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Track Listings
| Disc: 1 |
|---|
| 1. Symphony no.4 op.72 (1986) - (i) Moderato quasi allegro |
| 2. - (ii) Allegretto con moto |
| 3. - (iii) Adagio |
| 4. - (iv) Largamente – Allegro molto, quasi presto |
| Disc: 2 |
| 1. Viola Concerto op.82 (1988-92) - (i) Con moto (crochet = 54-58) |
| 2. - (ii) Adagio – Cadenza |
| 3. - (iii) Allegro molto, quasi presto |
| 4. Symphony no.1 op.15 (1957) - (i) Allegro molto moderato |
| 5. - (ii) Lento molto |
| 6. - (iii) Allegretto con moto |
| 7. - (iv) Vivacissimo e furioso |
Product Description
Sensational value in this two-CDs-for-the-price-of-one package. Dutton Epoch presents the composer directing the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in his powerfully Sibelian Fourth Symphony and his dramatic Viola Concerto, the latter with Sarah-Jane Bradley as the commanding soloist. The coupling is an exciting discovery, with the Hallé Orchestra conducted by Sir John Barbirolli at his prime in Butterworth's coruscating First Symphony from the 1958 Proms, remastered here in pristine digital sound. The package is completed with the composer's memories of his life and the background to the symphonies.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
I really don't know if I may call Arthur Butterworth a British symphonist but for me he is. And what a fine one. Two of these works are conducted by himself!
I never heard the 4th symphony but for me it's a marvel. The recording is very very first class too. Great dynamics AND detail. Probably, as the booklet says, there's some Sibelius in it but for me Butterworth has a voice of his own. Second: the symphony is absolutely tonal and (again) a proof that tonal music is NOT dead. Do try it.
The Viola concerto didn't have the same appeal to me but that's because I don't like Viola concertos very much. But I love the Walton one and I think if you like that one; you'll like Butterworth's. It's very easy on the ear but seems to me very difficult to play. The way the orchestra under the composer helps the soloist to shine, is exemplary.
The recording of the First symphony under Sir John Barbirolli is astounding. It's from the works premiere in 1958 I think. It's much better done as a performance than the more recent Marco Polo recording you can buy of this work. It has that `premiere feeling, electric'. Especially the finale lifted me from my chair (is that proper English?, never mind!).
One warning: if you play the disc with the concerto and (the historic recording of) the First symphony through and through you'll hear two very different sound levels. You'll be disappointed by the recording; the symphony gives you a poor and cramped suggestion. But in fact it's a good recording, some glassiness on the violins typical of that time. So don't listen to the disc in one sitting. Split it. And you'll love it. Please mr. Dutton give us the other Butterworth symphonies too (and those of Ruth Gipps please!).
I never heard the 4th symphony but for me it's a marvel. The recording is very very first class too. Great dynamics AND detail. Probably, as the booklet says, there's some Sibelius in it but for me Butterworth has a voice of his own. Second: the symphony is absolutely tonal and (again) a proof that tonal music is NOT dead. Do try it.
The Viola concerto didn't have the same appeal to me but that's because I don't like Viola concertos very much. But I love the Walton one and I think if you like that one; you'll like Butterworth's. It's very easy on the ear but seems to me very difficult to play. The way the orchestra under the composer helps the soloist to shine, is exemplary.
The recording of the First symphony under Sir John Barbirolli is astounding. It's from the works premiere in 1958 I think. It's much better done as a performance than the more recent Marco Polo recording you can buy of this work. It has that `premiere feeling, electric'. Especially the finale lifted me from my chair (is that proper English?, never mind!).
One warning: if you play the disc with the concerto and (the historic recording of) the First symphony through and through you'll hear two very different sound levels. You'll be disappointed by the recording; the symphony gives you a poor and cramped suggestion. But in fact it's a good recording, some glassiness on the violins typical of that time. So don't listen to the disc in one sitting. Split it. And you'll love it. Please mr. Dutton give us the other Butterworth symphonies too (and those of Ruth Gipps please!).
