feeling meh, in contrast to the aforementioned--Fidelio,  Haydn's Creation,  Verdi Requiem, Damnation of Faust. Probably more if I went through my CDs--there's got to be some Mozart there!

knight66

#24
The Missa I got for £2 plus postage, the Mahler  £9 plus postage. Some folk are very hopeful.

I have been reading about his Walton 1st, sounds like it would be superb. That one is on Spotify, so the credit card can stop throbbing for a while.

Twitter has been full of lovely messages, not a single negative word.

I have the Kulervo and I have yet to come to terms with the piece. But I do agree over the Falstaff which is like quicksilver. Cosi and Figaro, Berlioz TeDeum as well as two Messe de Mort. Otello, LSO live Elgar 1 , Bruckner 9...so many recordings that are favourites.

Mike

DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

kishnevi

#25
Quote from: knight66 on April 15, 2013, 08:46:57 AM
The Missa I got for £2 plus postage, the Mahler  £9 plus postage. Some folk are very hopeful.

I have been reading about his Walton 1st, sounds like it would be superb. That one is on Spotify, so the credit card can stop throbbing for a while.

Twitter has been full of lovely messages, not a single negative word.

I have the Kulervo and I have yet to come to terms with the piece. But I do agree over the Falstaff which is like quicksilver. Cosi and Figaro, Berlioz TeDeum as well as two Messe de Mort. Otello, LSO live Elgar 1 , Bruckner 9...so many recordings that are favourites.

Mike

The Mahler cost me $10.19; because I ordered it with the Telemann I got free shipping.
I forgot about his LSO Bruckner series--have that, but truth to tell, I don't really like it.
And of course I have Decca (Philips) Complete Mozart Opera box,  in which all seven of the "big name" operas are his recordings, plus a couple of the smaller ones.  But the only one of those I've actually listened to is Nozze de Figaro.

The recordings of his I'm most interested in are probably his Philips Berlioz cycle, of which (come to think of it) I have some already--Sym. Fantastique, Sym. Funebre; Harold in Italy--as a double CD.  I remember hearing the Troyens from that cycle many years ago; it impressed me deeply.

knight66

I have been thinking through what Davis discs I have. Here is one I have only rarely heard mentioned. In the 1960s Davis took a post with the Sadlers Wells Opera, later the ENO, one of his first productions was an unexpected hit, Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex. This is a favourite piece of mine. I sang in the chorus in concert. It was tricky to learn as we were stuck with those awful part scores with 120 bars out etc and no piano accompaniment. But over 30 years later slabs of it are still lodged in the brain.

EMI recorded Davis and his cast, it really is excellent. This is Oedipus played for drama, not as hieratic ceremony. Ronald Dowd is excellent in the name part and everyone sings up a storm with the male chorus punchy and accurate. The narration is in English, I do prefer it in French, but it is not a deal breaker.

It only emerged from the EMI vaults a few years ago after almost a generation of silence.

Again, listening to it I so enjoyed the prominent woodwind flavouring that Stravinsky wrote, it is a real find of a recording.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

MishaK

I heard Davis a few times live in New York with NYPO and with LSO. Most memorable were his Mozart and Sibelius with NYPO. In those concerts he also first introduced me to the artistry of Thomas Quasthoff (Mahler Wunderhorn songs) and Soile Isokoski (Sibelius' Luonnotar).

knight66

Quote from: sanantonio on April 15, 2013, 11:41:27 AM
I think I have the same recording.  Is Sir Ralph Richardson the narrator?

Yes, he is.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

madaboutmahler

Was very sad when I read this news last night.
A truly inspirational conductor who has left us the blessing of his beautiful legacy.

I remember seeing him conduct the Pastoral once, with so much life and humanity. Both qualities are so easily and consistently found in every performance I have heard from him recorded as well.
RIP.
"Music is ... A higher revelation than all Wisdom & Philosophy"
— Ludwig van Beethoven

jlaurson

Appreciation of Sir Colin Davis through a selection of recordings:

"To pick a dozen recordings from Sir Colin Davis' discography that do his life, work, and art justice is either terribly easy (because there are so many) or terribly difficult (because twelve are so few)..."

In Memoriam: Hearing Sir Colin Davis (1927 - 2013)



http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2013/04/in-memoriam-hearing-sir-colin-davis.html

Parsifal

This, I believe, is the first classical recording I ever purchased.  Superb!


Dancing Divertimentian

RIP to my favorite Berlioz conductor bar none. I still get the smiles every time I put on something from that old Philips Complete Berlioz cube. Probably my greatest classical purchase ever.




[asin]B000093OSH[/asin]
Veit Bach-a baker who found his greatest pleasure in a little cittern which he took with him even into the mill and played while the grinding was going on. In this way he had a chance to have the rhythm drilled into him. And this was the beginning of a musical inclination in his descendants. JS Bach

Mirror Image

Quote from: Dancing Divertimentian on April 15, 2013, 06:17:59 PM
RIP to my favorite Berlioz conductor bar none.

Mine too, DD. I owe my admiration of Berlioz's music to Davis whose Philips set I 'cut my teeth with' so to speak. I've come to enjoy Berlioz from several other conductors but none of them have meant more to me than Davis.

Coopmv

He was a great conductor and I have many of his recordings on Philips, both on LP and on CD.  I was first attracted to his conducting even before I was drawn to Karajan.  RIP.

Coopmv

It certainly looks like most conductors whose recordings I will buy have passed on.  I have no interests in any of the young conductors ...

MishaK

That's too bad you're missing out on some future greats like Deneve.

Parsifal

Quote from: Coopmv on April 19, 2013, 06:56:52 PM
It certainly looks like most conductors whose recordings I will buy have passed on.  I have no interests in any of the young conductors ...

That's sad, given that there are so many brilliant musicians working today.

knight66

Quote from: Coopmv on April 19, 2013, 06:56:52 PM
It certainly looks like most conductors whose recordings I will buy have passed on.  I have no interests in any of the young conductors ...

You are missing out big time, there are many excellent ones. Some of them are conductors who Colin Davis mentored.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

jlaurson

#39
Quote from: MishaK on April 19, 2013, 07:11:55 PM
That's too bad you're missing out on some future greats like Deneve.
Quote from: Parsifal on April 19, 2013, 08:52:22 PM
That's sad, given that there are so many brilliant musicians working today.

Quote from: knight66 on April 19, 2013, 09:25:24 PM
You are missing out big time, there are many excellent ones. Some of them are conductors who Colin Davis mentored.

Mike

Don't feed the troll!


And part of my in Memoriam Colin Davis listening:

W.T. Mozart
Don Giovanni
Sir Colin Davis / Royal Opera House
Wixell, Roni, Arroyo, Burrows, Te Kanawa,
Ganzarolli, Van Allen, Freni
Philips

German link - UK link

You'd look at this and, without any particular Davis-penchant or memory, might think "Meh". Part of the Philips-Mozart-by-the-Meter... fairly unknown singers (except for Te Kanawa and Freni in minor roles; pace Arroyo)... but it's much lovelier or rather: much more sparkly and vivid than "Meh"! Some of the female voices are a bit fruity-pungent with their vibrato... and the harpsichord doesn't sound great but those are minor issues.