Do you like the Symphonies of Bax?

[71 dB]

Actually having listened to the Lloyd-Jones recording again tonight I think that your description is more apt.

That is cool to hear.

Also, I think that it is the finest version of all. I have recordings of Symphony 6 by Bostock, Del Mar, Handley, Lloyd-Jones and Thomson and Lloyd-Jones is now my favourite - it has a magical quality to it. Also, the recording is terrific - that brass at the opening and it has a rhythmic drive unlike any other version.

Sometimes Naxos gets it right. 

So thank you for making me reappraise this symphony. And, oh yes, you have to get the CD. 
[asin]B00008IHW3[/asin]

You are welcome!
(yeah, I'm getting the disc in the near future  0:) )

[arpeggio]

I am a big Bax fan but I have only one duplicate copy of one of the symphonies, the Third.  I have the entire Thomas series on Chandos.  They sound good to me.  With the exception of a few band works (big band junkie) I am usually happy with just single copies of most stuff.  (I know of one gentleman in another forum who brags that he has fifty copies of the complete symphonies of Beethoven.  I can see that with a real Beethoven symphony junkie or a musicologist who specializes in Beethoven.  I have a meager four copies including an HIP set.)   

I have the impression from reading the previous threads is that Bax is difficult to conduct.  I remember reading a review of Thomas' recording of the Fourth that, according to the reviewer, if it is not done correctly, the first movement could sound like a mess.

Could it be that Bax can only make sense in the hands of a capable conductor?

[Mister Sharpe]

I am a big Bax fan but I have only one duplicate copy of one of the symphonies, the Third.  I have the entire Thomas series on Chandos.  They sound good to me.  With the exception of a few band works (big band junkie) I am usually happy with just single copies of most stuff.  (I know of one gentleman in another forum who brags that he has fifty copies of the complete symphonies of Beethoven.  I can see that with a real Beethoven symphony junkie or a musicologist who specializes in Beethoven.  I have a meager four copies including an HIP set.)   

I have the impression from reading the previous threads is that Bax is difficult to conduct.  I remember reading a review of Thomas' recording of the Fourth that, according to the reviewer, if it is not done correctly, the first movement could sound like a mess.

Could it be that Bax can only make sense in the hands of a capable conductor?

I think that's true, certainly in the case of the symphonies, whose complexity can be overwhelming.  Vernon Handley would agree :  "Bax's music poses certain problems for the conductor. First of all you've got to study the music, you need to know a lot of it to understand the language. It is not a cross between Richard Strauss and Rachmaninoff. It is very personal. It is also hard to appreciate the form of a Bax work because of all the beautiful melodies and harmony. Bax is a resourceful orchestrator; the colours in his mind are so vivid that sometimes one is tempted to think there is impressionistic music before one but in actual fact there is thematic material there. To present the thematic material, to present the form of the work, poses great problems for the conductor. He has got to make sure that all the tiny joins between one passage and the next are made rather than shown because the more you sectionalize the music in favour of the sensuous sounds, the more damage you do to the form. Indeed I am reminded of a passage in Bax's autobiography, Farewell my Youth, when he says: I slammed the lid of the piano shut and went out because I could not think of a logical continuation. Now a man concerned about logical continuation is clearly concerned about form, not just pretty pictures."

[vandermolen]

I think that's true, certainly in the case of the symphonies, whose complexity can be overwhelming.  Vernon Handley would agree :  "Bax's music poses certain problems for the conductor. First of all you've got to study the music, you need to know a lot of it to understand the language. It is not a cross between Richard Strauss and Rachmaninoff. It is very personal. It is also hard to appreciate the form of a Bax work because of all the beautiful melodies and harmony. Bax is a resourceful orchestrator; the colours in his mind are so vivid that sometimes one is tempted to think there is impressionistic music before one but in actual fact there is thematic material there. To present the thematic material, to present the form of the work, poses great problems for the conductor. He has got to make sure that all the tiny joins between one passage and the next are made rather than shown because the more you sectionalize the music in favour of the sensuous sounds, the more damage you do to the form. Indeed I am reminded of a passage in Bax's autobiography, Farewell my Youth, when he says: I slammed the lid of the piano shut and went out because I could not think of a logical continuation. Now a man concerned about logical continuation is clearly concerned about form, not just pretty pictures."

Very interesting indeed. Thanks for posting this.

[Martin Lind]

I have the Handley set with all symphonies. I like the first CD with the 1st and 3rd symphony but I had difficulties to get access to the others. I was disappointed.

[vandermolen]

I have the Handley set with all symphonies. I like the first CD with the 1st and 3rd symphony but I had difficulties to get access to the others. I was disappointed.

I listened to his version of No.5 the other day and found the opening (one of my favourite moments in Bax) to be played too fast and completely lacking in atmosphere compared to the fine Raymond Leppard version on Lyrita. I have been greatly enjoying the Lloyd-Jones Lyrita version of Symphony 6 following the exchanges above - maybe you would like this too.

[The new erato]

I've never quite come to grips with Bax, but I'm listening to the 2nd with Myer Friedman on Lyrita now, and it certainly is magnificent.

[vandermolen]

I've never quite come to grips with Bax, but I'm listening to the 2nd with Myer Friedman on Lyrita now, and it certainly is magnificent.

That's a fine performance of a great symphony as is its companion on CD, Raymond Leppard's recording of Symphony No.5.

[vandermolen]

This is a fine performance of Symphony 2 from a 1956 broadcast. Also a brilliantly remastered atmospheric performance of 'Tintagel' from 1928. CD is dirt cheap on Amazon UK:
[asin]B000Q6ZGRU[/asin]

[71 dB]

The 7th Symphony and Tintagel done. The Symphony is okay, nice epilogue. Tintagel was a disappointment.

[vandermolen]

The 7th Symphony and Tintagel done. The Symphony is okay, nice epilogue. Tintagel was a disappointment.

Yes, the Epilogue is moving. Thanks for all the feedback on your listening experience and glad that Symphony 6 was a hit.
On to the symphonies of William Alwyn now! (Only joking).

[71 dB]

Yes, the Epilogue is moving. Thanks for all the feedback on your listening experience and glad that Symphony 6 was a hit.

Yeah, I'll get the Naxos disc of 6.

On to the symphonies of William Alwyn now! (Only joking).

Maybe in the future. 

[aligreto]

Well done to both parties for endurance and perseverance 

[71 dB]

Well done to both parties for endurance and perseverance 

Thanks!  Had I given up after the first few symphonies I wouldn't have discovered the sixth. 

[aligreto]

Thanks!  Had I given up after the first few symphonies I wouldn't have discovered the sixth. 

Persistence pays 

[vandermolen]

Persistence pays 

The Churchill quote below says it all I think! 

[aligreto]

The Churchill quote below says it all I think! 

Yes, I had missed that.
There is of course the quote from Irish poet Samuel Beckett: Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.

[vandermolen]

Yes, I had missed that.
There is of course the quote from Irish poet Samuel Beckett: Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.

Yes, I like that quote. Also the way in which Churchill signed off his messages to President Roosevelt during the Second World War:
'KBO' (keep buggering on)
Apologies for bad language.

[aligreto]

'KBO' (keep buggering on)

Well it certainly worked in this case 

[vandermolen]

Well it certainly worked in this case 

Indeed!