Josef Holbrooke

[Gareth Vaughan]

The CPO CD of orchestral music by Josef Holbrooke has now been released. It contains the early tone poems, The Viking and Ulalume + the late overture Amontillado (in effect, another tone poem based on E.A. Poe, a perennial source of inspiration for the composer) and the delicious orchestral variations on "Three Blind Mice", a tour de force of invention. The orchestra is the Brandurburgisches Staatsorchester, Frankfurt an der Oder, under Howard Griffiths, and they play superbly. The booklet notes by Franz Groborz are excellent. My only quibble is that one of the music examples is incorrectly printed: instead of the love theme from The Viking, which is what is being referred to, the printer has duplicated a theme referred to earlier from Amontillado! A pity. But it is marvellous to have these works available in good modern sound and splendidly committed performances.

[Alan Howe]

This is a terrific disc, Gareth. I am not all that familiar with Holbrooke's music on CD, but I'm guessing that his music has never been performed with such commitment. What wonderful playing and what a clear and sonorous recording! My goodness, the orchestra - the Brandenburg State from Frankfurt (Oder) - sounds superb under Howard Griffiths! You just can't do this gorgeous late, late-Romantic stuff with a sub-standard orchestra and this is emphatically not the case here.

Overall, if you are a fan of, say, the Bantock series on Chandos, you'll love this! 

[Gareth Vaughan]

I'm very glad you enjoyed it. All the team are very happy with it. Let's hope the critics are too - and, of course, that sales are good. Then we may get more.

[Alan Howe]

Your team, including yourself of course, Gareth, are to be  congratulated on a thoroughly professional production which shows Holbrooke's music in the best possible light. The CD undoubtedly deserves to be a hit.

[Mark Thomas]

Yes, "hear, hear" to that. It's a very persuasive release which shows these four works in the best possible light. Even cpo's usually tortuous/tedious sleeve notes are lucid and interesting!

[Gareth Vaughan]

I'm glad you say that about the booklet notes, Mark. When we originally discussed this recording I suggested Rob Barnett be asked to write them, as he is very knowledgeable about Holbrooke's music - and CPO agreed. That idea seems to have got lost on the way, but Franz Groborz (Dramaturgie und Presse für Kultur und Wissenschaft in Brandenburg) has done an excellent job. When I sent Howard Griffiths some Holbrooke scores initially, Franz got very interested in the composer and spent days at the Staatsbibliothek in Berlin researching his life and works: he seems to have become a valuable convert to the cause, which is all to the good.

[Alan Howe]

What an interesting story. I'm sure we are all grateful to you, Gareth, for your advocacy.

[albion]

Is there any further indication that CPO intend to make their superb Holbrooke disc the first of a series? I did read on another post that enquiries had been made last year about scores and parts of the Symphony No.3 ('Ships), 'The Raven' and the 'Auld Lang Syne' Variations. These would make a truly splendid release!

[petershott@btinternet.com]

I fully support the points made in preceding postings. In particular:

First, the recent CPO disc is absolutely top drawer. Some remarkably fine performances, wonderfully recorded, and, most important of all, music that has been calling out for such treatment for a long time.

Second, Albion's plea that CPO should 'adopt' Holbrooke and embark on a series of the orchestral (and, hopefully, the choral) works. That would be great!

I've never heard of a note of Holbrooke in performance (perhaps I just go to the wrong places!), but my interest was aroused in his music a number of years ago by a compelling recording of 'The Birds of Rhiannon' conducted by that stalwart hero of thoroughly worthwhile music, Vernon Handley. I've been keenly anticipating more Holbrooke ever since.

However, unlike for example, Bantock, Bax, Parry or Stanford, he has been shamefully neglected. There was a very useful Marco Polo CD of the two Pf Quintets Op 21 and 44, together with the St Sextet Op 43. More recently there was a fine Dutton CD of two St Quartets played by the Rasumovsky (and there are several other Quartets yet to be recorded). There is quite a number of key chamber works that seem both unsung and certainly unrecorded.

When it comes to the orchestral works things are even worse. True, we have got the Pf Concerto recorded by Hyperion. But until the CPO disc came along there seemed precious little else. As Albion remarks, what of 'The Raven', or indeed the early 'The Bells', both products of Holbrooke's enduring fascination with Poe? These would seem major works judged by my own reading. And - but maybe it is akin to crying for the moon - will we ever hear the ambitious trilogy of operas 'The Children of Don', 'Dylan' and 'Bronwen' whose first performances were given by the likes of Beecham and Nikisch? In general there are around 120 published works, and those mentioned above represent a tiny proportion of his overall output.

