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 BRITISH AND COMMONWEALTH SYMPHONIES FROM THE 19TH CENTURY TO THE   PRESENT © 2007 MICHAEL HERMAN

PAGE 2

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BENJAMIN FRANKEL
(1906-1973)

Born in London. He studied at the Guildhall School of Music after some lessons as a teenager in Germany. Worked as a jazz musician, taught at the Guildhall and wrote numerous scores for motion pictures. His cycle of Symphonies is supplemented by a Violin Concerto, Viola Concerto and Serenata Concertante for Piano Trio and Orchestra.
 

Symphonies Nos. 1 – 8

Werner Andreas Albert/Queensland Symphony Orchestra
( + May Day Overture; Mephistopheles Serenade and Dance;
A Shakespeare Overture)
CPO 999661-2 (4 CDs) (2002)
 
Symphony No. 1, Op. 33 (1958)

Werner Andreas Albert/Queensland Symphony Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 5 and May Day Overture)
CPO 999240-2 (1995)
 

Symphony No. 2 (1962)

Werner Andreas Albert/Queensland Symphony Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 3)
CPO 999241-2 (1994)
 

Symphony No. 3 (1964)

Werner Andreas Albert/ Werner Andreas Albert/Queensland Symphony Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 3)
CPO 999241 (1994)

 

Werner Andreas Albert/Queensland Symphony Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 6 and Mephistopheles Serenade and Dance)
CPO 999242-2 (1996)
 

Symphony No. 5, Op. 46 (1967)

Werner Andreas Albert/Queensland Symphony Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 1 and May Day Overture)
CPO 999240-2 (1995)
 

Symphony No. 6 (1967)

Werner Andreas Albert/ Werner Andreas Albert/Queensland Symphony Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 6 and Mephistopheles Serenade and Dance)
CPO 999242-2 (1996)

 

Symphony No. 7 (1970)

Werner Andreas Albert/Queensland Symphony Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 8, A Shakespeare Overture and Overture to a Ceremony)
CPO 999 243-2 (1998)
 

Symphony No. 8 (1971)

Werner Andreas Albert/Queensland Symphony Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 7, A Shakespeare Overture and Overture to a Ceremony)
CPO 999 243-2 (1998)

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GRACE WILLIAMS
(1907-1977)

 
Born in Barry, Glamorganshire, Wales. Studied at the Royal College of Music with Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gordon Jacob. She had further lessons in Vienna with Egon Wellesz. Her employment included school teaching and writing for the BBC. She destroyed most of her early works. Her 1st Symphony was written in 1943 and there is also a Sinfonia Concertante for Piano and Orchestra from 1941 as well as Concertos for Violin and Trumpet.

 
Symphony No. 2 (1956)
Vernon Handley/BBC Welsh Symphon Orchestra
( + Ballads for Orchestra and Fairest of Stars)
LYRITA SRCD.327 (1996)
(original LP release: BBC REGL 381) (1980)

Return to alphabetical index
 
 

DAME ELIZABETH MACONCHY
(1907-1994)

Born in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire. Studied at the Royal College of Music with Charles Wood, Ralph Vaughan Williams and C.H. Kitson and had further training with Karel Jirák at the Prague Conservatory. She was able to devote herself almost solely to composing but was very active with professional composers associations such as the Composers Guild of Great Britain and the Society for the Promotion of New Music. She wrote a Symphony for full orchestra (1945-8) as well as a Sinfonietta (1976) and a Little Symphony (1980). Other major works for orchestra are 2 Concertos for Piano and a Viola Concerto.
 

Symphony for Double String Orchestra (1953)
Vernon Handley/London Symphony Orchestra
( + Serenade Concertante, Proud Thames Overture and Music for Strings)
LYRITA SRCD.288 (2007)
(original LP release: LYRITA SRCS.116) (1982)

Return to alphabetical index
 

 

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
(1908-1988)

Born in London, an indirect descendant of his more famous poetical namesake. His first teacher was George Oldroyd and then he studied with Donald Tovey at the University of Edinburgh. He settled in Scotland in 1961 and was very active in the promotion of the music of contemporary composers. He composed a large body of music for orchestra including 8 numbered Symphonies, a Sinfonia for Strings in A minor, Op. 6 (1939), Sinfonietta for Small Orchestra, Op. 62 (1957) and Sinfonia Simplice for Strings, Op. 87 (1969). The unrecorded Symphonies are: No. 1 in F, Op. 23 (1944), No. 4 in E flat major, Op. 54 (1951), No. 5 in A minor, Op. 68 (1960), No. 6, Op. 102 "Elegiaca" (1977), No. 7. Op. 107 "Cosmos" (1980) and No. 8, Op. 117 (1986). There are also Concertos for Piano, Violin and Cello.
 

Symphony no.2 in D major, Opus 34 (1947-8)
Nicholas Braithwaite/London Philharmonic Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 3)
LYRITA SRCD.207 (1990)
 
Symphony No. 3 in C major, Opus 48 (1951)
Nicholas Braithwaite/London Philharmonic Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 4)
LYRITA SRCD.207 (1990)

Return to alphabetical index
 

MINNA KEAL
(1909-1999)

Born in London. She was an early pupil of William Alwyn at the Royal Academy of Music. Her budding musical career was replaced by familial duties and did not resume until she was in her sixties. In addition to the Symphony she also produced a large-scale Cello Concerto and several chamber works.

Symphony, Op. 3 (1980-5)
Nicholas Cleobury/BBC Symphony Orchestra
( + String Quartet No. 1, Wind Quintet and Cantillation)
LORELT LNT 110 (1996)

Return to alphabetical index
 

ROBIN ORR
(1909-2006)

Born in Brechin, Scotland. Studied at the Royal College of Music with Arthur Benjamin and at Cambridge with E.J. Dent. He also had further composition lessons in Siena with Alfredo Casella and Paris with Nadia Boulanger. He had distinguished teaching careers in teaching and administration in Cambridge, London and Glasgow. He wrote two further Symphonies, the 2nd in 1970 and the 3rd in 1978. There is also a Sinfonietta Helvetica from 1990 and several shorter orchestral works.
 

Symphony (No. 1) in One Movement (1963)
Sir Alexander Gibson/Scottish National Orchestra
( + Fricker: Symphony No. 2 and Simpson: Symphony No. 1)
EMI British Composers 5 75789 2 (2003)
(original LP release: HMV ASD 2279) (1966)

Return to alphabetical index

 

ROBERT STILL
(1910-1971)


Born in London. He studied music at Oxford with Ernest Walker and Hugh Allen and then at the Royal College of Music with Gordon Jacob, George Dyson and C.H. Kitson. He was a very prolific writer on subjects having little to do with music with a special intererest in psychology. His 1st Symphony was written in 1954 followed by a 2nd in 1956. He also wrote a Piano Concerto, Violin Concerto and a Concerto for Strings. A Viola Concerto was left unfinished.