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
I wonder if Dutton can do for Arthur Butterworth what they did for Tony Arnell: make him better known and redress the prejudice against tonal music that he had to live through, and do it whilst he is still alive (Arnell, regretfully, passed away very recently).
To say that there is the influence of Sibelius is not very helpful: Butterworth's recorded biographical details (disc 1) point out that he took lessons from Ralph Vaughan Williams too. Yet his music is expansive, rhythmically interesting and fully in the tonal "narrative" tradition - whilst not telling a story it "speaks" without words of the emotions engendered by different landscapes (as do the works of Mahler, Vaughan Williams and Beethoven in his 6 Symphony). Butterworth himself relates pieces of music to particular places. I had not thought that Sibelius had any followers but Butterworth is about the nearest thing.
The 1957 Proms performance of the First Symphony (disc 2) is where I started. The mono BBC aircheck sound is quite clear and acceptable. The Viola Concerto turned out to be a very engaging piece that I will have to listen to several times to really know.
And that is the case for the 4 Symphony, recorded in Dutton's stunning sound and, we must suppose, sympathetically conducted by the Composer himself. This recreates the craggy "landscapes" and "spaces" of the 1 Symphony and is an altogether good experience. Butterworth is not really "like" anybody else but if you enjoy Bax, VW, Sibelius, Moeran and even a bit of Walton, then you should be able to get into Butterworth: the level of difficulty is about at Sibelius 4 or Tapiola.
I fully recommend these discs.
[Note: when I bought the recordings in the last week of June 2009 they were a mid-price disc with a free recording of the First Symphony: in other words at about half the price that Amazon seem to be offering them at on 4 July. I can only hope this is a pricing error.]
To say that there is the influence of Sibelius is not very helpful: Butterworth's recorded biographical details (disc 1) point out that he took lessons from Ralph Vaughan Williams too. Yet his music is expansive, rhythmically interesting and fully in the tonal "narrative" tradition - whilst not telling a story it "speaks" without words of the emotions engendered by different landscapes (as do the works of Mahler, Vaughan Williams and Beethoven in his 6 Symphony). Butterworth himself relates pieces of music to particular places. I had not thought that Sibelius had any followers but Butterworth is about the nearest thing.
The 1957 Proms performance of the First Symphony (disc 2) is where I started. The mono BBC aircheck sound is quite clear and acceptable. The Viola Concerto turned out to be a very engaging piece that I will have to listen to several times to really know.
And that is the case for the 4 Symphony, recorded in Dutton's stunning sound and, we must suppose, sympathetically conducted by the Composer himself. This recreates the craggy "landscapes" and "spaces" of the 1 Symphony and is an altogether good experience. Butterworth is not really "like" anybody else but if you enjoy Bax, VW, Sibelius, Moeran and even a bit of Walton, then you should be able to get into Butterworth: the level of difficulty is about at Sibelius 4 or Tapiola.
I fully recommend these discs.
[Note: when I bought the recordings in the last week of June 2009 they were a mid-price disc with a free recording of the First Symphony: in other words at about half the price that Amazon seem to be offering them at on 4 July. I can only hope this is a pricing error.]
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Well worth including on any serious collectors music library.Arthur Butterworth: Symphony Nos. 1 & 4; Viola Concerto
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
More Bax Than Sibelius
Several reviews have compared Butterworth's music to Sibelius, but this comparison is misleading. With its dramatic, occasionally overblown gestures and chromatic melodies, this... Read more
Published on 30 Mar 2010 by The Man from the Ministry
Fine British Symphony
Having not really liked Butterworth's First Symphony on Classico (I much preferred the more tuneful symphony by Ruth Gipps), I only bought this on the recommendation of a friend. Read more
Published on 18 Oct 2009 by Jeffrey Davis
WOW!
I've never heard any of Arthur B. before and just loved this set...I'm now going to explore more by this amazing composer!
Published on 29 July 2009 by Richard di Calatrava
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