George Lloyd

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

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cilgwyn

#80
Having said that (see my previous post!) maybe his (Khatchaturian's) third symphony isn't so bombastic,if you take it on it's own terms,in the context of it's time and where it was written! This also may apply to Knipper's Fourth,a bit of a joke in the West,but the Russian people don't seem to have regarded it as bombastic. It was very popular there! Having said that,Khatchaturian's third does seem to my ears to suffer from that problem I do regard as bombast. Thin material! That 'big tune' that goes on and on,getting ever more discordant! But that's probably it's point I suppose! But why Vincent Price (as Dr Phibes?) playing the organ?!! (Of course maybe they had to like them! And did they have as much time to listen to their Melodiya Lps as we did? (When they arrived after weeks/months of waiting,that is!! ;D)
Gliere's third is another example. His material seems dangerously stretched to breaking point at times;but thankfully he's a fantastic orchestrator and he's very good at disguising it.
As to George Lloyd's Seventh,if memory serves correctly (the tape should be here soon) it's too full of good ideas,at least to my ears,to be in the least bit bombastic.

cilgwyn

Well I'll get to find out soon! ??? ;D

vandermolen

Quote from: cilgwyn on December 22, 2014, 05:13:38 AM
Well I'll get to find out soon! ??? ;D

OT

I like all the Khachaturian symphonies, No. 1 is very underrated and the Jarvi version of No. 2 sweeps the field with its massively intimidating opening. That is my favourite version of his finest symphony. I enjoy the much maligned No. 3 too. Dr Phibes is also at the organ console in 'Sinfonia Antartica' included in the newly released Melodiya boxed set of the symphonies of Vaughan Williams (Rozhdestvensky).
"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

In case anyone is wondering why we are talking about Khatchaturian in the George Lloyd thread? We are discussing 'bombast'! ;D

Vandermole,I had a chance to hear Tjeknavorian's RCA recording of Khatchaturian's First Symphony recently via a superb transfer made from the original Lp. This reading just sweeps you along with it. Epic,poignant exciting,passionate in turn. This is a magisterial performance in superb sound that really needs to be made available on cd. The ASV is very poor,it just doesn't give you any idea of how good this symphony is. Why didn't Jarvi do it I wonder? There is hope however. I notice some RCA first time reissues which many had given up all hope of ever hearing again. The Danon Die Fledermaus for example (but the conductor left out Frosch!! ???) And the so-called 'complete' Gayaneh took years to release.

Anyway,back to George Lloyd!! ;D

cilgwyn

One point! If memory serves me correctly,weren't some of the George Lloyd recordings originally released on the Lyrita label? If so which ones? If so were they released on cd? I must find that old Penguin guide!!

Sergeant Rock

Quote from: cilgwyn on December 23, 2014, 04:04:00 AM
One point! If memory serves me correctly,weren't some of the George Lloyd recordings originally released on the Lyrita label? If so which ones? If so were they released on cd? I must find that old Penguin guide!!

The CD release with Miss Marple on the cover:




Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

cilgwyn

 ;D Thanks Sarge! A Private Eye look-a-like,if ever there was! Of course,everyone know it's really Margaret Rutherford (albeit in colour)! Mind you,on second thoughts,are Lyrita absolutely sure they didn't get the negatives mixed up?!!

If you don't like George Lloyd it could be a case of 'Murder he composed!' ??? ;D

vandermolen

Quote from: cilgwyn on December 23, 2014, 03:21:45 AM
In case anyone is wondering why we are talking about Khatchaturian in the George Lloyd thread? We are discussing 'bombast'! ;D

Vandermole,I had a chance to hear Tjeknavorian's RCA recording of Khatchaturian's First Symphony recently via a superb transfer made from the original Lp. This reading just sweeps you along with it. Epic,poignant exciting,passionate in turn. This is a magisterial performance in superb sound that really needs to be made available on cd. The ASV is very poor,it just doesn't give you any idea of how good this symphony is. Why didn't Jarvi do it I wonder? There is hope however. I notice some RCA first time reissues which many had given up all hope of ever hearing again. The Danon Die Fledermaus for example (but the conductor left out Frosch!! ???) And the so-called 'complete' Gayaneh took years to release.

Anyway,back to George Lloyd!! ;D


RCA have a lot to answer for John. Bax: Symphony 3 LSO Downes, Miaskovsky: Symphony 21 Morton Gould, Chicago SO (who commissioned the work) + the totally unsurpassed Tcheknavorian LSO Khachaturian Symphony 1 you mention. All best performances as far as I'm concerned and none released on CD. Shameful.  >:(
"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,people have been raving about the KlassikHaus restoration of the Gould Miaskovsky 21 (and the Antar  with it was very good,too. Quite a nice coupling imho!) This Lp would make a fantastic reissue. Gould also made  excellent recordings of Copland's Billy the Kid and Rodeo. He seems to have been a very good conductor from what little I've heard. And there's another recording conducted by him that is supposed to be good. Unfortunately it has slipped my mind! Nielsen's Second,that's it! I bet you've heard it if it's any good?