 
Symphony No. 3 in C major (1960)
Sir Eugene Goossens/London Symphony Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 4)
LYRITA SRCS.46 (LP) (1971)
(original LP release: SAGA STXID 5256) (1966)
 
Symphony No. 4 (1964)
Myer Fredman/Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 4)
LYRITA SRCS.46 (LP) (1971)

Return to alphabetical index
 
 
RONALD BINGE
(1910–1979)


Born in Derby. He had some piano lessons but was basically self-taught, getting most of his early experience on the job accompanying silent movies. He became one of the leading composers, conductors and arrangers of light orchestral music and worked for many years with Mantovani. The Saturday Symphony was his only large-scale work but his Saxophone Concerto, Scottish Rhapsody and Elizabethan Serenade are more ambitious examples of his usual type of piece.

 
Saturday Symphony (1966-8)
Ronald Binge/South German Radio Orchestra
( + Saxophone Concerto {Aage Voss – saxophone} and various light orchestra pieces)
ASV WHITELINE CDWLZ245 (2 CDs) (2000)
(original LP release: Rediffusion ZS75) (1971)

Return to alphabetical index
 
 

ROBERT HUGHES
(b. 1912)

Born in Levan, Scotland. His family emigrated to Australia in 1929 and he studied with A.E.H. Nickson at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. After World War II he began working for the Australian Broadcasting Commission first as a librarian and writer and later as an arranger and music editor. He also wrote a Serenade, the suites "Farrago" and "Forbidden Rite," the ballet suite "Xanadu" and a number of shorter pieces for orchestra.

Symphony No. 1 (1951-71)
Joseph Post/Sydney Symphony Orchestra
( + Tahourdin: Symphony No. 2)
FESTIVAL SFC 80023 (LP) (1973)
 
Sinfonietta (1957)
Nikolai Malko/Sydney Symphony orchestra
( + George English: Death of a Wombat)
RCA (Australia) L-16233 (LP) (1961)

Willem van Otterloo/Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
( + Nigel Butterley: In the Head the Fire and Alfred Hill: Linthorpe)
WORLD RECORD CLUB (FOUNDATION FOR THE RECORDING OF AUSTRALIAN MUSIC) S/FRAM 2 (LP) (1968)

Return to alphabetical index
 

 

DANIEL JONES
(1912-1995)

Born in Pembroke, Wales. Studied at the Royal Academy with Harry Farjeon (1878-1948, composed a Symphony in D major) and Henry Wood. He had a deep interest in literature and was a close friend of Dylan Thomas. In much of his music he employed a unique metrical system. He wrote 12 Symphonies of which the unrecorded ones are: No. 1 (1945), No. 2 (1950), No. 3 (1951), No. 5 (1958), No. 10 (1981), No. 11 (1983) and No. 12 (1985). There is also a Symphony "In Memory of John Fussell" (1992) as well as 2 Sinfoniettas (1972 and 1991) and Concertos for Violin and Cello among his other works for orchestra.
 

Symphony No. 4 "In Memory of Dylan Thomas" (1954)
Sir Charles Groves/Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
( + Symphonies Nos. 7 and 8)
LYRITA SRCD.329 (2007)
(original LP release: HMV ASD 2855)(1973)
 
Symphony No. 6 (1964)
Sir Charles Groves/Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 9 and The Country Beyond the Stars)
LYRITA SRCD.326 (2007)
(original LP release: PYE VIRTUOSO TPLS 13023 (1970)
 
Symphony No. 7 (1971)
Sir Charles Groves/Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
( + Symphonies Nos. 4 and 8)
LYRITA SRCD.329 (2007)
(original LP release: HMV ASD 2855)(1973)
 
Symphony No. 8 (1972)
Bryden Thomson/BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestrra 
( + Symphonies Nos. 4 and 7)
LYRITA SRCD.329 (2007)
(original LP release: BBC REGL 359) (1979)
 
Symphony No. 9 (1974)
Bryden Thomson/BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestrra 
( + Symphony No. 6 and The Country Beyond the Stars)
LYRITA SRCD.326 (2007)
(original LP release: BBC REGL 359) (1979)

Return to alphabetical index
 
 

PEGGY GLANVILLE-HICKS
(1912-1990)

Born in Melbourne. Studied at the Royal College of Music with Ralph Vaughan Williams, Arthur Benjamin and Constant Lambert. She also had further composition lessons with Egon Wellesz in Vienna and Nadia Boulanger in Paris. She basically relocated to America in 1942 and wrote most of her major works there, returning permanently to Australia in 1976. She was most known for her operas. Her other large works for orchestra are Etruscan Concerto for piano and strings and Concerto Romantico for viola and chamber orchestra.
 

Sinfonia da Pacifica (1952-3)
Carlos Surinach/MGM Chamber Orchestra
( + Three Gymnopedies and Surinach: Hollywood Carnival)
MGM 3336 (LP) (c.1955)

Richard Mills/Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
( + Don Kay: The Legend of Moinee)
VOX AUSTRALIS VAST013-2 (2002)

Return to alphabetical index
 
 
BARBARA PENTLAND
(1912-2000)

Born in Winnipeg. She went to America to study with Frederick Jacobi and Bernard Wagenaar at the Juilliard School of Music and also took courses with Aaron Copland at the Berkshire Music Center. She taught successively at the Toronto Conservatory and the University of British Columbia. She composed in all genres but appears to have specialized in instrumental music. Her other Symphonies are: No. 1 (1945-8), No. 2 (1950) and No. 4 (1959)
 

Symphony No. 3 for Ten Parts (1957)

Victor Feldbrill/Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra Chamber Ensemble
( + Robert Turner: Variations and Toccata, Murray Adaskin: Rondino, Leslie Mann: Five Improvisations and Dirk Keetbaas: Three Miniatures)
RCA VICTOR (Canada) CCS-1009 (& RCI 215) (LP) (1967)

Return to alphabetical index
 
 
VIOLET ARCHER
(1913-2000)

Born in Montreal. She first studied composition with Claude Champagne and Douglas Clarke at McGill University and then studied with Bela Bartók in New York and Paul Hindemith and Richard Donovan at Yale. She pursued careers as both teacher and percussionist at various posts. Her very large catalogue of works ranged from keyboard solos to opera. She wrote a Symphony in 1946 and a Sinfonia in 1969 as well as Concertos for Piano and Violin.
 

Sinfonietta (1968)
John Avison/CBC Vancouver Chamber Orchestra
( + Godfrey Ridout: Frivolités Canadienne)
CBC BR SM-226 (LP) (1975)

Return to alphabetical index

BENJAMIN BRITTEN
(1913-1976)

Lord Britten of Aldeburgh, to give him his full title, was born in Lowestoft, Suffolk. At the age of 13 he received composition lessons from Frank Bridge. He later studied at the Royal Academy of Music with John Ireland for composition and Arthur Benjamin and Harold Samuel for piano. His professional composing career began with scores for documentary films but he went on to become the most played, recorded and famous English composers of the second half of the twentieth century composing successfully in all genres especially opera. The major works for orchestra that supplement his rather unconventional Symphonies are Concertos for Piano and Violin, Double Concerto for Violin, Viola and Orchestra, Diversions for Piano Left-Hand and Orchestra and his most popular pieces, Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge and the Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.

