performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under André Previn, or below by the London Philharmonic under Bryden Thomson …Walton’s Symphony No 1 is a free, strong, individual utterance, as far beyond mere imitation as, say, the Brahms First is in … Continue reading Sir William Walton: Symphony no. 1 in B flat minor
performed by the Ulster Orchestra under Bryden Thomson As mentioned in Monday’s revisit article, I was so taken with Bax’s first symphony that I felt we would benefit from one more of his symphonies, but which? Well, of his seven, the … Continue reading Bax Symphony no. 4
performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Bryden Thomson (this piece is featured on a list of pieces I heartily recommend to music directors for inclusion on their season programs. Check out the article here.) It’s odd, you know. A few … Continue reading Revisit: Bax Symphony no. 1
performed by the Divertimenti Ensemble (Sorry, again no YouTube here, but go support good record labels like Hyperion and buy the album if it’s something you feel you may like. I’ll be honest. There are some works that I’d purchase … Continue reading Herbert Howells: String Quartet no. 3 ‘In Gloucestershire’
performed by the Coull String Quartet and Allan Schiller, piano; or below by the Sorrel Quartet with Ian Brown, piano Alice Elgar was quite right: it is a new urgency, pointed and refined by the discipline of writing chamber music, a … Continue reading Elgar Piano Quintet in Am, op. 84
performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Adrian Boult third and fourth movements here Ralph Vaughan Williams was born on 12 October, 1872 at Down Ampney, Gloucestershire to Rev. Arthur Vaughan Williams, of English and Welsh ancestry, with backgrounds … Continue reading Ralph Vaughan Williams: A London Symphony
performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Mathias Bamert Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet was born in Bournemouth, the youngest of six children, on February 27, 1848. Three of his siblings died in infancy, and his mother died only … Continue reading Sir Hubert Parry: Symphony no. 3 ‘The English’
performed by the Mannheim String Quartet with Joachim Griesheimer, available here on iTunes (U.S. store) or on Amazon (No YouTube today, but I highly recommend purchasing the recording of this work; it’s exquisite.) Smyth’s music was seldom evaluated as simply the work of a composer … Continue reading Dame Ethel Smyth: String Quintet in E, op. 1
performed by the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra under Douglas Bostock (in what is apparently a world premiere recording), or in a slightly garbly recording below from The Ulster Orchestra under Kenneth Alwyn (Please let’s be clear here. There are two symphonies … Continue reading William Sterndale Bennett: Symphony in Gm, op. 43
performed by the Milton Keynes Chamber Orchestra (apparently now known as the Milton Keynes City Orchestra) under Hilary Davan Wetton (Caveat emptor: if you download this recording from iTunes, as I did, there’s a maddening clicking sound most noticeable in the first and fourth movements. I’m … Continue reading Cipriani Potter: Symphony (no. 10?) in Gm
performed by Cantilena under Adrian Shepherd Thomas Augustine Arne was born on 12 March, 1710, in Covent Garden. The two generations of Arnes that preceded him were upholsterers, but it didn’t work out so well for his grandfather, who died in … Continue reading Thomas Arne: Symphony no. 4 in Cm
performed by the London Mozart Players under Matthias Bamert Yes, that William Herschel. The one who discovered Uranus. Feel free to giggle. Frederick William Herschel (but actually Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel) was born on 15 November, 1738, in Hanover, “in Germany, then part of … Continue reading William Herschel: Symphony no. 8 in Cm for strings
This is finally happening. There was a discussion I read online recently about countries or cultures ‘pulling their weight’ or not in classical music relative to the country’s international/historical influence and how the renown of their classical musicians is in … Continue reading Series: The English Symphony
performed by Richard Watkins, horn; Pauline Lowbury, violin; Christopher Green Armytage, piano (Sorry, no dice on YouTube for today’s piece, but if you want to preview it, you can do so at Hyperion’s page for the piece, whence comes much … Continue reading Simpson Trio for horn, violin and piano
performed by David Pyatt and the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Nicholas Braithwaite, or below by Alan Civil and the Bournemouth Sinfonietta under Normal Del Mar Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold was born on October 21, 1921, in Northampton, the youngest of … Continue reading Sir Malcolm Arnold: Horn Concerto no. 2, op. 58
performed by David Pyatt and the London Philharmonic under Nicholas Braithwaite, or below in a piano reduction by Gerardo Diaz, horn; Alex Marshall, piano I personally feel repelled by the intellectual snobbery of some progressive artists… the day that melody is … Continue reading Gordon Jacob: Concerto for Horn and Strings
performed by Steven Isserlis and the Philharmonia Orchestra under Paavo Järvi, or below with Jacqueline du Pré and the London Symphony under Sir John Barbirolli In today’s piece, we’re moving back toward the end of the composer’s career, a year … Continue reading Elgar Cello Concerto in Em, Op. 85
performed by the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir Colin Davis, or below with Davis and the Staatskapelle Dresden I’ll be honest: this is a work that really never made a single impression on me until I sat down to focus … Continue reading Elgar Symphony no. 1 in A-flat major, Op. 55
performed by the Coull Quartet, or below by the Maggini String Quartet (do note that the video below is both the quartet and the quintet; the quartet itself is only about a half hour in performance) It is full of golden sounds … Continue reading Sir Edward Elgar: String Quartet in E minor, Op. 83
performed by the London Philharmonic under Sir Adrian Boult second and third movements (this piece is featured on a list of pieces I heartily recommend to music directors for inclusion on their season programs. Check out the article here.) Meet … Continue reading Robert Simpson: Symphony no. 1
Variations and Fugue on a theme of Purcell performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Gennady Rozhdestvensky, or below by the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln under Jukka-Pekka Saraste This is fun. And of musical integrity. There are some pieces with either specific … Continue reading Benjamin Britten: The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra