Lee Actor | Symphony No.1

Symphony No.1 (2002)
Palo Alto Philharmonic, Lee Actor (cond.)

[@DavidA-ps1qr]

Yet another interesting symphony from this wonderful channel on You Tube. This work is no masterpiece but deserves a hearing. I enjoyed it. Full credit to this channel for giving us the chance to hear it.

[@ronaldmartin4664]

Not a masterpiece? I beg to differ. After all, what is a masterpiece but a masterly composition, & this certainly fits the bill. Sure, the spirit of Sibelius ("Tapiola" & Symphony 4) hover over it, as well as that of Bernard Herrmann ("Vertigo"), but these influences have been assimilated, & Actor's voice is new. Further, this symphony is admirably tight, with arresting thematic material that is arrestingly & imaginatively developed. This may be a "minor" work until it is approved by the "cognescenti", those who tell us what to think--the arbiters of taste--but it is clearly a masterpiece.

[@DavidA-ps1qr]

@@ronaldmartin4664 I'm not sure how Sibelius or Herrmann got involved in this discussion. I heard neither whilst listening to this work. Always dangerous to compare one composers' work to another's. Music is a fingerprint and everybody's are different. Categorizing masterpieces is subjective. If you think this is masterly, that's entirely your prerogative. J S Bach's St Matthew's Passion was written nearly 300 years ago is considered a masterpiece and still being performed today. Will Mr Actor's symphony, written in 2002 still be performed in 2302? Neither you nor I will ever know the answer to that, but somehow I don't think it will.

[@ronaldmartin4664]

Perhaps you need to listen to those works I cited by Sibelius and Herrmann. The influence of these composers is obvious. I don't mean to insult you, David. It's just that music appreciation, although it does have a subjective "component", needn't be entirely subjective. We need to listen with intelligence, thinking about what we are hearing with reference to what we have heard. No artist creates alone. A good artist is always in dialogue with the past. No one emerges fully formed from the head of Zeus. And regarding your comment anent Bach--yes, 200 years have past, and St. Matthew's Passion has survived. But does this mean that there are not many masterpieces that go unheard or unappreciated? I don't think so. As Thomas Gray put it many years ago, "full many a flow'r is born to blush unseen, / And waste its sweetness of the desert air" ("Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard"). I don't believe any "sweetness" is ever wasted, because there is God. But man's memory is not perfect, and there are many old masterpieces that continue to be "newly discovered" by the day. Be well! @@DavidA-ps1qr

[@DavidA-ps1qr]

@@ronaldmartin4664 You don't insult me at all. I have a library of 39,000 pieces of music: here are my Lee Actor works, that I'm sure you're completely familiar with; Actor Symphony No 1 Actor Symphony No 3 Actor Prelude to a Tragedy Actor Piano Concerto Actor Violin Concerto Actor Timpani Concerto Actor Divertimento for Small Orchestra Mr Actor's compositional writing bears no resemblance in any of his music to that of either Sibelius or Herrmann. Put the scores side by side and you will read difference by observing the diagnostics of composition. Augmentation, diminished intervals, phrasing, dynamics and basic choice of orchestration are but a few differences that immediately come to mind. And artists do create alone, of course they do. They may be influenced, but they create alone. I should know, am a failed composer. 🙂 P.S. St Matthew Passion was first performed in 1727, in my book that's 300 years ago.

[@DavidA-ps1qr]

