Grace Williams (1906-1977)

[albion]

For me, one of the most valuable of recent additions to the broadcast archive has been the Symphony No.1 by Grace Williams - the work is a fantastic addition to our knowledge of this wonderful composer of attractive and colourful music.   

In August 2006 she was Composer of the Week on Radio 3 and I would dearly love to add the following broadcasts:

Violin Concerto
Matthew Trusler, violin/ BBC NOW/ Jason Lai (br. 14/8/2006)

Elegy
BBC SO/ Baldur Bronimann (br. 18/8/2006)

I wonder if there are any members with high-quality copies of these?   

[eschiss1]

hope so. I think I first heard her music on the radio in Michigan (at Interlochen - did food service work one summer there) and have heard at least her Sea Sketches, Penillion and Fantasia. Very good music.

[alberto]

In my very limited knowledge, I can share praise for Grace Williams.
In 1978 I attended in London a "Prom"(not the only one) featuring:
-G.Williams Fantasia on Welsh Nursey Tunes
-M.Ravel Le Tombeau de Couperin
-F.Poulenc Concerto fot two pianos (Bracha and Tamir, soloists)
-R.Vaughan Williams Fourth Symphony
B.Brott conducted the Welsh B.B.C. Orch.
(By the way it was a very good program, certainly  not "mainstream").
I understand (just today) that is possible a download of the Fantasia in a performance released by Marco Polo.
Many years later I've got B.B.C. Music recording (vol.15 n.3) of the impressive Ballads for orchestra (B.Bronniman, B.B.C. Symph.). 

[alberto]

Sorry. In Poulenc the soloists were Bracha Eden and Alexander Tamir.

[Pengelli]

I totally agree with you Albion. It has been fantastic to be able to listen to more of Grace Williams output. Also,the two Daniel Jones symphonies.........so far. With a bit of luck the others may finally find their way here. His symphony No 5 is supposed to be one of his best. What a pity one of my favourite conductors,the grossly underrated Bryden Thomson, was never able to record a cycle for commercial release.

And what about David Wynne?
  Another Welsh composer,even more neglected than the above, is David Wynne (1900-1983). A composer of numerous works including some symphonies,yet where are the recordings???!!! Although,according to Dr David Wright, 'Evening shadows' (1971),"an example of the very best of British song cycles",was included on a 1974 Argo Lp sung byJanet Price! 
  His Symphony No 3 from 1963,inspired by Caerphilly Castle was conducted by Bryden Thomson & broadcast on the radio. If anyone has a tape anywhere it would make a valuable addition to this glorious archive. And on a purely selfish level, I'd just love to hear it!
  I note that his Symphony No 2  was conducted,for the first time, in 1956 by Hermann Scherchen!
If anyone doesn't know about this very interesting sounding composer,David Wright has a very interesting article about him at wrightmusic.net,along with allot of other intriguing stuff.

[Pengelli]

NB I should have made it clear that Wynne's 3rd symphony was actually premiered by Charles Groves.

[albion]

the grossly underrated Bryden Thomson

Absolutely! Bryden Thomson was second only to Vernon Handley in his consistent promotion of British music (mainly concentrating on the later twentieth-century) - if we had his radio broadcasts comprehensively represented on disc the range of his repertoire and the consistently high standard he achieved across that repertoire would be truly astounding. It is a tragedy that so little has made it to CD, with the honourable exceptions of some recordings licensed by Lyrita. Certainly it would be fitting if this truly excellent conductor was more widely acknowledged - perhaps by the issue of the entire cycle of the Daniel Jones symphonies, conducted with love, care and great authority.

Definitely a composer's conductor, Thomson never let any trace of ego cloud his readings and always strove to get the best out of any score. Had he not died relatively young, he would, no doubt, have made more recordings for Chandos - as it is, what he did record commercially is very special (in particular much of his Bax traversal, the Martinu and Nielsen Symphonies and the Hamilton Harty survey).

Certainly any recordings of major works by David Wynne would be most welsome over at BMB, particularly the 3rd Symphony with Thomson conducting the BBC Welsh SO broadcast in August 1981.