Bloch's Shlomo.

[AjAjAjH]

The one and only time that I heard this work live was nearly 45 years ago - Vladimir Orloff with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. I have played it often at home over the years. Delighted to hear it on this evening's concert. I'm very fond. What do others think of it?

[EnemyoftheStoat]

I think you have vowel problems, AjAjAjH.

Seriously, never heard this piece before and I would not mind at all hearing it again.

Preceded by a slightly soft-focus - but very detailed and even sensuous - Scythian and followed by a white-hot Nielsen 4.

[Roehre]

The one and only time that I heard this work live was nearly 45 years ago - Vladimir Orloff with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. I have played it often at home over the years. Delighted to hear it on this evening's concert. I'm very fond. What do others think of it?

It's a "concerto" that IMO belongs to the canon of the great concertos.
It is one of those Desert Island pieces for me.
It pays off to listen carefully to the Jewish melodies Bloch is using, as the best part are quasi-quotes from or very similar to the chants which one can hear in a Synagogue. The meaning of the piece, King Solomon's wisdom settling differences, becomes more clear as soon as one knows the melodies. A real journey of discovery enfolds as soon as one becomes aware of the different layers in the work, not only the soloist, but also e.g. the use of the clarinets (Mahler I 3rd mvt!) and the trumpets (or brass in general).
A piece that IMO belongs to the standard repertoire, but Dvorak and Elgar attract more people......

[teamsaint]

Just listened to this. Captivating piece, and I shall return to it very soon.
It gets recorded often enough, shame that it apparently doesn't get so many run outs in the concert hall.
Does Bridge's Oration get many live performances? Another powerful piece.

[Bryn]

Just listened to this. Captivating piece, and I shall return to it very soon.

You might find it worth waiting if you want to do so via the iPlayer. At the moment it gets cut off in its prime. Hopefully it gets sorted by Monday afternoon. I got to know the work via a flood salvaged Spanish RCA LP in my youth. The cellist on that disc was Piatigorsky and the coupling was his studio recording of the Walton concerto written for him (though he did not much like the way Walton closed that work, and got him to write not one bur two alternative versions which, thankfully, do not get substituted often, or at all in the case of the second).

[teamsaint]

You might find it worth waiting if you want to do so via the iPlayer. At the moment it bets cut off in its prime. Hopefully it gets sorted by Monday afternoon. I got to know the work via a flood salvaged Spanish RCA LP in my youth. The cellist on that disc was Piatigorsky and the coupling was his studio recording of the Walton concerto written for him (though he did not much like the way Walton closed that work, and got him to write not one bur two alternative versions which, thankfully, do not get substituted often, or at all in the case of the second).

Thanks Bryn. I listened this Isserlis version

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dpopular&field-keywords=+isserlis+in+the+shadow&rh=n%3A229816%2Ck%3A+isserlis+in+the+shadow&ajr=1

partly because its such a hassle free platform . (well I find it to be).
Will try to hear last nights performance later when iplayer is running well !

[Roehre]

....
Does Bridge's Oration get many live performances? Another powerful piece.

There aren't that many recordings of Bridge's Oration (a handful or so?), and in the concert hall it's heard very, very rarely, which is a shame. But I guess the funereal character of the piece (of by far the best part of its half hour's duration) contributes to this.

[umslopogaas]

Its a fine piece and I have three recordings (all on LP) though I confess I havent played any of them recently:

Zara Nelsova and the LPO cond. Ansermet (mono). Decca
Janos Starker and the Israel PO cond. Mehta. Decca
Georges Miquelle (never otherwise heard of him) and the Eastman-Rochester O. cond. Howard Hanson. Mercury

[ahinton]

For me (at least), it seems a pity that Schelomo (sp.?) did not take the place of Bruch's Kol Nidre (sp.?) in Alisa Weilerstein's recent widely acclaimed CD with Barenboim of the Carter and Elgar Cello Concertos...

[amateur51]

This Bloch/Bruch release by Natalie Clein with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Ilan Volkov has garnered some excellent reviews.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bloch-Bruch-Schelomo-Scottish-Orchestra/dp/B008B3P4M2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361615473&sr=8-1

[LeMartinPecheur]

A piece that I think showed up occasionally on R3 back in its glory days of the 70s when I was a lad, but for some reason I never bought it until I dived in for a recently BaL-rated Dvorak concerto http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dvorak-Cello...1616701&sr=1-2

I'd be absolutely thrilled with it as a version of the concerto if there were no fillers at all, but with the Bloch and the Bruch...

...and it's still available for £3.16 NEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Keraulophone]

Rostropovich and Bernstein get pretty heated in this piece, as you might expect.
An EMI rec. from 1977 with the Orchestre National De France, c/w the Schumann concerto.

Try the final climax from 19'30 in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onDX0Ex-qqQ

[Roehre]

Rostropovich and Bernstein get pretty heated in this piece, as you might expect.
An EMI rec. from 1977 with the Orchestre National De France, c/w the Schumann concerto.

Try the final climax from 19'30 in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onDX0Ex-qqQ

Awful sleeve (Fully brown with only yellow letters, that's all), but a gem of a recording (of both the Bloch and the Schumann).
My favourite of Shelomo.

[Serial_Apologist]

Perhaps one has to be of the Jewish faith fully to appreciate it?

Normally Impressionist-tinged late romantic music is my bag - Suk, Zemlinsky, Bax, Respighi, Kodaly - but I find this piece pretty heavy-going.

[Barbirollians]

Zara Nelsova's recording is very good too .