Sinfonietta for Chamber Orchestra, Op. 1 (1932)
Glen Barton Cortese/ Manhattan Chamber Sinfonia
( + Holst:Savitri and Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending)
PHOENIX PHCD 145 (2000)

Jane Glover/London Mozart Players
( + Les Illuminations and Nocturne)
ASV 682 (1993)

Christopher Hogwood/Basel Chamber Orchestra
( + Tippett: Divertimento on Sellinger’s Round and Stravinsky: Pastorale, Suites Nos. 1 and 2, etc.)
ARTE NOVA 926500 (2005)

Norman Del Mar/English Chamber Orchestra (version for small orchestra - 1934)
( + Arnold: Sinfonietta No. 1, Berkeley: Sinfonietta, Rawsthorne: Divertimento and Tippett: Divertimento)
LYRITA SRCD.257 (2007)
(original LP release: LYRITA SRCS.111) (1982)

Lionel Friend/Nash Ensemble
( + Phaedra, Lachrymae, Sword in the Stone, Nightmail and Sextet for Winds)
HYPERION HELIOS  55225 (2006)

Kent Nagano/Hallé Orchestra
( + Concerto for Violin and Viola {Gidon Kremer (Violin), Yuri Bashmet (Viola}. Young Apollo and Portaits)
ELATUS 0927467182  (2006)

Izler Solomon/MGM Chamber Ensemble
( + Ernest Bloch: Four Episodes)
MGM E-290 (10" LP)

Osmo Vänskä/Tapiola Sinfonietta
( + Serenade, Nocturne and Now Sleeps the Crimson Pääetal)
BIS 540 (1994)

Vienna Octet (Members)
(+String Quartets 2 & 3)
DECCA 475051-2
(original LP release: DECCA (1965)

West Jutland Chamber Ensemble
( + Fanfare for St Edmundsbury, Suite for Cello Solo No 1, Nocturnal after John Dowland and Songs from the Chinese)
BIS 31 (1994)
 
Simple Symphony, Op. 4 (1934)
Eivind Aadland/European Community Chamber Orchestra
( + Barber: Adagio for Strings, Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances, Hindemith: Fünf Stücke and Puccini: Cristantemi)
IMP CLASSICS PCD 1001 (1991)

Otto Ackermann/Netherlands Philharmonic
( + Metamorphoses after Ovid and Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge)
CONCERT HALL 1252 (LP)

Enrique Garcia Asensio/English Chamber Orchestra
(+Hindemith: Fünf Stücke and Respighi: Ancient Airs and Dances)
PYE/ENSAYO NEL 2012 (LP) (1974)

Jean-Walter Audoli/Audoli Instrumental Ensemble
( + Les Illuminations and Phaedra)
ARION ARN 68035

Hayden Beck/Sydney Civic Symphony
( + Elgar: Introduction and Allegro)
DIAPHON DPM 3 (LP) (1951)

Steuart Bedford/Northern Sinfonia
( + Temporal Variations, A Charm of Lullabies, Lachrymae and Suite on English Folk Tunes)
NAXOS 8.557205 (2005)

William Boughton/English Symphony Orchestra
( + Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Suite on English Folk Tunes, Prelude and Fugue, Peter Grimes: Four Sea Interludes, Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Serenade, Nocturne, Lachrymae and Gloriana: Symphonic Suite)
NIMBUS 1751 (3 CDs) (1999)
(original CD release: NIMBUS NI 5025) (198 )

Benjamin Britten/English Chamber Orchestra
( + Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge and Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra)
DECCA 417509 (1990)
(original LP release: SXL 6405 (1969)

Boris Brott/Northern Sinfonia
( + Arnold: Sinfonietta No. 1 and Rawsthorne: Divertimento)
MACE S-9068 (LP)

Iona Brown/Norwegian Chamber Orchestra
( + Lachrymae, Prelude and Fugue and Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge)
Virgin Classics CDC 5 45121-2 (1995)

Budapest Strings
( + Holst: St. Paul's Suite and Fugal Concerto, Walton: Henry V - 2 Pieces for Strings, Bridge, Sally in Our Alley and Cherry Ripe)
CAPRICCIO 10584 (2002)

Vladislav Czarnecki/ Southwest German Chamber Orchestra
( + Holst: Suite No. 2 and Respighi: Ancient Airs and Dances (excerpts))
EBS 6114  (2001)

Plamen Djurov/ Sofia Soloists Chamber Orchestra
( + Telemann: Don Quichotte Suite and Schubert: String Quartet no 14)
GEGA NEW 286 (2005)

John Farrer/English Sinfonia
( + Lacrymae, Prelude And Fugue +Tippett: Concerto For Double String Orchestra)
IMP Classics 6600542 (1997)

Nicholas Flagello/Rome Chamber Orchestra
( + Warlock: Capriol Suite and Grainger: Lincolnshire Posy and other woks for band)
PHOENIX 119 (1993)
(original LP release: (1977)

Leonard Friedman/Scottish Baroque Ensemble
( + Elgar: Serenade for Strings, Warlock: Capriol Suite and Williamson: 6 English Lyrics)
ABBEY ABY810 (LP) (1980)

Thomas Furi/Camerata Bern
( + Prelude and Fugue and Vaeiations on a Theme of Frank Bridge Variations)
DENON 77409

Sir Eugene Goossens/New Symphony Orchestra of London
Decca LW5163 (10" LP) (c.1954)

Lazar Gosman/Leningrad Chamber Orchestra
( + Prelude & Fugue and Violin Concerto {Boris Gutnikov – violin})
MANCHESTER CLASSICAL GALLERY CDMAN 180 (2007)
 
Guildhall String Ensemble
( + Tippett: Little Music, Walton: Sonata for String Orchestra and Variations on an Elizabethan Theme)
RCA RED SEAL 7846-2-RC (1988)

Hartmut Haenchen/ CPE Bach Chamber Orchestra
( + Mozart: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, CPE Bach: Symphony, J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 and Handel, Water Music Suite #2)
SONY SK 48062

Richard Hickox/Northern Sinfonia
( + Prelude and Fugue and Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge)
ASV CD 6214 (1997)
(original CD release: ASV CDCDCA 591) (1985)
 
I Musici
( + Frank Martin: Etudes for Strings, Nielsen: Little Suite, Hindemith: Trauermusik, Roussel: Sinfonietta and Bartók: Romanian Folkdances)
PHILIPS SILVERLINE 426669 (1990)
(original LP release: PHILIPS SABL 216 (1962)

Instrumental Ensemble of France
( + Barber: Adagio for Strings, Hindemith: Trauermusik, Landowski: Preludes and Stravinsky: Concerto for Strings)
Pierre VerAnay PV789121

Antonio Janigro/I Solisti di Zagreb
( + works by Corelli, Couperin and Mozart)
RCA RED SEAL LSC-2653 (LP)

Roman Kofman/Kiev Chamber Orchestra
( + Les Illuminations and Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge)
MD & G 6011275  (2004)

Jean-Pierre Lecaudrey/Orchestre de Chambre 13
( + Barber: Adagio for Strings, Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances and Lekeu: Adagio)
PAVANE ADW 7361

Gerald Levine/English Chamber Orchestra
( + Les Illuminations and Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge)
ARABESQUE Z6603

Sir Neville Marriner/Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
( + Delius: Two Aquarelles, Vaughan Williams: Rhosymedre, Holst: St. Paul’s Suite, Purcell: Chacony and Walton : Henry V - The Death of Falstaff and Touch Her Soft Lips and Part)
EMI CDC 7 47842 2 (1986)
(original LP release: HMV ASD 2831) (1973)

