R.O. Morris(1886-1948)

[Dundonnell]

R.O. (Reginald Owen) Morris was one of the most influential teachers of British composers during the first half of the 20th century. He was Professor of Counterpoint and Composition at the Royal College of Music and wrote many important textbooks on thse subjects. His pupils included Tippett, Rubbra, Finzi and Lambert.

He was also however a composer. When Toccata Classics was set up Martin Anderson indicated the intention of recording all of Morris's compositions or that he already had recordings made by a Russian orchestra conducted by Gary Brain-different sources give alternative versions of the actual situation

When I spoke to Martin Anderson about this some months ago he responded by implying that he had forgotten about the tapes and was not sure of the quality of either the performances(which he had originally described as "sparkling") or the recordings.

Music teachers do not necessarily make good composers but it would be more than interesting if we could get the opportunity to judge for ourselves

[eschiss1]

oh, agreed.

[Mykulh]

I also spoke to Martin Anderson a while back, and he told me as well  that the performances were not really good enough. However, he also said that he hoped to try again with these works. Come on Martin, R.O. Morris is an important transition between two generations of British symphonic composers and some of his works in this form should be heard.

[vandermolen]

Yes, I agree. The Symphony by Robin Milford is also one I'd love to hear. His 'Fishing by Moonlight' Hyperion CD is a favourite and very nice for late night listening.

[Dundonnell]

I also spoke to Martin Anderson a while back, and he told me as well  that the performances were not really good enough. However, he also said that he hoped to try again with these works. Come on Martin, R.O. Morris is an important transition between two generations of British symphonic composers and some of his works in this form should be heard.

Can I also take this opportunity of offering you my very warmest congratulations on the absolutely fantastic discographies you have added to Musicweb.
They are an invaluable source of information and I have recommended them repeatedly online

[Mykulh]

Many thanks for these nice words. My newest effort, "American Symphonies on CDs and LPs" will appear shortly on Music Web International. I hope to complete the Symphonies series with "Asian Symphoniies" in the very near future.

Michael

[Martin Anderson]

Just to make things clear re the R. O. Morris recordings: the initial snippets I heard (way back in 2004, I think) did indeed sound sparkling, but when I heard the longer takes it was clear the standard wasn't good enough to release. I would indeed like to revive the series elsewhere but don't want to take it away from the conductor who already invested so much effort into the project, and he is currently recovering from a series of operations. So as soon as all the elements are back in place (not least dosh!), off we go again.
Cheers
Martin

[Alan Howe]

Thanks for the update, Martin.

[erato]

Just to make things clear re the R. O. Morris recordings: the initial snippets I heard (way back in 2004, I think) did indeed sound sparkling, but when I heard the longer takes it was clear the standard wasn't good enough to release. I would indeed like to revive the series elsewhere but don't want to take it away from the conductor who already invested so much effort into the project, and he is currently recovering from a series of operations. So as soon as all the elements are back in place (not least dosh!), off we go again.
Cheers
Martin

Ah, so it's James Levine!

[Dundonnell]

Thanks, Martin for that reply

The situation is certainly now clarified. Good luck for your future endeavours with Morris

[eschiss1]

Re the forthcoming article on American Symphonies on CDs and LPs, information on that LP (or was it an LP?) of Creston's 1st symphony (not I _think_ very easy to find but apparently it was around - made in the 1950s?) will be welcome...

[matesic]

It seems the R.O.Morris trail went cold in 2011. Maybe the recent appearance of his G minor violin concerto on IMSLP will warm things up again. Judging from the quality of two of his six Canzoni Ricertati recorded by the Lindsays back in 1997 it should certainly be worth some young fiddler's time to investigate

[semloh]

I think this thread probably dates back to the period before we restricted UC to the strictly 'romantic' genre as defined on the home page, and I wonder if RO Morris's music now lies outside our remit. Not easy to say, since there's no performance available, and I can't find anything to indicate his style. Any ideas, anyone?

[Alan Howe]

Here's a report on Morris' three-movement Symphony in D of 1934:

Amongst his works are a Symphony in D of 1934, first performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Adrian Boult in a broadcast on 1st January 1934 as the first of a series of Six Concerts of British Music broadcast on the BBC National Programme. Adeleine Vaughan Williams wrote to a friend about the performance:

<<Morris's Symph came through perfectly - It sounded very distinguished to me - The 1st movement just slightly like R's [Vaughan Williams] 'Pastoral' in sound. The 2nd movement very delicate & curious, the last more rhythmic & perhaps the most attractive - I think the end of it all might have been more emotional - R liked it very much - but says the form is a bit too clear for the emotional content & that Adrian [Boult] didn't put enough passion into it - & never really got inside it - but certainly it was marvellously clear to follow - good applause from [Queen's Hall] which was a good half full- which was remarkable considering the fog. Everyone who had a wireless must have listened in with pleasure - Morris is such a good broadcaster - his scoring so clear.>>

https://www.warcomposers.co.uk/morris

[semloh]

Thanks for that, Alan.
BBC under Sir Adrian - sounds good to me. Adeleine VW's comments suggest a symphony that we should still be hearing in the concert hall - fog notwithstanding!