Tim Horwood writes:

>>Simpson's 9th is seems to one of his better symphonies.  I find though
>>that a lot of his writing seems an exercise more in logic using sound
>>rather than inspired music.  Anyone find his music inspiring?

While Daniel Beland notes

>But it's true that the few Simpson's quartets I know represent a harder
>nut to crack...  I would really like to know what other chamber and
>orchestral works Simpson's fans can recommend to us!

Interesting, because I am more taken with his quartets than his symphonies,
although I've heard only three of the symphonies, including his fifth and
ninth, which are his best known.

Those who have studied Simpson music and writings are certainly in a
better position than I to respond to Tim.  But since response has not
been overwhelming, I'll take a whack at it.

As for Tim's question, I don't know that the word "inspiring" notably
comes to my mind with Simpson, or even other composers (well, Wagner
inspires me to want to go to the local CD store with an axe and ...).
Moreover, I've not yet decided how great a composer I think he his
(and I don't trust my own opinions on the subject much, as it seems
a rather fluid category).  But I do find him most intriguing ...
I find I want to listen to his string quartets again and again (even
more than some quartets, such as those of Beethoven that I prefer),
but never feeling I've quite absorbed what they have to communicate.
His palindromic ninth quartet- based on a theme from Haydn- is one
that I particularly value.  I'm still making up my mind how much I
like some of the others, such as the 15th, but that decision process
is one that is enriching in an of itself.  His tenth quartet- dedicated
to the search for peace- is unusual for Simpson in that it is a calming
work, as opposed to the energizing effect of much of his music.

For relatively unsophisticated listeners of string quartets (I'm not
the only one of the List, am I?), I warmly recommend a CD from Dunelm
Records, "An Introduction to the String Quartets of Robert Simpson".
 [www.dunelm-records.co.uk or email at [log in to unmask]].
Musicologist Malcom MacDonald delivers a superb lecture on Simpson's
quartets, one that is pitched at only a slightly more demanding level
than typical liner notes.  MacDonald noted that Simpson once said that
what music expresses above all is form and that the essence of a piece
is defined by its overall design, and we, listending, put the sounds
and thus the design together, or outselves, in our minds.  So I suppose
that there is a sense in which his music is an exercise in logic ...
but that does not preclude strong sentiment.

Drawing comparisons between the work of Simpson and that ov LvB is not
something I had done for symphonies.  But Simpson's string quartet's
four through six were written as "studies", I believe he called them,
on Beethoven's Rassamovsky quartets.  Simpson's are structured very
similarly to LvB's, but their effect is quite different.

I understand that Simpson is remembered primarily as a symphonist,
but his string quartets surely deserve more attention (at least in the
US) from the public for that musical form.  And I cherish this little
anecdote cribbed from MacDonald's lecture.  There was a gala event to
celebrate his  60th birthday, during which he was presented with a
book containing blank pages for musical scores.  The  hope was expressed
that he would write another symphony, to which he replied something
like, "Oh, I wouldn't waste it on that.  I could get half a dozen
string quartets out of this!".

Larry