Richard Pennycuick wrote:
>James Zehm asked:
>
>>What do you think of the NAXOS Bax Symphony Nr.1 set?
>
>Better than Bryden Thomson's version, on the whole. For me, the core of
>the work is the second movement and the old Myer Fredman on Lyrita, if
>you can find it, conveys the menace and violence I think Bax wanted.
Agreed on all counts. In fact, I generally prefer the Lyritas to the
Thomson recordings throughout their Bax series. (It included 1, 2, 5, 6,
7). Some critics, in reviewing these records mostly from the 70s often say
their sound isn't as good as today's digital. Well, I haven't heard the
Lyrita CD reissues. I know them only from the LPs, but those LPs are sonic
classics: I have not heard many CDs that compare to them. I'm starting to
match the Rubbra recordings of Hickox with the Lyritas (including the Del
Mar recording of 3, 4 which is a DDD from 1990), and, at this point, think
the Lyritas I've heard so far (and I'm just starting) may outpoint Hickox
on Chandos, as well, not only sonically, but interpretively. More later if
I find this not to hold true.
Incidentally, on the subject of Rubbra, there is a terrific recording of
the wonderful Fourth Symphony with Handley on BBC Classics, available from
Berkshire cheap. I think it is the best of the three extant recordings
(Hickox and Del Mar are the others). Get it while you can.
Roger Hecht
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