My apologies for accidentally referring to you as Vandermole! My crummy typing,as usual!! ??? ;D


cilgwyn

#89
Luke Walker touched down today via my letterbox! Actually the Conifer cassette of George Lloyd's Seventh,which I bought on ebay! Very good condition too,I'm happy to say! A little tape hiss accompanying those soft opening notes,but I quite like it,as long as it's not too loud!
As to the symphony itself. I have to say I'm in agreement with Vandermolen and Sarge. This is the first time I have heard this symphony in years and imo it's not a note too long. I really enjoyed it. I think it has one of the most beautiful slow movements I have heard in any British symphony. I love the way he opens the symphony and ends it. The music just seems to dwindle away into silence. It has a mysterious enigmatic atmosphere in places which really seems to evoke that other world that Lloyd speaks off and the connections between it. I wonder if George Lloyd ever read any of the books of Marie Corelli,the Victorian novelist,who outsold Dickens,Thackeray and every other author you can think of! A Romance of two Worlds,The Everlasting Life (I love that one!) etc,etc!  Very strange books. A pity she became such a joke towards the end of her life. The books are a bit 'purple' by today's standards,but she had a terrific imagination! Gladstone and Queen Victoria were both avid fans!

http://mariecorelli.org.uk/

It's more likely that George Lloyd read books of Greek legends. Popular ones when I was young included those of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Andrew Lang. Also,in cinematic form,Jason and the Argonauts! How I enjoyed that one! No one ever believes me of course,but Niall MacGinnis*,who played Zeus in that movie,was my childhood GP! Also starring in Night of the Demon,he retired to West Wales after he left acting and returned to medicine! I remember him giving my Dad a tetanus injection after he stepped on a nail while collecting firewood. The needles were all blunt. He kept trying one after the other. It wasn't that clicky little thing they use now! A nice man,though and a very good GP,when he had a decent supply of needles! I didn't know he'd been Zeus and summoned Demons in a film,then! :(

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niall_MacGinnis

By the way! More confusion. A Conifer cassette? I thought it was going to be an Albany cassette! Lyrita! Conifer! Albany? Where the heck do Conifer come into this?!!! ??? ??? ;D



*There,got his name right!! :-[ ;D

Maestro267

I like what I've heard of George Lloyd's music so far. I've got the 4th & 7th Symphonies, The Vigil of Venus and A Symphonic Mass. My favourite of these is the Mass. Fantastic that the 1990s can produce a late addition to the great canon of 20th-century British choral works. The ending of the Sanctus is one of the most incredible and powerful moments I've ever heard in music. Gives me goosebumps every time I hear it.

vandermolen

Quote from: Maestro267 on July 24, 2015, 03:47:13 AM
I like what I've heard of George Lloyd's music so far. I've got the 4th & 7th Symphonies, The Vigil of Venus and A Symphonic Mass. My favourite of these is the Mass. Fantastic that the 1990s can produce a late addition to the great canon of 20th-century British choral works. The ending of the Sanctus is one of the most incredible and powerful moments I've ever heard in music. Gives me goosebumps every time I hear it.
Thanks. Must listen to the Symphonic Mass again. In addition to symphonies 4 and 7 I'd recommend No.8 and the Khachaturian-like No.11 which I was lucky enough to see live conducted by the composer. Also piano concertos 1 'Scapegoat' and 3. No.3 has a very powerful slow movement and a very catchy tune 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).

Maestro267

I'm listening to Lloyd's Seventh Symphony now, and his orchestration is absolutely marvellous! From the opening with that incessant repeated xylophone note, through to the brass-powered Agitato finale with its earth-shattering climax, this is an immensely powerful work.

Klaatu

I must agree about Lloyd's Symphonic Mass. A really powerful piece with a recurring Big Tune, and a late romantic idiom (very anachronistic for its day, but who cares?), it would absolutely bring the house down at the BBC Proms.

vandermolen

Quote from: Klaatu on July 25, 2015, 01:33:25 PM
I must agree about Lloyd's Symphonic Mass. A really powerful piece with a recurring Big Tune, and a late romantic idiom (very anachronistic for its day, but who cares?), it would absolutely bring the house down at the BBC Proms.

Thank you. I have it somewhere in my collection. Must find it immediately.  ???
"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).

Maestro267

The First and Twelfth Symphonies are now in my collection. I'm nearing the end of No. 1 as I write. A wonderful piece; the slow section (the symphony is in one continuous movement, of 25 minutes' length) is absolutely gorgeous! The whole work is wonderfully orchestrated. From 1932, so it belongs to the great flowering of British symphonies of that era.

Mirror Image

This documentary about Lloyd may be of some interest:

https://www.youtube.com/v/NGaYZ7K3oa8

Sergeant Rock

Quote from: Mirror Image on June 04, 2016, 08:44:15 AM
This documentary about Lloyd may be of some interest:

Thanks, John!

Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

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).

Mirror Image