[78-L] 78-L Max Steiner, "Symphonie Moderne"

[JD]

> Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2012 00:59:01 -0700 (PDT)
> From: DAVID BURNHAM <burnhamd at rogers.com>
> Subject: [78-L] Max Steiner, "Symphonie Moderne"
> To: "78-L at 78online.com" <78-L at 78online.com>
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> I was just listening to an RCA recording of Max Steiner's "Symphonie 
> Moderne", played by the Janssen Symphony of Los Angeles conducted by 
> Werner Janssen. ?This record is not too well liked; ?I looked it up in 
> both issues of David Hall's "Record Book" that I have and there's nary a 
> mention, similarly there's no listing for it in WERM either. ?I googled it 
> and found a Gramophone review of the disc from March of 1944 - a scathing 
> review which treats it as little more than musical trash, and doesn't 
> imply a high opinion of American listeners either, (let me adjust my Maple 
> Leaf). ?I will admit that it certainly isn't a masterpiece of classical 
> music but it isn't that bad. ?I found nothing offensive about it. ?But I 
> guess, saying that, I should come out of the closet; ?as much as I enjoy 
> the Symphonies of Mahler, Bruckner and Spohr, I must confess that I also 
> enjoy the Warsaw Concerto and the Cornish Rhapsody.
>
> It's 3:58 AM so I guess I'll go to bed now!
>
> db

No one ever need be embarrased about liking Warsaw, Cornish or Dream of 
Olwen. It's lovely music and pretty well crafted despite being derivative or 
perhaps poor man's Rachmaninoff.  I can't say the same for Bruckner, the 
worst and most overrated  and incompetent  composer who ever lived. 
(speaking only of the symphonies, I could nevert get past those to ezpress 
an opinion on anything else he may have wrotten).
JD