Boyd Neel/Boyd Neel String Orchestra (rec. 1939)
( + A Ceremony of Carols, Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge and Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra)
PEARL PRL 002 (1998)

Boyd Neel/Toronto Chamber Orchestra
( + Elgar: Serenade for Strings and Arne: Air and Gigue)
ULTRA FI ULDD 10 (LP) (1979)

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
( + Bizet: Symphony in C and Prokofiev: Classical Symphony)
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 423624

Ross Pople/London Festival Orchestra
( + Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge and Lachrymae)
ARTE NOVA 340520 (2006)

Karl Ristenpart/Saar Chamber Orchestra
( + Jolivet: Bassoon Concerto, Milhaud: Divertissenent and Poulenc: Suite Française)
MUSIC GUILD S-39 (LP)

Sir Malcolm Sargent/Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
( + Holst: Perfect Fool-Ballet Suite and Walton: Façade (excerpts))
HMV ASD 1873 (1961)

Kenneth Sillito/Academy of St. Martin's in the Fields
( + Tippett: Fantasia Concertante, Berkeley: Serenade, Holst: St. Paul's Suite and Walton: Henry V: Passacaglia and Touch Her Sweet Lips and Part)
COLLINS CLASSICS 12342 (1991)

Izler Solomon/MGM String Orchestra
( + Ireland: Concertino Pastorale)
MGM 3074 (LP)

Johannes Somary/English Chamber Orchestra
( + Wirén: Serenade for Strings, Grieg: Holberg Suite and Last Spring)
VANGUARD CVAN 45 (1996)
(original LP release: VANGUARD Everyman Classics SRV 344 SD) (1975)

Richard Studt/Bournemouth Sinfonietta
( + Bartók: Divertimento for String Orchestra, Stravinsky: Concerto for String Orchestra and Walton: Henry V: Death of Falstaff)
NAXOS 8.550979 (1995)

Ronald Thomas/ Bournemouth Sinfonietta
( + Prelude and Fugue and Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge)
CHANDOS COLLECT 6592 (1994)
(original CD release: CHANDOS CHAN 8376) (1985)

Yuli Turovsky/ I Musici de Montreal
( + Peter Grimes: Four Sea Interludes and Passacaglia, Death in Venice Suite, Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Young Apollo and Lachrymae)
CHANDOS CHAN 2412 (2 CDs)
(original CD release: CHANDOS CHAN 8817) (19 )

Dirk Vermeulen/Sinfonia Flanders Chamber Orchestra
( + Suk:Serenade for Strings, Turina: La oración del torero,
Kersters: Drie bagatellen and Van der Roost: Lento e mesto & Allegro con brio)
Eufoda 1138

Bohdan Warchal/Slovak Chamber Orchestra
( + Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge and Serenade)
CAMPION 1313 (1995)

Christopher Warren-Green/London Chamber Players
( + Purcell: Chaconne)
Virgin 7 91080

Christopher Warren-Green/Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
( + Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis Butterworth: The Banks of Green Willow), Elgar: Serenade for Strings and Holst: St Paul's Suite)
APEX 2564614372 (2004)

Sinfonia da Requiem, Op. 20 (1940)
Sir John Barbirolli/New York Philharmonic (rec. 1941)
( + Les Illuminations and Sonnets of Michelangelo)
NMC 30 (2000)

Sir John Barbirolli/Hallé Orchesta (rec. 1967)
( + Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra + Elgar: In the South Overture and Walton: Partita)
BBC LEGENDS 4013 (1999)

Sir John Barbirolli/Concertgebouw Orchestra (rec. 1969)
( + Dvořak: Symphony No. 7 and Satie: Gymnopedies)
TESTAMENT SBT 1252 (2003)

Steuart Bedford/London Symphony Orchestra
( + Gloriana: Symphonic Suite and Peter Grimes: Four Sea Interludes)
NAXOS 8.557196  (2005)
(original CD release: Collins Classics 1019-2)(1989)

Benjamin Britten/Danish Radio Orchestra
( + Diversions)
DECCA LXT 2981(LP)(1954)

Benjamin Britten/New Philharmonia Orchestra
( + Sinfonia da Requiem and Cantata Misericordium)
DECCA 425100  (1989)
(original LP release: DECCA SXL 6175) (1965)

Sergiu Celibidache/Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (rec. 1946)
( + works by Purcell, Mozart, Brahms, Roussel, Mendelssohn, Barber, Busoni, Dvořak, Hindemith and Stravinsky)
MEMBRAN 222336 (4 CDs) (2006)

Myer Fredman/New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
( + Peter Grimes: Four Sea Interludes & Passacaglia and An American Overture)

NAXOS 8.553107 (1995)

Mark Elder/BBC Symphony Orchestra
( + Elgar: Froissart Overture and Stravinsky: Rite of Spring)
BBC BBCP 1001-2

Richard Hickox/London Symphony Orchestra
( + War Requiem and Ballad of Heroes)
CHANDOS CHAN 5007 (2003)
(original CD release: CHANDOS CHAN 8993-4) (1992)

Rudolf Kempe/Dresden State Orchestra (rec. 1976)
( + Stravinsky: Firebird Suite)
BERLIN CLASSICS 1097 (2005)
 
Libor Pešek/Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
(+ Peter Grimes: Four Sea Interludes & Passacaglia and Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra)
VIRGIN CLASSICS UV 61195  (2000)
(original CD release: VIRGIN CLASSICS 59550) (1989)

André Previn/London Symphony Orchestra
(+ Peter Grimes: Four Sea Interludes & Passacaglia + Holst: Egdon Heath and Perfect Fool-Ballet Music)
EMI Great Recordings Of The Century 62616  (2003)
(original LP release: HMV ASD 3154) (1976)

André Previn/St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
( + Diversions and Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra)
SONY SMK 58930 (1993)
(original US LP release: COLUMBIA MS 6583) (1964)

Sir Simon Rattle/City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
( + An American Overture, Ballad of Heroes, Diversions, Building of the House Overture, Suite on English Folk Tunes, Canadian Carnival, Young Apollo, Chansons Françaises, Scottish Ballad, Occasional Overture and Praise We Great Men)
EMI CLASSICS CDC 754270 2 (2 CDs) (1991)
(original CD release: EMI CDM 747343-2) (1984)

Donald Runnicles/Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
( + Elgar: Pomp and Circumstance Marches Nos. 1 and 4, Turnage: 3 Screaming Popes, MacMillan: Britannia and Maxwell Davies: Orkney Wedding and Sunrise)
TELARC CD80677 (2007)

Gennady Rozhdestvensky/BBC Symphony Orchestra (rec. 1981)
( + Gloriana Suite, Peter Grimes: Passacaglia, Bridge: 2 Poems and Pärt: Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten)
CARLTON BBC RADIO CLASSICS BBCRD 9129 (1995)

Leonard Slatkin/London Philharmonic
( + Peter Grimes: Four Sea Interludes & Passacaglia, Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra and Chacony)
RCA RED SEAL 61226 (1993)

Spring Symphony, Op. 44 (1949)

