Re: Bax's Symphonies - Naxos

"Curtis Croulet" <calypte@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
bx0Wi.1060$a01.787@trnddc06:">news:bx0Wi.1060$a01.787@trnddc06:

Yeah, I got started with the Bax symphonies via Norman Del Mar's LP of
the Sixth. I still think it's the strongest of the symphonies.

Me too, both for getting started and strongest. I must admit that my
initial reaction was bafflement. Box didn't sound anything like Vaughan
Williams or Holst, or anybody else for that matter! The music took a bit of
getting used to.

In addition to everything else, the first two movements are very concise,
and that's not always the case for Bax. The first movement, for me, seems
to be over too soon, but that's because I like it so much -- not because
it's badly composed. Even though the third movement on the surface appears
to be sprawling in comparison, it's really an introduction followed by two
shorter movements, all on the same themes, so it's concise in it's own way.
The ending is magical. Then again, so is the ending of the third symphony.

AZS
.