George Lloyd

Started by Thom, April 14, 2007, 12:37:44 PM

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vandermolen

Quote from: J.Z. Herrenberg on August 21, 2021, 05:41:52 AM
I was in doubt about Miss/Mrs... Corrected. (Though in some circles the whole difference is seen as bad.)
OT
She is definitely 'Miss' Marple  8)
"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).

aligreto

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on August 19, 2021, 07:30:44 AM
A fascinating journey waits for you, aligreto! If you enjoyed the 1st, you'll love most of the next ones, I suspect.

Well you have definitely been proven to be correct with my next one  ;)


Lloyd: Symphony No. 2 [Lloyd]





The opening to this work is terrifically exciting and engaging. I really like the swirling, exciting and flitting sense throughout the movement. The music is also atmospheric and dramatic. It is also very charming and engaging. I particularly like the scoring for both woodwinds and brass. The slow movement is a musical, and an orchestral scoring and harmonic delight. Its tone of poignancy is very atmospheric and engaging. It can be dark and dramatic in places which adds to the intensity of the mood. I like the sense of menace in the third movement march; this is achieved with wonderful orchestration. It is well driven, dramatic and excitingly triumphant, particularly towards the conclusion. The final movement The final movement is very atmospheric and dramatic in tone. The orchestration is wonderfully effective and successful. The music is well driven in the sense of building both atmosphere and tension throughout. There is also a sense of anger in this movement; a sentiment that I have not detected thus far in Lloyd's music. This is an interesting aspect of this movement.
I keep mentioning the orchestration throughout as it is very appealing, imaginative, inventive, engaging and effective.

classicalgeek

I've listened recently to Lloyd's Symphonies nos. 4 and 6, on the Lyrita recordings - Spotify seems to have some of Lloyd's own recordings, but not all of them. But I can't wait to hear more, of both the symphonies and concertos - Lloyd's music is full of wonderful tunes and gorgeously orchestrated, but it sounds "contemporary", for lack of a better word, all the same. The slow movements in both 4 and 6 are just lovely. OK, so the Fourth may have been a little long in spots, but it never got stale.

I just found the George Lloyd Society's website, and they have the scores to Symphonies 4, 6, 9, and 10 (typeset in Sibelius and published as PDFs), as well as some shorter works. They have Symphony no. 7 in manuscript, which is kind of cool! The Society is supposedly working on typesetting all his orchestral works.

Here's the link: https://georgelloyd.com/george-lloyd-music-library/free-perusal-scores - you have to create an account to have access to the scores.
So much great music, so little time...

Original compositions and orchestrations: https://www.youtube.com/@jmbrannigan

aligreto

Lloyd: Symphony No. 3 [Lloyd]





Symphony No. 3: The opening movement of the third symphony is filled with both drama and tension and both of these elements are infused throughout the opening movement and are consistent throughout the movement. The tension can become quite palpable and is wonderful to experience. This highly charged emotional state eventually dissipates at the conclusion and seamlessly transcends into a very lyrical and wonderfully contrasting slow movement. I particularly like the orchestral writing in this movement. It is very fine music by any standard. The tone changes immediately in the final movement. It is quite celebratory and declamatory. The scoring and resultant atmosphere of the work are wonderfully powerful and exciting.


Charade is a terrifically exciting and very engaging and atmospheric work. It is filled with wonderful drama and tension. It also contains a great variety of musical contrasts. It is a very fine demonstration of the power of atmospheric orchestral writing. It is a very fine work and the music is powerfully presented here.

aligreto

Quote from: classicalgeek on September 04, 2021, 01:14:53 AM
I've listened recently to Lloyd's Symphonies nos. 4 and 6, on the Lyrita recordings - Spotify seems to have some of Lloyd's own recordings, but not all of them. But I can't wait to hear more, of both the symphonies and concertos - Lloyd's music is full of wonderful tunes and gorgeously orchestrated, but it sounds "contemporary", for lack of a better word, all the same. The slow movements in both 4 and 6 are just lovely. OK, so the Fourth may have been a little long in spots, but it never got stale.

I just found the George Lloyd Society's website, and they have the scores to Symphonies 4, 6, 9, and 10 (typeset in Sibelius and published as PDFs), as well as some shorter works. They have Symphony no. 7 in manuscript, which is kind of cool! The Society is supposedly working on typesetting all his orchestral works.

