Alan Rawsthorne

Started by tjguitar, May 07, 2007, 09:39:18 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Print
Go Down Pages 1 2 3 4 5 6 ... 8
User actions

vandermolen

#60
November 08, 2015, 02:08:29 AM
Quote from: Christo on November 07, 2015, 02:34:26 PM
Fully seconded. Nicholas Braithwaite is often superb, in this kind of repertoire.
I agree, although I think it's John Pritchard who conducts the Symphonic Studies. I seem to recall that it was originally coupled with Rawsthorne's fine First Symphony on the original LP release.
"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

#61
August 22, 2016, 01:04:50 PM Last Edit: August 22, 2016, 01:06:36 PM by vandermolen
I've been listening to his Violin concertos on Naxos - both fine scores which I hardly knew (unlike the piano concertos). There is a kind of understated romanticism which I find appealing and his style is very distinctive. Alwyn's Violin Concerto is another recent discovery which I have greatly enjoyed:
[asin]B000009CJN[/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).

J.Z. Herrenberg

#62
August 22, 2016, 01:10:46 PM
I love those Violin Concertos, too, and for the same reason. Rawsthorne is a Humphrey Bogart - rough and sensitive at the same time.
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

vandermolen

#63
August 22, 2016, 02:27:10 PM
Quote from: J. Z. Herrenberg on August 22, 2016, 01:10:46 PM
I love those Violin Concertos, too, and for the same reason. Rawsthorne is a Humphrey Bogart - rough and sensitive at the same time.
Great point. The music can be astringent but paradoxically warm-hearted. Although there are not many 'big tunes' the music stays in my mind and I find something very worthwhile about it. He originally trained as a dentist!
"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

#64
August 22, 2016, 02:55:33 PM
Quote from: vandermolen on August 22, 2016, 02:27:10 PM
He originally trained as a dentist!

I find that weirdly fitting.
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

vandermolen

#65
August 22, 2016, 11:10:55 PM
"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

#66
August 22, 2016, 11:31:32 PM
He's ceraintly something to get your teeth into! ;D I like his Piano Concertos. I have also dowloaded his Symphonic studies and Overture Street Corner,from the Lyrita cd;but I haven't listened to them yet. I also downloaded the Bliss Piano Concerto cd and some of the other pieces from the Naxos cd. I intend to couple some of them. I have the Chandos cd of the Piano Concertos.
On the emi British Composers cd,I notice that Dame Moura Lympany plays the First Piano Concerto and Denis Mathews plays the Second Piano Concerto. A long and very interesting article about Denis Mathews has been put up on Musicweb (with some photographs) recently. I didn't know anything about him,but I have noticed his name! I also like Practical Cats with Robert Donat performing the speaking part. Allot better than Simon Callow,or that horrible musical!!

Christo

#67
August 22, 2016, 11:49:57 PM
Quote from: J. Z. Herrenberg on August 22, 2016, 02:55:33 PMI find that weirdly fitting.
He wrote mainly fillers.
... music is not only an 'entertainment', nor a mere luxury, but a necessity of the spiritual if not of the physical life, an opening of those magic casements through which we can catch a glimpse of that country where ultimate reality will be found.    RVW, 1948

vandermolen

#69
August 23, 2016, 01:28:53 AM
Quote from: cilgwyn on August 22, 2016, 11:31:32 PM
He's ceraintly something to get your teeth into! ;D I like his Piano Concertos. I have also dowloaded his Symphonic studies and Overture Street Corner,from the Lyrita cd;but I haven't listened to them yet. I also downloaded the Bliss Piano Concerto cd and some of the other pieces from the Naxos cd. I intend to couple some of them. I have the Chandos cd of the Piano Concertos.
On the emi British Composers cd,I notice that Dame Moura Lympany plays the First Piano Concerto and Denis Mathews plays the Second Piano Concerto. A long and very interesting article about Denis Mathews has been put up on Musicweb (with some photographs) recently. I didn't know anything about him,but I have noticed his name! I also like Practical Cats with Robert Donat performing the speaking part. Allot better than Simon Callow,or that horrible musical!!
The Robert Donat 'Practical Cats' is wonderful and that EMI CD is one of the great Rawsthorne discs. I haven't heard the Simon Callow version but I've always thought that he over-acts in everything I've seen him in.
"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

#70
August 23, 2016, 01:29:35 AM
Quote from: Christo on August 22, 2016, 11:49:57 PM
He wrote mainly fillers.
A clever play on words for those quick enough to spot it.  8)
"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

#71
August 23, 2016, 01:45:34 AM
Quote from: vandermolen on August 23, 2016, 01:29:35 AM
A clever play on words for those quick enough to spot it.  8)

