Vernon Handley

[markm...@gmail.com]

I've been listening to recordings over the past few days of music conducted by the late Vernon Handley, with several different English orchestras. His Elgar Falstaff is splendid, as is a Delius disc and a Malcom Arnold CD ending with the side-splitting "A Grand, Grand Overture."

What else conducted by Handley is worth hearing?

Mark

[Sol L. Siegel]

markm...@gmail.com wrote in
news:121bee64-7309-4ace...@googlegroups.com:

> What else conducted by Handley is worth hearing?

Vaughan Williams, especially the 5th Symphony and Job.

The Bax symphonies. (FWIW, cduniverse.com is still selling the
mp3 download for $9.99.)

- Sol L. Siegel, Philadelphia, PA USA

[Bozo]

>On Monday, August 5, 2013 8:46:27 PM UTC-5, markm...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> What else conducted by Handley is worth hearing?
>

The Elgar Violin Concerto with Nigel Kennedy.

Stanford Piano Concerto No.2 with Fingerhut

Finzi Cello Concerto with Wallfisch

While I have not heard, I suspect any recordings of Moeran.

[Praetorius]

Not that I've heard every one, but I'd be surprised if Vernon "Tod" Handley
ever made a bad recording.

My first recommendation would be Vaughn Williams' Job: A Masque For Dancing
with the London Philharmonic on EMI, my favorite -- and I've heard most of
them including Boult's four commercial recordings. You can get it
(uncoupled) used very inexpensively from reputable Marketplace Sellers on
Amazon, if not elsewhere. It's also included in his set of symphonies on
Classics for Pleasure -- inexpensive new on Amazon Marketplace. The later,
Classics for Pleasure issue is coupled with Fantasia On A Theme by Thomas
Tallis
and Five Variants Of 'Dives And Lazarus'.

Somewhat off the beaten path: Robert Simpson's Symphony No. 9 (worthy of the
number) with the Bournemouth Symphony on Hyperion (the CD also contains an
18 minute talk about the work by the composer). Again, very inexpensive used
from reputable Amazon Marketplace Sellers. Handley recorded all of Simpson's
symphonies if you become a fan. And either the Granville Bantock CD
containing Celtic Symphony, The Witch of Atlas, The Sea Reivers and A
Hebridean Symphony, or containing Thalaba the Destroyer and various shorter
pieces, both with the Royal Philharmonic also on Hyperion. Or, if you think
you can stand it, the six CD set of Granville Bantock's orchestral music of
which the preceding are included.

Back on the straight and narrow, the Elgar Violin Concerto with [Nigel]
Kennedy and both Elgar Symphonies, all on EMI/CfP. And there's also the CfP
Elgar & Vaughn Williams "hits" compilation with the London Philharmonic and
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic (Tallis Fantasia): Enigma Variations & Serenade
for Strings, and The Lark Ascending, Fantasia on 'Greensleeves' & Fantasia
on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (all complete performances, NOT excerpts) --
less than $7 (including shipping) on Amazon Marketplace.

The Icon five CD set is selling ridiculously cheaply (under $14 including
shipping) and includes the above-mentioned Elgar Violin Concerto, but two of
the CDs are of non-English music, if that's a consideration -- although at
that price you're still ahead just with the three.

Frank Decolvenaere
To reply by e-mail, replace NMBR with 1612.

"You are no bigger than
the things that annoy you."
Jerry Bundsen

[wanwan]

The Florida Suite on Chandos. The V-W 5th Symphony & Job mentioned below on EMI. The British "Sea" works disc on Chandos. (Frank Bridge's The Sea is especially great) My all time favorite though is his Brahms 1st Serenade on Chandos. Simply glorious stuff.

---------------
Eric

[Ray Hall]

His RVW symphonies are highly regarded as is his set of Bax symphonies.
In particular his RVW 5th is excellent.

I also like the Elgar violin concerto with Nige Kennedy as soloist with
Handley conducting. He championed British music mainly.

Ray Hall, Taree

[Ray Hall]

As Praetorius has mentioned in this thread, I forgot to mention the
Simpson symphonies. This is now corrected. Great music.

Ray Hall, Taree

[Sol L. Siegel]

"Praetorius" <praetor...@verizon.net> wrote:

> ...either the Granville Bantock CD containing Celtic Symphony,

> The Witch of Atlas, The Sea Reivers and A Hebridean Symphony, or
> containing Thalaba the Destroyer and various shorter pieces, both
> with the Royal Philharmonic also on Hyperion. Or, if you think you
> can stand it, the six CD set of Granville Bantock's orchestral
> music of which the preceding are included.

