EJ Moeran

Started by tjguitar, April 15, 2007, 05:18:53 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Dundonnell

Quote from: vandermolen on June 30, 2009, 12:16:35 PM
The Symphony is being performed at the London Proms this year.

Here's the link:

http://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/bbc-proms/prom09/default.aspx

A programme of British music conducted by Vassily Sinaisky? Extraordinary! Never thought of him as a conductor interested in British music.

vandermolen

Quote from: Dundonnell on July 01, 2009, 03:29:21 AM
A programme of British music conducted by Vassily Sinaisky? Extraordinary! Never thought of him as a conductor interested in British music.

Have just booked up for the Prom on 23rd July - Moeran's Symphony, first (and probably last!) time I shall hear this in concert-with Finzi and Elgar's Second Symphony it should be a great concert.
"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).

Brian

Quote from: vandermolen on July 11, 2009, 02:14:40 PM
Have just booked up for the Prom on 23rd July - Moeran's Symphony, first (and probably last!) time I shall hear this in concert-with Finzi and Elgar's Second Symphony it should be a great concert.
Wow; wish I could be there. On my recent road trip I partook in Moeran's Sinfonietta - very favorably impressed, though I thought the last two movements did not rise to the level of the first.

vandermolen

Quote from: Brian on July 11, 2009, 08:48:57 PM
Wow; wish I could be there. On my recent road trip I partook in Moeran's Sinfonietta - very favorably impressed, though I thought the last two movements did not rise to the level of the first.

The Sinfonietta is good - first Moeran I heard. Boult's Lyrita performance is the one to have. Do you know the Cello Concerto? This and the Symphony are his masterpieces I think. The Violin Concerto is better known but I find the Cello Concerto to be the greater work.
"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

#44
It was a great experience to attend the Prom concert in London last Thursday and hear the Moeran Symphony live for the first (and possibly last time - it was last performed at the Proms in 1938!) Vassily Sinaisky and the BBC Philharmonic gave a wonderfully cogent performance which even my 21 year old daughter (attending her first classical concert) enjoyed, despite announcing, on leaving home for the concert, that she was bringing her ear-plugs with her.

It was a really good concert, which also featured Finzi's Grand Fantasia and Toccata and a fine performance of Symphony No 2 by Elgar.  Yes, it was really interesting to hear a Russian conductor in these works - I have an interesting CD of Svetlanov conducting Symphony No 2 by Elgar with the USSR Symphony Orchestra - a fine, if rather unidiomatic performance.
"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: vandermolen on July 25, 2009, 12:23:41 AM
It was a great experience to attend the Prom concert in London last Thursday and hear the Moeran Symphony live for the first (and possibly last time - it was last performed at the Proms in 1938!) Vassily Sinaisky and the BBC Philharmonic gave a wonderfully cogent performance which even my 21 year old daughter (attending her first classical concert) enjoyed, despite announcing, on leaving home for the concert, that she was bringing her ear-plugs with her.

It was a really good concert, which also featured Finzi's Grand Fantasia and Toccata and a fine performance of Symphony No 2 by Elgar.  Yes, it was really interesting to hear a Russian conductor in these works - I have an interesting CD of Svetlanov conducting Symphony No 2 by Elgar with the USSR Symphony Orchestra - a fine, if rather unidiomatic performance.

Thanks, Jeffrey! I am slightly envious... But I am going to use the BBC iPlayer NOW! The concert can still be heard for a few days.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007v097/episodes/player
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

vandermolen

Quote from: Jezetha on July 25, 2009, 01:03:51 AM
Thanks, Jeffrey! I am slightly envious... But I am going to use the BBC iPlayer NOW! The concert can still be heard for a few days.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007v097/episodes/player
Thanks Johan!

I am trying to see if any newspapers review the concert today.  I was very moved to finally hear the Moeran live, especially in a great performance (I was more aware than before of the influence of Vaughan Williams Symphony No 4 in this work) - one of my very favourite works. Now bring on Miaskovsky (Festival Hall London April 2010) and Braga Santos (?!!!)
"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

#47
Quote from: vandermolen on July 25, 2009, 01:35:38 AM
Thanks Johan!

