Can anyone recommend a recording of .................?

[Beef Oven!]

I thought I’d start a thread where newbies to a composer, composition, genre etc could pick the brains of those in the know.

So to start the thread rolling, having listened to an awful lot of Edgard Varèse over the last four months and doing a bit of reading-up etc, leading up to Saturday's Barbican immersion day, Wen-chung Chou came into my ken.

Does anyone have some advice on where to start, or what an excellent recording might be?

I don’t know his music at all.

[Serial_Apologist]

Knowing next to zilch about him, Wiki's my usual resort, and Chou's entry appears to be very informative, with lots of links elsewhere. Bon voyage, as they don't say!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chou_Wen-chung

[Bryn]

I thought I’d start a thread where newbies to a composer, composition, genre etc could pick the brains of those in the know.

So to start the thread rolling, having listened to an awful lot of Edgard Varèse over the last four months and doing a bit of reading-up etc, leading up to Saturday's Barbican immersion day, Wen-chung Chou came into my ken.

Does anyone have some advice on where to start, or what an excellent recording might be?

I don’t know his music at all.

Probably best to start with his string quartets, etc. on Mode Records. Then have a plough through his YouTube offerings.

[Ferretfancy]

I thought I’d start a thread where newbies to a composer, composition, genre etc could pick the brains of those in the know.

So to start the thread rolling, having listened to an awful lot of Edgard Varèse over the last four months and doing a bit of reading-up etc, leading up to Saturday's Barbican immersion day, Wen-chung Chou came into my ken.

Does anyone have some advice on where to start, or what an excellent recording might be?

I don’t know his music at all.

You really cannot go wrong with the complete Decca set of Varese with Chailly conducting the Concertgebouw and the Asko Ensemble in what seems to be a complete collection curated by a Varese expert, Prof. Chou wen-chung.

Varese needs spectacular recording quality, and it certainly gets that here, plus a fascinating book of notes.

[Beef Oven!]

Knowing next to zilch about him, Wiki's my usual resort, and Chou's entry appears to be very informative, with lots of links elsewhere. Bon voyage, as they don't say!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chou_Wen-chung

Thanks S_A. That’s gotta be one of the best Wiki entries out there!

Love the bit about turning down Yale and his father’s letter ....

[Beef Oven!]

Probably best to start with his string quartets, etc. on Mode Records. Then have a plough through his YouTube offerings.

Thanks Bryn - for some reason, I hadn’t had him down for string quartets!

Being very partial to string quartets, I may well start there!

[Richard Barrett]

I don't know much of Chou's music, and I haven't heard the string quartets. Some of it sounds quite like Varèse, and some of it sounds very like a strangely-orchestrated version of Chinese traditional melodies. I'm not sure that there is much individuality to be heard in his work beyond these obvious influences, but I'd be happy to be proved wrong.

[Beef Oven!]

You really cannot go wrong with the complete Decca set of Varese with Chailly conducting the Concertgebouw and the Asko Ensemble in what seems to be a complete collection curated by a Varese expert, Prof. Chou wen-chung.

Varese needs spectacular recording quality, and it certainly gets that here, plus a fascinating book of notes.

Yes, agreed on all points

[Beef Oven!]

I don't know much of Chou's music, and I haven't heard the string quartets. Some of it sounds quite like Varèse, and some of it sounds very like a strangely-orchestrated version of Chinese traditional melodies. I'm not sure that there is much individuality to be heard in his work beyond these obvious influences, but I'd be happy to be proved wrong.

Having rooted out a few examples of his orchestral work here and there on the internet, I would agree completely with you - quite a disappointment to be honest.

I’ve yet to check out the string quartets, so hopefully all is not lost.

[Zucchini]

... something by Mahler?

[Beef Oven!]

... something by Mahler?

Which work, or can it be any?

[Beef Oven!]

Regarding Wen-chung Chou, I’ve listened to more of his music on the net and quite liked "Eternal Pine".

Here’s an extract from the Amazon UK product description .........

"The series of works featured on this album ushers in a new orientation for Chou Wen-chung (b. 1923) because it marks his first direct engagement with traditional East Asian musical ensembles. The genesis of Eternal Pine came about in part by his longstanding friendship and scholarly exchange with the eminent Korean musicologist Lee Hyeku. Owing to the persistence of a gayageum master, Yi Ji-young, Chou first composed Eternal Pine I for the Korean ensemble in 2008. The other versions soon followed: one for a Western musical ensemble in 2009, the duo version for Korean instruments in 2010, and the last for Chinese Sizhu ensemble in 2012. Eternal Pine refers to the beauty and strength of pine as a symbol for longevity and eternity in East Asian cultures."

I bought the download from Qobuz last night and played it through twice. I find the music very interesting and I can see myself returning to it often (16 bit CD quality - £7.99)

I remain a little disappointed with the other orchestral pieces that I’ve heard.

[mathias broucek]

... something by Mahler?

For a complete Mahler newbie, I would suggest the 1st Symphony as it's shorter and more conventional than most of his output

There are many good recordings including Tennstedt/Chicago, Solti/London Symphony and Bruno Walter (make sure you get the stereo one)

[Beef Oven!]

For a complete Mahler newbie, I would suggest the 1st Symphony as it's shorter and more conventional than most of his output

There are many good recordings including Tennstedt/Chicago, Solti/London Symphony and Bruno Walter (make sure you get the stereo one)

Yes, symphony 1 is a good place to start and I’d second the Solti, LSO Decca.

No. 4 is also a good place to start. From all the Fours I have, I’d recommend any one from, Boulez, Cleveland, Deutsche Grammophon; Karajan, BPO, Deutsche Grammophon; Sinopoli, Dresden Staatskapelle, Profil; Szell, Cleveland, Sony.

[Beef Oven!]

Probably best to start with his string quartets, etc. on Mode Records. Then have a plough through his YouTube offerings.

Bryn, thanks again for the steer on this. Yesterday I ordered the CD of his string quartets 1&2 that you referenced. I couldn’t find a download from the usual purveyors.

In my search for a download, I think I heard that Amazon.com (USA) have an on-demand CD quality download service. In the UK we have no such facility and must accept lower resolution. I wonder if it will be rolled-out to Europe.