George Lloyd

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

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Maestro267

Yes! The Symphonic Mass is amazing! It's either that or the 12th Symphony that currently stands as my favourite Lloyd work.

kyjo

Quote from: relm1 on December 12, 2018, 04:54:02 PM
I share your connection to this composer and your namesake.  I feel George Lloyd is sort of like the Kurt Atterberg of Britain.  Sort of a very fine composer who is marginalized because of his traditional idiom.   But the music is complex hiding behind tradition.  Yes, he didn't revolutionize composition the way Beethoven, Debussy, Stravinsky might have but there are VERY many great composers who are individualistic rather than revolutionary!

Your Atterberg comparison is very apt. I love the music of the so-called 20th century "reactionaries" such as Lloyd, Atterberg, Braga Santos, Hanson, Alwyn, Damase, etc. who composed fully tonal, lushly melodic music well into the mid-to-late 20th century when serialism and other avant-gardisms were all the rage. I feel that they have been severely shortchanged in the classical music world simply because of their conservative idioms, which is a shame, as their music has such great appeal and would bring down the house in concert if only given the chance!
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

kyjo

Quote from: SymphonicAddict on December 12, 2018, 05:12:44 PM
Quite interesting! I like the majority of his symphonies and concertos, so this will be on my listening way.

I'm sure both you and Jeffrey would like A Symphonic Mass very much as well! :)
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

Papy Oli

Just a little thread bump to add my appreciation of his symphonies 6 & 7 (the Lyrita  Downes CD) I have recently discovered thanks to the discussions here.

I have now consequently ordered the 4/5/8 on Lyrita as well  ;D

For the remaining symphonies (in case 4/5/8 convince me further), I saw some of them are well priced on the George Lloyd society website. Is the shop on this site still active/reliable, would you know please ? Thanks.

Olivier

vandermolen

Quote from: Papy Oli on February 16, 2019, 12:27:27 AM
Just a little thread bump to add my appreciation of his symphonies 6 & 7 (the Lyrita  Downes CD) I have recently discovered thanks to the discussions here.

I have now consequently ordered the 4/5/8 on Lyrita as well  ;D

For the remaining symphonies (in case 4/5/8 convince me further), I saw some of them are well priced on the George Lloyd society website. Is the shop on this site still active/reliable, would you know please ? Thanks.

Olivier - I've just checked the George Lloyd Society website and as far as I can tell it looks up and running. That Lyrita set is terrific. I rated Edward Downes as a great conductor and the performance of Symphony 4 is better than the composer's own version - good as that is.
Jeffrey
"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).

Papy Oli

Quote from: vandermolen on February 16, 2019, 11:09:28 AM
Olivier - I've just checked the George Lloyd Society website and as far as I can tell it looks up and running. That Lyrita set is terrific. I rated Edward Downes as a great conductor and the performance of Symphony 4 is better than the composer's own version - good as that is.
Jeffrey

Thank you Jeffrey. I might give it a go if/when i feel like exploring beyond the 4/5/6/7/8... although there are already some cheap used copies on AMZ of the 3/10/symphonic Mass...tempting...  0:)
Olivier

vandermolen

Quote from: kyjo on December 15, 2018, 12:15:52 PM
I'm sure both you and Jeffrey would like A Symphonic Mass very much as well! :)

I listened to it the other day Kyle and really enjoyed it. I hadn't really appreciated it before.
"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).

kyjo

Quote from: vandermolen on February 17, 2019, 09:37:39 AM
I listened to it the other day Kyle and really enjoyed it. I hadn't really appreciated it before.

Great to hear! :)
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

Papy Oli

In case you can listen to it, the BBC Radio 4 podcast have a Desert Island Discs podcast with George Lloyd from 1995 here :

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0093pn9

Olivier

vandermolen

Quote from: Papy Oli on February 21, 2019, 01:01:11 AM
In case you can listen to it, the BBC Radio 4 podcast have a Desert Island Discs podcast with George Lloyd from 1995 here :

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0093pn9

Oh, didn't know that - thanks Olivier.
"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).

J.Z. Herrenberg

Quote from: Papy Oli on February 21, 2019, 01:01:11 AM
In case you can listen to it, the BBC Radio 4 podcast have a Desert Island Discs podcast with George Lloyd from 1995 here :

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0093pn9


Listening to it now. Many thanks! What a lovely man.
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

Papy Oli

I have not gone through the whole listings yet but there is the same program with Walton, Tippett and Ligeti too at least.

I have been rummaging through some of Radio 3 & 4 podcasts to help with my British "explorations" (queued up so far: composer of the week for Elgar, Walton, Tippett, Stevens, Butterworth, Rubbra, Parry... Secret Admirers on Berkeley, Arnold, Bax... Discovering Music on Elgar and Moeran symphonies,Finzi Terra Pax, Tippett, Walton again...Great Lives on Coleridge Taylor...)

A real goldmine, when one is late to this game like me  0:)
Olivier

Papy Oli

Quote from: vandermolen on February 21, 2019, 03:13:33 AM
Oh, didn't know that - thanks Olivier.

Quote from: J.Z. Herrenberg on February 21, 2019, 03:24:05 AM

Listening to it now. Many thanks! What a lovely man.

You're both welcome. he certainly came across as a very endearing character in that program (I liked his simplicity and certain detachment towards his late "fame" and the BBC attitude).
Olivier

cilgwyn

I enjoyed listening to his eighth symphony,last night. For some reason it hadn't "clicked" with me,until now. I would play No's 4,5 & 7;but the eighth would end up getting switched off! Yet,I believe it was the Lloyd symphony (or work?) which sparked off the Lloyd revival;so I kept thinking,maybe,I should like it?! Perhaps the sunnier demeanour of the work had something to do with it? Maybe,I needed a bit more of the drama and shadow that make the other three seem a little more varied in scope? But while this is not one of my favourite Lloyd symphony (at least not,yet!) it has some some of his most vivacious orchestration,and some exciting sounds from the brass section. I think I'll play it again later?!! :)

J.Z. Herrenberg

Hi cilgwyn! That's funny - I've had exactly the same experience with the Eighth last week... Until now I loved symphonies 3-9, except 8. But last week the piece suddenly 'clicked' with me, too. Don't know why. It simply convinced me, and that final movement is incredibly exciting. I really admire Lloyd as a composer and as a man. He went through enormous trauma and still was able to create so much beauty and joy afterwards. To me, that's greatness.
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

vandermolen

Quote from: cilgwyn on March 19, 2019, 10:25:22 AM
I enjoyed listening to his eighth symphony,last night. For some reason it hadn't "clicked" with me,until now. I would play No's 4,5 & 7;but the eighth would end up getting switched off! Yet,I believe it was the Lloyd symphony (or work?) which sparked off the Lloyd revival;so I kept thinking,maybe,I should like it?! Perhaps the sunnier demeanour of the work had something to do with it? Maybe,I needed a bit more of the drama and shadow that make the other three seem a little more varied in scope? But while this is not one of my favourite Lloyd symphony (at least not,yet!) it has some some of his most vivacious orchestration,and some exciting sounds from the brass section. I think I'll play it again later?!! :)
There was a lot of excitement when Lloyd's 8th Symphony appeared on a Lyrita CD. It has a lovely slow 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).

cilgwyn

Yes,I remember! There was quite a flurry of interest in George LLoyd at the time! The eighth isn't one of my favourites yet,and might never be;but I can see (hear) why it aroused such interest. It is dazzlingly scored.

kyjo

I just listened to Lloyd's 4th Symphony Arctic for the first time (Philarmonia/Downes on Lyrita) and I am utterly BLOWN AWAY!!! My God, this man could write some bewilderingly thrilling, colorful, memorable music!!! The first three movements are fantastic, but nothing prepared me for the sheer gloriousness of the 20-minute finale, where one splendid, life-affirming idea follows another in a manner not unlike the finale of another great 4th, the Braga Santos. When I read that the symphony was inspired by horrific events Lloyd experienced while serving in the Arctic Envoy (?) during WWII, I was expecting a dark, tragic piece, but, save for the dramatic climax of the first movement which very effectively portrays gunfire, this is an uplifting, tuneful, and masterfully orchestrated work which demands to be heard. Definitely my discovery of the year so far!!!
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

vandermolen

Quote from: kyjo on March 19, 2019, 08:08:59 PM
I just listened to Lloyd's 4th Symphony Arctic for the first time (Philarmonia/Downes on Lyrita) and I am utterly BLOWN AWAY!!! My God, this man could write some bewilderingly thrilling, colorful, memorable music!!! The first three movements are fantastic, but nothing prepared me for the sheer gloriousness of the 20-minute finale, where one splendid, life-affirming idea follows another in a manner not unlike the finale of another great 4th, the Braga Santos. When I read that the symphony was inspired by horrific events Lloyd experienced while serving in the Arctic Envoy (?) during WWII, I was expecting a dark, tragic piece, but, save for the dramatic climax of the first movement which very effectively portrays gunfire, this is an uplifting, tuneful, and masterfully orchestrated work which demands to be heard. Definitely my discovery of the year so far!!!
Delighted that you like this great work Kyle. It is my favourite although I like No.7 very much as well. His wartime trauma came from his experiences on an Arctic Convoy, basically Royal Navy protected merchant ships taking much-needed supplies to Russia (USSR) in World War Two. Many ships were sunk on these convoys by U-boats and of course you couldn't survive for long in those Arctic waters.
"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).

Roasted Swan

George Loyd is a composer I've never liked as much as I think I should or ought to.  He absolute fits the profile of the type of music I enjoy but I rarely find myself reaching for his discs to listen to.  One of the few (very few) instances where I bought some of his recordings, sold them, and them bought them again!  But I'm going to listen to Symphony No.4 in the next couple of days again and hope I have a "clicking"(!) moment