Havergal Brian symphonies

With a nice typo in the last line (it's the Grauniad, after all). But still - terrific!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/may/09/in-praise-of-haverga...

I was delighted to learn this and I like to think the sell out of the Gothic shows that audiences are crying out for works from the 20th century that are rarely or never performed, because concert organisers are convinced that nobody wants to hear anything other than Tchaikovsky, Beethoven or Mahler, and are unwilling to take what they perceive as the financial risk. Well no financial risk anywhere to be seen in this summer´s performance of the Gothic, so please to whom it may concern can we have a moratorium on the old warhorses, they are great, but they have had a fair shake. As someone who has never lived in one of the great classical music cities of the world, I am overjoyed and saddened to say that in two days I am going to see my first live performance of the Rite of Spring, this after having attended concerts for decades. Surely this has to change, and I really hope that the success of the Gothic will lead to us seeing on our concert programmes more and more Holmboe, Rubbra, Gerhard, Martinu; Ginastera, Malipiero; Sessions; Petrassi; Simpson, Ruders, the list goes on and on.

I'd also like to put in a word for the original recording of no.10 by the Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra under James Loughran, the first ever commercial Brian recording.  Although Martyn Brabbins's new one is very fine, I don't think it displaces the old Leicestershire one, student playing and 1970s recording notwithstanding.  Loughran is generally closer to Brian's metronome marks and (to my humble ears) sometimes manages to express more of the score's sheer strangeness and mystery.  The record also includes the only version of no.21, another favourite of mine, with a great slow movement.  No longer available, needless to say - LPs often turn up on eBay, CDs very rarely, and generally sell for high prices.

DF

Thanks to the above for reminding me of the Unicorn recording of #s 10 & 21.  I pulled it out to play and discovered that I also had a CBS Classics LP issued in England in 1975 of Symphony #22, Psalm 23, and the English Suite #5 recorded by the LSSO.  Laszlo Heltay conducts the first two works, Eric Pinkett the third.  Malcolm MacDonald wrote the extensive liner notes.  Now to play them.............

Last night I played both LPs by the LSSO.  I was amazed at the fine sound and surface on the CBS Classics LP, and then disappointed by the sound and surface on the Unicorn.  Both LPs were recorded a year or two apart and both had the same engineer.  The CBS  plays at a lower volume than the Unicorn which keeps down the surface noise.  By the way, the Symphony #22 is 9 minutes long, hence its title "Symphonia Brevis."  Psalm 23 was written in 1901.  Brian lost the score in 1920 but was able to reconstruct it in 1945.  It was not performed until 1973 (by the LSSO & Brighton Festival Chorus under Heltay).  They then made the CBS recording.  English Suite No. 5 was written in 1953 but not performed until 1973 when the recording was made by the LSS0.

Does anyone know if the CBS LP ever made it to CD?  I should also add that the three works on that LP are among the most enjoyable and approachable of Brian's music that I have heard.  My favorite though is the 6th Symphony, "Symphonia Tragica."