Vaughan Williams's Veranda

Started by karlhenning, April 12, 2007, 06:03:44 AM

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Tapio Dimitriyevich Shostakovich

Oops, yes, I meant "pronounce", thx.
I'm currently giving the Tallis Fantasia a try, it's by Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos/LSO, just have downloaded it from emusic. In the (german) wikipedia article I read this piece is one of his most popular ones.

Lethevich

Quote from: Wurstwasser on September 27, 2007, 07:29:33 AM
I'm currently giving the Tallis Fantasia a try, it's by Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos/LSO, just have downloaded it from emusic. In the (german) wikipedia article I read this piece is one of his most popular ones.

It's certainly his most well-known work (even Karajan performed it, I think I recall M mentioning), and very interesting, too. His other "major" (in terms of popularity) orchestral work which isn't a symphony is the Lark Ascending, a violin concerto of sorts.
Peanut butter, flour and sugar do not make cookies. They make FIRE.

sound67

#142
Quote from: Lethe on September 27, 2007, 07:37:10 AM
It's certainly his most well-known work (even Karajan performed it, I think I recall M mentioning)

Furtwängler, Ormandy and Toscanini did, too.
"Vivaldi didn't compose 500 concertos. He composed the same concerto 500 times" - Igor Stravinsky

"Mozart is a menace to musical progress, a relic of rituals that were losing relevance in his own time and are meaningless to ours." - Norman Lebrecht

Tapio Dimitriyevich Shostakovich

Thanks so far, haven't had much time this evening, but listened to the fantasia of a tallis theme 2 times. It's very beautiful and I'm looking forward on listening to it again. Oh and I love the end, where the main melody is played solo by a violin... Just beautiful. :D

Bonehelm

Quote from: sound67 on September 27, 2007, 10:28:28 AM
Furtwängler, Ormandy and Toscanini, too.

sound67, how do you type those 2 dots on top of the a in Furtwangler's name?

Tapio Dimitriyevich Shostakovich

#145
We have those regular letters (in german/austria/suisse äöüÄÖÜß) on german language keyboards, just a keypress here, ä is to the left of #. If you're on Windows: try ALT+0228 (alternatively look into Start -> Run -> charmap).

Tapio Dimitriyevich Shostakovich

Can you name some attributes/overall mood of any single symphony? Example: after a quick (incomplete) listen to the No. 7 (antarctica) I think the Antarctica is mysterious. It's easier to have a pretty easy description at first and finding all gems, exceptions and details later...

Montpellier

#147
Quote from: Wurstwasser on September 28, 2007, 10:19:41 AM
Can you name some attributes/overall mood of any single symphony? Example: after a quick (incomplete) listen to the No. 7 (antarctica) I think the Antarctica is mysterious. It's easier to have a pretty easy description at first and finding all gems, exceptions and details later...
Incidentally, in case you look up a recording it's Sinfonia Antartica.   It was adapted from his music for the Scott of the Antarctic film.


Just a personal view, I still hold the Barbirolli recording in high esteem. 

(and I wish it wouldn't keep bl**dy telling me "last edited" five seconds after I post something then go back (this time by accident and changed nothing), so I'm adding this bit just to justify the last edit line). 

Dundonnell

Quote from: Wurstwasser on September 27, 2007, 06:11:29 AM
Hi people,

I'm a bloody RVW newbie.

1. What orchestral works (I generally like works for big orchestras) would you recommend to start with?

My listening preferences are nordish composers (Sibelius, Pettersson), Bruckner and Mahler. No need to mention Beethoven.

2. I've listened to sym. #7 and the London Symphony once a bit. Both reminded me of Rautavaaras Cantus Arcticus. Is Rautavaara a Williams clone? Or vice versa? ;)

3. How do I spell "vaughan" and is this a second surname?

Hello Wurstwasser!

If you like the music of Sibelius, Pettersson, Bruckner and Mahler, then I would suggest that you try Vaughan Williams symphonies Nos. 4 and 6. Both of which are big, dramatic works-some people think that the 4th is an angry work which reflects the tensions and fears of the 1930s while the 6th is an bitter reflection on the end of the war and the fears for the future of mankind caused by the new atomic age, although VW himself was dismissive of such extra-musical interpretations! The last movement of the 6th never rises above pianissimo and is hauntingly and eerily beautiful. (I particularly like Andrew Davis's version with the BBC Symphony Orchestra).

You should also try VW's underrated 9th symphony, which is a very substantial, enigmatic work, and 'Job-A Masque for Dancing', which is an incredibly powerful work using a very large orchestra, including a thunderous organ episode, to tremendous effect.

As has been said many times on this thread, you can't really go too far wrong with versions of these works. VW has, at least, been extremely fortunate to have so many very successful interpretations by a number of excellent conductors!

Lethevich

Quote from: sound67 on September 27, 2007, 10:28:28 AM
Furtwängler, Ormandy and Toscanini did, too.

The Furtwängler must be fascinating - I will look out for it.

Quote from: Wurstwasser on September 28, 2007, 10:19:41 AM
Can you name some attributes/overall mood of any single symphony? Example: after a quick (incomplete) listen to the No. 7 (antarctica) I think the Antarctica is mysterious. It's easier to have a pretty easy description at first and finding all gems, exceptions and details later...

RVW's symphony cycle does have quite a wide range of explicit moods and styles, but his final three symphonies (IMO) would all fall under the "mysterious" description. This is perhaps partly because the first six can have a programmatic "theme" forced on all of them in some way or another (although RVW would not approve of this). The 8th and 9th I have particular difficulty "pinning down", but to me, this is a good thing, as it makes them less one-dimensional. The beginning of the 9th sounds a little threatening, but it is not as overly "dark" as nos. 4 and 6.

