Building a Library - General Discussion

[Karafan]

Throbbers? I think I'll stick to 'Throppers'

Are you looking for any recordings, or was it just the chosen ones you were after?

K.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Don't let this happen to BaL

9.30 a.m.

Katie Derham discusses with Sara Mohr-Pietsch recordings of Elgar’s Scenes From the Saga of King Olaf.
Sara Mohr-Pietsch will play the Best Bits of the work, and Katie Derham will ask listeners to tweet their suggestions for the final recommendation.

Available recordings:-


Teresa Cahill, Philip Langridge, Brian Rayner-Cook, LPO & Chorus, Vernon Handley

[Barbirollians]

You are jesting ! Please tell me you are

[Thropplenoggin]

You are jesting ! Please tell me you are

Now I really am beginning to suspect RW is a sadist.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

You are jesting ! Please tell me you are

Who? Me?

[verismissimo]

Excellent choice for BAL. But tough to identify a shortlist.

[CallMePaul]

This seems a very odd choice for BaL! The work (which I have never heard so will be interested) is one of Elgar's least well-known early pieces, hardly ever performed and recorded, to my knowledge, twice. I am aware of an old EMI recording conducted by Sir Charles Groves (if my memory serves me right) and a more recent one from the late Richard Hickox on Chandos. There may be one or two others that I am unaware of and I have not looked at Amazon or other websites to see what is currently available.

My main concern is the use of two moonlighting (should that be sunlighting?) BBC presenters not known for depth in their introductions discussing this little-known piece and then we are expected to use Twitter to have our say! What about those of us who, like myself, refuse to go near Twitter for any number of reasons? Do our views not count? Better still, why not go back to the tried and tested format of a freelance reviewer analysing recordings and coming up with a considered recommendation which we may or may not agree with? Is the BBC's chequebook an issue?

[silvestrione]

This seems a very odd choice for BaL! The work (which I have never heard so will be interested) is one of Elgar's least well-known early pieces, hardly ever performed and recorded, to my knowledge, twice. I am aware of an old EMI recording conducted by Sir Charles Groves (if my memory serves me right) and a more recent one from the late Richard Hickox on Chandos. There may be one or two others that I am unaware of and I have not looked at Amazon or other websites to see what is currently available.

My main concern is the use of two moonlighting (should that be sunlighting?) BBC presenters not known for depth in their introductions discussing this little-known piece and then we are expected to use Twitter to have our say! What about those of us who, like myself, refuse to go near Twitter for any number of reasons? Do our views not count? Better still, why not go back to the tried and tested format of a freelance reviewer analysing recordings and coming up with a considered recommendation which we may or may not agree with? Is the BBC's chequebook an issue?

What I can't understand is how a post typed in 22 days ago has taken this long to appear!

[CallMePaul]

Honest, I typed it up less than half an hour ago!

[Thropplenoggin]

What I can't understand is how a post typed in 22 days ago has taken this long to appear!

.

.

[Cockney Sparrow]

The programme for BBC SO at the Barbican on 12 April said that Sir Andrew Davis will record King Olaf with the Bergen Orchestra "this season". No doubt this will be included in any BAL. (Not read this thread with enough care or consideration to decide whether the Derham reference is a wind up or not). (Of course, mentioning Andrew Davis is enough to call in a crop of deprecatory posts now.....).

[mercia]

the BaL on 3/5 is AFAIK Tchaikovsky First Piano Concerto

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Andrew Davis is indeed recording King Olaf for Chandos.
And whatever anyone else says, he's an outstanding Elgar conductor. I was there when he premiered the Elgar-Payne Symphony no. 3, but of the regular canon, his Elgar 2 is among the finest of them all. Then there's his Chandos "Crown of India"

Plus much more.

Didn't think much of his Alpine, though.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

the BaL on 3/5 is AFAIK Tchaikovsky First Piano Concerto

Spoil-sport.

[mercia]

oh sorry - hopefully I haven't stopped anyone from discussing their favourite recording of Olaf