Here's the link: https://georgelloyd.com/george-lloyd-music-library/free-perusal-scores - you have to create an account to have access to the scores.

Thank you very much for that link.

J.Z. Herrenberg

Some great posts here. Symphonies 3, 4 and 6 are among my favourites. No. 3 is quite amazing for an early pieces from the 1930s. It's gripping from the start and the ending has a heroic exultation about it which is very deserved (and it sounds a bit like Havergal Brian, which is a plus in my book). Charade I discovered only recently, and what a masterly and colourful piece it is! A real winner and something that would work very well at the Proms... Why, BBC, oh, why?
As for the George Lloyd Society, I joined it some time ago, and it doesn't cost you a thing. I have been in contact with the man behind it, William Lloyd, the composer's nephew, a few months ago, because a certain passage in the Ninth got to me so strongly, it resulted in a poem... William Lloyd said that more people really get inspired by George Lloyd's music, and my experience didn't surprise him in the least...
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

aligreto

Quote from: J.Z. Herrenberg on September 04, 2021, 08:13:25 AM
Some great posts here. Symphonies 3, 4 and 6 are among my favourites. No. 3 is quite amazing for an early pieces from the 1930s. It's gripping from the start and the ending has a heroic exultation about it which is very deserved (and it sounds a bit like Havergal Brian, which is a plus in my book). Charade I discovered only recently, and what a masterly and colourful piece it is! A real winner and something that would work very well at the Proms... Why, BBC, oh, why?
As for the George Lloyd Society, I joined it some time ago, and it doesn't cost you a thing. I have been in contact with the man behind it, William Lloyd, the composer's nephew, a few months ago, because a certain passage in the Ninth got to me so strongly, it resulted in a poem... William Lloyd said that more people really get inspired by George Lloyd's music, and my experience didn't surprise him in the least...

I am only at the very beginning of my exploration of this composer's work but I am very impressed with what I have heard thus far. He has been a remarkable "discovery" for me.

J.Z. Herrenberg

Quote from: aligreto on September 04, 2021, 08:24:57 AM
I am only at the very beginning of my exploration of this composer's work but I am very impressed with what I have heard thus far. He has been a remarkable "discovery" for me.
You're in for a treat. Lloyd's music is of a consistent high quality. It's tuneful, but not trite. It's mainly positive, but not shallow (he certainly plunges the depths in the Seventh). I love this music very much. And if you know something about his life, his achievement borders on the miraculous. A great composer and a great human being.
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

aligreto

Quote from: J.Z. Herrenberg on September 04, 2021, 08:29:29 AM
You're in for a treat. Lloyd's music is of a consistent high quality. It's tuneful, but not trite. It's mainly positive, but not shallow (he certainly plunges the depths in the Seventh). I love this music very much. And if you know something about his life, his achievement borders on the miraculous. A great composer and a great human being.

Thank you for that as I am completely ignorant about his life. I will rectify that soon.

classicalgeek

Quote from: aligreto on September 04, 2021, 08:39:42 AM
Thank you for that as I am completely ignorant about his life. I will rectify that soon.
Yes, he was nearly killed while serving during World War II. From his Wikipedia bio:

"Lloyd served in World War II with the Royal Marines as a Bandsman. On board the cruiser HMS Trinidad on Arctic convoys he was one of the Bandsmen manning the Transmitting Station, which was situated deep in the hull of the ship. In 1942, during an engagement, the ship fired a faulty torpedo which travelled in a circular track and hit the ship, fracturing a large fuel oil tank. Many of Lloyd's shipmates were drowned in the fuel oil, and he was the last man to escape from the compartment.[6] He suffered severe mental and physical trauma from the shell shock, and was hospitalised before being discharged from the Royal Marines. After 4 years he was well enough to start composing again, through the devotion and love of his Swiss wife, Nancy."

I can't even imagine going through that! That he was able to recover at all is remarkable.
So much great music, so little time...

