Milford's Haven

DaveF · July 05, 2019, 01:18:37 AM

Quote from: vandermolen on July 04, 2019, 01:58:17 AM
Thank you! Must explore Robin Holloway's music which I hardly know. Any recommendations?

Stressful holiday preparations (everything going wrong) prevent me from serious re-listening at the moment, but the Second Concerto for Orchestra is a goodie, and I remember being very impressed by the Horn Concerto at a Prom centuries ago.

Roasted Swan · July 05, 2019, 09:45:16 AM

Just had a first listen to the Milford 2nd Symphony performance mentioned above. To be blunt - its no lost masterpiece. Charming and neat are two words that spring to mind and sadly do damm with faint praise. The climax of the penultimate/slow movement is powerful and easily the most impressive part of the work. But that is spoilt by a very lightweight neo-baroque Divertimento-like finale which ends with the most perfunctory 5/1 harmonic resolution imaginable. Listening to this hard not to come to the conclusion that Milford's skill lies with the finely-wrought miniature. Somehow this symphonic scale seems to defeat him. Not sure what I was expecting - perhaps something like the Armstrong-Gibbs Symphonies which I rather like.

Well played of course and as convincing as I imagine it could be but actually I was rather disappointed to be honest.........

calyptorhynchus · July 05, 2019, 01:31:12 PM

I have come to the opposite conclusion, I think it's quite good. It's obviously no Walton 1 or Moeran in g minor, but well worth keeping in mind. I like the way that in this work Milford seems to have found a voice that I don't hear in the other works of his I have heard. There are a few Sibelian fingerprints (though no Sibelian processes

) but apart from this his music in this symphony doesn't sound like anyone else's. I particularly like the dancing woodwind in the first two movements. I didn't find the finale too lightweight.

[BTW don't forget that there is also disk of chamber works of his on Toccata].

vandermolen · July 05, 2019, 02:22:24 PM

Quote from: DaveF on July 05, 2019, 01:18:37 AM
Stressful holiday preparations (everything going wrong) prevent me from serious re-listening at the moment, but the Second Concerto for Orchestra is a goodie, and I remember being very impressed by the Horn Concerto at a Prom centuries ago.

Well, I've just had the 'family holiday unpacking row' with my wife and the bicycles nearly fell off the back of the car on the motorway. Thanks for the recommendations.

vandermolen · July 05, 2019, 02:24:46 PM

Quote from: calyptorhynchus on July 05, 2019, 01:31:12 PM
I have come to the opposite conclusion, I think it's quite good. It's obviously no Walton 1 or Moeran in g minor, but well worth keeping in mind. I like the way that in this work Milford seems to have found a voice that I don't hear in the other works of his I have heard. There are a few Sibelian fingerprints (though no Sibelian processes ) but apart from this his music in this symphony doesn't sound like anyone else's. I particularly like the dancing woodwind in the first two movements. I didn't find the finale too lightweight.

[BTW don't forget that there is also disk of chamber works of his on Toccata].

Tend to agree with this view. That slow movement was special. Armstrong Gibbs seems like an appropriate comparison.

Roasted Swan · July 05, 2019, 11:07:40 PM

As ever - how fortunate we are to be in a position to hear this work anyway whether it consequently speaks to us more or less.....

vandermolen · July 06, 2019, 11:10:01 AM

Quote from: Roasted Swan on July 05, 2019, 11:07:40 PM
As ever - how fortunate we are to be in a position to hear this work anyway whether it consequently speaks to us more or less.....

Very true!