Cyril Scott from Dutton

[Alan Howe]

The new CD of music by Cyril Scott is, I am sure, one that all lovers of heaving late-Romantic concerti will want to acquire. As I write this I am listening to the Piano Concerto of 1900, 'as realised and completed by Martin Yates', the conductor, and it's a simply gorgeous work. With Peter Donohoe as pianist, the work is in safe hands too. Glorious is not too strong a word for this lovely music.

[kolaboy]

Donohoe rules. Should have won the International Tchaikovsky Competition in '82.
Politics, politics...

[Mark Thomas]

My copy has arrived, and I look forward to hearing these works tomorrow. Thanks for the appetiser, Alan.

[eschiss1]

The public library here has their CD of his violin and piano music , noticed again- really need to borrow that!...

[Alan Howe]

This is early Scott and therefore much less quirky than his later music. Nothing to frighten the horses, in other words.

[Mark Thomas]

Actually, I bought this recording with some misgivings (I'm not really a Cyril Scott fan) but have really rather enjoyed it. I suspect that this is because, as Alan has pointed out, this isn't mature Scott. In addition the conductor Martin Yates has had a hand in editing or revising all three works, and this is particularly true of the First Piano Concerto, which is the major work here. It is an extremely rhapsodic piece (imagine very laid-back Rachmaninov) but, despite lasting around half an hour, it holds the attention well, is very attractively orchestrated and has some good tunes. The single movement 20 minute long Cello Concerto is similarly attractive, especially the closing pages, and I'd say has a bit more guts to it. The CD opens with a longish (17 minutes) Overture to Pelleas and Melisande, which is very similar in character to the Piano Concerto: lushly orchestrated and with an abundance of melody. All in all, a very worthwhile addition to the collection.

[eschiss1]

There's an account from both sides of a few meetings between Scott and Debussy earlyish in the former and late in the latter's career in Nichols' "Debussy Remembered" - mentions some specific works by Scott that he showed Debussy (not all of which now survive, indeed some of which had already been lost by the time he wrote his memoir)- my copy is in Ithaca where I'm not right this moment, but - trying to remember if it's relevant to this recording as I seem to recall it is to the violin/piano one. Hrm.
Sorry.

[DennisS]

My copy of the CD is on its way to me. I am looking forward to listening to it.

[Gauk]

Late Scott might well feature in "composers you just don't get" thread. The later piano concertos are very idiosyncratic compared to, say, the 1st symphony. They take a bit of listening to "get" the idiom.

[DennisS]

Having listened to the CD a few times now, I can say that I too find the music very enjoyable. As stated earlier in this thread, the PC is particularly attractive but all three works on the CD repay careful listening. I did not know this composer before reading this thread, so thank you UC for the introduction. I have since listened to quite a lot of later Scott music on YouTube but, as others have remarked, I much prefer the early works on this CD.

[Gauk]

You should check out Scott's First Symphony, which is very accessible and enjoyable.

[DennisS]

Thank you Gauk for your advice. Will listen again to symphony no 1. I have since found that sometimes I need to listen to a work several times before "getting it".

[Alan Howe]

I don't get the later Scott at all. In any case, much of that music would lie beyond the remit of UC.

[Alan Howe]

It doesn't appeal to me at all, sorry. Far too odd and quirky for my taste. But who am I?

[Gauk]

One could draw a comparison between Scott and Scriabin. Both started out as arch-romantics (in Scriabin's case, somewhere between Chopin and Lyapunov) and later became more experimental with respect to harmonic organisation. For both, the later works, while essentially romantic, are not so easily accessible until one masters the idiom.