Or the disc of Sappho and Sapphic Ode, two works you're not ever
likely to encounter in the concert hall. I *knew* there was a
Handley CD I was forgetting.

[Christopher Webber]

On 08/08/2013 04:59, Sol L. Siegel wrote:
> Or the disc of Sappho and Sapphic Ode, two works you're not ever

> likely to encounter in the concert hall. I*knew* there was a

> Handley CD I was forgetting.

He often joked about his perceived tether to underplayed English
composers. In the concert hall the fact is, that his international
repertoire was broad - but he never got asked to record much of it. On
one occasion I remember him saying, after doing some Bax in London,
words to the effect of: "I'm off to Birmingham tomorrow. Conducting some
symphony or other by a little-known composer called Beethoven".

Yet there are *some* Handley discs which aren't of English music, and
they are of an standard equal to his best work. I'd recommend a lovely
EMI disc made with Tamsin Little, of the Lalo's 'Symphonie Espagnole'
(in its 5-movement form) and Bruch's 'Scottish Fantasy' - a particularly
heartwarming performance.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bruch-Lalo-Scottish-Symphonie-Espagnole/dp/B00006YX7I/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1375948593&sr=1-2&keywords=handley+lalo

[garcia]

http://www.discogs.com/artist/Vernon+Handley

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernon_Handley

http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2008/12/select-discographies-for-vernon-handley.html

Hope these help for future listening.
Have fun

Garcia

[Matthew B. Tepper]

Bozo <steve...@gmail.com> appears to have caused the following letters to
be typed in news:e4a1410f-dc1d-4b4f...@googlegroups.com:

> Finzi Cello Concerto with Wallfisch

He also recorded it with Yo-Yo Ma, that performer's first recording, and one
of a very few not on Sony.

I would recommend that one, along with the coupled Finzi Clarinet Concerto
with John Denman.

Despite the fact that I bought it so eagerly when it came out, I'm still not
sure what to make of the Bax symphonies on Chandos.

--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!!
Read about "Proty" here: http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/proty.html
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
Opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of my employers.

[Christopher Webber]

On 08/08/2013 20:40, Matthew B. Tepper wrote:
> Despite the fact that I bought it so eagerly when it came out, I'm still not
> sure what to make of the Bax symphonies on Chandos.

Although it is the benchmark SET, that doesn't mean that every
performance wipes the floor with the opposition.

As a whole it is a class above both DL-J (Naxos) and Bryden Thomson
(also Chandos) because there isn't a weak link, and - for me - Nos. 1
and 5 are the best there's been.

Fredman's No.2, Downes's No.3, Handley's own Guildford No.4, Del Mar's
No.6 and Leppard's 7th amongst others are not eclipsed by the complete
Handley set on Chandos.

What is consistently good, is the voicing and clarity of the musical
thought. But some of Tod's speeds were on the fast side in these
recordings (notably faster indeed than many of his off-air performances,
from the decades before he actually got into the studio to achieve his
life's ambition of putting the complete cycle down on disc.)

[Bob Harper]

I think Matthew may mean he doesn't know what to make of the Bax
Symphonies, period. I know I don't; my loss, I suppose.

Bob Harper

[gggg gggg]

His Neptune by Holst is not bad.

[Neil]

Bit off topic but heard him to RVW 5 in Edinburgh with RSNO. AS you'd expect, a memorable performance. It was 30+ years ago !

Time to revisit some of his recordings. I've not listened to Job for ages.

[gggg gggg]

(Youtube upload):

Gustav Holst: Die Planeten op.32: VII. Neptun; Vernon Handley (7/7)

[Herman]

On so we are getting yet another reference to the only piece of music the bot ever listens to.

[Kerrison]

On Thursday, July 22, 2021 at 9:25:40 AM UTC+1, Herman wrote:
> On so we are getting yet another reference to the only piece of music the bot ever listens to.

Not only that, this ubiquitous multiple "g"s person can't even supply a YouTube link. Hopeless.

[gggg gggg]

On Thursday, July 22, 2021 at 1:25:40 AM UTC-7, Herman wrote:
> On so we are getting yet another reference to the only piece of music the bot ever listens to.

My continuing mission: is to explore strange new Neptunes. To seek out new interpretations on new recordings. To boldly go where no one has gone before!

[gggg gggg]

https://www.brickvault.toys/products/u-s-s-enterprise