Frederick Delius

Started by tjguitar, May 14, 2007, 05:44:52 PM

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Quote from: Leo K. on February 01, 2013, 10:07:08 AM
My quest is now to get to know the final revised version of Delius' piano concerto. I found two historical accounts on the Amazon Mp3 store for pennies, one by Beecham with his wife at the piano, and the beautiful performance by one of England's other celebrated pianists, Benno Moiseiwitsch (originally born in the Ukraine) with the BBC Orchestra at the Proms in 1955.These accounts blow me away, what a piece of music, one of my favorite piano concertos now!

You should definitely check out the Philip Fowke (Unicorn, Heritage) and Piers Lane (EMI) performances, Leo. I prefer the one-movement concerto (revised) to the original, although it's certainly nice to have the original version because Delius did away with the final movement and composed a new movement in the revised version.

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Hey Leo, did you every buy one of these or are you thinking of buying them:






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Delius wrote some beautiful solo piano music like the Three Preludes. This work only lasts around three minutes. Here's a write-up from All Music Guide:

As the tertiary phase of his syphilitic affliction began to close in, 1923 was a hectic year for Delius. Visits to spas to ward off blindness and paralysis, offset by occasional remissions, a summer vaction at his Norwegian cottage at Lesjaskog, marred by ill-health, and further work on Hassan, planned for production in September but in need of additional music. The quite extensive incidental music to James Elroy Flecker's play makes up an exquisite series of small, highly evocative, poignant tone poems/delectable miniatures. Where a more extensive number, the General Dance, was needed a visit by Percy Grainger saved the day. He not only composed the number anonymously, but proved invaluable in getting the score, largely dictated to Delius' wife, in order. After delays, Hassan was produced, enjoying a long and successful run affording Delius royalties of 25 pounds a week. The knack of conjuring an aura of blithesome dreaminess in tiny works of sketch-like arabesque -- an apt description of many moments in the Hassan music -- carried over into several atypical piano pieces. Probably owing to the interest of English pianist Evelyn Howard-Jones, who often visited Delius and played for him, is the collection of Five Piano Pieces, in 1923, and dedicated to Howard-Jones, followed by the Three Preludes, a more homogeneous group, the first of which is also dedicated to Howard-Jones, who recorded all three in 1929. Delius thought Howard-Jones' performance of the Piano Concerto the best he'd heard, a surprising assessment given that, during the first half of the century, it was essayed by leading pianists, including Benno Moiseiwitsch. Marked Scherzando, the first piece establishes the tone of the set with disarming simplicity -- ascending arpeggios over which insouciant flecks of melody are flicked off, rising to a five-bar climax of Maestoso chords and octaves, to conclude with a reprise of the opening. A mere two pages, the second Prelude features a ripple of sixteenths in the right hand against which a leaping, cavorting -- yet serene -- tendril of melody rises. It is dedicated to Adine O'Neill, wife of Delius' close friend, composer Norman O'Neill. The final Prelude washes arpeggios again over the keyboard's rich middle register With lively undulating movement as ever more effusive melodic bursts suggest an unspeakable world of delight just out of reach. Howard-Jones premiered the Three Preludes at a Wigmore Hall concert of Delius' chamber music -- the Second Violin Sonata, Cello Sonata, several songs, and the Five Piano Pieces -- on November 8, 1924.

Leo K.

Quote from: Mirror Image on February 01, 2013, 02:21:23 PM
Hey Leo, did you every buy one of these or are you thinking of buying them:







Thanks John!

I have my eye on all of the above, and will probably get the "Delius Collection" first since it can be had at a good price on Amazon.

Regarding the piano concerto, I prefer the revised version too, yet also love the original version (for the same reasons, nice to have both). Thanks for the recommends on the piano concerto, I can't get enough of this work  8)

8)


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Quote from: Leo K. on February 01, 2013, 03:44:42 PM
Thanks John!

I have my eye on all of the above, and will probably get the "Delius Collection" first since it can be had at a good price on Amazon.

Regarding the piano concerto, I prefer the revised version too, yet also love the original version (for the same reasons, nice to have both). Thanks for the recommends on the piano concerto, I can't get enough of this work  8)

8)

My pleasure, Leo. Yes, buy them all! ;) :D I'm really impressed with each of the sets. The Piano Concerto is an amazing work. Wait until you hear his other concerti. Right now, I'm listening to his orchestral songs. Absolutely magical. 8)

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Leo, if you ever get a chance to buy this recording, then don't hesitate:



As with all the composers in my top 5, I like to explore a large variety of their music. These sonatas are absolutely sublime. Again, that sadness we speak of that's so prominent in Delius' music is brought to the fore here. There's nothing to hide behind or mask this sadness here. Just one heartbreaking note after another. The accompaniment from Piers Lane is completely in-tune with the music. Little, as usual, plays remarkably well. Of course, Little and Lane aren't strangers to Delius and they're some of the top performers around in this music.

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Leo, you've got to hear the Violin Sonatas! You will love them.

Leo K.

Thanks for the heads up John, I managed to grab a copy of Tasmin Little's/Piers Lane's account of the Violin Sonatas this morning, hopefully will get a good listen tonight after work  8)




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Quote from: Leo K. on February 02, 2013, 06:42:45 AM
Thanks for the heads up John, I managed to grab a copy of Tasmin Little's/Piers Lane's account of the Violin Sonatas this morning, hopefully will get a good listen tonight after work  8)

Great news, Leo! Look forward to your report. I'm going to go back and listen to these tonight as well. Such beautiful music.