Holbrooke's reputation I suppose deteriorated after about 1920 when music (and audiences) began to change enormously. We now know better than to discard earlier works. I suspect a further problem with Holbrooke is that some of the orchestral works call for huge forces, which militates against performance. It also seems to me that some of his most ambitious writing can appear clumsy and awkward, and if not given by highly accomplished musicians, can sound a real dud despite the rich and exciting passages.

End of manifesto. CPO have shown the way with their superb release. Please, CPO, more of the same!

Peter

[Gareth Vaughan]

The Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester, under Howard Griffiths, will perform Holbrooke's "Auld Lang Syne" variations in concert in Frankfurt an der Oder in May. In the autumn they plan to record that work + the Violin Concerto "The Grasshopper" and either Symphony No. 4 or No. 3. Both symphonies are planned for recording in the future, together with The Raven, the Cello Concerto "The Cambrian", the Variations on "The Girl I Left Behind Me" and, if possible, other compositions, including choral works.
Cameo Classics has embarked on a survey of Holbrooke's piano music, with Panos Trochopoulos, which will eventually run to 4 CDs. The 1st was released last year, and No. 2 should be out shortly.
There is a lot of delectable chamber music that has not been recorded: the 1st Violin Sonata (called sonatina, but longer than both the others), 3rd String Quartet "The Pickwick Club", Piano Quartet No. 2 "Byron", Sextet for piano and wind instruments (a very distinguished work), the beautiful Horn Trio, the early Cello Sonata (which I believe Rafael Wallfisch is interested in playing), the splendid Serenade for Wind Instruments Op. 63 and more. The chamber music (and songs) are repertoire that Toccata Classics might be interested to consider.
Chandos had planned to record some of Holbrooke's large scale works with Vernon Handley, but since his untimely death that project has been put on hold.
Of course, I would love to hear the operatic trilogy "The Cauldron of Annwn" but we'd need a sponsor with a lot of bucks for that to happen. However, a CD of "bleeding chunks" might not be impossible.

[albion]

That's truly fantastic news that more substantial Holbrooke is indeed in the pipeline from Griffiths and his very fine Brandenburg orchestra. As I understand it, the 'Auld Lang Syne' Variations are Holbrooke's tributes to some of his musical contemporaries written in (affectionate) imitation of their own styles - do we know who the composers were that he paid tribute to in this way?

I recently read through the full score of the 3rd Symphony ('Ships') on IMSLP and it looks to be a very substantial and fascinating piece in three highly-contrasted and colourful movements, but without the extravagant scoring which characterises his pre-1914 works. It would certainly get my vote for early entry in the CPO series.

As to choral/ orchestral works, I would put in a plea for 'Queen Mab' over 'The Bells' any day if a choice had to be made: the latter has always seemed to me to lack the white-hot inspiration of the former and to deal with less distinguished thematic material. One large-scale (or should that read huge) work which I would dearly wish to see recorded is 'Apollo and the Seaman' which is such a vividly coloured score that the ear is dazzled just by reading it (again, it can be read on IMSLP).

I have not yet acquired the Cameo discs of the piano music, but fully intend to in the near future. I have hacked through the remarkably dissonant 'Bogey Beasts' series at the piano and would dearly love to hear these pieces played properly!

[Mark Thomas]

Tremendous news, Gareth, and congratulations on your very substantial role in getting the Holbrooke revival kick started!

[Gareth Vaughan]

Thank you, Mark. And to Albion re. Auld Lang Syne Variations, they are supposed to be portraits of Holbrooke's friends and associates, but it is not always clear who is being referred to in which variation as many bear just a set of initials. However, No. 1 is the composer himself, 4 is Coleridge Taylor, 5 Vaughan Williams, 9 Elgar, 10, Delius and the Finale is Granville Bantock.
I should have said that Queen Mab is on CPO's list. Yes, it is an extremely beautiful work - a real masterpiece in my opinion. I don't know whether Apollo is under consideration, but it is another of Holbrooke's major works, stunningly orchestrated, and I do hope someone will record it soon.

[Alan Howe]

This is all very encouraging. If the subsequent cpo CDs are as good as the first one (which was truly superb), we have an absolute treat in store...

[Peter1953]

Dear all, I've read with great interest all the posts on Josef Holbrooke. His music is totally new to me and could be a pleasant discovery.
Do you have some recommendations to start with? I love orchestral music, but also chamber music and solo piano, as long as it isn't atonal or very noisy.