I am trying to see if any newspapers review the concert today.  I was very moved to finally hear the Moeran live, especially in a great performance (I was more aware than before of the influence of Vaughan Williams Symphony No 4 in this work) - one of my very favourite works. Now bring on Miaskovsky (Festival Hall London April 2010) and Braga Santos (?!!!)

I am in the final few minutes of the Moeran. Yes, a great performance. Sinaisky accentuates both the beauty and the harshness very tellingly, I think. I was reminded of RVW too, more strongly than before, especially in the first movement (though not the 4th in particular).

Next year - Brian, Myaskovsky and Braga Santos, in ONE concert. Yes!

Addition: according to the presenter: 1) Sinaisky loves the Moeran symphony for its 'drama' and 'sincerity' and 2) the BBC Philharmonic will be performing the work again next season at their home base in Manchester (Bridgewater Hall).
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

vandermolen

Quote from: Jezetha on July 25, 2009, 01:50:40 AM
I am in the final few minutes of the Moeran. Yes, a great performance. Sinaisky accentuates both the beauty and the harshness very tellingly, I think. I was reminded of RVW too, more strongly than before, especially in the first movement (though not the 4th in particular).

Next year - Brian, Myaskovsky and Braga Santos, in ONE concert. Yes!

Addition: according to the presenter: 1) Sinaisky loves the Moeran symphony for its 'drama' and 'sincerity' and 2) the BBC Philharmonic will be performing the work again next season at their home base in Manchester (Bridgewater Hall).

That's really interesting Johan - it would be great if they could record the Symphony - but maybe that is hoping for too much.  In fact we were sitting right next to the BBC 4 (TV) announcer and crew. Just before the end of each piece there was considerable clattering as the cameras were moved about and the TV announcer got back in his place  ::)
"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).

Guido

I really wanted to go to this but couldn't... When will it be on BBC4 TV?
Geologist.

The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away

calyptorhynchus

I thought there had to be a Moeran thread, yes of course I love his work, I find it very vital and well argued, and very, very beautiful.

I know most of his orchestral works and some of his chamber works, and thoroughly recommend the Chandos recordings.

One thing which I find very interesting about Moeran is that he seemed to write in the same style and at the same level of inspiration throughout his career. For example it is thought that one string quartet dates from early in his career (1920s) and the other from later (1940s), and yet they sound pretty much the same stylistically. Only in the late orchestral works like the Sinfonietta or the Serenade, does he seem to be moving to a more neoclassical style.

Finally does anyone here know the sonata for two violins? There's a free mp3 on the web somewhere, do a search. It's a great work too!
'Many men are melancholy by hearing music, but it is a pleasing melancholy that it causeth.' Robert Burton

vandermolen

#51
Quote from: calyptorhynchus on June 10, 2012, 04:57:34 AM
I thought there had to be a Moeran thread, yes of course I love his work, I find it very vital and well argued, and very, very beautiful.

I know most of his orchestral works and some of his chamber works, and thoroughly recommend the Chandos recordings.

One thing which I find very interesting about Moeran is that he seemed to write in the same style and at the same level of inspiration throughout his career. For example it is thought that one string quartet dates from early in his career (1920s) and the other from later (1940s), and yet they sound pretty much the same stylistically. Only in the late orchestral works like the Sinfonietta or the Serenade, does he seem to be moving to a more neoclassical style.

Finally does anyone here know the sonata for two violins? There's a free mp3 on the web somewhere, do a search. It's a great work too!

Interesting point about Moeran's style.  I don't know the sonata you mention. My favourites are the great Symphony and the wonderful Cello Concerto. I prefer the Coetmore/Boult performance on Lyrita to the Chandos.  The cello playing in the Chandos is more polished, but there is something very special about the Lyrita, performed by Moeran's widow - the marriage was not very happy by the sound of it (I don't mean by the sound of the recording!) but there is something very moving and heartfelt about Coetmore's playing, even though she was not a regular performer by 1969 when the recording was made.  Boult's accompaniment is wonderful.  I find the climax of the work to be overwhelming.
"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).

calyptorhynchus

Anyone caught up with Martin Yates' 'realisation of fragments of the Second Symphony' yet?

