Music Weekly Bruckner spoof

[retroman]

Greetings all.

Does anybody remember the spoof piece on Bruckner and railway engines in Music Weekly donkey's years ago - about 1985-ish? Even if it wasn't true, it ought to have been - on a level with Hoffnung's Punkt-Contra-Punkt.

[kernelbogey]

Yes I do - and I was completely taken in at the time. It was clever because the engines on a line near Sankt Florian (?) were supposed to have signalled to each other about single line working: the pitch of their hooters was exactly that of the first four notes of the fourth symphony....

Welcome Retroman and Brucknerian!

[Beef Oven]

What are you two on about!?

[Norfolk Born]

The Scherzo of the 9th always sounds just like a train to my (admittedly untrained) ears.

[robk]

The Scherzo of the 9th always sounds just like a train to my (admittedly untrained) ears.

I wish you hadn't said that. I can see what you mean - it will never be the same again now.

[Tony Halstead]

Trains don't resonate in D ( minor), they are usually pitched in E or E flat!

[Nick Armstrong]

Trains don't resonate in D ( minor), they are usually pitched in E or E flat!

Mr Waldhorn...

Need to get out more!?!?!?

[kernelbogey]

Trains don't resonate in D ( minor), they are usually pitched in E or E flat!

No 4 in E flat major...?

[retroman]

Thanks for the welcome! You weren't the only one who was taken in, incidentally - the piece received general approbation at the following week's departmental meeting, until the perp owned up. I wish I'd had the presence of mind to tape the repeat...anyway, what would it matter if old Anton reflected the world around him? Mahler did it all the time and no-one thinks any the less of him for it.

[kernelbogey]

Retroman, do you remember who presented the item? I also wish I had a recording. Don't suppose the Beeb kept one....

[retroman]

Well, Kernelbogey, that's a good question. I think Sheffield and Lyall were producing and Michael Oliver did the links, but the item itself was a separate insert, and I can't remember who presented it. No doubt there's a copy somewhere, but I haven't got one either, more's the pity.

[Parry1912]

Mr Waldhorn...

Need to get out more!?!?!?

Preferably not to go train spotting!

[mercia]

Symphony no. 4 ('Romantic')
Research by Ken Ward has exposed as a mischievous rumour the suggestion that Bruckner was interested in railways and that sounds of whistling locomotives inspired the beautiful solo horn passage which opens the 4th Symphony. In 1986 David Elliot (son of Sir John Elliott of the Southern Railway) produced a radio programme with the title 'A Composer on the Footplate, some revealing new evidence on the sources of Bruckner's inspiration'. This programme was supposed to have been broadcast by the BBC on 1st April 1986 as an April Fool's joke. Unfortunately it was not actually broadcast until 26th May 1986.

I copied that from here

http://www.philpacey.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/musrail.html

will that get me into trouble ? oops - I thought I was on the "off to St Florians" thread

[kernelbogey]

Mercia - thanks for that great bit of research. It would be fun if someone has a recording stowed somewhere and if R3 were able to re-broadcast it some time.

[french frank]

Investigating further, there's some more information here, scroll down about a quarter of the way down the page to 'Music and railways. John Marshall. 330-1'.

So someone, somewhere, has/had a recording ...