Great lecture. RVW’s Sinfonia Antarctica was the first symphony of his I ever heard. And it was through this piece that I learned of the story of Robert Flacon Scott and his men who perished in Antarctica. A gripping story with equally gripping music. Thanks for this.
What a great idea for a CD and I hope it sells well. Apropos the casting for the Serenade, it must have been an extremely discreet and delicate process to ensure there weren't dozens of thoroughly pissed off British singers who were excluded. Or perhaps there were.
Great talk here. RVW’s London Symphony is my favorite of all his symphonies. And I prefer the revised version to the original. Not only because it’s shorter, but the second movement has a much better and satisfying climax than the original. In the original, it just kinda sits there with no peak that holds it together.
I am sorry that Sakari Oramo did not mention his performance of Job in Birmingham. That is a work he could certainly perform with other orchestras and surprise them with it !
Fascinating topic. It intrigues me, though, that, as evidenced in this talk, "meaning" tends to be associated with images, as indeed it was in Wittgenstein's Tractatus (the "picture theory" of meaning). In his later work, of course, he changed his mind on that and saw meaning more in terms of usage. In the context of music, musical meaning would consist in the way various gestures, intervals etc are used in the musical culture and tradition, rather than any propensity to conjure up specific images. So maybe VW's ambivalence about meaning in his own work has something to do with this? The world does not consist just of images (it also consists of sounds, among other things), and meaning, whether linguistic or musical, reflects this fact.
What a lot of Andrews! And a lovely tribute to this great servant to music. It was especially thrilling to hear his organ playing in the recording of the Sinfonia Antartica - it was news to me, and this is the piece of RVW's music that I play or recommend to anyone peddling all the old spiel about ruminating cattle. It was good to hear so much about Job, too, which seems sadly to have fallen out of fashion at the Proms. But the London is in - roll on 13th August! Thanks to all from the Society.
Truly a wonderful conductor who leaves many memorable recordings behind him. Among my favorites are his earlier magnetic and glory-filled Handel Messiah in Toronto, his mystical Vaughan-Williams Tallis Fantasia in Gloucester Cathedral (on youtube), and his earlier Elgar Enigma Variations on Lyrita (note the impact of the powerful organ in the finale). I loved his enthusiasm and twinkling eyes as he conducted. Every blessing be upon him. Grateful for his gifts and the devotional spirit that he was able to bring through in the music. Thank you, Andrew Green and guests.
Sir Andrew's passing is a great loss to music. His period as Chief Conductor of the Melbourne Symphony is a much-treasured memory of that time in the history of our orchestra. A significant chapter in that great musical career, a career that spanned so much, and gave so much to the world.
THANK YOU JOHN FOR A WONDERFUL TRIBUTE TO A GREAT CONDUCTOR WHO DID SO MUCH FOR BRITISH MUSIC.ON U-TUBE THERE IS A TRANCENDENT PERFORMANCE OF THE 5th SYMPHONY OF R.V.W.FROM GERMANY.THANK YOU ANDREW.
What a lovely generous conversation, I found myself smiling throughout it. I hoped Roddy would mention Sancta Civitas. I will carry the memory of the first live performance I have ever heard. (the one in Gloucester Cathedral earlier this year) to the grave with me. An amazing composition, so rarely performed because of the forces required.
What an illuminating interview. Thank you Andrew, and Martyn. To group the three symphonies that followed No 3, the Pastoral together gave me a lot to ponder. With few composers do I find a 'Generosity of Spirit' embedded in their music, but it is so with VW. So nice to hear from Martyn the reaction of audiences in Brazil, China and Japan. VW has accompanied me on my journey through life since I first discovered (care of Mr James, my music teacher at Hinchley Wood School) the Tallis Fantasia. I owe a huge debt to both.
Thank you very much for an intriguing, fascinating video! Having heard the spoken poems followed by RVW's music versions of the poems was a revelation.
Thank you, Andrew (and others involved). Most interesting. For what it's worth, I am on the side of the argument that VW probably said more than he intended to when he spoke to Mrs Coates and then backtracked (although she almost certainly embroidered things for her programme notes). I have often wondered about the possible links (just alluded to in passing by Stephen) between VW's London Symphony and Holst's Planets - both of them more immediately colourful and picturesque than most of their composers' other respective works.
Alessandr'os voice is perfection, beautiful, powerful! The four hymns will be incredible with him - I love Andrew Kennedy with the full arrangement of these, a similar beauty and power combined. The same with Wenlock Edge (which, incidentally, has been previously and perfectly coupled with Ian Venables' astonishing and moving 'Songs of Eternity and Sorrow' on Hyperion) - I'm very much looking foward to hearing Alessandro with these masterpieces. The Navarra String Quartet with William Vann also sound perfect - gorgeous sound, evident even on this platform, exciting playing, and again, so beautiful! Ian's music is unmistakable! A tantalising taster of an exciting new work - I can't wait to hear the whole performance. Thank you and congratulations to all these superb, wonderful artists. A priceless treasure, and I hope it will be discovered by every music lover.
Thank you for all, Sir Allen ! I discovered opera (particularly Britten's masterworks) through your own performances. (We can hear that German language is your favorite with quite perfect accent).
Is it really necessary to include the moments of waiting and faffing about before getting started? Can this not be edited out? It doesn't give the best introduction. (Apologies for moaning, but I think it's an important point for anyone ducking in).
Thank you Ben. I can edit, but then it goes back up with a fresh URL, so I have to bother everybody with an email about it. Since it's only a couple of minutes I've made a provisional decision not to clip off the first couple of minutes, but might change my mind later.
@@bencobley4234 Agreed - I find you can trim on youtube without changing the URL. I got 5 minutes off it and will have ago at another three or so! best wishes - John
This is quite marvellous - thank you. I finally found a copy of Tono-Bungay at one of NSW's best regional secondhand bookshops - yet to read it, other than the opening and closing pages. Now I'll get down to it. I would greatly appreciate someone telling me which recording of the symphony was used - I assume the "cut sections" were from Richard Hickox's so welcome CD.
