Sir Arnold Bax

Started by tjguitar, April 15, 2007, 06:12:44 PM

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vandermolen

Quote from: Moonfish on May 31, 2014, 03:01:50 PM
Just listened to:
Bax: Symphony No 1
Bax: In the Faery Hills // The Garden of Fand
Royal Scottish National Orchestra/ Lloyd- Jones


Interesting music... a bit of the sweeping pastoral feeling of English compositions. I especially enjoyed The Garden of Fand. However, I was quite taken by S1!!!

[asin] B0000060CE[/asin]

I just started listening to these Naxos recordings. I understand that Chandos also has released many recordings of Bax's works.  Are there any major differences between these two (Naxos vs Chandos) and is either one preferred for an approach to Bax's works? Do you have any specific advice on approaching either series?

Just saw this. There are supporters and critics of both cycles. Personally I don't think you will go wrong with either and the Naxos discs are very good value. On balance I prefer Thomson and also many of the Lyrita recordings, especially No.5 conducted by Raymond Leppard which I think is the greatest recorded performance of that fine 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).

aukhawk

I like the Lyrita recordings best if you can find them - the 2nd Symphony (cond. Myer Fredman) is especially good and was a demo-class recording in its day, and now coupled with No.5 (Leppard) so that's a cracking good pairing.  CD transfer seems slightly thinner sound compared with the original LPs, still sounds OK, but no longer exceptional.

vandermolen

Quote from: aukhawk on July 24, 2014, 02:28:42 PM
I like the Lyrita recordings best if you can find them - the 2nd Symphony (cond. Myer Fredman) is especially good and was a demo-class recording in its day, and now coupled with No.5 (Leppard) so that's a cracking good pairing.  CD transfer seems slightly thinner sound compared with the original LPs, still sounds OK, but no longer exceptional.

Yes, that is a great CD.
"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

I take everything I said negative about Bax's orchestral music! :) I've really been digging into his later symphonies tonight. I'm more attuned to the almost elusiveness of this music this time around. Listening to Symphony No. 6 at the moment. What an aggressive opening! I need to dig back into my collection of Bax, which includes almost all of the Chandos releases and the Lloyd-Jones cycle on Naxos. It's quite astounding if you think that Bax's symphonies have been recorded three times (Thomson, Handley, Lloyd-Jones) and a partial cycle on Lyrita, which I haven't heard but have read great reviews of it. I also really enjoy what little chamber music I've heard.

Let's get the ball rolling here, what are everyone's favorite Bax works?

Ken B

Quote from: Mirror Image on February 15, 2015, 07:30:25 PM
I take everything I said negative about Bax's orchestral music! :) I've really been digging into his later symphonies tonight. I'm more attuned to the almost elusiveness of this music this time around. Listening to Symphony No. 6 at the moment. What an aggressive opening! I need to dig back into my collection of Bax, which includes almost all of the Chandos releases and the Lloyd-Jones cycle on Naxos. It's quite astounding if you think that Bax's symphonies have been recorded three times (Thomson, Handley, Lloyd-Jones) and a partial cycle on Lyrita, which I haven't heard but have read great reviews of it. I also really enjoy what little chamber music I've heard.

Let's get the ball rolling here, what are everyone's favorite Bax works?

I liked all the chamber music I have heard. His best stuff IMO. Less happy with the later symphonies, but I liked the earlier ones, up to 4.
You listen to much Rawsthorne John? Seems right up your alley. The concerti are masterpieces.

Mirror Image

Quote from: Ken B on February 15, 2015, 08:05:45 PM
I liked all the chamber music I have heard. His best stuff IMO. Less happy with the later symphonies, but I liked the earlier ones, up to 4.
You listen to much Rawsthorne John? Seems right up your alley. The concerti are masterpieces.

Hey Ken, I'm already familiar with Rawsthorne and, yes, his music was right up my alley. I need to revisit his music at some juncture. You don't like any of Bax's tone poems or concertante works?

vandermolen

#566
I like the Harp Quintet which has an achingly beautiful theme it it. My favourite symphony is No 3 and my favourite recording with Edward Downes and the LSO has never been released on CD  >:D.
I like the Lyrita recordings very much. Symphony 5 is my other favourite symphony and the recording by Raymond Leppard is my favourite. All the symphonies are great in my view. I strongly recommend a Chandos CD of his lesser known orchestral music including the wonderfully atmospheric 'Christmas Eve' and 'Nympholept', even the unpromising sounding 'Festival Overture' on the same CD turns into a characteristically Baxian score, which I also find moving:
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The CD is about £3.00 on UK Amazon.
"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 February 15, 2015, 11:56:39 PM
I like the Harp Quintet which has an achingly beautiful theme it it. My favourite symphony is No 3 and my favourite recording with Edward Downes and the LSO has never been released on CD  >:D.
I like the Lyrita recordings very much. Symphony 5 is my other favourite symphony and the recording by Raymond Leppard is my favourite. All the symphonies are great in my view. I strongly recommend a Chandos CD of his lesser known orchestral music including the wonderfully atmospheric 'Christmas Eve' and 'Nympholept', even the unpromising sounding 'Festival Overture' on the same CD turns into a characteristically Baxian score, which I also find moving:
[asin]B0000DIXS1[/asin]
The CD is about £3.00 on UK Amazon.