Benjamin Britten/Jennifer Vyvyan (soprano), Norma Procter (contralto), Peter Pears (tenor), Royal Opera House Covent Garden Chorus, Wandsworth School Boys Choir / Royal Opera House Covent Garden Orchestra
( + Cantata Academica and Hymn to St. Cecilia)
DECCA 436396 (1993)
(original LP release: DECCA SXL 2264 (1961)

Sir John Eliot Gardiner/Alison Hagley (soprano), Catherine Robin (contralto), John Mark Ainsley ( tenor), Choristers of Salisbury Cathedral, Monteverdi Choir/Philharmonia Orchestra
( + 5 Flower Songs and Hymn to St. Cecelia)
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 453 433-2GH (1997)

André Previn/Sheila Armstrong (soprano)/Janet Baker (contralto)/Robert Tear (tenor), London Symphony Chorus, St. Clement Danes Grammar School Boys Choir/London Symphony Orchestra
( + Peter Grimes: 4 Sea Interludes)
EMI BRITISH COMPOSERS 64736 (2000)
(original LP release: HMV ASD 3650) (1979)

Richard Hickox/Elizabeth Gale (soprano), Alfreda Hodgson (contralto), Martyn Hill (tenor), City of London School Choir (Boys), City of London School for Girls Choir, London Symphony Chorus, Southend Boys Choir/ London Symphony Orchestra
( + Welcome Ode and Psalm 150)
CHANDOS 8855 (1992) 
 
 
Symphony for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 68 (1963)
Steuart Bedford/Raphael Wallfisch (cello)/English Chamber Orchestra
( + Death in Venice Suite)
CHANDOS CHAN 10274  (1984)

Steuart Bedford/Cyrille Tricoire (cello)/Montpelier National Orchestra
( + Prince of the Pagodas Suite)
ACCORD 4428171 (2006)

Benjamin Britten/Mstislav Rostropovich (cello)/English Chamber Orchestra
( + Sinfonia da Requiem and Cantata Misirecordium)
DECCA 425100  (1989)
(original LP release: Decca SXL6138) (1964)

Benjamin Britten/Mstislav Rostropovich (cello)/Moscow Philharmonic (rec. 1964)
( + Elgar : Cello Concerto)
RUSSIAN REVELATION RV 10100 (1998)

Benjamin Britten/Mstislav Rostropovich (cello)/Moscow Philharmonic (rec. 1964)
( + Cello Suite No. 2 and Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1)
EMI GREAT ARTISTS 562828 2 (2004)

Richard Hickox/Steven Isserlis (cello)/City of London Sinfonia
( + Bridge: Oration)
EMI CDC7 49716-2 (1992)

Neeme Järvi/Truls Mørk (cello)/Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
( + Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Peter Grimes: Sea Interludes and Arvo Pärt: Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten)
BIS 420 (1994)

Sir Neville Marriner/Julian Lloyd Webber (cello)/ Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
( + Walton: Cello Concerto)
Philips 454 442-2 (1997)

Sir Simon Rattle/ Truls Mørk (cello)/City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
( + Elgar: Cello Concerto)
VIRGIN CLASSICS 45356 (1999)

Gennady Rozhdestvensky/Mstislav Rostropovich (cello)/London Symphony Orchestra
( + Bliss: Cello Concerto)
INTAGLIO INCD7151 (1992)

Takuo Yuasa/Timothy Hugh (cello)/BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
( + Violin Concerto {Rebecca Hirsch – violin})
NAXOS 8.553882 (1999)

David Zinman/Yo-Yo Ma (cello)/Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
( + Barber: Cello Concerto)
CBS MASTERWORKS 44900 (1990)  

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GEORGE LLOYD
(1913-1998)

Born in St. Ives, Cornwall. He studied composition privately with Harry Farjeon and counterpoint with C.H. Kitson. He enjoyed remarkable success early on with both symphonic and operatic works but World War II left him shattered and this plus changes in musical taste saw his withdrawal from the musical scene. His late in life return as a result of BBC broadcasts and recordings stimulated a new period of creativity that lasted until his death. For orchestra, his Symphonies are supplemented by 4 Piano Concertos, 2 Violin Concertos and a Cello Concerto.
 
Symphony No. 1 in A major (1932)
George Lloyd/Albany Symphony Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 12)
ALBANY TROY 032-2 (1990)
 
Symphony No. 2 (1933, rev. 1982)
George Lloyd/BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 9)
ALBANY TROY 055-2 (1993)
(original CD release: CONIFER CDCF 139) (1986

Symphony No. 3 in F major (1933)
George Lloyd/BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
( + Charade)
ALBANY TROY 090-2 (1992)
 
Symphony No. 4 in B major "Arctic" (1946)
Sir Edward Downes/Philharmonia Orchestra
( + Symphonies Nos. 5 and 8)
LYRITA SRCD.2258 (3 CDs) (2007)
(original LP release: LYRITA SRCS.129) (1984)
George Lloyd/Albany Symphony Orchestra
ALBANY AR 002-2 (1988)
 
Symphony No. 5 in B flat major (1948)
Sir Edward Downes/Philharmonia Orchestra
( + Symphonies Nos. 4 and 8)
LYRITA SRCD.2258 (3 CDs) (2007)
(original LP release: LYRITA SRCS.124) (1982)
George Lloyd/BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
ALBANY TROY 022-2 (1989)
 
Symphony No. 6 (1956)

George Lloyd/BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 10 and John Socman Overture)
ALBANY TROY 015-2 (1989)
 
Symphony No. 7 (1959)
George Lloyd/BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
ALBANY TROY 057-2 (1993)
(original CD release: CONIFER CDCF 143) (1986)
 
Symphony No. 8 (1961)
Sir Edward Downes/Philharmonia Orchestra
( + Symphonies Nos. 4 and 5)
LYRITA SRCD.2258 (3 CDs) (2007)
(original LP release: LYRITA SRCS.113) (1982)

George Lloyd/ Philharmonia Orchestra
ALBANY TROY 230 (1997)
 
Symphony No. 9 (1969)

George Lloyd/BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 2)
ALBANY TROY 055-2 (1993)
(original CD release: CONIFER CDCF 139) (1986)
 
Symphony No. 10 for Brass "November Journeys" (1981)
George Lloyd/BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 10 and John Socman Overture)
ALBANY TROY 015-2 (1989)

James Stobart/London Collegiate Brass
( + Wilfred Josephs: Concerto for Brass)
TRAX CLASSIQUE TRXCD 114 (1987)
 
Symphony No. 11 (1985)
George Lloyd/Albany Symphony Orchestra
ALBANY TROY 060-2 (1994)
(original CD release: CONIFER CDCF 144) (1987)
 
Symphony No. 12 (1989)
George Lloyd/Albany Symphony Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 1)
ALBANY TROY 032-2 (1990)

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RAYMOND HANSON
(1913-1976)

Born in Sydney. He was basically self-taught but also studied with Alex Burnard at the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music where he later taught for many years. He did not write many works for orchestra beyond his single Symphony but there are also Concertos for Violin, Piano, Trumpet and Trombone.
 
Symphony No. 1, Op. 28 (1951)
Georg Tintner/West Australian Symphony Orchestra
( + Dulcie Holland: Symphony for Pleasure)
ABC AC1002 (non-commercial LP) (1974)

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DULCIE HOLLAND
(1913-2000)

Born in Sydney. She studied composition with Alfred Hill at the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music and then took further lessons with Roy Agnew as well as with John Ireland at the Royal College of Music. Her musical catalog consists mostly of songs, instrumental and chamber music. She also wrote many books on musical technique.
 
