"Delius as I Knew Him", by Eric Fenby, is very interesting. It didn't particularly change the way I hear Delius's music, but Fenby lets slip several very insightful observations about the composer's abilities, methods and opinions.Eric Fenby was responsible for one of the greatest acts of kindness in twentieth century music. He grinds his axe about religion in one rather silly chapter but overall his love of the music and his reverence for the composer shine through; a book so fascinating I read it in one sitting.
There's a site explaining a lot about the Delius film at https://www.musicweb.uk.net/classrev/2001/Dec01/Delius_Russell.htmKen Russell also made a superb television documentary about Elgar which is also available on DVD. One very surprising fact is that Elgar and Delius became good friends in their later years. As Fenby says, two musical personalities more dissimilar would be hard to imagine, yet Elgar spent time at Delius's home and the two got on very well indeed. My teacher, as a child prodigy sent to Llandaff cathedral as a choirboy around 1900, had lessons in composition from Elgar, who took a shine to the boy's abilities. He often told me how Elgar was utterly unlike the archetypal great composer - more like a kindly farmer - completely without airs and graces. Debussy used to visit too, and improvise, playing one motif for hours on end, driving all within earshot to distraction.It is regrettable that my teacher did not get around to writing his autobiography, as it would have been of the utmost interest. As a teenager, I thought he was making up all these anecdotes about famous people , but after his death I found that they were true.Thanks for pointing out Delius's piano pieces, Bernhard; I shall make a point of studying them; I really didn't know he wrote any. The trouble with his music is that it is so overpoweringly evocative and individual. Its influence bobs up in my playing in all sorts of ways and it becomes difficult to stop short of imitation. There are those moments when he interrupts a phrase with a luscious, fat, unusual ninth and just sits on it - exquisite - like being surprised by the heavy scent of something in the garden at night.From what Fenby says, Delius required many tryouts at the piano and many misfires, even when younger and well. Apparently he had a shocking sense of pitch. This was quite unlike Elgar who, we are told, used to go for a ride on a bicycle or a horse and come back with an orchestral movement finished in his head. I suppose results are what matter in the end though, not their method of generation.Cheers,Ted.
Topic: Musician Biographies 