Essential Symphonies

[Tevot]

Hello there,

I've just come across this article in today's Observer - regarding programmes on BBC TV and BBC R3 on symphonies in their historical context and the impact / influence they had.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/oct/02/great-symphonies-soundtrack-changing-world

Does anybody have any further information about the programmes? I'd be interested in hearing your views about this. Is this a serious attempt to educate or an example of dumbing down? Who decides what is "essential" in a Symphony?

Best Wishes,

Tevot

[Roehre]

Hello there,

I've just come across this article in today's Observer - regarding programmes on BBC TV and BBC R3 on symphonies in their historical context and the impact / influence they had.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/oct/02/great-symphonies-soundtrack-changing-world

Does anybody have any further information about the programmes? I'd be interested in hearing your views about this. Is this a serious attempt to educate or an example of dumbing down? Who decides what is "essential" in a Symphony?

Best Wishes,

Tevot

Tevot,
the latest issue (November 2011) of BBC Music magazine discusses the theme, including an overview of related programmes on R3 and BBC4.

[mercia]

"essential" certainly seems to be the buzz word at the moment

your essential 60 symphonies - a whole new thread awaits

[Ferretfancy]

As Tevot has mentioned above, there's an article in BBC MM, presumably to complement the TV series, in which nine conductors choose their favourite symphony.It's very noticeable that none of them discuss the music in anything but emotional and subjective terms, there are no structural or formal reasons given for any of their choices, only Ivan Fischer talks about Beethoven's Seventh in a way which might guide the ear.
We are currently being given swathes of this sort of non intellectual guff which really serves little purpose

[Tevot]

Hello - thanks for your comments so far. I must admit it seems a bit dispiriting - the outreach is fine - but the opportunity seems lost. Wouldn't Discovering Music have been great at this? - giving examples of the nuts and bolts of a work - say Sibelius 4, Prokofiev 6 - and it would have been intriguing to see Stephen Johnson explore this stuff and also the touch feely element with Mark Elder imho.

It just seems too safe and bland. No attempt to "stretch ears" as the dear Charles Edward Ives would have said

I'm not knocking the classics / war-horses. I love the Pathetique and the New World - but why can't we have something that explains that as first rate these works were - composers who followed had to move on and to take things forward beyond what now is appropriated as muzak and as a peg for "celebrity chat."

Yep - the Beethoven element seems interesting - plus the re-enactment of that massive concert - (Guess what imho Ludwig rocks ;-) but I'm struck by the absence of certain symphonies / composers (subjective viewpoint admittedly) - programmatic symphonies e.g. Symphonie Fantastique; Manfred ; Choral Symphonies e.g. Beethoven 9, Liszt Dante / Faust, Mahler 8, Das Lied, Vaughan Williams Sea, Ives 4, Tippett 3 Berio - Sinfonia.

Hey and talking about subjective imho Mendelssohn's Reformation dwarfs his Italian. So there!!

Oh dear - I'm compiling a chart. Better text Petroc

Best wishes,

Tevot

[mercia]

I'm struck by the absence of certain symphonies / composers ........... e.g. Symphonie Fantastique; Manfred ; Choral Symphonies e.g. Beethoven 9, Liszt Dante / Faust, Mahler 8, Das Lied, Vaughan Williams Sea, Ives 4, Tippett 3 Berio - Sinfonia.

well that Guardian article says the month-long survey will take in over 60 symphonies, so I'm sure some of yours will feature

[old khayyam]

I heard a trailer on R3 recently promising us "only the essential classics", which basically means 'greatest hits', which translates as 'we are determined never to stray from the most obvious and cliched pieces'..

[rauschwerk]

Given that "At the centre of the BBC season of programmes is a new BBC4 series, Symphony, which studies the personal and social stories behind a selection of key masterpieces...", I do wonder how much we shall hear about (or indeed of) the actual music.

[3rd Viennese School]

Wot is the first symphony to go out of tune? Theres a discussion for you.

you've got your Mahler 7, Schoenberg 1 etc. The gradual process. I always used to think about this, especially in the days when I only knew the tonal Romantic stuff.
Eventually you get to Mahler 9 and Sibelious 4. etc.

3VS