Gerald Barry Piano Concerto

[silvestrione]

Anyone else listen to this? I was superficially drawn in by the inventiveness and playfulness, and some of the gestures from the piano, at first, but after a while it seemed sameish and my mind wandered a bit, I got to a 'so what?' frame of mind: how was this developing? Was there a structure or argument? What difference would leaving out the last five minutes make (a question I find myself asking sometimes even with Birtwistle, whom I like)?

Then the last part changed in character, more reflective, a memorable sound-world, got my interest again.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Can you give a link to the programme where this was broadcast, please, sivestionr.

[LMcD]

Can you give a link to the programme where this was broadcast, please, sivestionr.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b3lhwd

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b3lhwd

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Yes - difficult to get a fair idea of what's going on and how the various bits connect - or how they don't - on the one hearing. The structure seemed to be a series of short Musical snapshots, with plenty of instrumental and tempo changes, but largely of a similar "character" - like the various calls in an outdoor market are simultaneously individual and "samey" - and a bit "stoppy-starty". Many individual moments caught my interest, but the constant chopping and changing - whilst using a type of tonal language which had associations (for me) with a need for "development" (which didn't happen) meant that I kept losing it . I might have missed the point whilst it was staring me in the face - using a non-tonal method of structuring whilst avoiding more familiar ("stereotypical") non-tonal sounds - but after this one hearing, I had the sort of feeling silvestrione had that the same sort of effect could have been achieved with sections missed out (or, come to that, others added). Beguiling ending , but, pace Nic Hodges' pre-performance comment, not at all "tragic".

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b3lhwd

The Barry starts just after the 39minute point.

(And is 23 minutes long.)

[Richard Barrett]

This kind of "one thing after another" form is also very characteristic of many works by Mauricio Kagel, who was one of GB's teachers. I think, though, that Kagel links his structural elements together in a more subtle and involving way than Barry, who often seems to want to be wilfully arbitrary in the way the music is stuck together, although that's something that Chris Newman (another Kagel student) takes to a much further extreme and makes a nihilistic kind of expressive virtue out of. Or maybe it's just that I don't like the sound of this concerto very much, it has far too much fanfare-like brassy stuff in it for me.

[silvestrione]

Yes - difficult to get a fair idea of what's going on and how the various bits connect - or how they don't - on the one hearing. The structure seemed to be a series of short Musical snapshots, with plenty of instrumental and tempo changes, but largely of a similar "character" - like the various calls in an outdoor market are simultaneously individual and "samey" - and a bit "stoppy-starty". Many individual moments caught my interest, but the constant chopping and changing - whilst using a type of tonal language which had associations (for me) with a need for "development" (which didn't happen) meant that I kept losing it . I might have missed the point whilst it was staring me in the face - using a non-tonal method of structuring whilst avoiding more familiar ("stereotypical") non-tonal sounds - but after this one hearing, I had the sort of feeling silvestrione had that the same sort of effect could have been achieved with sections missed out (or, come to that, others added). Beguiling ending , but, pace Nic Hodges' pre-performance comment, not at all "tragic".

Exactly. I did not 'get' the supposed 'tragic' bit at all, either.

[LMcD]

I tried listening to it, but after a while I found that I was thinking about the order in which I ought to tackle various jobs that need doing in the garden.

[Serial_Apologist]

I tried listening to it, but after a while I found that I was thinking about the order in which I ought to tackle various jobs that need doing in the garden.

Evidently you didn't dig the Barry then!

[silvestrione]

I tried listening to it, but after a while I found that I was thinking about the order in which I ought to tackle various jobs that need doing in the garden.

Well, I hope you didn't end up with the jobs in too much of a muddled order!

[ahinton]

Well, I hope you didn't end up with the jobs in too much of a muddled order!

Using fork 'andles? Having the piece in spades? Trowelling through it? Ahem!...

[LMcD]

Evidently you didn't dig the Barry then!

Let's just say it left me feeling a bit for lawn.....

[Alison]

‘Fanfare like brassy stuff’ -

I fancy there’s too much of this in contemporary orchestral music.

[ahinton]

Let's just say it left me feeling a bit for lawn.....

Mow-mentarily or throughout? A cutting remark either way, one might say...