The son of a vicar (and Charles Darwin was his great-uncle), Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) became one of the most popular English composers. He studied under Charles Villiers Stanford and Hubert Parry at the Royal College of Music, but also read history and music at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he palled around with the philosophers Bertrand Russell and G.E. Moore. He also went to Germany for lessons with Max Bruch, but ultimately rejected the 19th century German Romantic style Friendships with fellow Rcm students Gustav Holst and Leopold Stokowski later bore more fruit, in different ways: Stokowski, who moved to the United States, became Rvw's biggest supporter there; Holst and Vaughan Williams critiqued each others' work and joined in the study and collection of English folk songs. "The knowledge of our folk songs did not so much discover for us something new, but uncovered something which had been hidden by foreign matter,...
- 10/12/2012
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Janice Watson/Dagmar Pecková/Peter Auty/Peter Rose/London Philharmonic Choir & Orchestra/Neeme Järvi Antonin Dvořák: Stabat Mater, Op. 58 (Lpo) Dvořák’s Stabat Mater was born out of personal tragedy; its inspiration, if that is really the right word in the circumstances, was the death of all three of the composer’s children. This beautiful, heartfelt masterpiece is not heard as frequently in concert as it should be, but has been very well served on recordings.
Before Järvi’s arrived, I had three: the classic 1976 Deutsche Grammophon recording by Rafael Kubelik, Giuseppe Sinopoli’s lush 2000 concert recording (also on Dg), and Telarc’s last recording of the choral conductor par excellence, Robert Shaw. All are superb, but Järvi offers such a different yet compelling take on the piece that this recording, from an October 9, 2010 concert at London’s Royal Festival Hall, can also be highly recommended.
One thing that sets it apart is that,...
Before Järvi’s arrived, I had three: the classic 1976 Deutsche Grammophon recording by Rafael Kubelik, Giuseppe Sinopoli’s lush 2000 concert recording (also on Dg), and Telarc’s last recording of the choral conductor par excellence, Robert Shaw. All are superb, but Järvi offers such a different yet compelling take on the piece that this recording, from an October 9, 2010 concert at London’s Royal Festival Hall, can also be highly recommended.
One thing that sets it apart is that,...
- 8/1/2012
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
His life was as romantic and colourful as his exquisite music, yet his works are rarely performed today. Delius deserves better, writes Julian Lloyd Webber
No other composer polarises opinion like Delius. You either love or loathe his music. And it is rare to find someone who has grown to like it. Although this coming year – the 150th anniversary of his birth – will bring opportunities to reassess his work, that central fact will never change.
I feel as if I have known Delius's music forever. My father was a devotee and I must have heard all of his most famous works (On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring, The Walk to the Paradise Garden, La Calinda, et al) well before I started playing his cello music. I always felt instinctively attuned to Delius's unique musical language, which seemed akin to watching a painting that is slowly changing in a constantly moving canvas of sound.
No other composer polarises opinion like Delius. You either love or loathe his music. And it is rare to find someone who has grown to like it. Although this coming year – the 150th anniversary of his birth – will bring opportunities to reassess his work, that central fact will never change.
I feel as if I have known Delius's music forever. My father was a devotee and I must have heard all of his most famous works (On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring, The Walk to the Paradise Garden, La Calinda, et al) well before I started playing his cello music. I always felt instinctively attuned to Delius's unique musical language, which seemed akin to watching a painting that is slowly changing in a constantly moving canvas of sound.
- 1/6/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Richard Hickox Edmund Rubbra: Complete Symphonies (Chandos)
Edmund Rubbra (May 23, 1901 - February 14, 1986) was an English composer much admired by some connoisseurs in his native country, but not much recorded even there and rarely heard overseas. His teachers included Cyril Scott, Gustav Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams, John Ireland, and Eugene Goosens. Rubbra wrote much excellent chamber and choral music, but as is so often the case, his reputation seems most closely linked to his symphonies, and they certainly reward attention. From much commentary that exists about these works, especially the first four, the neophyte might expect pedantic grayness, but I think that's unfair.
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Edmund Rubbra (May 23, 1901 - February 14, 1986) was an English composer much admired by some connoisseurs in his native country, but not much recorded even there and rarely heard overseas. His teachers included Cyril Scott, Gustav Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams, John Ireland, and Eugene Goosens. Rubbra wrote much excellent chamber and choral music, but as is so often the case, his reputation seems most closely linked to his symphonies, and they certainly reward attention. From much commentary that exists about these works, especially the first four, the neophyte might expect pedantic grayness, but I think that's unfair.
read more...
- 5/24/2011
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Top British orchestral trumpeter with the Lso, he played on the Star Wars films
Maurice Murphy, who has died aged 75, was the leading British orchestral trumpet player of his generation. During the 30 years in which he was principal trumpet with the London Symphony Orchestra (Lso), he defined the sound of the brass section with the clarity, precision and diamond-sharp brilliance of his playing. In the concert hall he was an inspiration and could lift the orchestra with his exhilarating, visceral sound.
Millions more thrilled to the ringing top Cs he played on the soundtracks for the Star Wars films. The blazing sonority of the brass section led by Murphy was the aural equivalent of spinning through space. For the composer of the scores, John Williams, Murphy was a "heraldic spirit" whose instrument articulated "the ideal voice of a hero". After the first Star Wars film, Williams wrote the subsequent scores with Murphy's sound in mind.
Maurice Murphy, who has died aged 75, was the leading British orchestral trumpet player of his generation. During the 30 years in which he was principal trumpet with the London Symphony Orchestra (Lso), he defined the sound of the brass section with the clarity, precision and diamond-sharp brilliance of his playing. In the concert hall he was an inspiration and could lift the orchestra with his exhilarating, visceral sound.
Millions more thrilled to the ringing top Cs he played on the soundtracks for the Star Wars films. The blazing sonority of the brass section led by Murphy was the aural equivalent of spinning through space. For the composer of the scores, John Williams, Murphy was a "heraldic spirit" whose instrument articulated "the ideal voice of a hero". After the first Star Wars film, Williams wrote the subsequent scores with Murphy's sound in mind.
- 11/29/2010
- by Barry Millington
- The Guardian - Film News
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