Walter Cecil Macfarren (1826-1905) - orchestral works

Started by albion, Saturday 12 May 2012, 10:33

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albion

As a composer, Walter Macfarren was much less ambitious and productive than his brother, George Alexander: there are no large-scale choral or dramatic works, and his orchestral music falls into two widely-separated periods of activity. Instead he was chiefly concerned with teaching (and writing for) the piano, besides having some prominence as a conductor. His inclusion in Hyperion's Romantic Piano Concerto series was a very welcome surprise. Dates are generally as given in his autobiography, published in 1905.

1845 - Blue Beard, overture (Royal Academy of Music, London, 1845)
           A Winter's Tale, overture
           Othello, overture [No.1]
           Piano Concerto in B minor [lost]
1846 - Beppo, overture
1847 - The Taming of the Shrew, overture
1878 - Pastoral Overture in A (Brighton Festival, February 1878)
           Hero and Leander, overture (Bristol, 1878; Brighton Festival, February 1879)
1879-80 - Symphony in B flat (Brighton Festival, 24th February 1880)
1880 - Concertstück in E, for piano and orchestra (Brighton Festival, 25th February 1881)
1881 - King Henry V, overture (Brighton Festival, 25th February 1881)
1895 - Othello, overture [No.2] (Stock Exchange Orchestral Society, Queen's Hall, London, 18th February 1896)


Commercial recording -

Concertstück in E, for piano and orchestra (Hyperion CDA67720)