Do you like the Symphonies of Bax?

[aligreto]

I love all the symphonies by Bax. He is one of my favourite composers. The most approachable is No.3 which has a beautiful poetic Epilogue section. I discovered it on LP in the university record library when I was a student and I would listen to it over and over again (LSO, Downes - never released on CD). No.5 is my other favourite and perhaps the most coherent and least rambling of them all - I've  seen it performed live to a largely empty Albert Hall in London. I find them memorable and love the 'legendary' Celtic twilight atmosphere of them. If you can enter enter Bax's sound world the symphonies can give great pleasure. There is a sense of looming catastrophe hanging over Symphony 2 which greatly appeals to me. I think that Bax wrote it following a disastrous love affair and it demonstrates a brooding, oppressive and claustrophobic atmosphere. So, I think they are all great but I'd start with symphonies 3 and 5. I saw his fine tone poem 'Nympholept' used as background music for a TV documentary on J.R.R. Tolkein, the author of 'Lord of the Rings' and Bax's music evokes a kind of mythical world which, to me, is part of his appeal. I was recently in Tintagel, Cornwall on holiday and, of course, had Bax's eponymous tone-poem going through my head as I walked along the cliffs!

PS I like Cyril Scott too - especially the Piano Concerto 1 which has a distinctly Chinese feel to it and the powerful Symphony 'Neptune', influenced by the Titanic disaster I think.

Nice post 

Tintagel was the first Bax work that I ever heard.

[Andante]

Yes I do but have not played any for at least 12-18 mths, I shall remedy that tonight. Thanks for jogging my memory. 

[vandermolen]

Coincidentally was listening to Symphony 1 as I switched on the computer. The finest performance conducted by Myer Fredman features in a newly released Lyrita boxed set 'British Symphonies'.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/British-Symphonies-London-Philharmonic-Orchestra/dp/B01H5GE0R0/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1474268574&sr=1-1&keywords=british+symphonies

It is a short, violent and characteristically brooding 'legendary' work with moments of intense poetry. The performance is also available on a single CD release with Raymond Leppard's also incomparable performance of Bax's final symphony - the underrated No.7 (picture to follow I hope).
[asin]B000027QWX[/asin]

[springrite]

My current favorites are Spring Fire and Symphony #7, with a last movement so reminiscent of Mahler (indeed a few passages obviously "stolen" from Mahler.)

[vandermolen]

My current favorites are Spring Fire and Symphony #7, with a last movement so reminiscent of Mahler (indeed a few passages obviously "stolen" from Mahler.)

I must listen to Spring Fire again (you could change your GMG name to 'firespring'  ).

As for Symphony 7, I agree that the last movement is wonderful and the Epilogue is intensely moving, especially in Raymond Leppard's performance above. The ending is indeed reminiscent of Mahler and also the poignant finale of Malcolm Arnold's 9th Symphony.

[Reckoner]

Bax remains on my 'to listen' list, but I have heard the 1st Symphony. There is this combination of lyrical, expressive lines along with intermittent, cacophonous outbursts which is strangely captivating. And then there is just that sound that opens the Lento - and it is entirely intoxicating.

[Androcles]

Bax is a composer I return to from time to time. I like the first three symphonies. The later symphonies interest me less, although of those No. 6 is probably the one that stands the best chance of getting played in my player.

The first two symphonies are gloriously moody and violent, unusually so for British music of the time. I believe that the 1st Symphony is under the influence of the Irish war of Independence, something that greatly troubled the composer. The deeply atmospheric slow movement suggests something of the tragedy of those events. The 2nd Symphony is perhaps even more violent, and basically just a very large and powerful piece with an organ. The 3rd Symphony is probably better than either, but less striking on first hearing. All three are at times fairly memorable, but for me, not consistently so. I have found that Bax's music is immediately appealing, but repeated hearings rarely reveal hidden secrets/structures. All the rewards are pretty much on the surface with this music.

Some of the tone poems are well worth hearing, especially The Garden of Fand. The genre is commonly considered to play to his strengths, and thats probably fair.

