Robert Simpson: The Complete Symphonies
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Music CD Cover
Performer: Joseph Koos [cello]Composer: Robert Simpson
Conductor: Matthew Taylor [composer]
Conductor: Vernon Handley
Orchestra: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Orchestra: City of London Sinfonia
Orchestra: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Orchestra: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Edition: Music CD
Format: Import
CD Release Date: 2006-11-14
Music Label: Hyperion UK
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- Part 1 - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- Part 2 - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- Part 3 - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- Poco Animato - - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- Scherzo: Minaccioso - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- Adagio - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- Finale: Presto - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- Allegro Grazioso - Vernon Handley
- Largo Cantabile - Vernon Handley
- Non Troppo Allegro, Ma Con Brio - Vernon Handley
- Allegro Moderato - Vernon Handley
- Presto - Vernon Handley
- Andante - Vernon Handley
- Allegro Vivace - Vernon Handley
- Allegro Ma Non Troppo - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- Adagio - Presto - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- Allegro - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- Canone 1: Comodo E Tranquillo - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- Scherzino: Molto Vivace - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- Canone 2: Adagio - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- Finale: Molto Allegro E Con Fuoco - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- Part 1 - Vernon Handley
- Part 2 - Vernon Handley
- Part 1: Sostenuto, Marcato - Vernon Handley
- Part 2: Adagio - Vernon Handley
- Part 3: Allegro - Vernon Handley
- Part 1 - Vernon Handley
- Part 2 - Vernon Handley
- Part 3 - Vernon Handley
- Illustrated Talk On Symphony No.9 By The Composer - Vernon Handley
- Allegro - Vernon Handley
- Allegro Leggiero - Vernon Handley
- Andante Molto Mosso - Vernon Handley
- Largo - Allegro Con Brio - Vernon Handley
- Andante - City Of London Sinfonia
- Allegro Vivace - City Of London Sinfonia
- Theme: Allegretto - City Of London Sinfonia
- Variations 1: L'istesson Tempo - City Of London Sinfonia
- Variation 2: Del Precedente - City Of London Sinfonia
- Variation 3: Poco Memo - City Of London Sinfonia
- Variation 4: Allegro Non Troppo - City Of London Sinfonia
- Variation 5 - City Of London Sinfonia
- Variation 6 - City Of London Sinfonia
- Variation 7 - City Of London Sinfonia
- Variation 8: Prestissimo - City Of London Sinfonia
- Variation 9: Adagio - City Of London Sinfonia
- Finale: Del Precedente - City Of London Sinfonia
Free Music Notes for Robert Simpson: The Complete Symphonies
Free Music Review: 3.5 stars -- a proliferate postwar British symphonist with an original voice
Hit: 3 Stars
Robert Simpson (1921-97) was a British writer, radio announcer and composer. His sequence of 11 symphonies is highly valued in Britain, where he is considered one of the more important composers of the 20th century postwar period. He wrote books about both Nielsen and Bruckner, whom many hear in his symphonies. He studied with British composer Herbert Howells, who convinced him to obtain both bachelor's and doctoral degrees in music. Simpson's collegiate training shows throughout his symphonic ouevre, which is both original in concept and resolutely pedantic, with the composer often being more interested in tempo relationships and musical forms than inspiration, which is often lacking in his music.
Among the academic notions pursued in the symphonies are his tonal principles -- many characterize his counterpoint being dueling musical cells fighting against each other -- his predilection to outline major seconds, thirds and fourths, and the famous palindromatic design in the second movement of the Symphony No. 2. A palindrome is same backward as forward -- a sentence such as "Able was I ere I saw Elba" or a number such as 1881 (my thanks to Merriam-Webster Online for this example) -- something that, in music, can be thought of as a lengthy arpeggio.
Listening to Simpson's symphonies in the order of their numbering in this box, I concluded the composer had three distinct periods as a symphonist:
-- An early period (Symphonies 1-4). where he tries to define himself. He begins wanting to be dissonant and serial but, instead, finds he cannot abandon traditional forms. He substitutes a lot of noisy musical rhetoric for development and churns out symphonies that are, with the exception of 3, largely forgettable.
