Sunday Morning: Praise where praise is due

[mercia]

Ok. Although James Jolly was listed for today's programme.

I see, Jonathan mentioned Rob's illness so I put two and two together

[DracoM]

Great to hear JS doing it, BUT I bet he writhed at the banality of the script. Sat he does RVW 9th, Sun he's doing Janet and John Do Music notes about the dance. Hmm. Poor chap!

[Black Swan]

DracoM,

Very true but he did an excellent job.

[DracoM]

Indeed.

[kernelbogey]

I rarely listen to Sunday Morning but James Jolly seems to be presenting a relatively 'challenging' playlist today. Is this a change of direction, or have I merely not been paying attention?

[Black Swan]

I too enjoyed it as well. I had never heard Edgar Meyers Quintet. I found it interesting.

[Pulcinella]

The Meyers is coupled with Ned Rorem's String Quartet 4; inspired by 10 Picasso images, it forms a kind of chamber music Pictures from an Exhibition suite (and was what I bought the CD - now a download - for; the Meyers was an additional discovery).

[Black Swan]

The Meyers is coupled with Ned Rorem's String Quartet 4; inspired by 10 Picasso images, it forms a kind of chamber music Pictures from an Exhibition suite (and was what I bought the CD - now a download - for; the Meyers was an additional discovery).

Pulcinella, how do you rate the Rorem Quartet? I am interested, I might download.

[Pulcinella]

Black Swan

I hesitate to offer an opinion (one man's meat, etc; and there are other wiser minds than mine: perhaps this is one for the American Classics thread?), but I do have a slight problem with it (and with other Rorem works). Overall, I would say go for it (it's part of the same download as the Meyer isn't it?), though the occasional airings the CD gets are more for the Meyer than the Rorem.

You probably know that Rorem is perhaps best respected as a song writer, and there are certainly some exquisite gems to be found there. He seems to like to write pieces with many short sections (perhaps as a consequence of being a miniaturist?): the double concerto for violin, cello and and orchestra has 8 titled sections; After Reading Shakespeare (the Naxos coupling) for solo cello has 9; the flute concerto 6; the violin concerto 6; the cello concerto 8, for example. The music of his I most enjoy is that with longer sections: the three symphonies and the second piano concerto, for example.

Does that help? Probably not!

[Black Swan]

Pulcinella,

Thanks, your thoughts echo my own. I have several of the Naxos Rorem recordings. I agree he is at his best with songs, i.e. the symphonies. So as you say, it is worth a punt on the download.

Thanks,

J

[Pulcinella]

Black Swan

I think you may have posted before checking what you had written! (songs, i.e. the symphonies?).
But it looks like we are in agreement!
I particularly like the second movement of the second piano concerto (hints of the Ravel G major concerto second movement?). And well done Naxos for releasing so much of his output (though their recording of his third symphony was not the first to appear on CD, as they originally claimed!).

[mercia]

presumably Mr Jolly didn't hear what we heard just now as a proms trailer interrupted Finzi's Nocturne - otherwise he might have mentioned it

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

That was rather shocking, but I suppose everyone makes mistakes.

The lack of good manners in not apologising is the main point here.

[french frank]

That was rather shocking, but I suppose everyone makes mistakes.

The lack of good manners in not apologising is the main point here.

Somebody in the studio presumably heard it, if it wasn't the presenter. Though remembering some of the gaffes made by presenters in the past that went uncorrected one wonders whether anyone is flying the plane (presenters just being the air steward[esse]s).

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Someone in the studio made the mistake, but might have hoped no-one else was listening.