A quick (and subjective) overview: the 1st is a rather standard "dramatic" vocal work, voice-heavy, and slightly oratorio-like. This sounds a little unenthusiastic, but I find it much better than many similar works, and it justifies its length well. The 2nd is playful, colourful and boisterous, with moments of introspection. The 3rd is both beautiful with undercurrents of sadness not found in the 5th. The 4th is RVW's most oppressive sounding work. The 5th is unapologetically beautiful. The 6th is highly dramatic, with contrasts between oppressive and uplifting themes in the first movement, and interestingly structured with the quiet last movement.
Peanut butter, flour and sugar do not make cookies. They make FIRE.

sound67

Quote from: Lethe on September 29, 2007, 12:50:58 AM
The Furtwängler must be fascinating - I will look out for it.

He performed the work several times, but, AFAIK, never recorded it.

Thomas
"Vivaldi didn't compose 500 concertos. He composed the same concerto 500 times" - Igor Stravinsky

"Mozart is a menace to musical progress, a relic of rituals that were losing relevance in his own time and are meaningless to ours." - Norman Lebrecht

Lethevich

Quote from: sound67 on September 29, 2007, 02:42:44 AM
He performed the work several times, but, AFAIK, never recorded it.

Thomas

Agh, curses! I forgot that there isn't a lot of archive material from the era in which he lived - nothing like the amount that broadcasting organisations amassed from the 60s onwards. Thanks for the correction :)
Peanut butter, flour and sugar do not make cookies. They make FIRE.

Benji

QuoteIn the end, of course, it's the music which speaks to us. Gergiev's Mariinsky Orchestra provides much of it in specially recorded extracts – all the Symphonies, Job, Tallis, The Lark

I can't believe nobody picked up on that!  ;D The Mariinsky doing RVW; that is going to be interesting! Something worth turning my telly on for I think.

And whilst i'm here: all the listening to the 8th symphony the last few months must have opened up a door in my head and given me access to...ta dah...Hindemith. I've listened to the Mathis der Maler Symphony and the Symphonic Metamorphoses (incidentally, I often I think I could marry Herbert Blomstedt for his services) almost daily for the last two weeks. Bleedin' fantastic music. I'm just waiting for the postal strike to end so I can receive my copy of this: 


Lethevich

Quote from: The Notorious MOG on October 08, 2007, 04:41:30 PM
I'm just waiting for the postal strike to end so I can receive my copy of this

The strikes are screwing me ATM too :-\
Peanut butter, flour and sugar do not make cookies. They make FIRE.

Catison

Quote from: The Notorious MOG on October 08, 2007, 04:41:30 PM
I can't believe nobody picked up on that!  ;D The Mariinsky doing RVW; that is going to be interesting! Something worth turning my telly on for I think.

And whilst i'm here: all the listening to the 8th symphony the last few months must have opened up a door in my head and given me access to...ta dah...Hindemith. I've listened to the Mathis der Maler Symphony and the Symphonic Metamorphoses (incidentally, I often I think I could marry Herbert Blomstedt for his services) almost daily for the last two weeks. Bleedin' fantastic music. I'm just waiting for the postal strike to end so I can receive my copy of this: 



Interesting comparison with the 8th.  I hadn't noticed a Hindemith comparison before.  I totally agree about Blomstedt.  I love my Trio set.  Thanks for pointing out this new Abbado set, but have you heard Chailly in the Kammermusik?  I am deciding between him and Abbado.
-Brett

Dundonnell

I have just read of the death at the great age of 96 of Ursula Vaughan Williams, Ralph's second wife. Ursula was a very considerable figure in her own right. She befriended VW whilst he was living in Dorking and still looking after his invalid first wife and married the composer after the death of his first wife. During VW's own last few years she encouraged his move back to live in London and his 'Indian Summer' of late compositions which include a number of great works such as the 8th and 9th symphonies and 'Hodie'. Ursula provided the words for the Cantata "The Sons of Light" and for a number of VW's other later works. After his death she worked tirelessly to promote VW's music but also, through the RVW Trust, to encourage the promotion of music by other composers.

There are lengthy(and obviously well-merited) obituaries in today's quality British newspapers. I know that vandermolen corresponded with Ursula and no doubt will wish to comment or her passing.

Dundonnell

See also vandermolen's thread in the General Classical Music Discussion section of this site.

vandermolen

#157
Guild are just issuing (at bargain price) a CD including Koussevitsky conducting Vaughan Williams's 5th Symphony. I can hardly wait to hear this (reviewed in new issue of Gramophone).

http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=3318
"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).

vandermolen

I just listened to the Guild (budget) CD mentioned above of Vaughan Williams's Symphony 5 conducted by Koussevitsky. It is an absolutely fantastic performance; certainly the most sibelian on disc. It is very different to other recordings; a truly great performance in my opinion. There is also a wonderful warmth (as on vinyl) about the transfer of this live 1947 performance.  Don't miss this.  The Tchaikovsky (Francesca da Rimini) and Mussorgsky (Night on Bare Mountain and Khovanschina orch. excerpt.) are also well worth having.
"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).

karlhenning

Quote from: Lethe on September 27, 2007, 07:37:10 AM
It's certainly his most well-known work (even Karajan performed it, I think I recall M mentioning), and very interesting, too.

Yes, wonderful polychoral textures (full strings, vs. a smaller octet, I believe, and a solo quartet) which work best when one is there in the space, from my listening.