Very cool, Jeffrey. Of course, I own that entire orchestral series on Chandos but really need to revisit it at some point.

Ken B

Quote from: Mirror Image on February 15, 2015, 08:08:31 PM
Hey Ken, I'm already familiar with Rawsthorne and, yes, his music was right up my alley. I need to revisit his music at some juncture. You don't like any of Bax's tone poems or concertante works?

Don't know them very well. I find Bax's orchestral music pleasant but not really memorable.

Sean

Bax is the greatest English composer from any period.

Mirror Image

Quote from: Sean on February 16, 2015, 06:27:52 AM
Bax is the greatest English composer from any period.

I happily disagree of course. :)

Mirror Image

Quote from: Ken B on February 16, 2015, 06:20:02 AM
Don't know them very well. I find Bax's orchestral music pleasant but not really memorable.

The lack of any kind of memorability is what I'm running into as well.

vandermolen

Quote from: Mirror Image on February 16, 2015, 07:55:34 AM
The lack of any kind of memorability is what I'm running into as well.

Epilogue of Symphony 3 is unforgettable in my view as is the 'liturgical' coda of Symphony 5.
"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 February 16, 2015, 08:24:20 AM
Epilogue of Symphony 3 is unforgettable in my view as is the 'liturgical' coda of Symphony 5.

I listened to Symphony No. 5 last night and don't remember a note from it. :) I'm currently finishing up Symphony No. 3 right now and it's quite nice but I don't know about 'unforgettable'. It's beautiful but it lacks that last ounce of individuality and character that make the symphonies of Elgar and RVW so compelling.

Ken B

Quote from: Mirror Image on February 16, 2015, 08:37:33 AM
I listened to Symphony No. 5 last night and don't remember a note from it. :) I'm currently finishing up Symphony No. 3 right now and it's quite nice but I don't know about 'unforgettable'. It's beautiful but it lacks that last ounce of individuality and character that make the symphonies of Elgar and RVW so compelling.
I agree, Elgar's first cannot be banished from the memory ...  >:D

Even the RVW I don't particularly like, Symphony 1 for instnace, are distinctive, and memorable. There's a powerful imagination at work in every bar.

Sean

It took me a while to make sense of what Bax is doing but he's basically using subtle interconnections to structure his music rather than given formal schemes, making it deeply satisfying; when the material leads is more important than closed melodic line and involves seemingly arbitrary juxtaposition and irrationality. This high level of conception makes it the greatest of music and I'm a total Bax addict. Similar inscrutable work might include the Scarlatti sonatas, Schumann piano music, Wagner, Strauss operas, some Messiaen, and The Rite of Spring.

Have patience...

Mirror Image

Quote from: Ken B on February 16, 2015, 08:49:39 AMEven the RVW I don't particularly like, Symphony 1 for instnace, are distinctive, and memorable. There's a powerful imagination at work in every bar.

I happen to enjoy A Sea Symphony and, agree, that RVW's own musical persona is in this work.

Mirror Image

Quote from: Sean on February 16, 2015, 10:36:36 AM
It took me a while to make sense of what Bax is doing but he's basically using subtle interconnections to structure his music rather than given formal schemes, making it deeply satisfying; when the material leads is more important than closed melodic line and involves seemingly arbitrary juxtaposition and irrationality. This high level of conception makes it the greatest of music and I'm a total Bax addict. Similar inscrutable work might include the Scarlatti sonatas, Schumann piano music, Wagner, Strauss operas, some Messiaen, and The Rite of Spring.

Have patience...

I'll definitely be giving his music more listens as I haven't completely given up hope. There is greatness there I'm sure, I just have to find it for myself. There's no question, though, that he's a consummate craftsman and knows his way around the orchestra.

Sean

Well my comments were a bit waffly but you get the idea; might be more talk on this earlier in the topic. Most of Thomson's renditions are highly recommendable.

Moonfish

What do you folks think about Lloyd-Jones' traversal of Bax on the Naxos label?    :-\

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