George Lloyd

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

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

cilgwyn

I wish I'd had this Lp when I was a youngster! Listening to Vaughan Williams meets the Empire Strikes Back now,on a a very good example of the once popular musicassette,which I bought secondhand. I'll have to turn over for the finale! :( ;D (The machine can play the other side,but cassette decks not being plentiful these days,I don't want to stress the tape heads!)



Regarding the box set of Symphonies 4,5 & 8. I haven't posted about this yet;but it doesn't mean I wasn't too excited by what I heard. In fact,there were two reasons why I didn't. One was because these symphonies aren't quite as easy a listen as you might expect. They are quite complex works and written on a large scale,so it actually takes a while to get a grasp of them. Repeated listenings help! This,a bit of a surprise when you think of Lloyd's popular image as a purveyor of easily accessible tonal music. Okay,we're not talking Mahler or Shostakovich here;but they do take a bit of time to get your head around. Another reason why these symphonies are such a satisfying listen,besides the fact that they are full of lovely melodies and often very exciting orchestration. Shallow,superficial imho,they are not. In fact I was very impressed by everything I heard. As to the second reason I didn't post earlier. Just things to do and other newer cds to plough through......!!!

More to follow!! :)

vandermolen

Lloyd's 4th and 7th are my favourites but I have a soft spot for No.11 which is the only one I've seen live and also Piano concertos 1 'Scapegoat' and 3. The Symphony 11 and PC.3 remind me of Khachaturian.
"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).

cilgwyn

No's 4,5 & 7 are my favourites........but I think I like No 11 as well! I think the Fifth was the first I ever heard.......on Radio 3,in the 80's. I taped it twice. No 7 was the first one I ever owned on cd. Unfortunately,I later sold it!! ::) I now have it on cassette. I quite like old analogue gadgets,and now & again I have a musicassette session. I listened to Handel's Solomon earlier!! Lloyd's Piano Concerto no 3 is on now. Yes,if you like Khatchaturian you're going to need to hear Lloyd's Eleventh Symphony and Piano Concerto No 3. Not that there's anything Armenian about them;but they have that same technicolor feel about them. Also,they both have wonderful slow movements;although I think the Khatchaturian is the finer of the two. But enough of comparisons. They should be enjoyed on their own terms!

vandermolen

Quote from: cilgwyn on December 08, 2016, 09:47:23 AM
No's 4,5 & 7 are my favourites........but I think I like No 11 as well! I think the Fifth was the first I ever heard.......on Radio 3,in the 80's. I taped it twice. No 7 was the first one I ever owned on cd. Unfortunately,I later sold it!! ::) I now have it on cassette. I quite like old analogue gadgets,and now & again I have a musicassette session. I listened to Handel's Solomon earlier!! Lloyd's Piano Concerto no 3 is on now. Yes,if you like Khatchaturian you're going to need to hear Lloyd's Eleventh Symphony and Piano Concerto No 3. Not that there's anything Armenian about them;but they have that same technicolor feel about them. Also,they both have wonderful slow movements;although I think the Khatchaturian is the finer of the two. But enough of comparisons. They should be enjoyed on their own terms!
Totally agree with you. The PC 3 has a powerful slow movement which according to GL represents the fear of the 'knock on the door' in the night felt by those living in occupied countries in World War Two. Thematically it reminds me of the score to the original black and white film of 'The Diary of Anne Frank' composed, I think, by Alfred Newman.
"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).

SymphonicAddict

I found the symphonies good but not excellent. The most satisfactory ones for my were the 3rd (great slow movement), 4th (glowing ending), 8th, 11st and 12nd (the 7th did not seem so good  :( , I did not want to express that). I think that the No. 12 is a fitting conclusion for this cycle of symphonies.

vandermolen

New release which I've ordered for the poetic Symphony 7. Together with No.4 it is my favourite symphony by George Lloyd:
[asin]B073FD61S5[/asin]
"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).

cilgwyn

And you get the two for your money! I have the original Conifer musicassette of the Seventh,which I sometimes play on my cassette deck (not much point putting it on my cd player! ::)). I actually,prefer the Fifth to the Fourth symphony. The Seventh is my favourite. The Fifth was the first George Lloyd symphony I ever heard.

vandermolen

Quote from: cilgwyn on August 09, 2017, 01:31:26 PM
And you get the two for your money! I have the original Conifer musicassette of the Seventh,which I sometimes play on my cassette deck (not much point putting it on my cd player! ::)). I actually,prefer the Fifth to the Fourth symphony. The Seventh is my favourite. The Fifth was the first George Lloyd symphony I ever heard.
Thanks. No.8 on a fine old Lyrita LP was my first encounter with Lloyd. Apart from 4 and 7, 5,8,11 and 12 are my favourites along with the piano concerto 'Scapegoat' and the Khachaturian-like Piano Concerto No.3, which also reminds me in sections of Alfred Newman's fine score for the original film of 'The Diary of Anne Frank'.
"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).