Of other composers, he reminds me most of Gustav Holst. In the orchestration and sheer violence of some of the music, he sometimes reminds me of Brian. The symphonies are far more conventional than those of Brian, though. If compared with Sibelius, Bax comes a cropper.

All in all, a good composer worth hearing, but not quite top division. In British music, symphonies by Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Tippett probably take precedence, as do a few of the symphonies of Brian, Simpson and Hoddinott. I think Hoddinott could well be the most underrated British composer.

[Ken B]

Bax is a composer I return to from time to time. I like the first three symphonies. The later symphonies interest me less, although of those No. 6 is probably the one that stands the best chance of getting played in my player.

The first two symphonies are gloriously moody and violent, unusually so for British music of the time. I believe that the 1st Symphony is under the influence of the Irish war of Independence, something that greatly troubled the composer. The deeply atmospheric slow movement suggests something of the tragedy of those events. The 2nd Symphony is perhaps even more violent, and basically just a very large and powerful piece with an organ. The 3rd Symphony is probably better than either, but less striking on first hearing. All three are at times fairly memorable, but for me, not consistently so. I have found that Bax's music is immediately appealing, but repeated hearings rarely reveal hidden secrets/structures. All the rewards are pretty much on the surface with this music.

Some of the tone poems are well worth hearing, especially The Garden of Fand. The genre is commonly considered to play to his strengths, and thats probably fair.

Of other composers, he reminds me most of Gustav Holst. In the orchestration and sheer violence of some of the music, he sometimes reminds me of Brian. The symphonies are far more conventional than those of Brian, though. If compared with Sibelius, Bax comes a cropper.

All in all, a good composer worth hearing, but not quite top division. In British music, symphonies by Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Tippett probably take precedence, as do a few of the symphonies of Brian, Simpson and Hoddinott. I think Hoddinott could well be the most underrated British composer.

I agree with most of this (not the Elgar bit or the last sentence!) 1-3 are much better. I find Bax's chamber music is his best. Elgar too. Simpson was a master symphonist.

[arpeggio]

Why do you like the symphonies of Bax?

Well that question can be divided into two parts.

The first part is why.  Why? Why? Why?  A question that has been confounding theologians and philosophers thousands of years.  Why? Why? Why?

The second part of the question is do you like the symphonies of Bax? The answer to that question is yes.   

Bax is number 13th in my CD library.  I have recordings of eighty-six works.

[Mister Sharpe]

The short answer is yup! 

The long answer :  Ken is spot-on about the pleasures to be found in Bax's chamber work (not to be missed imo are his works for two pianos, see below).  Still, I would give preeminence to most of his symphonies, 1-3, and 6 are faves (the 7th, interestingly, is dedicated to the people of the U.S.) and esp. tone poems, Tale the Pine Trees Knew, Tintagel, November Woods are recommendable as first listens.  I have not heard much of his choral work which I understand is sizable and appealing.  It's safe to say that, thanks to the Chandos recordings and efforts of the Bax Charitable Trust, he is more popular now than he ever was, even in his lifetime. And btw, it's Sir Arnold Bax, an honor that took him by surprise.  One of the criticisms typically leveled at Bax is that his work is "impersonal," and it's true that he is not much interested in the 'inner life', of himself or others. (Vandermolen is quite right about the esp. passionate second symphony - but I think both #1 and 2 likely relate to the Easter Rising more than amour troubles).  It's the inner life of Faerie that Bax's orchestral work often evokes - dense, rich, vivid landscapes of Celtic mist and mystery that he and Yeats, whose work he admired, found so captivating.  A distinction many reviewers miss is that most of Bax's work is not mere graphic depiction, musical paintings or prints, but the inner, mystical life of the landscape, the power of place.  I mentioned elsewhere in the forum that for many Bax is an acquired taste - it is harmonically original (Debussy, Wagner, Strauss, Sibelius and Glazunov were models and while one can hear them occasionally Bax is very much his own man).  Two musicians I've spoken to describe him as technically difficult.  Well, not everyone is permitted entry into the Twilight Realm.   