Symphony for Pleasure (1974)
Henry Krips/South Australian Symphony Orchestra
( + Raymond Hanson: Symphony No. 1)
ABC AC1002 (non-commercial LP) (1974)

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SIR ANDRZEJ PANUFNIK
(1914-1991)

Born in Warsaw. He studied composition at the Warsaw Conservatory with Kazimierz Sikorski, conducting with Felix Weingartner at the Vienna Academy of Music and had further lessons with Philippe Gaubert in Paris. He had a successful conducting career in Poland after 1939 until his emigration to England in 1954. He continued to conduct but was eventually able to devote himself entirely to composing. From his days in Poland he composed prolifically but most of his early works (including 2 Symphonies) were lost during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. His other major orchestral works are Concertos for Piano, Violin, Cello and Bassoon and Arbor Cosmica.
 

Symphony No. 1 "Sinfonia Rustica" (1948)
Andrzej Panufnik/Monte Carlo Opera Orchestra
( +Symphony No. 3 and 4)
EMI BRITISH COMPOSERS CD 352289-2 (2006)
(original LP release: HMV ASD 2298) (1967)

Symphony No. 2 "Sinfonia Elegiaca" (1957)
Robert Whitney/Louisville Orchestra
( + Nocturne and Rhapsody for Orchestra)
FIRST EDITION FECD 0017 (2003)
(original LP release: LOUISVILLE 624 (1962)
 
Symphony No. 3 "Sinfonia Sacra" (1963)
Kazimierz Kord/Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 10 and Cello Concerto {Andrzej Bauer – cello})
CD ACCORD ACD072 (2002

Andrzej Panufnik/Monte Carlo Opera Orchestra
( +Symphony No. 1 and 4)
EMI BRITISH COMPOSERS CD 352289-2 (2006)
(original LP release: HMV ASD 2298) (1967)

Andrzej Panufnik/Monte Carlo Opera Orchestra
( + Concertino for Timpani, Percussion and Strings, Concerto Festivo, Katyn Epitaph and Landscape)
UNICORN-KAMCHANA UKCD 2020 (1989)
(original LP release: HMV ASD 2298 (1967)

Andrzej Panufnik/Concertgebouw Orchestra
( + Arbor Cosmica)
NONESUCH 79228-2 (1991)

John Storgards/Tampere Philharmonic
( + Symphony No. 5, Landscape and Heroic Overture)
ONDINE ODE11015 (2007)

 
Symphony No. 4 "Sinfonia Concertante" (1973)
Andrzej Panufnik/Aurele Nicolet (flute), Ossian Ellis (harp)/Menuhin Festival Orchestra
( + Symphonies Nos. 1 and 3)
EMI BRITISH COMPOSERS CD 352289-2 (2006)
(original LP release: EMI EMD 2525) (1975)

Mark Stephenson/Karen Jones (flute), Rachel Masters (harp)/London Musici
( + Harmony and Concertino for Timpani, Percussion and Strings)
CONIFER CDCF 217 (1994)
 
Symphony No. 5 "Sinfonia di Sfere" (1974-5)
David Atherton/London Symphony Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 6)
EXPLORE RECORDS EXP 0014
(original LP release: DECCA HEADLINE HEAD 22) (1979)

John Storgards/Tampere Philharmonic
( + Symphony No. 3, Landscape and Heroic Overture)
ONDINE ODE11015 (2007)

 
Symphony No. 6 "Sinfonia Mistica" (1977)
David Atherton/London Symphony Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 5)
EXPLORE RECORDS EXP 0014
(original LP release: DECCA HEADLINE HEAD 22) (1979)
 
Symphony No. 7 "Metasinfonia" (1978)
Andrzej Panufnik/Jennifer Bate (organ), Kurt Hans Goedike (timpani)/London Symphony Orchestra
( + Universal Prayer)
UNICORN DKP 9049 (LP) (1980)
 
Symphony No. 8 "Sinfonia Votiva" (1981)
Norman Del Mar/BBC Symphony Orchestra
( + Szymanowski: Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4)
CARLTON BBC RADIO CLASSICS IMP 9124 (1995)

Seiji Ozawa/Boston Symphony Orchestra
( + Roger Sessions: Concerto for Orchestra)
HYPERION HELIOS CDH55100 (2002)
(original LP release: HYPERION A 66050) (1982)

 
Symphony No. 9 "Sinfonia della Speranza" (1986)
Andrzej Panufnik/London Symphony Orchestra
( + Piano Concerto {Ewa Poblocka – piano})
CATALYST 64280 (2005)
(original CD release: CONIFER CDCF 206) (1992)
 
Symphony No. 10 (1989)
Kazimierz Kord/Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 3 and Cello Concerto {Andrzej Bauer – cello})
CD ACCORD ACD072 (2002)

Gerard Schwartz/Seattle Symphony Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 3, Autumn Music and Heroic Overture)
JVC CLASSICS JVCC 6511-2 (1998)

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HAROLD TRUSCOTT
(1914-1992)

Born in Ilford, Essex. He was mostly self-taught except for some part time attendance at the Guildhall School of Music and the Royal College of Music. He made his living as a teacher and writer on musical subjects. Although he composed continually throughout his life he did very little to promote his own works. After his death it was discovered that he had written a lot more music than anyone had known about. The Symphony listed below is the only surviving complete example of Truscott’s many attempts to write symphonies. Two early works from the 1930’s, a Symphony in E flat major and a Symphony in F major have been lost while several incomplete or fragmentary symphonies still exist. There are a few other surviving orchestral works but other major works were never completed.
 
Symphony in E major (1948-9)
Gary Brain/National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland
( + Suite in G and Elegy)
MARCO POLO 8.223674 (1994)

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DORIAN LE GALLIENNE
(1915-1963)


Born in Melbourne. He studied first at the Melbourne University Conservatorium of Music with A.E.H. Nickson and then in London at the Royal College of Music with Herbert Howells and Arthur Benjamin. He had further lessons from Gordon Jacob and then he returned home to teach at the Melbourne Conservatorium. In his short he life he gained great respect as one of Australia’s leading composers and music critics. He was able to complete only one movement of his 2nd Symphony (which became "Symphonic Study") and he also left for orchestra an Overture in E flat, Contes Héraldiques and 2 ballets.

 
Symphony No. 1 in E major (1955)
Wilfred Lehmann/Sydney Symphony Orchestra (rec. 1984)
( + Eric Gross: Moonscape, Larry Sitsky: Flute Sonata, Dulcie Holland: Such is Life, Robert Trimble: Viola Sonata and Roy Agnew: Breaking of the Drought)
HERITAGE CD 14 (2003)
 
Sinfonietta (1956)
John Hopkins/Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
( + Sculthorpe: Sun Music I and Irkanda IV)
WORLD RECORD CLUB (FOUNDATION FOR THE RECORDING OF AUSTRALIAN MUSIC) S/FRAM 1 (1967)

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ROBERT BRUCE
(b. 1915)

Born in Inverkeilor, Scotland but brought up in Berkshire, England. Studied at the University of Edinburgh with Donald Tovey. He taught at University College in Cardiff from 1947 to 1977. His other works for orchestra include a Viola Concerto, a tone poem "The Dong with a Luminous Nose" and a Prelude, Theme and Variations.
 
