Favourite Delius recordings

[BBMmk2]

Mass of Life,Hickox and Beecham
Violin Sonatas,Tasmin Little
String Quartet,Brodskys
Piano Concerto,Piers Lane
Double Concerto for Violin and Cello,any recording

Agree with you there ER. also the Sir Andrew Davis recording of the Piano Concerto with Brigg Fair, Idylle Printemps, with Howard Shelley and the RSNO.

[Barbirollians]

Sorry, I just checked that Toshiba - it was in fact Brigg Fair....with the Hallé of course.
That's the trouble with Japanese issues - very small print English titling...But careless of me, sorry...

Ah i was hoping he had recorded it - it's a fine Brigg Fair though.

[muzzer]

The Florida Suite is a particular favourite at this time of year.

[cloughie]

The Florida Suite is a particular favourite at this time of year.

Is that because it has an alive sound with optimism for a good summer?

[Bryn]

JS conducted the Bush, and NDM the Delius.

[Mal]

I have a Beecham box of "English Music" that's almost all Delius, and the orchestral pieces are very well played, haven't had the courage to tackle "A Village Romeo and Juliet" yet. The box is going for next to nothing these days:

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Sir-Thomas-Beecham-English-Bantock/dp/B004FKMHM0

The recording sounds fine to me, maybe they fixed the "cheap thin vinyl and noisy" problems.

As the lead Amazon reviewer says, "Sir Thomas Beecham was acknowledged as the finest interpreter of Delius' music during the last century. The composer's friend and biographer, his performances remain a benchmark against which all must be judged." I agree with this statement, I haven't heard better.

[Dave2002]

I have a Beecham box of "English Music" that's almost all Delius, and the orchestral pieces are very well played, haven't had the courage to tackle "A Village Romeo and Juliet" yet. The box is going for next to nothing these days:

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Sir-Thomas-Beecham-English-Bantock/dp/B004FKMHM0

At £8.68 from the Netherlands I thought it was worth one more shot with this, and there's always the Garden of Fand to listen to, plus some Granville Bantock which I don't know. The set does include Sleigh Ride, which is one more piece which I actually do like.

[Barbirollians]

So am I. I tended to fall on the side of thoroughly disliking almost all of Delius' music, though I did get to like La Calinda and maybe a couple of other pieces. A few pieces work much better in a good live performance than on CD - but mostly I can't face them. Even now. Sorry!

I did once quite enjoy hearing the double concerto with Menuhin and Tortelier, and I think that Tasmin Little and Paul Watkins have done a version too.
Even so, I've only heard that a few times, and I'm not rushing to repeat the experience. For a solo violin concerto recording I believe that Ralph Holmes with Vernon Handley in Delius' violin concerto is one of the best.

I found the Menuhin/Tortelier Delius Double Concerto recently and what a passionate thrilling performance - the Little/Watkins/Davis pales in comparison.

[smittims]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. For me, that HMV disc was a bit of a disappointment. With those artists and a rich EMI recording, it should have been a winner, but for some reason it didn't quite catch fire for me. I felt Tasmin Little got to the heart of the violin concerto more than Menuhin, much as I admire him in so many works.

I think the truth is that the 'classic' recording was never made. It would have been in a fourth volume of the Delius society, with Sammons and Beecham. Neither of their subsequent recordings of the work is quite perfect, I'm afraid.

As for the double concerto, I felt the old Cohen/Warburg recording was a more passionate performance: as a teenager, I was in tears at the end. But the recording wasn't very good.

[Pulcinella]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. For me, that HMV disc was a bit of a disappointment. With those artists and a rich EMI recording, it should have been a winner, but for some reason it didn't quite catch fire for me. I felt Tasmin Little got to the heart of the violin concerto more than Menuhin, much as I admire him in so many works.

I think the truth is that the 'classic' recording was never made. It would have been in a fourth volume of the Delius society, with Sammons and Beecham. Neither of their subsequent recordings of the work is quite perfect, I'm afraid.

As for the double concerto, I felt the old Cohen/Warburg recording was a more passionate performance: as a teenager, I was in tears at the end. But the recording wasn't very good.

Is/Was it [the double concerto] a Little specialty?
I have an EMI Eminence recording with Little, Wallfisch, and the RLPO under Mackerras.

[smittims]

Well, a 'speciality' only in the sense that once a musician has learnt a work and developed an interpretation, they tend to play it a few times: something audiences don't always appereciate. Tasmin Little certainly played the Violin concerto quite a bit, one of her finest outings with it being at a Prom in 2012 (23 August) with Vasily Petrenko, and I think she's made two CDs of it, on Argo with Mackerras and Chandos with Andrew Davis.

[Barbirollians]

Well, a 'speciality' only in the sense that once a musician has learnt a work and developed an interpretation, they tend to play it a few times: something audiences don't always appereciate. Tasmin Little certainly played the Violin concerto quite a bit, one of her finest outings with it being at a Prom in 2012 (23 August) with Vasily Petrenko, and I think she's made two CDs of it, on Argo with Mackerras and Chandos with Andrew Davis.

Yes Tasmin Little did record it twice . I prefer the Mackerras recording. As for Menuhin - that LP of the Delius VC coupled with the Double Concerto I did not have . The Violin Concerto recording sounded very much like one of his off days with some serious intonation issues when I bought it coupled with his Elgar VC with Boult ( that I love to bits) . The Double Concerto on the other hand his playing sounds vastly better .

Ralph Holmes recording of the Delius VC I regard as much my favourite

[Master Jacques]

Ralph Holmes recording of the Delius VC I regard as much my favourite

I feel the same way. Holmes has an understated, introverted way of putting it across which never fails to touch me. Handley and the orchestra are hand-in-glove with the soloist's approach. The original disc, coupled with the rare Suite and Legende, was one of the gems of the old Unicorn catalogue.

[JasonPalmer]

Enjoyed watching a film on to about Delius and a young man who helped him with his compositions but never came across his music in charity shops, not sure he played very often on radio 3 which is a pity as was intrigued to discover more about the influence of southern American states music on his music. I suppose I could always surf YouTube to discover more.

Edit , the film I liked. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_of_Summer

[Serial_Apologist]

Enjoyed watching a film on to about Delius and a young man who helped him with his compositions but never came across his music in charity shops, not sure he played very often on radio 3 which is a pity as was intrigued to discover more about the influence of southern American states music on his music. I suppose I could always surf YouTube to discover more.

Edit , the film I liked. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_of_Summer

Some thought that was the best of Russell's docudramas on composers, a view re-inforced by Delius's musical amanuensis Fenby; I on the other hand always feel uncomfortable watching it, trying to cope with the yawning gulf between Delius's pantheism, its inspiration for his music, and how he treated others, such as his ever-devoted wife.