Vagn Holmboe (1909-1996)

Started by Guido, March 18, 2009, 06:25:12 AM

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foxandpeng

#900
Quote from: Maestro267 on July 05, 2023, 02:42:07 AMAfter getting three discs of the Holmboe symphony cycle last year I managed to pick up the other three. Two of those discs arrived today.

Nos. 1, 3 & 10
Nos. 6 & 7
No. 2 & "In memoriam" (still to get here)

Very nice. Almost nobody beats Holmboe 😁

Kairos now that you mention him, with Owain Arwell Hughes and the Wales Camerata. There is never a bad time for Holmboe. I think I am in a minority, however, in placing his Symphony #6 as his finest. Not a bad symphony in there, but that stands out for me.
"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

Karl Henning

Quote from: foxandpeng on July 05, 2023, 01:23:31 PMVery nice. Almost nobody beats Holmboe 😁

Kairos now that you mention him, with Owain Arwell Hughes and the Wales Camerata. There is never a bad time for Holmboe. I think I am in a minority, however, in placing his Symphony #6 as his finest. Not a bad symphony in there, but that stands out for me.
I listened to it long ago, so here let me cue it right up:

Holmboe
Symphony № 6, Op. 43 / M. 155 (1943)
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

foxandpeng

Quote from: Karl Henning on July 05, 2023, 01:45:18 PMI listened to it long ago, so here let me cue it right up:

Holmboe
Symphony № 6, Op. 43 / M. 155 (1943)

Seems to me that most preferences land on #8, but good though it is, I still prefer #6. And probably #1 - 3. And maybe #11.

😁
"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

Karl Henning

Quote from: foxandpeng on July 05, 2023, 01:54:31 PMSeems to me that most preferences land on #8, but good though it is, I still prefer #6. And probably #1 - 3. And maybe #11.

😁
My survey was long enough ago, Danny, that I just remember liking each as I heard it; I am thus some distance from fixing upon any favorite.  😇
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

foxandpeng

Quote from: Karl Henning on July 05, 2023, 02:13:12 PMMy survey was long enough ago, Danny, that I just remember liking each as I heard it; I am thus some distance from fixing upon any favorite.  😇

Holding off on deciding any favourites just means more time to listen repeatedly to each one. Can't be a bad deal.

Joining you on #6...
"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

vandermolen

Quote from: Maestro267 on July 05, 2023, 02:42:07 AMAfter getting three discs of the Holmboe symphony cycle last year I managed to pick up the other three. Two of those discs arrived today.

Nos. 1, 3 & 10
Nos. 6 & 7
No. 2 & "In memoriam" (still to get here)
6,7 and 10 are favourites along with 8. The opening movement of Symphony No.4 is another fine one. 8 and 10 were the only ones I owned on LP and have always had a soft spot for them.
"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).

Madiel

Quote from: foxandpeng on July 05, 2023, 01:23:31 PMI think I am in a minority, however, in placing his Symphony #6 as his finest.

Hmm. I don't think it would be my absolute top pick but it is certainly up there. A very satisfying work.
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

Maestro267

No. 2/In memoriam disc arrived today so I finally have the complete orchestral symphonies. Looking forward to getting to know them properly now.

Maestro267

Fascinated by the 3rd Symphony. Two short movements outside with a (relatively) huge sixteen-minute set of variations in the middle. I love these weighty "slow" movements that provide the bulk of the musical argument.

CRCulver

The recent mention of the Symphony No. 6 spurred me to play the BIS recording for the first time in years. The first movement with that Adagio – Allegro – Allegro sequence is very interesting, and shows that Holmboe was slowly working towards the metamorphosis ideas of the Seventh and Eighth. Considering that this work was written in 1947, it's hard not to see the opening Adagio as funeral music for Béla Bartók.

I find the second movement second-rate Holmboe, though. The theme and orchestration make the opening sound like the soundtrack to a psychotic circus clown's murder spree.

Madiel

Given that both movements are built around the same harmonic idea, this is an... interesting viewpoint.
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

krummholz

Quote from: foxandpeng on July 05, 2023, 01:23:31 PMVery nice. Almost nobody beats Holmboe 😁

Kairos now that you mention him, with Owain Arwell Hughes and the Wales Camerata. There is never a bad time for Holmboe. I think I am in a minority, however, in placing his Symphony #6 as his finest. Not a bad symphony in there, but that stands out for me.

Kairos is one of my very favourite Holmboe works... especially Sinfonia II with its brooding, almost mystically meditative atmosphere, the incredible, faster polyphonic interjections (which Hughes REALLY gets right), and the otherworldly ending.

If I had to pick a favourite Holmboe symphony, it would not be #6, though #6 is up there on my list for its extraordinary opening movement. But I would pick #9, hands down. Not an easy work to get into, but ultimately very rewarding.