With Christo, we all know the drill.
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

cilgwyn

#72
August 23, 2016, 02:16:04 AM
Quote from: J. Z. Herrenberg on October 01, 2014, 11:56:33 PM
I don't know a lot about his life... I think that if Humphrey Bogart had composed, it would have sounded like Hawsthorne. And the prickliness is in the name.
Play it again,Tham! ;D

cilgwyn

#73
August 23, 2016, 02:20:35 AM
Quote from: Dundonnell on October 25, 2008, 12:24:48 PM
quote author=tjguitar link=topic=786.msg240629#msg240629 date=1224959829]
I did not.  I did however pick up the Cello Concerto and Oboe Concerto on NAXOS. I don't remember much about it. perhaps I owe it another listen.


Perhaps you do ;D

The Oboe Concerto is a delightful piece. The Cello Concerto is a bit tougher and not perhaps among the very greatest of British cello concertos but nevertheless a worthy addition to the canon. Its neglect over the past 40 years is astonishing- but then there are other British cello concertos which have suffered even worse neglect(the Brian, the Lennox Berkeley and the Cooke).

I would add to what I wrote in December that the three Rawsthorne symphonies are distinguished works and either of the two sets is worth buying.
The 1st Symphony ranks with the Symphonic Studies as Rawsthorne at his very best-vigorous, dynamic, incisive music-but the 2nd, the Pastoral, is an underestimated work of real beauty, albeit melancholic beauty, while the more thorny 3rd has a magnificent Sarabande as its second movement.

Rawsthorne is one of those British composers whose music is too often ignored and deserves to be played more often(but probably never will be now :() There is often a certain dryness, an asperity, a lack of a certain measure of warmth which means that I find him a composer I can respect, admire but not love as I can say Rubbra or Alwyn.
More temptation,I fear?!! ::) ;D

J.Z. Herrenberg

#74
August 23, 2016, 02:30:55 AM
Quote from: cilgwyn on August 23, 2016, 02:16:04 AM
Play it again,Tham! ;D

Touché!

I realised afterwards I must have said that already...
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

cilgwyn

#75
August 23, 2016, 02:42:45 AM
Quote from: J. Z. Herrenberg on August 22, 2016, 01:10:46 PM
I love those Violin Concertos, too, and for the same reason. Rawsthorne is a Humphrey Bogart - rough and sensitive at the same time.
I like this one! All it needs now is Lauren Bacall......leaning on the piano,of course!
The music a bit more astringent,of course!!

cilgwyn

#76
August 23, 2016, 03:02:44 AM
Which recordings of the symphonies have the edge,I wonder? Lyrita or Naxos? Or are they both equally good?!! The Naxos can be downloaded quite cheaply,I note!

cilgwyn

#77
August 23, 2016, 03:08:04 AM
By the way. Please stop bringing up the name Bogart,Johann,if you don't mind!! I've been fighting off an urge to buy a dvd of the film Key Largo for the last few days ::)..........with some success,so far!! ;D ;D

Scion7

#78
August 23, 2016, 03:11:22 AM
The lesser orchestral and chamber works are rarely notably inferior in craftsmanship to the major scores. Indeed, the very consistency of Rawsthorne's sizable output perhaps encouraged its almost uniform neglect during his last years, but in a historical perspective of 20th-century English composition this unostentatious yet finely wrought music deserves an honourable place.  - The New Grove


ç1066


ç1963
Saint-Saëns, who predicted to Charles Lecocq in 1901: 'That fellow Ravel seems to me to be destined for a serious future.'

vandermolen

#79
August 23, 2016, 03:49:11 AM
Quote from: Scion7 on August 23, 2016, 03:11:22 AM
The lesser orchestral and chamber works are rarely notably inferior in craftsmanship to the major scores. Indeed, the very consistency of Rawsthorne's sizable output perhaps encouraged its almost uniform neglect during his last years, but in a historical perspective of 20th-century English composition this unostentatious yet finely wrought music deserves an honourable place.  - The New Grove


ç1066


ç1963
That HMV 20 series was very good. I took a number out of them out of a record library in London. In this way I discovered some fine works including Rubbra's Symphony 5 (Barbirolli) coupled with Vaughan Williams's Five Variants on Dives and Lazarus (first time I'd heard this wonderful work) and the Oboe Concerto (Barbirolli and wife). Also Robert Simpson's First Symphony (Boult) which remains my favourite of Simpson's symphonies. I've never seen the Rawsthorne LP before but have it on its CD manifestation. Thanks for posting.
"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).
Print
Go Up Pages 1 2 3 4 5 6 ... 8
User actions