not a symphony

[calimac]

Now I really have to decide how many symphonies I have recordings of, because this month's BBC Magazine recording is of two Organ Symphonies by the French composers Charles-Marie Widor and Louis Vierne. Rather liked the Widor, not so hot on the Vierne. I don't think I'll count them. Although I'm generally of the view that, at least after 1800, a symphony is whatever a composer chooses to call one, and not required to meet certain internal characteristics, I do think that, for my purposes at least, it has to be a work for an instrumental ensemble. And one organist, with two assistants pulling the stops, doesn't count. You are free to organize your collections differently.

Comments

[kip-w.livejournal.com]

I'd swear when I heard it before that whoever did it was at least willing to put his name on it, but further searching hasn't turned that up. Well, that's Amazon. The concept of putting more than two names on an album really seems to throw them for a loop.

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

The orchestrator's name is on it. It's the conductor. I should have specified this; sorry.