cilgwyn

Oops yes! I forgot about the Piano Concerto No 3. I also have that one on a conifer cassette. That is definitely one of my favourites. I don't know the 'Scapegoat'. Do you prefer that to third,by the way? The Piano concerto No 3 is a bit of a blockbuster in it's own way. I love that slow movement.

vandermolen

Quote from: cilgwyn on August 09, 2017, 02:12:46 PM
Oops yes! I forgot about the Piano Concerto No 3. I also have that one on a conifer cassette. That is definitely one of my favourites. I don't know the 'Scapegoat'. Do you prefer that to third,by the way? The Piano concerto No 3 is a bit of a blockbuster in it's own way. I love that slow movement.
'Scapegoat' is more poetic and restrained but rather moving - reminds me a bit of Symphony 7. I think it's his best PC although I thoroughly enjoy No.3.
"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).

relm1

Quote from: vandermolen on August 09, 2017, 12:58:48 PM
New release which I've ordered for the poetic Symphony 7. Together with No.4 it is my favourite symphony by George Lloyd:
[asin]B073FD61S5[/asin]
Vandermolen, I like your style.  I agree with you.

cilgwyn

Quote from: vandermolen on August 09, 2017, 02:40:46 PM
'Scapegoat' is more poetic and restrained but rather moving - reminds me a bit of Symphony 7. I think it's his best PC although I thoroughly enjoy No.3.
I'm going to have to hear that one,when I can? I will resist it for the time being,as I've just bought a couple of cd's and a book. One of the purchases was the new Lyrita,Daniel Jones cd.
I have read some posts at the Art Music Forum,suggesting frustration that Lyrita have released a cd of Lloyd's Symphonies 6 & 7,when they could have released something that isn't available on cd. I can understand their frustration;but they've just brought out more Daniel Jones,and a 2cd set of Fricker symphonies is going to be released in October. Anyway,composer's interpretations are always interesting,and the Seventh is one of George Lloyd's best;so I'm quite happy with this release! :) I gather the Sixth is in a more light hearted vein? I believe Sarge like it. But then I gather he likes them all,and is what you migh call,a big fan! He posted a,sort of,'guide' to his Symphonies on this thread,I seem to remember,quite some posts ago,and I must look at it again.

vandermolen

"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

Quote from: cilgwyn on August 10, 2017, 12:47:55 AM
I'm going to have to hear that one,when I can? I will resist it for the time being,as I've just bought a couple of cd's and a book. One of the purchases was the new Lyrita,Daniel Jones cd.
I have read some posts at the Art Music Forum,suggesting frustration that Lyrita have released a cd of Lloyd's Symphonies 6 & 7,when they could have released something that isn't available on cd. I can understand their frustration;but they've just brought out more Daniel Jones,and a 2cd set of Fricker symphonies is going to be released in October. Anyway,composer's interpretations are always interesting,and the Seventh is one of George Lloyd's best;so I'm quite happy with this release! :) I gather the Sixth is in a more light hearted vein? I believe Sarge like it. But then I gather he likes them all,and is what you migh call,a big fan! He posted a,sort of,'guide' to his Symphonies on this thread,I seem to remember,quite some posts ago,and I must look at it again.
No.7 has more appeal than No.6. So far I've resisted the temptation to buy the Daniel Jones CD including Symphony 2 but I've greatly enjoyed Symphony 1. I just wish that Lyrita would release Ruth Gipps's Symphony 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).

vandermolen

As far as one can tell from the short sample tracks on Amazon UK the performance of Symphony 7 on the forthcoming Lyrita CD (Downes) is more urgent and quite different to George Lloyd's more reflective recording on Conifer. I really look forward to hearing the whole symphony on Lyrita.
"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).

springrite

Just got a hold of a copy of the 11th. Look forward to listening to it!
Do what I must do, and let what must happen happen.

vandermolen

Quote from: springrite on August 10, 2017, 11:21:15 PM
Just got a hold of a copy of the 11th. Look forward to listening to it!
Great stuff! It's the only one I've heard live with George Lloyd conducting at the Barbican in London. It reminds me of Khachaturian in places as does Lloyd's Third Piano Concerto. It (Symphony 11 and PC 3) has a very catchy theme in the last movement.
"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).

Scion7

Still have not followed up on my early 2016 promise to check out Lloyd's music.  I should rectify that - I keep getting diverted by somewhat "forgotten" 1850-1930 Romantics and so on.

When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

vandermolen

Quote from: Scion7 on August 11, 2017, 12:08:19 AM
Still have not followed up on my early 2016 promise to check out Lloyd's music.  I should rectify that - I keep getting diverted by somewhat "forgotten" 1850-1930 Romantics and so on.


Yes, get on with it! 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).

relm1

Quote from: vandermolen on August 09, 2017, 12:58:48 PM
New release which I've ordered for the poetic Symphony 7. Together with No.4 it is my favourite symphony by George Lloyd:
[asin]B073FD61S5[/asin]

Does anyone know when this will be released?  I don't see it on Amazon or lytira's website.