Are You A 'New World' Symphony Snob?

[MrGongGong]

It may have been a light-hearted throwaway line, but it touches on an important point. It has encouraged me to think whether there is any music that "speaks" to me which I do not find tuneful to some extent. I cannot immediately think of any.

All depends on what you mean by "tuneful" and "speaks"
I find this "tuneful" and it certainly works for me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fPSz-o4zzY

[cloughie]

All depends on what you mean by "tuneful" and "speaks"
I find this "tuneful" and it certainly works for me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fPSz-o4zzY

And this works for me, try after the vocal bit 2.20 onwards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1m1l00eaDg

...but it does not decrease my love of Dvorak 9. Room for loads of choice in this musical world, pick 'n' mix whilst you have the ears to listen and the mind to appreciate!

[Bryn]

All depends on what you mean by "tuneful" and "speaks"
I find this "tuneful" and it certainly works for me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fPSz-o4zzY

Me too, though that YouTube offering appears to be preceded by a slightly up tempo version of the first movement of 4' 33".

[MrGongGong]

Me too, though that YouTube offering appears to be preceded by a slightly up tempo version of the first movement of 4' 33".

I think that is what was called the "reverential pause" so beloved of the "Old" Radio 3

[LeMartinPecheur]

Not totally OT I trust...http://money.aol.co.uk/2012/11/20/90...6pLid%3D137854

[Barbirollians]

I am far from a New World symphony snob albeit I would agree that there are few more dispiriting things in a concert than a routine account of this work .

I have just come across for £0.01 from zoverstock a much praised account at the time from the LPO and Zdenek Macal on CFP . Prompted by his excellent accompaniment to the Thauer Dvorak Concerto I think it is absolutely terrific . As there I have heard details in the orchestration that are often missed but the performance is marvellous all round . Very exciting yet with a particularly tender Largo .

Highly recommended and goes to the top of my new world pile with Solti , the live Kempe and the LSO/ Kertesz

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

... a much praised account at the time from the LPO and Zdenek Macal on CFP . ... I think it is absolutely terrific . As there I have heard details in the orchestration that are often missed but the performance is marvellous all round . Very exciting yet with a particularly tender Largo .

[makropulos]

Re post No. 22:
I think it's misleading to say that Janacek was hostile to Smetana. He expressed reservations about Bartered Bride, certainly, but I don't think that amounts to hostility. Elsewhere he was full of praise for Má vlast (and recalled - more than once - the impact that the premiere of Vltava had on him when he attended it as a student in Prague), he admired much of Dalibor and Two Widows (even though he found things to criticise), and when he heard The Secret in 1890 he wrote (Morvaské listy, 8 October 1890) that 'the first impression for a musician is simply rapturous' and described it as Smetana's best opera. He may not have been an uncritical fan, but 'hostile' is overdoing it.

[Dave2002]

I am far from a New World symphony snob albeit I would agree that there are few more dispiriting things in a concert than a routine account of this work .

I have just come across for £0.01 from zoverstock a much praised account at the time from the LPO and Zdenek Macal on CFP . Prompted by his excellent accompaniment to the Thauer Dvorak Concerto I think it is absolutely terrific . As there I have heard details in the orchestration that are often missed but the performance is marvellous all round . Very exciting yet with a particularly tender Largo .

Highly recommended and goes to the top of my new world pile with Solti , the live Kempe and the LSO/ Kertesz

Macal is OK - but you should also hear Ferenc Fricsay's version with the BPO, which I think is stunning. To be fair, it's a lovely work, and there are many good recordings - though perhaps a run of the mill performance could be dispiriting.

[visualnickmos]

I am far from a New World symphony snob albeit I would agree that there are few more dispiriting things in a concert than a routine account of this work .

I have just come across for £0.01 from zoverstock a much praised account at the time from the LPO and Zdenek Macal on CFP . Prompted by his excellent accompaniment to the Thauer Dvorak Concerto I think it is absolutely terrific . As there I have heard details in the orchestration that are often missed but the performance is marvellous all round . Very exciting yet with a particularly tender Largo .

Highly recommended and goes to the top of my new world pile with Solti , the live Kempe and the LSO/ Kertesz

Yes - Macal is excellent here, as are Solti, and Kertesz...... is the live Kempe the BBC Legends, by any chance? or the Testament? (the only Kempe of this that I have is with the Berliner Philharmoniker, on a 2-CD all-Kempe set.

[slarty]

Yes - Macal is excellent here, as are Solti, and Kertesz...... is the live Kempe the BBC Legends, by any chance? or the Testament? (the only Kempe of this that I have is with the Berliner Philharmoniker, on a 2-CD all-Kempe set.

The live Kempe is on BBC Legends. Taken from a Promenade concert in 1975.
The concert was televised in mono and is available on ICA Classics DVD. The BBC Legends is stereo.
A pity the BBC and ICA could not have put their heads together and put the stereo tracks on the DVD. All the more annoying when one realises that the company which issues the BBC legend series and ICA classics are the same. Just different divisions.

[ahinton]

No, I'm not and I would hope that I'm not a snob about any other work, but I don't believe that, however well performed, it's the composer at his best and I cannot say that it has an especial appeal for me personally.

But Hovis I really DO not like!...

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

But Hovis I really DO not like!...

I do like the slow movement when performed as part of the symphony, but this turns to loathing when it's tweeted into a Breakfast programme with a simpering introduction.

[ahinton]

I do like the slow movement when performed as part of the symphony, but this turns to loathing when it's tweeted into a Breakfast programme with a simpering introduction.

I understand your point fully and agree with it, only I don't listen to Breakfast; the wondrous fourth movement of Mahler 5 ripped out of that symphony and relayed as a standalone piece is even more nauseating...

[pastoralguy]

The 'New World' symphony is one of my favourite works and I've been lucky enough to hear it many times in performance, not least on February 28th this year in the Alice Tully Hall in NY, NY played by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightment under Adam Fischer. It was a fantastic performance with the orchestra firing on all cylinders.

There are so many wonderful moments in this work that I can't even begin to describe how much I look forward to hearing it either live or on cd. There is a reason why certain works are war horses and, if played well, never fail to hit the spot. In fact, certain works are simply bomb proof! I remember hearing a competent youth orchestra play Beethoven's Fifth at the, now sadly defunct, Edinburgh Festival of British Youth Orchestras. No, they were not the Berlin Phil. but their dedication carried the day!

Oh, and it's a great piece to play!!