@@ronaldmartin4664 Sorry didn't respond correctly, here is my Sibelius library: Sibelius Scene de Ballet Sibelius Belshazzar's Feast Sibelius The Language of the Birds: Wedding March Sibelius Cortege Sibelius Menuetto Sibelius Processional Op 113 Sibelius Kullervo Sibelius Scenes Historiques - Suite No 1 Sibelius Serenade No 1 in D Sibelius Serenade No 2 in G minor Sibelius The Oceanides Sibelius Finlandia Sibelius Karelia Suite Sibelius The Swan of Tuonela Sibelius Valse Triste Sibelius Andante Festivo Sibelius Violin Concerto Sibelius Piano Quintet in G minor Sibelius String Quartet in D minor Op 56 "Voces Intimae" Sibelius Karelia Suite Op 11 Sibelius Luonnotar Op 70 Sibelius Andante Festivo Sibelius The Oceanides Op 73 Sibelius King Christian Op 27 Sibelius Pohjola's Daughter Op 49 Sibelius Night Ride & Sunrise Op 55 Sibelius Four Legends from Kalevala Op 22 Sibelius En Saga Op 9 Sibelius Spring Song Op 16 Sibelius Valse Triste Op 44 No 1 Sibelius Scene with Cranes Op 44 No 2 Sibelius Canzonetta Op 62a Sibelius Valse Romantique Op 62b Sibelius The Bard Op 64 Sibelius Tapiola Op 112 Sibelius Symphony No 1 Op 39 Sibelius Symphony No 2 Op 42 Sibelius Symphony No 3 Op 52 Sibelius Symphony No 4 Op 63 Sibelius Symphony No 5 Op 82 Sibelius Symphony No 6 Op 104 Sibelius Symphony No 7 Op 105 Sibelius Violin Concerto Op 47 Sibelius Cantata - Our Native Land Op 92 Sibelius Cantata - The Origin of Fire Op 32 Sibelius Six Humoresques for Violin & Orchestra Sibelius Adagio in D minor Sibelius Presto for Strings Sibelius The Lizard Op 8 Sibelius The Wood Nymph Sibelius Serenade No 1 for Violin & Orchestra Sibelius Serenade No 2 for Violin & Orchestra Sibelius Swanwhite - Incidential Music Sibelus Swanwhite - Incidential Music (complete) Sibelius The Tempest - Suites 1 & 2 Op 109 Sibelius Pelleas et Melisande Suite Op 46 Sibelius Hymn to Earth Op 95 Sibelius Snofrid Op 29 Sibelius Vainos Song Op 110 Sibelius Karelia Overture Op 10 Sibelius Scaramouche Op 71 Sibelius Lemminkainen Suite Op 22 Sibelius Karelia (reconstructed by Jouni Kaipainen) Sibelius Rakastava - Versions for Male Chorus / Strings &Percussion Sibelius Three Suites for Small Orchestra Op 98/100 Sibelius The Maiden in The Tower Sibelius Cantata for The Helsinki University Ceremonies of 1894 Sibelius Cantata for The Coronation of Nicholas II Sibelius Song of The Earth Op 93 Sibelius Suite for Violin & Strings Op 117 Sibelius Music for The Press Celebrations for Orchestra Sibelius Musique Religieuse (Masonic Ritual Music) Op 113 Sibelius Romance Op 78 No 2 for Violin & Piano Sibelius Mazurka Op 81 No 1 for Violin & Piano Sibelius Clarinet Concerto Sibelius String Quartet in A minor Sibelius String Quartet in B flat major Op 4 Sibelius Two Pieces for Cello & Orchestra Op 77 Sibelius A Song for Lemminkainen Op 31 No 1 Sibelius Cantata - Own Country Op 92 Sibelius Cantata - Sandels Op 28 Sibelius Kuolema - Incidental Music Sibelius Rakastava (The Lover) for Orchestra Sibelius Suite Mignonne Sibelius Rakastava Op 14 Sibelius String Trio And Bernard Herrmann: Herrmann Concerto Macabre Herrmann Sinfonietta for String Orchestra Herrmann Symphony No 1 Herrmann The Lonely Herrmann Psycho Suite Herrmann Moby Dick - Canata Herrmann Echoes for String Quartet Herrmann Cape Fear Suite Herrmann Journey To The Centre of The Earth Suite Herrmann Vertigo Suite Herrmann Wuthering Heights Prelude Herrmann (arr Sorensen) Echoes for Soprano Baritone & Orchestra Hope this is of interest to you. David A.

[@fr.paulmartin6314]

This is the real deal, a genuine symphony in a classic, neoromantic style, redolent of Bernard Herrmann & Sibelius. It is very well-crafted & atmospheric. Here is a distinctive, new voice. Actor's music needs more exposure. Especially this, his Violin Concerto, & his Prelude to a Tragedy have great appeal & could become genuinely popular works.

[@Protonixum]

Effectivement, j'ai aussi ressenti une influence de Bernard Hermann !!!!! 👍👍👍

[@ronaldmartin4664]

Isn't this the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra performing, not the Palo Alto? This is such a fine symphony, & this performance is thoroughly professional, spot on.

[@casparwintermans9492]

Wow!

[@ozgoodel.9645]

Lee is a good Actor!

[@darrylschultz9395]

And oz is a good el.😆

[@jamesbarlow6423]

Interesting.

[@neilkeller1362]

No historical information?

[@DavidA-ps1qr]

Oh dear, you again! Lee Actor was born in Denver, Colorado in 1952 and has won a number of awards for his compositions, including his 2nd Symphony in 2020. He has studied composition with Donald Sur, Brent Heisinger, Charles Jones, and Andrew Imbrie, and conducting with Angelo Frascarelli, David Epstein and Higo Harada. Actor was named Composer-in-Residence of the Palo Alto Philharmonic in 2002. Hope that answers your question. Best wishes, David A.

[@anangryjuicebox2799]

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