Symphonies by Cowen and Coleridge Taylor

[Mark Thomas]

Welcome Lionel! The basic problem is that the old "big" labels are making few, if any, recordings and so the chance of a conductor of Beecham's stature, who is interested in this repertoire and has an orchestra of the requisite quality, recording an unsung is virtually nil.

Chandos and Hyperion do a great job with first class orchestras, conductors and soloists but otherwise, unless a work is lucky enough to attract the attention of Naxos or cpo (a special case because of the whole German music scene) it will be recorded by a very small label, with funds only for a small regional orchestra and a competent and intelligent, but not well known conductor. Often the orchestras number under 50. CDs in this market do well if they sell 2,000 copies, so the finances are very tight and the conductors and soloists make the recordings to further their career and exposure, not for the money. Luckily, there have been some truly excellent recordings made by small labels - Sterling comes to mind obviously.

[Gareth Vaughan]

I would particularly like to hear his 4th,although I somehow doubt that there is anything particularly Welsh about it.

Unfortunately, there is nothing Welsh about the so-called Cambrian symphony, and I must also report, having seen the score, that IMHO it is the dullest of his extant symphonies.

[parkermusic]

I would particularly like to hear his 4th,although I somehow doubt that there is anything particularly Welsh about it.

Unfortunately, there is nothing Welsh about the so-called Cambrian symphony, and I must also report, having seen the score, that IMHO it is the dullest of his extant symphonies.

I have to agree, the score of the 'Welsh', does look rather bland and certainly appears to be the dullest of symphonies 3-6. The story of the 'Welsh'/'Cambrian' title is a little confused too. It appears Cowen didn't personally give the attribution, although he had spent some time in Wales where the inspiration for the symphony came from...I think I would still like to hear a performance or recording to prove its standing though...