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Posted by Barry Cronin on May 15, 2025, 12:05 pm, in reply to "Re: Ralph Moore Surveys"
Hi, Chris.
Just on Dvorak, Symphony 5 just seems to me effortless and carefree (though I'm sure it wasn't for the composer), whereas nos. 7 and even 9 just seem to be trying to hard. Of course, I like all Dvorak's Symphonies - almost impossible to not like anything by Dvorak, I would have thought. Number 5 just pips number 6, and I really like number 4 - all this talk of Wagnerian influences I read in booklet notes are of little concern to me. In fact, you can talk till the cows come home of harmonic progression and key signatures and the like (and I know all that stuff's important) - but, for better or worse, I'm in the camp of 'I don't know anything about music, but I like the sound it makes.'
I don't know the Sejna recording of 5, but I'm fine with mono sound, so will seek it out.
Re: Scheherazade - I adore it, even though I usually struggle to spell it. I've often thought, if aliens landed (bear with me on this), and they asked us to show them what a symphony orchestra was, what 'classical' music was, and what those things could do, you could do worse than play them this piece. I've never ceased to be thrilled and enchanted by it (Ormandy being my first choice, for what that is worth).
Best wishes. 
Previous Message
Not so many of Dvorak 5, surely? No. 9 (the "New World") would be a daunting task and 7 and 8 have acquired a massive discography. But surely no.5 and even no.6 are not over-recorded? That said, I wouldn't try to persuade hardworking Mr. Moore to extend his surveys to works he doesn't especially care for.
I must say it's heartening to find someone naming no. 5 as their favourite Dvorak symphony. And "heartening" is the word, since my heart tells me that no.5, perhaps with no. 8, is my favourite of the 9, though my brain insists that 6, 7 and 8 are finer works. As for the "New World", I loved it to death as a teenager and, as with another of my calf-loves, RK's Scheherazade", I always hope to find a performance that will rekindle that love, or at least genuinely hold my interest. Oddly enough, a recording of the "New World" I did enjoy recently was that by Rudolf Schwarz which, by playing it caringly but without distortion, succeeded in reminding me what a good piece it actually is.
Back to no. 5, if you don't mind mono sound, the classic Sejna is surely unsurpassed?
Previous Message
I'll be honest, Barry; owing to the vagaries of persona taste, very few of your suggestions number among my own favourites, so I quail at the prospect. The other problem is that there are just so many recordings of those symphonies that I wouldn't know where to start. That is illustrated by my friend Lee Denham's Mahler surveys: he labours long and valiantly to be inclusive yet something always pops up subsequently. As Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry, so memorably said, "A good man always knows his limitations"! Previous Message
If I may make a Symphonies suggestion: Brahms 2, Dvorak 5, Bruckner 5, Tchaikovsky 4, Mahler 7, Sibelius 3, Nielsen 5, Vaughan Williams 5, Shostakovich 8, Mozart's 'Haffner', Haydn's 'Oxford', and not forgetting the greatest symphony of them all - Beethoven 7.
Chosen, as they are my favourite symphonies by each of those composers, of course. Previous Message
As you are no doubt aware, Dave, I have concentrated on opera as my specialist area of interest, although I have surveyed a few favourite orchestral and instrumental pieces. Maybe you would like to suggest works and I'll see if I feel
competent to tackle them? Previous Message
I know these must be a lot of work to prepare, but I'd love to see more surveys of non-vocal repertoire from Ralph Moore.
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Ralph Moore Surveys - Iggy April 14, 2024, 4:27 pm
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