I've just listened to the first BBC broadcast and I was blown away, it's a great work, it has all the brio and vim of the Sinfonietta, coupled with the large-scale design and depth of the 1st Symphony. Yates has done very well to construct something as connected as this from what were quite sketchy sketches (500 out of 1200 bars are in the sketches, the rest is either Yates using these to make further music, or Yates composing in the style of Moeran).

I was particularly impressed with the development of the 1st movement, a sort of Celtic fairyland seascape created by beautiful liquid textures and intricate cross-rhythms, but unlike the seascape of the slow movement of No.1, this is underwater. If I remember rightly Lir was the Irish god of of the sea, so this is Lir's palace or whatever :-) The interesting thing is that Yates says in his BBC 3 talk that he had to develop the material of the 1st movement more fully than the sketches did, so I wonder if this passage is in the sketches, or is Yates composing.

The other particularly impressive part of this work is the finale, where Yates only had a few bars to go on. It works amazingly well and sounds very authentic.

I might write to Yates to thank him for it and suggest he start composing in his own right!
'Many men are melancholy by hearing music, but it is a pleasing melancholy that it causeth.' Robert Burton

J.Z. Herrenberg

Thanks for reminding me - I'll see if I can squeeze in a first listen...
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

vandermolen

#54
Super new CD in all respects.  Would be an ideal introduction to his lyrical, soulful music if you don't know it. The Cello Concerto is, along with the Symphony, Moeran's finest work IMHO and worthy to stand alongside those of Elgar and Miaskovsky.
[asin]B00BBAVVT2[/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).

Brian

Quote from: vandermolen on April 05, 2013, 08:29:43 AM
Super new CD in all respects.  Would be an ideal introduction to his lyrical, soulful music if you don't know it. The Cello Concerto is, along with the Symphony, Moeran's finest work IMHO and worthy to stand alongside those of Elgar and Miaskovsky.
and don't forget Weinberg


I greatly enjoyed the Cello Concerto on first listen and will probably try it again next week. I don't know if the emotional stakes are quite as high as in Elgar and Weinberg, but the lyrical writing is superb.

vandermolen

#56
Quote from: Brian on April 05, 2013, 12:42:02 PM
and don't forget Weinberg


I greatly enjoyed the Cello Concerto on first listen and will probably try it again next week. I don't know if the emotional stakes are quite as high as in Elgar and Weinberg, but the lyrical writing is superb.

Thank you. I am a great admirer of Weinberg but don't know his Cello Concerto - clearly I need to rectify this! The new Naxos of Moeran's Cello Concerto is beautifully played and recorded. It is better played than the Coetmore/Boult recording but the climax of the last movement - a very moving love song, is not as overwhelming in the new recording (after all Coetmore was Moeran's wife, although the marriage was not a happy one). I would not be without the Boult/Coetmore Lyrita recording which is the most deeply fely of the three now available. Another fine thing about the Naxos CD is the fine couplings - I had not realised that there was an (optional) vocal section to 'Lonely Waters' (c. 1931) and was surprised when the Soprano came in with the folk song!
"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

Looks interesting - forthcoming release.
[asin]B00GK8P1HI[/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).

Mirror Image

Quote from: vandermolen on December 31, 2013, 04:25:07 PM
Looks interesting - forthcoming release.
[asin]B00GK8P1HI[/asin]

Nice. I still have yet to acquire the earlier Falletta recording, but I have bought Little's new recording of his Violin Concerto, so it will be interesting to hear this work with some new ears and Little as the soloist certainly won't hinder the performance! 8)

vandermolen

The JoAnn Falletta Naxos CD is wonderful in all respects. I was especially struck by her version of Overture to a Masque, played with much more urgency than in other recordings and oddly moving in its wartime context - reminding me of Lilburn's Aotearoa Overture. The Rhapsodies and In the Mountain Country are also given very fine performances and a terrific recording. A must for Moeran fans and a great introduction to his soulful, moving and atmospheric music.
"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).