Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Late Romantic Gems, February 9, 2006
The other review posted thus far is by someone who simply does not like late romantic music. Havergal Brian ought to be judged not only in terms of his failure to compose pieces that depart sufficiently from tonality. For anyone who enjoys music of the very late romantic period (Kurt Atterberg, to mention but one of my favorites), Brian's music will be a delight.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Havergal Brian was a genius, August 17, 2006
Don't pay any attention to the negative reviewer. He simply doesn't get it. Havergal Brian was a flawed genius, but a genius nevertheless. His music is difficult and brilliant, but highly idiomatic and undisciplined. Brian's inner world was a strange and highly personal one. I have to listen to each of his pieces many times before I am able to grasp them, but this is well worth it. The Jolly Miller Overture on this disk is a good place to start, as it is short and is one of his more accessible pieces. Brian is an original. His music is just too difficult for him to ever become very popular, but if his music were more disciplined and accessible, then, well, he just wouldn't be Brian. And I think he wouldn't have it any other way!
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3.0 out of 5 stars
sadly pedestrian performances of wonderful music..., May 17, 2008
Every now and then, one comes across somebody who is so utterly wrong, one can only respond with astonishment rather than anger. Havergal Brian, a musical genius if there ever was one, towers head and shoulders about all but a couple of the composers mentioned in that negative review, although this CD is not the best indication of that fact. As a trained musician, with a degree in music composition, and someone who can read a score, as well as COMPREHEND the meaning of a complex work of music, I can tell you that Brian will eventually be recognized as one of the most important symphonists of the 20th century. This was also the opinion of Dr. Robert Simpson, no inconsiderable composer himself, as well as many major conductors and composers. But then, think of the ignorant comments that have been made about the painters Turner, van Gogh, Whistler, etc.etc, .. as well as Beethoven, Mahler, Ives, and Bruckner! It seems that the greater the artist, the more profound the incomprehension among the ignorant. Havergal Brian was no amateur - his elliptical harmonic motion, craggy lack of transitional materials, and refusal to resort to the banal technical devices that provide a comforting sense of familiarity to shallow dilettantes give his best music a craggy integrity - full of surprising juxtapositions and unexpected twists and turns that only reveal themselves to be perfectly "right" after repeated listenings. Brain is also a very, very, deep composer - his best works have a profundity of feeling and thought that reveals itself more and more with repeated listenings. Some people, however want merely to be entertained. For THAT, one can go to many of the composers named in a previous review. That being said, this CD is not a very successful example of Brian's work because the performances are limp and tentative. The violinist is fine, but has to struggle against an ineptly played orchestral accompaniment. The 18th Symphony (one of Brain's more neoclassical works - though rather fierce at that) doesn't come off because of Friend's weak and cautious conducting. The CD set of Brian's 7th, 8th, and 9th symphonies is the best place to start. If you are really on a budget, Penny's wonderful performances of Brian's Syms. 20, and 25 will give you an example of his musical language, if not a sample of his very best work.
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