Moeran symphony And Bax symphonies

[Guest]

Could somebody suggest a recording and perhaps a good coupling for the above symphony.

Also a box of Bax symphonies what would you recommend.

[Roehre]

Could somebody suggest a recording and perhaps a good coupling for the above symphony.

Also a box of Bax symphonies what would you recommend.

For the Moeran:
the Chandos recording as well as the EMI (with English Sinfonia/dilkes) are my favourites.
For the Bax-sets: both Chandos sets are very recommendable.

[Barbirollians]

Handley is miles miles and miles better than Thomson in the Bax .

[Chris Newman]

For Moeran the Handley on Chandos is super as is Boult on Lyrita.
The Handley (Chandos) set of Bax is similarly very powerful. The Naxos (Lloyd Jones) records seem eminently serviceable but I should think the Handley is available for similar price by shopping around. I do not know the Thomson or the Dilkes.

[Norfolk Born]

The coupling on the David Lloyd Jones Moeran (which I have and can recommend) is the Sinfonietta.

[BBMmk2]

What a terrific combination!! I do rather like the Naxos British Series. I might juist buy that! Vernon Handley's Bax cycle is a great investment on Chandos!

[makropulos]

For the Moeran, Boult on Lyrita is still the version I play far more often than any of the alternatives, good as some of them are.

[umslopogaas]

M1 Threni

I've got the Moeran symphony and several of the Bax ones on Lyrita (LPs, but they have been transferred to CD). I think they are very fine recordings and the Penguin Guide does too, it gives a special rosette to the Boult/New Philharmonia version of the Moeran and recommends the Lyrita recordings of Bax 1, 2, 5 and 7.

For the Bax, you get a variety of performers:

1 Myer Fredman/LPO
2 Myer Fredman/LPO
3 dunno, havent got it, possibly not issued
4 ditto
5 Raymond Leppard/LPO
6 Norman del Mar/New Philharmonia
7 Raymond Leppard/LPO

It looks as if Lyrita may not have recorded nos 3 and 4, at least in the LP era, they dont appear on the complete list of stereo LPs (I havent got a list of the first 30, which were only issued in mono, but all of those that I've seen have been small scale chamber works, not orchestral pieces). However, I believe they went on putting out new recordings on CD, so they might have got round to them.

Has anyone any other recordings by Fredman? I've never come across him anywhere else and the sleeves give no information about him.

[Threni]

Thanks for that people. I went for the Handley in the Bax and the Boult and Handley in the Moeran. Will let you know what I think!

The Bax sounds quite nice had a listen to No. 1 and didn't realise Bax was loud! haha

[Petrushka]

I bought the Handley boxed set of the Bax symphonies with an Amazon gift certificate this Christmas just gone and have worked my leisurely way to No 5.

At the moment I'm not too sure about these pieces which I've never heard before. They certainly inhabit a world of their own and may take several hearings before I can offer a definitive judgement.

[Thomas Roth]

One small example. Symphony No 6, slow movement. Del Mar plays the opening very slow and makes it sound like Liadov´s The Enchanted Lake. Pure magic. Handley is quick and does nothing with the music. Different approaches, but I still like the Lyrita performances, and recordings, much better.

[offbeat]

msg 8 Umslopogaas
Bax third not on lyrita to my knowledge but Edward Downes did a fine version on red seal label = a romantic masterpiece
the 4th is part of the Naxos series

[umslopogaas]

M12 offbeat

Thanks for those comments. I've got the RCA LP of Bax's Third (SB 6806), but no recording of the Fourth. Must hunt one down. It looks as if Lyrita may have intended to record them all, but never quite finished the job. Mind you, what they did achieve, as a small, independent and very high quality company, was very impressive.

[Ferretfancy]

I'm assuming that nobody has overlooked the Bryden Thomson versions of 3 & 4 with the LPO on Chandos. 3 is coupled with Paean, and Dance of Wild Irravel, and 4 with Tintagel. They were among the first Bax symphonies to appear on CD, I'm not sure if they are still in circulation.