George Lloyd, anyone?

[albion]

when the Lloyd symphonies were issued on disc the critics were (predictably) sniffy about such "old-fashioned music".

The New York Times (28th November, 1982) was unexpectedly positive when the Lyrita LPs first came out -

George Lloyd's Symphony No. 5 (SRCS 124) and Symphony No. 8 (SRCS 113) are performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra under Edward Downes. The composer, born in 1913, has had a constantly interrupted career because of shellshock in World War II and subsequent spells of poor health. Yet he has managed to write a surprising number of largescale works, and the two symphonies here have a high quantity of energy and excitement. The style is unabashed 19th-century Romanticism; the technique, accomplished.

[Dundonnell]

Ok...I checked my tape recordings:

Symphony No.5 is done by the Philharmonia/Sir Edward Downes   so that could be the performance which was recorded by Lyrita.

Symphony No.6 is done by the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra/Sir Edward Downes......so that performance would be ok for uploading.

Symphony No.7 is missing the first ten minutes    so we should forget it

I can upload Symphony No.6 if it that is required.

[albion]

Symphony No.6 is done by the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra/Sir Edward Downes......so that performance would be ok for uploading.

There's certainly no harm in making an alternative to the Albany performance available, especially since Downes did not commercially record the 6th for Lyrita.

[semloh]

when the Lloyd symphonies were issued on disc the critics were (predictably) sniffy about such "old-fashioned music".

The New York Times (28th November, 1982) was unexpectedly positive when the Lyrita LPs first came out -

Yes, my memory isn't great, but I have the impression of being pleasantly surprised by the generally positive reception his work received. But maybe that's because I love Lloyd's music and quickly cast aside the "sniffy" reviews!

It's amusing for me to think that when the symphonies were broadcast on Radio 3 all those years ago, you and I - two Colins - were simultaneously turning on our reel-to-reel tape recorders, and now here we are, in contact in 2011 on opposite sides of the world.  Life is pretty amazing!

According to my records, these were the first radio broadcast of the 5th, and the premiere of the 6th.

[Dundonnell]

Clearly, if one lives long enough everything comes together

[Mark Thomas]

Colin, I for one would be very interested in Lloyd's Sixth, thanks.

[Dundonnell]

I shall certainly upload it, Mark

[semloh]

I have 5, 6, 8 & 11 on cassette - I'll check the provenance. I hope they're not the Albanys.

My new (2nd hand) cassette deck should arrive soon    ...and then I'll be 'in business'!   
I've also found the R2R - now to find the boxes of tapes!

[Mark Thomas]

I shall certainly upload it, Mark

Thanks, Colin.

[Jimfin]

I've loved Lloyd since my teens and was lucky enough to have corresponded with him. Recently I reacquainted myself with the symphonies and discovered the glorious concertos and choral music. The Requiem and the Cello concerto are amazing for a man in his mid-eighties. The former uses only an organ, not orchestra, yet sounds as full as Faure or Verdi (with a slight hint of African choral singing in the harmonies) and the latter deserves to stand beside the Elgar as a romantic concerto. However, despite all the recordings, Lloyd's reputation seems to sit only on Amazon: I never see his CDs in Tower Records (unlike, say Havergal Brian, who has his own named section in my local branch), and I think people are *still* embarrassed about liking him. I can only hope for a recording of 'The Serf'

[albion]

I'd also like to hear complete performances of The Serf (1938) and John Socman (1951) too - the highlights disc of the latter gave a good impression of the work. Iernin (1934) was very fortunate in obtaining the studio broadcast later issued by Albany - not a perfectly integrated work stylistically by any means, but with some really lovely writing making it easy to understand why it was a popular and critical success on it's first staging at the Lyceum in 1935.

[Jimfin]

Yes, the 'John Socman' release was great, in that clearly some budget-maker had decreed that it could only be given one disc, so they filled that disc to capacity, wisely omitting the overture, since it is available elsewhere. So few recording companies seem to realise that recording an orchestral 'suite' from an opera gives little or no idea of its character, whereas sung highlights like these make us feel we have very nearly heard the work and can make some assessement of it.

[Mark Thomas]

sung highlights like these make us feel we have very nearly heard the work and can make some assessement of it

Good point. Opera Rara's highlights CDs are a case in point.

[albion]

That's also why the 1995 Britannia at the Opera broadcasts were such a success - the following episodes (minus the narration) are in the British music archive:

Edward Loder - Raymond and Agnes (1855)
Charles Villiers Stanford - The Travelling Companion (1916)
Joseph Holbrooke - Bronwen (1915-20)
Cyril Scott - The Alchemist (1917-18)
Arthur Bliss - The Olympians (1948)
Arthur Benjamin - A Tale of Two Cities (1950)

Another radio series along these lines would certainly not go amiss - sadly, these days, this is clearly beyond the realms of the possible.