Talk:Robert Simpson (composer)

Untitled
What is there to discuss about a page that doesn't exist? Place and dates of birth and death for an extremely important modern composer, and nothing more? Is this supposed to be some kind of joke?


 * Well, whoever you are, I hope you see that now the page also has some information on Simpson's Symphonies and books. Hopefully someone else will flesh out the biographical portion of the article. Dmetric


 * Now that the members.aol.com page is gone, though, I hope the other pages have enough to shoulder the weight or that other sources can be found to bear the weight- page does need sources, I think. Schissel | Sound the Note! 08:54, 2 March 2009 (UTC)

Symphony 9
Was supposed to be premiered by Handley, but I gather that it was not. Does anyone know? Schissel-nonLop! 22:19, 21 November 2005 (UTC)


 * Are you referring to the occasion when Todd Handley blew his nose before coming onstage - and started a massive nosebleed that wouldn't stop? As I recall Simpson telling this story (round about 1991), a doctor who was in the audience went up and couldn't staunch the bleeding, and Todd was taken off to hospital. Simpson himself was in the hall, and when his wife asked him 'If they ask you to conduct it, will you?', he said 'No!'. In the event, though, with an entire concert hall full of people who'd come to listen, he did agree to do it - on condition that the BBC didn't go through with the live broadcast or recording (I forget which) that they were all set up to do. He borrowed some item of clothing (I don't remember whether it was a jacket or a pair of trousers, or both) from someone in the orchestra, and conducted what, by his own admission, was a very safe and fanatically careful performance (Simpson, telling this story, demonstrated a big and heavy and slow beat with both hands): he knew that if he or they got lost anywhere, there'd be no chance of a recovery.


 * But as far as I can remember (I'm away from all my Simpson tapes and papers at the moment), this wasn't at the premiere: was it the 'first broadcast performance', or something like that...? There was a slightly different disaster that affected the Tenth Symphony some years later; I believe *that* was at the premiere...  Perhaps our friend 'Cenedi' will respond: he's a very knowledgeable bod, IMHE.


 * All best,


 * Pfistermeister.

I'd be interested in clarification. And hope - this is tangential, though - to submit at least a stub for Vernon Handley if I can, whose recording of the Rubbra string concertos I rate too, e.g. ...; I think there's call for one, on encyclopaedic and other grounds... Schissel-nonLop! 00:03, 22 November 2005 (UTC)