Symphony in B flat major (1960)
Jerzy Swoboda/Czestochowa Philharmonic Orchesta
CD ISSUED PRIVATELY BY COMPOSER (1999)

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HUMPHREY SEARLE
(1915-1982)

 
Born in Oxford. Studied at the Royal College of Music with John Ireland and R.O. Morris and in Vienna with Anton Webern. After service in World War II he worked for the BBC and taught at the Royal College of Music as well in America and Germany. He also wrote several books and was very active in promoting contemporary music. His other major compositions for orchestra were 2 Piano Concertos, Zodiac Variations and Labyrinth. He also wrote a Sinfonietta for Chamber Ensemble (1968-9).

 
Symphonies Nos. 1 – 5

Alun Francis/BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
( + Night Music and Overture to a Drama)
CPO 777 131 (2 CDs) (2005)
 
Symphony No. 1, Op. 23 (1952-3)
Sir Adrian Boult/London Philharmonic Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 2)
LYRITA SRCS.72 (1975)
(original LP release: DECCA SXL 2232) (1962)

Alun Francis/BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 4, Night Music and Overture to a Drama)
CPO 999 541-2 (1997)
 
Symphony No. 2, Op. 33 (1956-8)

Josef Krips/London Philharmonic Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 1)
LYRITA SRCS.72 (1975)

Alun Francis/BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
( + Symphonies Nos. 3 and 5)
CPO 999 376-2 (1995)
 
Symphony No. 3, Op. 36 ( 1960)
Alun Francis/BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
( + Symphonies Nos. 2 and 5)
CPO 999 376-2 (1995)

Symphony No. 4, Op. 38 (1962)
Alun Francis/BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 1, Night Music and Overture to a Drama)
CPO 999 541-2 (1997)
 
Symphony No. 5, Op. 43 (1964)
Alun Francis/BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra( + Symphonies Nos. 2 and 5
( + Symphonies Nos. 2 and 4
CPO 999 376-2 (1995)

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DOUGLAS LILBURN
(1915-2001)

Born in Wanganui, New Zealand. He first studied at the Canterbury University College in Christchurch and then went to England for lessons with Ralph Vaughan Williams at the Royal College of Music. In addition to being his country’s most famous composer, he had a distinguished career as a teacher and publisher of music. He set up a trust for the promotion of music by New Zealand composers. His best-known work is the Aotearoa Overture. Other important orchestral works are the tone poems "Forest" and "A Song of Islands," a Suite for Orchestra and Diversions for Strings.
 

Symphony No. 1 (1949)
John Hopkins/New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
( + Festival Overture and Suite for Orchestra)
KIWI SLD-75 (1987)

John Hopkins/New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
( + Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3)
CONTINUUM 1069 (1994)

James Judd/New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
( + Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3)
NAXOS 8.555862 (2002)
 
Symphony No. 2 in C minor (1951)
Ashley Heenan/New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
( + Aotearoa Overture and Diversions for Strings)
STRADIVARI SCD 8004 (1988)
(original LP release: KIWI SLD-48 (1976)

John Hopkins/New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
( + Symphonies Nos. 1 and 3)
CONTINUUM 1069 (1994)

James Judd/New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
( + Symphonies Nos. 1 and 3)
NAXOS 8.555862 (2002)
 
Symphony No. 3 (1961)

John Hopkins/New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation Symphony Orchestra
( + Aotearoa Overture and Farquhar: Symphony (No. 1))
KIWI SLD-14 (LP) (1969)

John Hopkins/New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
( + Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2)
CONTINUUM 1069 (1994)

James Judd/New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
( + Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2)
NAXOS 8.555862 (2002)

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JEAN PAPINEAU-COUTURE
(1916-2000)

Born in Montreal. He first studied locally with Françoise d’Amour and Gabriel Cusson and then with Quincy Porter at the New England Conservatory of Music. He had further studies with Nadia Boulanger. He taught and served as a school administrator in Montreal for more than three decades and was very active in Canadian composers’ organizations. He composed prolifically in all genres including a Violin Concerto and Piano Concerto and a number of shorter works for orchestra.
 

Symphony No. 1 in C major (1948, rev. 1956)
Jean Beaudet/Orchestre de Radio-Canada
( + Alexander Brott: Concordia and Georges-Émile Tanguay: Lied for Strings)
RCI 3 (LP)

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 IAN PARROTT
(b. 1916)

Born in Streatham, London. He first studied with Benjamin Dale at the age of 12 and then went on for further training at the Royal College of Music and Oxford. He taught music at the University of Birmingham and at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. His musical catalogue is very extensive and ranges from operas to works for solo instruments. His larger works for orchestra include 5 Symphonies: No. 1(1943-46), No. 2 "Round the World" (1960-1), No. 3 (1966), No. 4 "Sinfonietta" (1978) and No. 5 (1979) as well as Concertos for Piano, Cello and English Horn.

Sinfonia Concertante for Recorder, Solo Violin String Orchestra and Percussion (2001-3)
John Turner (recorder)/Richard Howarth (violin)/Philip McKenzie/Camerata Ensemble
( + Gál: Concertino, Hope: Birthday Concerto, Ellis: Divertimento Elegiaco, Beck: Flûte-à-Beck and Dubery: Mrs. Harris in Paris)
DUTTON EPOCH CDLX 7154 (2004)

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BERNARD STEVENS
(1916-1983)

Born in London. He first studied with E.J. Dent , Cyril Rootham and Donald Tovey at Cambridge and then with R.O. Morris, Gordon Jacob and Arthur Benjamin at the Royal College of Music. He then taught at the latter institution from 1948 to 1981 and was active in radical political causes that were reflected in his music. He wrote in various genres. Beyond the 2 Symphonies his orchestral output included a Sinfonietta for Strings (1948) and Concertos for Piano, Violin and Cello.
 
Symphony No. 1, Op. 7 " Symphony of Liberation" (1945)
Sir Edward Downes/BBC Philharmomic Orchestra
( + Cello Concerto {Alexander Baillie – cello})
MERIDIAN CDE 84124 (1986)
 
Symphony No. 2, Op. 35 (1964)
Sir Edward Downes/BBC Philharmomic Orchestra
( + Violin Concerto {Ernst Kovacic – violin})
MERIDIAN CDE 84174 (1989)

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ARNOLD VAN WYK
(1916-1983)

Born in Calvinia, Cape Province, South Africa. After initial training in Cape Town he went to London for composition studies with Theodore Holland (1878-1947, composed a Spring Sinfonietta – 1943) at the Royal Academy of Music. He worked for the BBC and then returned to South Africa for a career as composer, pianist and teacher. He wrote a number of other works for orchestra notably Southern Cross, Primavera and Maskerade.
 