-- A middle period (Symphonies 5-8), mostly in the 1970s, where he defines his individual voice, begins to completely tune out the bombastic rhetoric, and starts to finely tune his developmental style in symphonies marked more often in parts instead of movements.
-- A late period (Symphonies 9-11) where his style is completely developed. Here, he composes his best symphonies while somewhat ironically, he loses much of his individual voice developed through the urgency and darkness exhibited in the early and middle symphonies.
The early symhonies are all bombastic, LOUD, dark, and somewhat dissonant. The middle symphonies carry over some of the earlier darkness with better development. The later symphonies are even better but, while listening to the Symphonies 9 and 10, I was regularly reminded of the American band of brothers composers whose symphonies sound like they are all stamped by a corporate sound -- Schuman, Harris, Piston, Persichetti and Mennin.
Because no review I read described in much detail the music that lies inside the recordings, I will spend a few moments on each CD trying to define what's going on in these compositions.
Symphonies 1 and 8. The first symphony is, like the Bruckner Symphony No. 1, a collection of the composer's influences. More than faint echoes of Beethoven, Shostakovich, Nielsen and Sibelius riddle the score, steeped in Brucknerian grandeur. This is a tonal, post-romantic 20th century symphony that reflects Simpson's influences but not his own voice. Symphony 8 starts as if French-influenced when things turn dissonant before a modernist martial theme reminiscent of Shostakovich takes over. The early portions are tonal but press the 12 tone envelope in what my notes remind me is a loud, meandering, boring, uneventful opus whose material consistently overstays its welcome.
Symphony 2 and 4. No. 2 begins quiet and lyrical but ends up like 8 -- loud and tedious -- in the opening allegro grazioso. The following largo cantabile is a bit more intersting but is still too loud and uneventful with poor development characteristics. The final movement begins in an interesting variation but one of Simpson's worst early characteristics -- overuse of timpani -- literally beats this to death. Beginning a la ballet like Prokofiev Symphony 4, the Simpson 4 begins with balletic interaction between woodwinds and strings (a feature that will identify this composer from this point forward), sometimes pizzicato, until it launches into a loud subject at about 9 minutes. Much more too loud music follows in the intervening movements until an elegaic cell opens the andante. The finale is full of big ideas but this composition, like Symphonies 2 and 3, is much too loud far too often. It wears down the listener with its volume and attack.
Symphonies 3 and 5. Number 3 is the most often recorded of Simpson's symphonies (Horenstein once recorded it) and many say this CD is the place to begin with this composer. The opening of 3 is mysterious, another badge this composer develops that is a departure from the norm. Felicitous string writing remindful of William Schuman leads to typical blasts from the brass and timpani that molt to a marcato finish. The adagio - presto second movement is a new voice -- a subdued mood in strings followed by woodwind that proceeds through a set of Shostakovich-like variations to a titanic whirlwind of sound from which comes a concluding trumpet solo with string accompaniment. Symphony 5 begins with a string threndoy that gives way to a maelstrom of fortissiomo sound and energy. In the second movement (Canone) a solo flute emerges misterioso and launches into variations with a clarinet & strings. A playful Scherzino turns mean and loud before a second Canone (rondo) begins in low strings, then builds a lengthy crescendo-decrescendo in timpani that swells and recedes like waves with the tension of a ticking bomb. It bursts forth with energy in halves that quiets before the concluding section molts for 16 minutes. This is Simpson's best symphony thus far, more well-developed and individually voiced than anything that came before.
