Hans Werner Henze symphonies

[paulb]

. This is my first exposure to the composer and to me, his style is similar to Hindemith and Bartok, but in the Sixth I've heard he experiment with percussions like Varese.

This is another composer I *took a  chance* with, can't recall why i shut the cdp off, but I trust your comments here to speak for me.
So why would i want to buy a  Henze cd when i can hear the original with Bartok , Varese or Hindemith?
Though Bartok at times pulls ideas from Stravinsky in the Wooden Prince, i still find WP to be my cup of tea vs Stravinsky's Rite.
So though Bartok is not completely original in WP, he manages to transcend Stravinsky's RoS.

[greg]

what Henze have you listened to, Paul?

[PerfectWagnerite]

This is another composer I *took a  chance* with, can't recall why i shut the cdp off, but I trust your comments here to speak for me.
So why would i want to buy a  Henze cd when i can hear the original with Bartok , Varese or Hindemith?
Though Bartok at times pulls ideas from Stravinsky in the Wooden Prince, i still find WP to be my cup of tea vs Stravinsky's Rite.
So though Bartok is not completely original in WP, he manages to transcend Stravinsky's RoS.

I love Henze, well my wallet loves him anyway. I found a used copy of his DG symphonies for $6 and sold it on ebay for $30

[paulb]

what Henze have you listened to, Paul?

I can't recall, it was 3 yrs ago, bought 2 cds of Henze. I believe it was Uffeviking and another member that highly recommended Henze, i took the chance and....... came up short.

[greg]

I can't recall, it was 3 yrs ago, bought 2 cds of Henze. I believe it was Uffeviking and another member that highly recommended Henze, i took the chance and....... came up short.

i wonder if you'd like the 8th?
try this:

http://rapidshare.com/files/67159590/henze_sinfonia_n.8.zip

my favorite one, i'd even go far enough to say it's one of the best 20th century symphonies ever written, if you ask me.

[MDL]

So though Bartok is not completely original in WP, he manages to transcend Stravinsky's RoS.

What rubbish. The Wooden Prince is beautiful and hugely enjoyable, but it's second-rate, watered-down Bartok compared to Bluebeard, Mandarin, Concerto for Orchestra and even the rarely heard Cantata Profana. Stravinsky's Rite, overplayed and overfamiliar as it may have become, is a seminal work, one of the greatest and most important pieces ever composed.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

If you can find it, there is a fairly good analysis/multiple biography called Hindemith, Hartmann, Henze by Guy Richard.  The author shows the connections or at least the parallels among all 3: the Henze - Hartmann connection is especially interesting.

I think you mean Guy Rickards (also a member of the Havergal Brian Society, btw).

[Scarpia]

For some reason I had to notion to listen to something by Henze and got this recording for about one dollar, used, on Amazon marketplace.



My lord, what horseshit!  How anyone can persuade themselves to sit through this is beyond me!  Then I read that it was commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic to celebrate their centenary in 1982.  Ok, clearly they were trying to thumb their noses at Karajan, who they knew wouldn't touch this thing with a 10 foot pole.   This is the sort of recording I have to keep on my shelves to remind myself never, ever, never, ever to get another recording of any "music" by Henze.

Had to listen to the Berg chamber concerto immediately afterward to clean the palette.

[Sergeant Rock]

For some reason I had to notion to listen to something by Henze and got this recording for about one dollar, used, on Amazon marketplace.



My lord, what horseshit!

I like it...but then, I like everything

Sarge

[Lethevich]

That disc I found quite appealing, although the 7th felt like a re-tread of work done earlier that sounded better (I think maybe the 5th). The coupled work I recalled being really fun too

[Bulldog]

For some reason I had to notion to listen to something by Henze and got this recording for about one dollar, used, on Amazon marketplace.



My lord, what horseshit!  How anyone can persuade themselves to sit through this is beyond me!  Then I read that it was commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic to celebrate their centenary in 1982.  Ok, clearly they were trying to thumb their noses at Karajan, who they knew wouldn't touch this thing with a 10 foot pole.   This is the sort of recording I have to keep on my shelves to remind myself never, ever, never, ever to get another recording of any "music" by Henze.

Had to listen to the Berg chamber concerto immediately afterward to clean the palette.

I like Henze a lot, and the 7th is his most popular symphony.  I connected with Henze the first time I heard his music - we're soul mates just like I am with Bach.

[Scarpia]

I have to admit I didn't make it past the first movement of the symphony, and the worst aspect of it was the shrillness, the relentlessly shrieking high frequencies with no warmth or low frequency.  I had to stop it.

[Lethevich]

Try the Baracola if you have yet to throw the CD out the window If it's the work I am thinking of, it sounds quite light and Frenchy.

[greg]

I don't think I even have the 7th. I have 1-10, but no 7 or 9.

You have to listen to the 8th, though. Absolutely incredible, and blows away all of the other symphonies I've heard by him. (it's a live recording, and you'll have to actually listen to the whole 26' of it to catch the best parts, such as the crazed swing-like dance in the middle and the ultra-mysterious ending). PM me if interested.

[karlhenning]

I like it...but then, I like everything

Well, not everything surely, Sarge!

I like it, too.

[karlhenning]

I have to admit I didn't make it past the first movement of the symphony, and the worst aspect of it was the shrillness, the relentlessly shrieking high frequencies with no warmth or low frequency.  I had to stop it.

To a (much restrained) degree, I see your point:  There are trumpet entrances in each of the first, second and third movements which are designedly strident.  I don't think he 'crosses the line', though.  And if you gave up, you've missed the warmth of the 'pay-off' in the fourth movement.

[Scarpia]

To a (much restrained) degree, I see your point:  There are trumpet entrances in each of the first, second and third movements which are designedly strident.  I don't think he 'crosses the line', though.  And if you gave up, you've missed the warmth of the 'pay-off' in the fourth movement.

If there are two problems with this recording they are Rattle and EMI.  I saw the Janowski recording, list price $26.98 for a single disc.  Even the bargain houses are quite pricey.  That's an obstacle.

[karlhenning]

If there are two problems with this recording they are Rattle and EMI.  I saw the Janowski recording, list price $26.98 for a single disc.  Even the bargain houses are quite pricey.  That's an obstacle.

Understood!  I got my copy of the Janowski a good deal cheaper.

[karlhenning]

You have to listen to the 8th, though. Absolutely incredible, and blows away all of the other symphonies I've heard by him. (it's a live recording, and you'll have to actually listen to the whole 26' of it to catch the best parts, such as the crazed swing-like dance in the middle and the ultra-mysterious ending).

Here I've got to echo Greg's enthusiasm for the Eighth.  If anything, I like it even a bit better than the Seventh.

I am curious about the earlier symphonies now (or, again).  Long ago, while I was yet at Wooster, the first five on LP didn't make a strong impression (not necessarily a reflection of the music itself).  I think I remember that double-LP containing five symphonies (and not yet the sixth).

[greg]

I just listened to the 7th on youtube and had no problems at all with the "incessant high frequencies" or whatever (and I know exactly what you're talking about). Maybe it's the recording?
And I happened to think it was really good! Possibly my 2nd favorite, after the 8th.