Complete Symphonies

I was only familiar with a few Arnold Bax pieces and decided to buy this boxed set. I was absolutely floored with the beautiful and lush music. The 7 symphonies are exceptionally performed and each CD has a shorter tone poem piece by Bax. This is an excellent boxed set well worth listening to.

Arnold Bax (1883-1953) composed all seven of his symphonies in the 1920s and 1930s. Though they are not as well-known as those of his contemporary Vaughan Williams, they are every bit as good. Bax is known for his rich orchestration, evident even more in his tone poems. This Naxos set contains superb performances of all these symphonies and many of the tone poems by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by David Lloyd-Jones (DL-J). One reviewer here says that while Vernon Handley and Bryden Thomson "get" Bax, DL-J does not. I disagree. It is true that DL-J often has faster tempos, and doesn't always stress the "atmosphere" as much as the other two conductors do. It is for this reason that I would recommend getting the Chandos CDs containing the Bax tone poems, especially those with the Ulster Orchestra, whose partnership with Thomson was something special. The tone poems thrive mainly on the atmosphere. However, when it comes to the symphonies, I actually think DL-J makes a stronger case for them. These works needs an urgency and potency that DL-J, in his "muscular" interpretations, brings out. There is a danger specifically in the symphonies, of "wallowing" and being drawn out too much--and DL-J averts this danger admirably. Though the other recordings of the symphonies have their advantages, this Naxos set is the most compelling one overall.Listeners who are scared off by "modernist" music need not fear here, as Bax is firmly rooted in the late Romantic tradition. If you enjoy Strauss and Sibelius, but not Shostakovich or Bartok, you will like Bax's music. With these outstanding performances captured in glorious sound--and at a reasonable price--listeners will be transported to Bax's lush sound world, and they will enjoy every minute of the experience.

These are among the best recordings ever made of this music. If you happen to like this music. So far, I cannot get into it. I do enjoy some of the Bax tone poems, but that's about it. If you are a fan, these are for you (I can pass). Audio quality is very good.

Bax is a truly wonderful composer, underappreciated. His music was considered too experimental and Avant Garde to play early in his career in his Native England and later, it was considered too 'romantic' and old fashioned. He is perhaps the greatest unknown composer of the 20th C. (We today find his music delightful, neither old fashioned or too avant-garde.)Also, and this is important, Bax was a virtuoso pianist himself as well as a composer. He could play anything and everything put in front of him. He was one of the greatest sight-readers of all time as a performer. As composer he liked to write in very very difficult and unusual keys (think all black notes on the piano) 5 Sharps, 6 flats etc. When his music is performed, orchestras have to actually sit down and practice the music to be able to perform it. Otherwise it would be much better known. To us, it sounds marvelous.Some conductors and some orchestras "get" Bax. Some do not. Bryden Thomson really "gets" Bax. Genius Vernon Handley "gets" Bax . Lloyd Jones does NOT "get" Bax. L-J's tempos are frequently much much too fast and miss the whole point. Some of His orchestrations and recordings are murky. The Impressionist Celtic 'magic' of Bax , the subtle tempo changes one finds in Bryden Thomson and Vernon Handley are missing on these performances. Sorry,(for what it is worth, Bax contemporary Sir Adrian Bolt also did not "get " Bax, either)I recommend you listen to these other conductors listed above

Excellents produit et service

Great job Naxos for this beautiful box set of symphonies and tone - poems by the Great Sir Arnold Bax. Each of the seven symphonies have their own individual slip case and art work all housed in a sturdy box. Royal Scottish National Orchestra with David Lloyd Jones play and sound outstanding.

Questo è un cofanetto eccezionale, che nessun baxiano degno di tale nome può evitare di avere, a meno che non abbia già tutti i 7 cd qui racchiusi. Il discorso di fondo è semplice: possono esserci versioni migliori di una singola sinfonia, ad esempio nei dischi targati Lyrita, ma non esiste un ciclo sinfonico migliore di questo. L'unico concorrente, uscito per Chandos e diretto da Vernon Handley alla testa della BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, è sicuramente molto buono, ma non raggiunge un'uniformità di eccellenza che, al contrario, David Lloyd-Jones e la Royal Scottish National Orchestra riescono ad ottenere in queste stupende intepretazioni. Inoltre la qualità del suono è altissima: c'è una trasparenza meravigliosa, sia nei pianissimo sia nei fortissimo, che permette di godere a fondo delle magie che una partitura di Arnold Bax può regalare, se registrata e interpretata al meglio; e qui si hanno entrambe le condizioni.Il mondo di Bax non è stato ancora riscoperto del tutto. La sua musica dal punto di vista strettamente formale può mostrare certo qualche pecca, ma la sua straordinaria ricchezza sonora, debitrice in egual modo di Wagner e Debussy, è di per se stessa il linguaggio col quale il compositore trasmette le sue fascinazioni per le leggende e i miti celtici, i panorami marini del nord della Scozia e i misteri che boschi incantati celano nella loro penombra.Se siete attratti da una musica che sa portare al massimo dell'esasperazione il turgore tardoromantico e le sottigliezze impressioniste, senza però scadere mai nel cattivo gusto, Bax è il compositore che fa al caso vostro. Non lasciatevi sfuggire questo superbo cofanetto.

Excellent version

La critique, britannique notamment, a dit le plus grand bien de cette intégrale, qui souffre cependant d'une qualité d'enregistrement variable, alors même que c'est la même équipe qui est aux commandes. Les meilleurs volumes sont ceux de 2002, dont l'ambiance sonore (changement de salle ?) est plus flatteuse et valorise bien la lecture rigoureuse et plutôt prudente de Lloyd-Jones. Cela dit, ces oeuvres sont généralement assez spectaculaires, ce que rend mieux Bryden Thomson, souvent décrié outre-Manche, dans son intégrale des années 1980, dans un son parfois réverbéré jusqu'à la confusion, mais assez flatteur pour l'orchestre... Quant à Handley, son intégrale de Manchester n'est guère satisfaisante : les enregistrements sont à mon goût, comme la plupart de ceux réalisés par Chandos avec le BBC Philharmonic, plutôt imparfaitement définis. Il existe quelques versions isolées de certaines symphonies (Lyrita), parfois très réussies, mais comme intégrale, celle de Thomson est celle qui donne la meilleure idée de cet ensemble symphonique assez entêtant.