Original compositions and orchestrations: https://www.youtube.com/@jmbrannigan

aligreto

Quote from: classicalgeek on September 04, 2021, 12:00:09 PM
Yes, he was nearly killed while serving during World War II. From his Wikipedia bio:

"Lloyd served in World War II with the Royal Marines as a Bandsman. On board the cruiser HMS Trinidad on Arctic convoys he was one of the Bandsmen manning the Transmitting Station, which was situated deep in the hull of the ship. In 1942, during an engagement, the ship fired a faulty torpedo which travelled in a circular track and hit the ship, fracturing a large fuel oil tank. Many of Lloyd's shipmates were drowned in the fuel oil, and he was the last man to escape from the compartment.[6] He suffered severe mental and physical trauma from the shell shock, and was hospitalised before being discharged from the Royal Marines. After 4 years he was well enough to start composing again, through the devotion and love of his Swiss wife, Nancy."

I can't even imagine going through that! That he was able to recover at all is remarkable.

WOW! Thank you for that. How do people survive that kind of experience? Major credit to his wife, I think.

Symphonic Addict

Quote from: aligreto on September 04, 2021, 07:39:06 AM
Lloyd: Symphony No. 3 [Lloyd]





Symphony No. 3: The opening movement of the third symphony is filled with both drama and tension and both of these elements are infused throughout the opening movement and are consistent throughout the movement. The tension can become quite palpable and is wonderful to experience. This highly charged emotional state eventually dissipates at the conclusion and seamlessly transcends into a very lyrical and wonderfully contrasting slow movement. I particularly like the orchestral writing in this movement. It is very fine music by any standard. The tone changes immediately in the final movement. It is quite celebratory and declamatory. The scoring and resultant atmosphere of the work are wonderfully powerful and exciting.


Charade is a terrifically exciting and very engaging and atmospheric work. It is filled with wonderful drama and tension. It also contains a great variety of musical contrasts. It is a very fine demonstration of the power of atmospheric orchestral writing. It is a very fine work and the music is powerfully presented here.

The Symphony No. 3 is indeed special. The slow movement is to die for. And Charade sounds like a fun work. I don't know it yet. One to investigate. Thanks! Good analysis.
Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

aligreto

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on September 04, 2021, 04:16:04 PM
The Symphony No. 3 is indeed special. The slow movement is to die for. And Charade sounds like a fun work. I don't know it yet. One to investigate. Thanks! Good analysis.

Yes, Charade is definitely worth a listen.

classicalgeek

Since the Ninth is one of the ones where the score is available, I listened to it in this broadcast recording:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWCls9RNfxM

Edward Downes conducting; I think the orchestra is the BBC Philharmonic. Definitely more pungent harmonically than his Fourth or Sixth, especially in the slow movement, but his lyricism is always apparent. The finale is an absolute riot - listen to the very end (from about 28:40 in the video - I love the prominent mallet percussion, and the tipsy trumpet solo!) and you can understand why the audience was so enthusiastic.
So much great music, so little time...

Original compositions and orchestrations: https://www.youtube.com/@jmbrannigan

J.Z. Herrenberg

The Ninth is one of my absolute favourites. And that last movement... ! Yes, it's the BBC Philharmonic, and the venue was in Manchester. The recording dates from 1982. (Found all the info on the GLS website.)
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

classicalgeek

Quote from: J.Z. Herrenberg on September 05, 2021, 10:30:38 PM
The Ninth is one of my absolute favourites. And that last movement... ! Yes, it's the BBC Philharmonic, and the venue was in Manchester. The recording dates from 1982. (Found all the info on the GLS website.)

Thank you for that bit of information! I need to remember that the Society has information about performances of his works. He's one of MANY composers who should be performed more often.
So much great music, so little time...

Original compositions and orchestrations: https://www.youtube.com/@jmbrannigan

aligreto

Lloyd: Symphony No. 4 [Downes]