Btw, Vandermolen's colorful "off the boil" I had to look up!    So true, that. In the late 1930s, Bax was recorded as saying he wanted "to retire, like a grocer."

[arpeggio]

The short answer is yup! 

The long answer :  Ken is spot-on about the pleasures to be found in Bax's chamber work (not to be missed imo are his works for two pianos, see below).  Still, I would give preeminence to most of his symphonies, 1-3, and 6 are faves (the 7th, interestingly, is dedicated to the people of the U.S.) and esp. tone poems, Tale the Pine Trees Knew, Tintagel, November Woods are recommendable as first listens.  I have not heard much of his choral work which I understand is sizable and appealing.  It's safe to say that, thanks to the Chandos recordings and efforts of the Bax Charitable Trust, he is more popular now than he ever was, even in his lifetime. And btw, it's Sir Arnold Bax, an honor that took him by surprise.  One of the criticisms typically leveled at Bax is that his work is "impersonal," and it's true that he is not much interested in the 'inner life', of himself or others. (Vandermolen is quite right about the esp. passionate second symphony - but I think both #1 and 2 likely relate to the Easter Rising more than amour troubles).  It's the inner life of Faerie that Bax's orchestral work often evokes - dense, rich, vivid landscapes of Celtic mist and mystery that he and Yeats, whose work he admired, found so captivating.  A distinction many reviewers miss is that most of Bax's work is not mere graphic depiction, musical paintings or prints, but the inner, mystical life of the landscape, the power of place.  I mentioned elsewhere in the forum that for many Bax is an acquired taste - it is harmonically original (Debussy, Wagner, Strauss, Sibelius and Glazunov were models and while one can hear them occasionally Bax is very much his own man).  Two musicians I've spoken to describe him as technically difficult.  Well, not everyone is permitted entry into the Twilight Realm.   

Btw, Vandermolen's colorful "off the boil" I had to look up!    So true, that. In the late 1930s, Bax was recorded as saying he wanted "to retire, like a grocer."

Wow! A CD I am unfamiliar with.  On to the wish list.

[Mister Sharpe]

Wow! A CD I am unfamiliar with.  On to the wish list.

arpeggio, that cd is so wonderful it comes with the Ghost's exclusive Money-Back Guarantee.

[arpeggio]

arpeggio, that cd is so wonderful it comes with the Ghost's exclusive Money-Back Guarantee.

Apparently out of print.  Just ordered a used copy from Amazon.

These are the types of posts I want to see.  I am sick and tired of other forums where are too many threads where people complain about death of classical music or how bad Mozart or Cage is.

Thanks for the wonderful recommendation.  With this acquisition Bax may have jumped for 13th to 12th.

[Karl Henning]

Bax Brittanica?

[Ken B]

Bax Brittanica?

That's a PUN Andrei!



( aren't I a sardonic baxtard?)

[Karl Henning]

Couldn't help meself, m'lud.

[Mister Sharpe]

That's a PUN Andrei!



( aren't I a sardonic baxtard?)

You is  Bax to the Max, say I.

[vandermolen]

Btw, Vandermolen's colorful "off the boil" I had to look up!    So true, that. In the late 1930s, Bax was recorded as saying he wanted "to retire, like a grocer."

Remember that we drink a lot of tea over here. 

[71 dB]

I decided to listen to my first Bax Symphony today on Spotify. It was the First Symphony, the recording was this:

[asin]B0000060CE[/asin]

It was okay. I didn't hate it. It did not blow my mind. The music is more cubic and a bit clumsy rather than fluid and sophisticated. It had nice movie music type of orchestration. I didn't listen to the "fillers" on the disc.

[vandermolen]

I decided to listen to my first Bax Symphony today on Spotify. It was the First Symphony, the recording was this:

[asin]B0000060CE[/asin]

It was okay. I didn't hate it. It did not blow my mind. The music is more cubic and a bit clumsy rather than fluid and sophisticated. It had nice movie music type of orchestration. I didn't listen to the "fillers" on the disc.

My suggestions if you want to hear anything else by Bax are symphonies 3,2 and 5 and 'Tintagel'.