Symphony 6 and 7. For me, as well as for the All Music Guide (which recommends one Simpson symphony recording; this one) this is the pinnacle of the set. Here Simpson's individual voice becomes fully developed as he sets aside the bombast of his early, noisy symphonies while retaining the demonic energy that has so many listeners comparing him to Beethoven. No. 6 starts (Part 1) with an elegy in strings as if more modern and dissonant, only to turntraditional with traces of Shostakovich and Prokofiev's Symphony 2. Part 2 is 17 minutes of very fine variations that ends, for the first time in a Simpson symphony, with an affirmative, positive note. Symphony 7 is, for me, the best this composer has to offer. It representsw the mature voice of the composer and imaginer in the now familar language that is the Simpson trademark -- counterpoint that mates string tremeloes followed by woodwind followed by brass, then by timpani. The three-part symphony, written in 1977, has more advanced and traditional development and ends with a lengthy section of sustained tension in the final allegro remindful of Shostakovich in the largo of his Symphony 6 or the most intense pages of Symphony 8.
Symphony 9. From this point forward, Simpson is a more thoughtful symphonist with almsot no bombast and orchestral development. I believe his symphonies become more conventional from this symphony on, with a negative demarcation -- his voice becomes less distinctive, more generalized. Part 1 begins with a low string rumble and accompanying figures that give way to devleopment on an ostinato theme in halves constructed on monumenal ideas in full orchestra. Late in Part 1 you hear, more clearly than at any other time, the duelling nature of Simpson orchestral cells with the strings and winds playing 8ths and the brass in halves. Part 2 begins on a sprightly, chirping dance that soon turns serious in brass. The finale builds sustained tension that gives way to a great outburst near the end similar to the closing of the Shostakovich Symphony 4.
Symphony 10. A four-movemenet symphony begins with a traditional 20th century allegro constructed from a single note orchestral tutti and goes on for 12 minutes. The Allegro leggiero has quiet strings and woodwind figures that moves into the third movement (Andante molto masso) sounding a lot like what we just heard. Symphony 10 closes with a dramatic 19 minute Largo - Allegro con brio in a highly crafted 20th century symphony that could've been written by any of a dozen different composers.
Symphony 11 and Variations on a theme by Nielsen. No. 11's Andante begins misterioso in strings and woodwinds (another Simpson badge, this time adopted from Bruckner) while the spectre of a Shostakovich largo looms large. It later rises and subsides in full orchestral voicing before closing as a meditation. The second movement Allegro vivace starts as if a playful scherzo in Simpson counterpoint before it turns darker, returns to hushed tension, becomes more agitated, returns to quiet tension, then to sawing strings and a brass outburst that molts before returning to a quiet ending. Compared to the almost universal dark mood of the symphonies, the Nielsen variations begin brightly, with the initial theme supported by a hooting tuba that, with the low brass, play pivotal roles in the early variations (there are 9 variations and a finale.) These variations are to Simpson what the Haydn variations were to Brahms -- one composer showing his admiration and love for the other.
The packaging, playing, sound, notes and interpretations in this production -- a box with 7 CDs in individual (this time sealed) sleeves -- are all first rate. Calum McDonald's notes give you insight into Simpson the man and composer. In the 40-page booklet (with notes in three languages), McDonald carefully details the history and guts of each symphony with text that outlines their respective places in British musical history. If you don't know much about Simpson before you buy this, you'll know a lot about him afterward.
While the box is expensive, it is the easiest and most economical way to get to know this composer. For curious listeners unwilling to put out $60 or $70, I'd recommend the CD containing the Symphonies 6 and 7 as a view into the mature composer and his style. Others have designated the Symphonies 3, 5, 9 and 11 as his best, so there is little uniformity on that question. This, I think, because Simpson is unique, difficult to understand, and even more problematic to pigeonhole and rank.
Simpson's music often engages the listener intellectually, especially on the occasions when his battling cells compete with each other or he develops a string-like movement based on variations. But he can be loud and crass, too boisterous for the material, and, in his most raucous moments, boring and irksome.
Worst of all, for me, is that not one symphony, moment, movement or part from this 7-CD collection moved me to play it over and over again, and never once did any sound or idea emanating from these symphonies turn me to goose flesh. While his intelligence is great, his level of creation above average, and his development as a symphonist enlarges as he goes from opus to opus, his music never one time moved me emotionally. I know others more enthusiastically reviewed his symphonies, but this is a big demerit in my view. After living with Simpson symphonies for a week, I have no desire to play any of them again.
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