The first thing that strikes one, from the opening bars, is that the recorded sound quality is relatively weak. However, it is not nearly so bad that it detracts from the enjoyment of the work. Leaving that minor detail aside [the ear quickly adapts] the music is immediately gripping and absorbing. This is quite a substantial and very fine work by any standard which has a great presence.
The opening movement is thrilling and exciting in its presentation. It is filled with drama and tension. There is, naturally, a period of calm reflection which offers very fine contrasts. However, the underlying current of the movement is always to move inexorably forward and so it is, continually, with this movement. The scoring for the brass and woodwinds greatly contribute towards the overall atmosphere. The music is very well driven here. The second movement tempo is Lento tranquillo and the pacing and atmosphere offer a great contrast to the opening movement. The music is still quite intense but in a different way. The scoring and harmonies employed are quite wonderful and effective. This movement is primarily about the wonderful, magical interaction between strings and woodwinds. The tempo picks up in the third movement with a light and quirky scherzo. The tempo continually increases in the first third of the movement where we then suddenly slow down and encounter a magical trio section scored for strings and woodwind at medium pace. The harmonies and subsequent atmosphere here are quite enchanting. The music eventually returns to its original quirky, fascinating and enjoyable mode. This is quite an intriguing and very inventive and impressive movement. The final movement opens with quite a luscious sounding theme with really wonderful orchestral colour. The tempo is lento and it is quite intense in mood and atmosphere. The tempo, drama and tension gradually build up and all of these elements contribute toward a wonderful sound world which is always quite lyrical. The movement gradually works towards a satisfactory and definitive resolution with terrifically effective brass scoring.

vandermolen

Quote from: aligreto on September 18, 2021, 05:55:36 AM
Lloyd: Symphony No. 4 [Downes]





The first thing that strikes one, from the opening bars, is that the recorded sound quality is relatively weak. However, it is not nearly so bad that it detracts from the enjoyment of the work. Leaving that minor detail aside [the ear quickly adapts] the music is immediately gripping and absorbing. This is quite a substantial and very fine work by any standard which has a great presence.
The opening movement is thrilling and exciting in its presentation. It is filled with drama and tension. There is, naturally, a period of calm reflection which offers very fine contrasts. However, the underlying current of the movement is always to move inexorably forward and so it is, continually, with this movement. The scoring for the brass and woodwinds greatly contribute towards the overall atmosphere. The music is very well driven here. The second movement tempo is Lento tranquillo and the pacing and atmosphere offer a great contrast to the opening movement. The music is still quite intense but in a different way. The scoring and harmonies employed are quite wonderful and effective. This movement is primarily about the wonderful, magical interaction between strings and woodwinds. The tempo picks up in the third movement with a light and quirky scherzo. The tempo continually increases in the first third of the movement where we then suddenly slow down and encounter a magical trio section scored for strings and woodwind at medium pace. The harmonies and subsequent atmosphere here are quite enchanting. The music eventually returns to its original quirky, fascinating and enjoyable mode. This is quite an intriguing and very inventive and impressive movement. The final movement opens with quite a luscious sounding theme with really wonderful orchestral colour. The tempo is lento and it is quite intense in mood and atmosphere. The tempo, drama and tension gradually build up and all of these elements contribute toward a wonderful sound world which is always quite lyrical. The movement gradually works towards a satisfactory and definitive resolution with terrifically effective brass scoring.
Nice analysis Fergus. IMO it's Lloyd's finest hour - a powerful and moving symphony. My other favourites are 7,8,11 and 12 + piano concertos 1,3 and 4.
"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).

aligreto

Quote from: vandermolen on September 18, 2021, 06:39:58 AM
Nice analysis Fergus. IMO it's Lloyd's finest hour - a powerful and moving symphony. My other favourites are 7,8,11 and 12 + piano concertos 1,3 and 4.

Cheers, Jeffrey. Yes, I was very impressed with his fourth symphony but I am far to inexperienced and too early into his symphonies to be able to comment or express any preferences on his works. It has been a wonderful odyssey thus far so early into the cycle and I genuinely look forward to many more engaging and exciting listening hours ahead.

vandermolen

#399
Quote from: aligreto on September 18, 2021, 10:30:21 AM
Cheers, Jeffrey. Yes, I was very impressed with his fourth symphony but I am far to inexperienced and too early into his symphonies to be able to comment or express any preferences on his works. It has been a wonderful odyssey thus far so early into the cycle and I genuinely look forward to many more engaging and exciting listening hours ahead.
Cheers, Fergus. I need to re-listen to 3 and 9 in view of the enthusiasm for those works expressed here. Those pioneering Downes recordings had a big impact in me. I recall a lot of excitement when Symphony No.8 was released on LP many years ago.
"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).