Awful, but magnificent!

[Acutamusicelgar]

Re : Furtwangler 2 : get the live 1953 performance conducted by the composer on Orfeo CD. It makes sense (musical) in a way that none of the other recordings does. As souped-up Brahms one could do a lot worse, and the orchestration is excellent.

Candidates : Tippett : The Mask Of Time and New Year. The problem with these works is that they are not only awful but deeply pretentious, so probably miss out on the accolade "magnificent".

More magnificent though no less awful : Havergal Brian's Gothic Symphony.

Truly, awfully, madly, deeply awful with no redeeming magnificence whatsoever : any work by Richard Nanes (CDs and Vinyl turn up on eBay and Amazon occasionally).

Earlier candidates : Most of the larger works of Josef Holbrooke and Granville Bantock. The problem is that until about 1960 many works simply never got recorded and sank into total oblivion. There are probably hidden treasures of ghastliness out there!

[MikeW]

The magnificently awful Nichifor fourth symphony which appeared on an Olympia disc called Romanian Concert. It's somewhere in that awkward musical space between Bernstein and Stalling that didn't need to be filled.

I did like its coupling, the Four Tablatures for Lute by Toduta.

[X. Trapnel]

Could "Nichifor" be a euphemism for "Almendar Karamanov"?

[eschiss1]

It's possible. I gather his full alleged name is Şerban Nichifor (born 1954) whereas Karamanov's dates were 1934-2007, I haven't heard either of them (from what you imply, I'd say both of them are pseudonyms of... I stop now to prevent a libel suit)

[kyjo]

The Gothic-awful ? Magnificent,yes, but awful ?

[Mark Thomas]

As in "full of awe", yes. 

[kyjo]

Well put, Mark !

[swanekj]

The magnificently awful Nichifor fourth symphony which appeared on an Olympia disc called Romanian Concert. It's somewhere in that awkward musical space between Bernstein and Stalling that didn't need to be filled.

I did like its coupling, the Four Tablatures for Lute by Toduta.

Part of the Nichifor 3 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42cKg031Rns
The entirety of the 5:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqqwG8CQm3k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qQoySPKVOQ and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkWzlqIVyRw

Wow.

[Ser Amantio di Nicolao]

I suspect I may catch a little flak for this, but: Paderewski's symphony.  Lovely stuff...if only he had excised about twenty minutes of it, if not more.  Also, August Söderman's Mass - I want it to be so much more than it ends up being.

that awkward musical space between Bernstein and Stalling that didn't need to be filled

This is now one of my favorite capsule reviews.  Right up there with the self-produced rap track described by an acquaintance thus: "It's like a party in my ears, and somebody spiked the punch."

[Gareth Vaughan]

Earlier candidates : Most of the larger works of Josef Holbrooke and Granville Bantock.

Do you actually know most of the larger works of Josef Holbrooke?

[kyjo]

I agree with Gareth. You couldn't possibly dismiss the larger works of Holbrooke and Bantock as awful after hearing them. They are magnificent, though!

[petershott@btinternet.com]

So presumably you know the larger works of Holbrooke and Bantock? On what do you base your view that they are magnificent?

[MikeW]

Part of the Nichifor 3 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42cKg031Rns
The entirety of the 5:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqqwG8CQm3k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qQoySPKVOQ and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkWzlqIVyRw

It's self-inflicted I realise but now I've become aware of Nichifor's Youtube channel, and thus of Dracula's Souvenir. I'm now going to self-trepanate until it all goes away.

Wow.

Fixed.

[JollyRoger]

Re : Furtwangler 2 : get the live 1953 performance conducted by the composer on Orfeo CD. It makes sense (musical) in a way that none of the other recordings does. As souped-up Brahms one could do a lot worse, and the orchestration is excellent.

Candidates : Tippett : The Mask Of Time and New Year. The problem with these works is that they are not only awful but deeply pretentious, so probably miss out on the accolade "magnificent".

More magnificent though no less awful : Havergal Brian's Gothic Symphony.

Truly, awfully, madly, deeply awful with no redeeming magnificence whatsoever : any work by Richard Nanes (CDs and Vinyl turn up on eBay and Amazon occasionally).

Earlier candidates : Most of the larger works of Josef Holbrooke and Granville Bantock. The problem is that until about 1960 many works simply never got recorded and sank into total oblivion. There are probably hidden treasures of ghastliness out there!

If you think the 1st is bad...try the bombastic and banal 4th..

[kolaboy]

The ghost of old Frye must be doing back-flips of joy: Bruckner, Khachaturian, Tchaikovsky, Scriabin all called to the carpet, and not one disparaging word about his Santa Claus Symphony.
Who wudda thunk?