George Lloyd

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

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springrite

Quote from: relm1 on March 25, 2019, 04:45:51 PM
Fascinating.  I found it to be a no brainier.  In fact maybe too on the nose.
No wonder I liked it...
Do what I must do, and let what must happen happen.

J.Z. Herrenberg

Quote from: relm1 on March 25, 2019, 04:47:45 PM
I would agree with this assessment.  Have you heard this recording?  https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/LE%201135  Absolutely fantastic and intense.


Of course I have. But - I prefer Lloyd's own reading on Albany, which to me packs an even more powerful punch.
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 25, 2019, 10:05:59 AM
I'm listening to the Fourth Symphony,now! I'm going to have to hear the 'Scapegoat',aren't I? And,No3! But I will resist for the time being! (I've got a sack full of empty cd packaging to cart out tonight!! :( What must the postman think?!! ??? ::) ;D) I'll put on his Piano concerto No 3*,later! I've got it on a very plain looking Conifer cassette! I've got to turn it over to hear the final movement! Just like in the good ol' days!! ::) ;D

*by George Lloyd,not the postman!!

I'd like to hear your postman's piano concerto as well.  8)

Yes, you have to hear 'Scapegoat' (it is quite short) and PC 3 and 4 which I'm just appreciating for the first time.
"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

The first movement of the Fourth Symphony brings to mind war time movies with battles at sea;perhaps with Jack Hawkins,or someone,at the helm? There's a lovely,serene,slow movement,then. I used to like the Fifth best,of the two. The Fourth has taken longer to assimilate. The Fifth seems more,obviously,tuneful and,immediately,approachable. The Fourth is a more complex,darker work.

relm1

Quote from: cilgwyn on March 26, 2019, 04:14:39 AM
The first movement of the Fourth Symphony brings to mind war time movies with battles at sea;perhaps with Jack Hawkins,or someone,at the helm? There's a lovely,serene,slow movement,then. I used to like the Fifth best,of the two. The Fourth has taken longer to assimilate. The Fifth seems more,obviously,tuneful and,immediately,approachable. The Fourth is a more complex,darker work.

I like the first movement of the 4th but to me, the rest of it just seems too jolly for my tastes.  Not that I don't like the work, just that my sensibilities are towards more serious or darker music.

vandermolen

Quote from: cilgwyn on March 26, 2019, 04:14:39 AM
The first movement of the Fourth Symphony brings to mind war time movies with battles at sea;perhaps with Jack Hawkins,or someone,at the helm? There's a lovely,serene,slow movement,then. I used to like the Fifth best,of the two. The Fourth has taken longer to assimilate. The Fifth seems more,obviously,tuneful and,immediately,approachable. The Fourth is a more complex,darker work.
Very much agree with this and like the Jack Hawkins analogy. I wish that someone would put together a longer suite of Rawsthorne's score to 'The Cruel Sea' although I like what is available on Chandos and Silvascreen. As for GL I prefer No.4 to No.5, melodic though that is. I think that No.4 is quite a dark score although that is not the consensus here.
"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: relm1 on March 26, 2019, 06:30:50 AM
I like the first movement of the 4th but to me, the rest of it just seems too jolly for my tastes.  Not that I don't like the work, just that my sensibilities are towards more serious or darker music.

Yes, I was certainly expecting the 4th to be an overall darker work considering its subject matter, but I soon got too swept up in the sheer joy and brio of the work to care! It seems to me like Lloyd is truly exorcising his traumas from the war in the much darker 7th symphony.

It's great to see so much enthusiasm for Lloyd springing up on this forum! Now if only concert programmers would catch on... ::)
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

kyjo

Quote from: vandermolen on March 25, 2019, 05:41:57 AM
Change of View!

Following the discussion here I decided the buy the George Lloyd sampler (below) dirt cheap on Amazon UK. Coincidentally it features the long (15 minutes) opening movement of Piano Concerto 4. I thought it was great. It features a soulful and highly memorable tune a few minutes in which keeps returning. As soon as the movement ended I had to play it again. So, on second thoughts Cesar, I'd recommend PC 4 at least for its engaging opening movement.


PS the sampler itself is rather good - featuring half a photo of Margaret Rutherford on the cover.
8)
There's a good review of the PC4 here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/George-Lloyd-Lily-leaf-Grasshopper-Transformation/dp/B019GRBP1K

I like PC 4 a good deal. The finale has a naggingly catchy, quintessentially Lloydian tune that you'll have stuck in your head for days!
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

vandermolen

Quote from: kyjo on March 26, 2019, 07:53:53 PM
I like PC 4 a good deal. The finale has a naggingly catchy, quintessentially Lloydian tune that you'll have stuck in your head for days!