Symphony No. 1 in A minor (1941-3)
Omri Hadari/Capetown Symphony Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 2 and Primavera)
CLAREMONT CD GSE 1509 (1990)

Symphony No. 2 "Sinfonia Ricercata" (1952)
( + Symphony No. 1 and Primavera)
CLAREMONT CD GSE 1509 (1990)

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RICHARD ARNELL
(b. 1917)

Born in London. Studied with John Ireland at the Royal College of Music. He lived in America from 1939 until 1946 when he returned home to take a teaching position at the Trinity College of Music. He composed in most genres from opera to chamber music. His other numbered Symphonies as yet unrecorded (but apparently slated to be so) are: No. 1, Op. 31 (1943) and No. 6, Op. 113 "The Anvil" (1992-4). He also wrote a Symphony for Strings (1939) and a Sinfonia quasi variazioni, Op. 13 (1941) as well as 2 Piano Concertos and a Violin Concerto.
 
Symphony No. 2, Op. 33 "Rufus" (1942, rev. 1944)
Martin Yates/Royal Scottish National Orchestra
( + Piano Concerto {David Owen Norris - piano})
DUTTON EPOCH CDLX 7184 (2007)
 
Symphony No. 3, Op. 40 (1944-5)
Martin Yates/Royal Scottish National Orchestra
( + The New Age Overture)
DUTTON EPOCH CDLX 7161 (2006)

Symphony No. 4, Op. 52 (1948)
Martin Yates/Royal Scottish National Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 5)
DUTTON EPOCH CDLX 7194 (2007)


Symphony No. 5, Op. 77 (1955-7)
Martin Yates/Royal Scottish National Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 4)
DUTTON EPOCH CDLX 7194 (2007)

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ROBERT FARNON
(1917-2005)

Born in Toronto. He studied music privately and achieved great fame as a composer of light orchestral music and film scores as well as a conductor, arranger and trumpeter. His Symphonies were written when he was a young man and after some initial performances he did not want them played again in his lifetime. A 3rd Symphony also exists and there are plans for it to be recorded. His suite "Canadian Impressions" is his most famous extended work as it contains two of Farnon’s signature pieces "À la Claire Fontaine" and "Lake in the Woods."
 
Symphony No. 1 in D flat major (1941)
(scherzo movement only)
John Wilson/BBC Concert Orchestra
( + Symphony No. 2, Captain Horatio Hornblower – film suite and light orchestral works)
DUTTON EPOCH CDLX 7173 (2006)
 
Symphony No. 2 in B major "Ottawa" (1943)
John Wilson/BBC Concert Orchestra
( + Scherzo from Symphony No. 1, Captain Horatio Hornblower – film suite and light orchestral works)
DUTTON EPOCH CDLX 7173 (2006)

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JOHN GARDNER
(b. 1917)

Born in Manchester. He studied composition with R.O. Morris at Oxford. After World War II he joined the staff of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden amd then held teaching posts at Morley College, the Royal Academy of Music and the St. Paul’s Girls’ School. His composition career began with a performance of his 1st Symphony and since then he has compiled a large catalogue ranging from opera to chamber music. His larger works for orchestra includes Symphony No. 2 in E flat major (1985), 2 Piano Concertos and Concertos for Trumpet and Oboe.
 
Symphony No. 1 in D minor, Op. 12 (1946-7)
David Lloyd-Jones/Royal Scottish National Orchestra
( + Piano Concerto No. 1 {Peter Donohoe – piano} and Midsummer Ale Overture
NAXOS 8.570406 (2007)
 
Symphony No. 3 in E minor, Op. 189 (1989)
Gavin Sutherland/Royal Ballet Sinfonia
( + Sinfonia Piccola, Half Holiday Overure, Flute Concerto {Jennifer Stinton – flute}, Prelude for Strings and Irish Suite)
ASV WHITE LINE WHL 2125 (2000)
 
Sinfonia Piccola for Strings, Op. 47 (1960)
Gavin Sutherland/Royal Ballet Sinfonia
( + Symphony No. 3, Half Holiday Overure, Flute Concerto {Jennifer Stinton – flute}, Prelude for Strings and Irish Suite)
ASV WHITE LINE WHL 2125 (2000)

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OSKAR MORAWETZ
(1917-2007)

Born in Svetla, Czechoslovakia. He had his musical training with Jaroslav Krícka in Prague, Julius Isserlis in Vienna and Lazare Lévy in Paris. Nazism necessitated his emigration to Canada in 1942 where he completed his musical education at the University of Toronto. In addition to composing, he had a distinguished teaching career at the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto and the University of Toronto. His Symphony No. 1 (1950-3 )has movements that can be played as independent works and he also wrote a Sinfonietta for Strings (1963) as well as Concertos for Piano, Harp and Clarinet.


Symphony No. 2 (1959)
Jean Deslauriers/Toronto Symphony Orchestra
( + Weinzweig: Piano Concerto and Symonds: The Nameless Hour)
CBC BR SM-104 (LP) (1969)


Sinfonietta for Winds and Percussion (1965)
Jean Deslauriers/Ensembles d'Instruments à Vent de Montréal
( + Weinzweig: Divertimento No. 5 and Morel: Prismes-Anamorphoses)
RADIO CANADA INTERNATIONAL RCI-292 (LP) (1969)

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JAMES PENBERTHY
(1917-1999)

Born in Melbourne. He had his early musical training at the Universities of Western Australia and Melbourne and then became a teacher. He later studied composition in Paris with Nadia Boulanger and conducting with John Barbirolli in London.
He composed prolifically in all genres with a special emphasis on ballet and opera. He wrote 9 Symphonies. The unrecorded Symphonies are: No. 1 in G minor (1950), No. 2 (1953), No. 3 "Uranus" (1955-6), No. 4 "Under the Sea" (1960), No. 5 "West Coast Pictures" (1961), No. 7 "Little Symphony", No. 8 "Choral" (1972) and No. 9 "Sydney" (1982). There is also a Symphony with the title "Boomerang, a Symphony for Brass Band and more than a dozen Concertos for various instruments

 
Symphony No. 6 "The Earth Mother" (1972)
Thomas Mayer/West Australian Symphony Orchestra
( + Dvořak: Hero’s Song)
ABC RRCS-146 (non-commercial LP) (1975)

Thomas Mayer/West Australian Symphony Orchestra
( + The Beach Inspector and the Mermaid)
Philips 6508 002 (LP) (1972)

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ARCHIBALD J. POTTER
(1918-1980)

Born in Belfast but brought up in Kent. He studied composition at the Royal College of Music with Ralph Vaughan Williams, After service in World War II, he relocated to Dublin where he became a professor of music at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in 1955. His large output included music for the theater and many works for various instrumental genres. His other works for orchestra include a Symphony No. 2 (1976), a Concerto da Chiesa for Piano and Orchestra and a Concerto for Orchestra.
 
Symphony No. 1 "Sinfonia de Profundis" (1968)
Robert Houlihan/National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland
( + Finnegan’s Wake, Fantasia Gaelach No. 1 and Overture to a Kitchen Comedy)
MARCO POLO 8.225158 (2001)

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GEOFFREY BUSH
(1920-1998)

Born in London. He studied privately with John Ireland and then completed his musical education at Oxford. His musical career was divided between composing, teaching, music editing, working for the BBC and promoting the cause of British music His compositions range from opera to chamber music. Some of his other orchestral works are a Sinfonietta Concertante for Cello and Orchestra (1943), Oboe Concerto, Music for Orchestra and Concerto for Light Orchestra.