John Copeland

With Delius making a dramatic entry into the GMG charts (!), I 'somehow' recorded a programme from BBC4 last night with help from 'an unusual source' about the composer Delius.  It's 90 mins long, and is called "Delius- Composer, Lover, Enigma.  I have placed it on my Dropbox account for a few days, so anyone outside BBC coverage can also see it.  But I will remove it in 3 or 4 days as it is in my Dropbox and is taking up 600mb of space in my free account!
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/96826210/Delius_-_Delius_Composer_Lover_Enigma_b01j0yys_default.mp4
Get it while you can.  And if you want.

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Thanks again for uploading this documentary, John. 8)

My impressions of the film are quite favorable. This is, no doubt, the best documentary I've seen of Delius. What was fascinating, and only reaffirmed my own suspicions, the director touched on Delius fathering a child while in Florida and him going back to Florida to find the child. Grainger's own comments about Delius' "Negro mistress" were quite eye-opening. This film also reaffirmed the fact that I knew he was quite the ladies man. Going off to Paris and having affairs with prostitutes and so on. But what I think was one of the greatest things about the film was the fact that Delius' music was discussed in an intelligent, level-headed way. I particularly loved the interview segments with Thomas Beecham. Those were hilarious, especially when he was making fun of Delius' conducting and that he never discussed Delius' music with him because he didn't know anything about it. That put a smile on my face. Of course the reason he made that joke is because Delius was notorious for not putting accent marks in his scores and that he had to make some interpretative choices and when Delius heard Beecham's interpretations he loved them and said "That's what I meant! That's gold!" Anyway, to those that haven't watched yet, please do so.

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#311
I think this documentary, Delius: Composer, Lover, Enigma, could very well convert some new listeners. I'm certainly not saying that people who have disliked Delius' music for a long time will see the 'light at the end of the tunnel,' but I do feel that newer listeners and perhaps listeners that have only heard a few works and enjoyed them will, hopefully, have been given a little push to buy some recordings and evaluate the music for themselves. Delius' music certainly isn't 'easy' music to grasp. It requires concentration and an ear for the subtleties in music, not that all of Delius' music is like this, but, like with any composer, one either connects with them while others try to make a connection only to come away even more confused. Like me and Schnittke. :) Anyway, this was an entertaining, and informative, documentary and I hope our resident Delians have a chance to watch it.

Leo K.

Thanks Scots John! I hope to grab this later this afternoon after work. I can't to view this, what a weekend!

John, a wonderful review of the film to read this morning, thanks for sharing.

Also, I bought the Delius Collection.  8) 8) 8)

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Quote from: Leo K. on February 03, 2013, 05:47:45 AM
Thanks Scots John! I hope to grab this later this afternoon after work. I can't to view this, what a weekend!

John, a wonderful review of the film to read this morning, thanks for sharing.

Also, I bought the Delius Collection.  8) 8) 8)

You're welcome, Leo! By the way, kudos on the Delius Collection. An amazing set of music with many outstanding performances and rarities.

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Has any of our resident Delians heard Bo Holten's Delius series on Danacord? This is a great series! I think I'm missing one disc forget which one. Anyway, just thought I would give a heads up about these recordings as watching many of the interview segments with Holten in that BBC documentary reminded me how great a Delian he is.

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#315
I've got to say this Delius/Barbirolli cover kind of creeps me out:



I've already got a scenario worked out here -

Delius taps on the window glass

Woman in kitchen: Frederick?!?!? You scared the life out of me! Stop doing that!
Delius: I'm sorry my dear, so are you going to let me in or not?
Woman: Fine, fine...
Delius: Is your husband home?
Woman: No, thankfully...
Delius: Good. Don't worry this won't take long.

:P

aukhawk

Brigg Fair (and specifically that version) would be my recommendation for a 'first dip' into Delius. 
My favourite piece of all though is Sea Drift, but that is rather dependent on a good performance from the right singer.  I grew up with the Beecham/Boyce recording and nothing else quite does it for me in the same way.

dayveedh

My favourite work by Delius is Sea Drift...I think it encapsultes everything about Delius's style..there's drama, sensitivity, word painting, plus solo voice full choir and orchestra...I was particularly captivated by Bryn Terfel's performance at last years proms....-:)

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Quote from: aukhawk on February 04, 2013, 12:25:02 AM
Brigg Fair (and specifically that version) would be my recommendation for a 'first dip' into Delius. 
My favourite piece of all though is Sea Drift, but that is rather dependent on a good performance from the right singer.  I grew up with the Beecham/Boyce recording and nothing else quite does it for me in the same way.

Aside from intonation problems in the trumpets in Barbirolli's performance, it's very good. Sea Drift is a work I don't return very often. I prefer Requiem, Songs of Farewell, Idyll, Orchestral Songs, and recently I've become more enamored with A Mass of Life. Not to say I don't enjoy Sea Drift, but there's so many other hidden gems in his oeuvre that have been keeping me busy.

The new erato

Quote from: Mirror Image on February 04, 2013, 08:50:44 AM
Aside from intonation problems in the trumpets in Barbirolli's performance, it's very good. Sea Drift is a work I don't return very often. I prefer Requiem, Songs of Farewell, Idyll, Orchestral Songs, and recently I've become more enamored with A Mass of Life. Not to say I don't enjoy Sea Drift, but there's so many other hidden gems in his oeuvre that have been keeping me busy.
Interesting. Sea Drift was the one work in my 4 CD Delius odyssey that really caught my interest.