Thanks Kyle - I intend to play the whole work through later today.
"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: SymphonicAddict on March 21, 2019, 01:01:02 PM
Changing a bit the topic, has anyone heard this CD with his violin concertos?



When I listened to them some months ago, I thought they were delectable, above all the one with strings, one of his finest creations imho, prefering it above the piano concertos. I'm not saying the piano concertos are bad, just they didn't click on me as much as I wanted.
Do you know I've had this CD for years and never recall listening to it ::). Cesar is right the Concerto for Violin and Strings is a fine work and has been a nice Lloyd discovery for me along with PC 4, which I was initially dismissive of. The Violin Concerto reminded me in places of Alwyn and Shostakovich but it is an original and characteristic work. So, thank you Cesar for alerting us to it.
"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

Quote from: vandermolen on April 02, 2019, 07:03:47 AM
Do you know I've had this CD for years and never recall listening to it ::). Cesar is right the Concerto for Violin and Strings is a fine work and has been a nice Lloyd discovery for me along with PC 4, which I was initially dismissive of. The Violin Concerto reminded me in places of Alwyn and Shostakovich but it is an original and characteristic work. So, thank you Cesar for alerting us to it.

My pleasure, Jeffrey! I hadn't realized the Alwyn echoes on it, it sounds right.

kyjo

I listened to the Fifth Symphony (Philharmonia/Downes on Lyrita) a few days ago, which I found nearly as impressive as the Fourth. The opening is utterly gorgeous, with a gentle, pastoral theme that contains some delicious harmonic shifts. The second movement is a solemn Corale, the third a fleet, neo-Mendelssohnian scherzo, the fourth (Lamento) is an outpouring of passion and grief that is darker than anything in the Fourth Symphony, and the finale is a thrilling, ebullient race to the finish with an ever-present snare drum goading the orchestra along (in the manner of W. Schuman's 3rd rather than Nielsen's 5th). Lloyd is fast becoming one of my current favorite composers!
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

J.Z. Herrenberg

Yes, that Fifth is a masterly work! I was also amazed at its quality.
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

relm1

I haven't seen this documentary mentioned but here is a documentary about George Lloyd called "Strong Storms and Symphonies":
https://vimeo.com/218826305

J.Z. Herrenberg

Quote from: relm1 on May 12, 2019, 07:05:45 AM
I haven't seen this documentary mentioned but here is a documentary about George Lloyd called "Strong Storms and Symphonies":
https://vimeo.com/218826305


Thanks! Will check it out later this week!
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

kyjo

Quote from: relm1 on May 12, 2019, 07:05:45 AM
I haven't seen this documentary mentioned but here is a documentary about George Lloyd called "Strong Storms and Symphonies":
https://vimeo.com/218826305

Thanks for bringing this to our attention!

Continuing in my exploration of Lloyd's music, I recently listened to the 6th Symphony (BBCNSO/Downes/Lyrita). This has the reputation of being one of Lloyd's "lighter" symphonies, but that should not be taken as a pejorative description. It's a wonderfully energetic, tuneful, and succinct work with a gorgeously melancholic slow movement.
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

J.Z. Herrenberg

Quote from: kyjo on May 12, 2019, 08:45:27 AM
Thanks for bringing this to our attention!

Continuing in my exploration of Lloyd's music, I recently listened to the 6th Symphony (BBCNSO/Downes/Lyrita). This has the reputation of being one of Lloyd's "lighter" symphonies, but that should not be taken as a pejorative description. It's a wonderfully energetic, tuneful, and succinct work with a gorgeously melancholic slow movement.


The 6th is terrific! A glorious work.
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

Laal_John

Quote from: kyjo on March 26, 2019, 07:51:26 PM
Yes, I was certainly expecting the 4th to be an overall darker work considering its subject matter, but I soon got too swept up in the sheer joy and brio of the work to care! It seems to me like Lloyd is truly exorcising his traumas from the war in the much darker 7th symphony.

It's great to see so much enthusiasm for Lloyd springing up on this forum! Now if only concert programmers would catch on... ::)

Is the attitude still somewhat visceral towards the performances of his music? I thought we were leaving that behind these days. I've only just discovered Lloyd, somewhat hidden in plain sight all these years. I've previously immersed myself in Rachmaninoff whilst out on long walks in the countryside and love romantic music. I find George Lloyd's symphonies are an entire delight to listen too when out in nature, but in trying to find more of his work, found it to be almost placed in a corner. Good to see the popularity here is still thriving.

relm1


J.Z. Herrenberg

Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato