Early 20th C. English Composers - Favorite Works?

[SonicMan]

Over the last 10 yrs or so, I've become more acquainted w/ English composers writing in the late 19th century into the middle or latter part of the 20th century, and have enjoyed (and now own) many of their compositions, both chamber & orchestral works.  Listed below are 16 such composers selected from a Wikipedia category.  Certainly more could be included, and the better known & earlier composers, such as Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Delius, Holst, Grainger, et al, are not in the list.

So, for those interested in this period of English music, please post some of your favorite (or favourite) works by these composers (or others w/i the time frame that are not included on the list) - any specific recommendations would be appreciated by all.  Thanks. 

• Addinsell, Richard (1904-77)
• Alwyn, William (1905-85)
• Arnold, Malcolm (1921-Present)
• Bantock, Granville (1868-1946)
• Bax, Arnold (1883-1953)
• Bliss, Arthur (1891-1975)
• Bridge, Frank (1879-1941)
• Britten, Benjamin (1913-76)
• Finzi, Gerald (1901-56)
• Frankel, Benjamin (1906-73)
• Howells, Herbert (1892-1983)
• Ireland, John (1879-1962)
• Lambert, Constant (1905-51)
• Rubbra, Edmund (1901-86)
• Tippett, Michael (1905-98)
• Walton, William (1902-83)

[weirdears]

Of the one's I'm familiar with here's what I like:


Arnold, Malcolm (1921-Present) Almost all of the symphonies, with a special love for the 6th

Bridge, Frank (1879-1941) The only thing I can claim to have heard is the Sea and the Piano Quintet (or is it quartet)...i remember liking it, but not much more. I should fix that sometime.

Britten, Benjamin (1913-76) The list is long...opera including Grimes, Glorianna, Billy Budd, Turn of the Screw and Midsummer Night's Dream. I love the Church Parables as well though I think them an aquired taste. The Orchestral song cycles, particularly Nocturn, War Requiem, Missa Brevis, Cello Sonata, Third Quartet, Sinfonia da Requiem, song cycles particularly Winter Words.

Finzi, Gerald (1901-56) I like most everything I've heard but particularly the Clarinet Concerto and the Eclogue.

Frankel, Benjamin (1906-73) He's a new one on me, but his 2nd and 4th symphonies have mightily impressed me.

Howells, Herbert (1892-1983) Like as the Hart is perhaps the most beautiful choral anthem I know. Also love the Requiem. Because of that I also like it's inflation...the Hymnus Paradisium, though not quite as much as the stripped down Requiem.

Rubbra, Edmond (1901-86) The Symphonies all impress me but I like No. 9 best.

Tippett, Michael (1905-98) Another one with alot of entries for me. The Double Concerto saved my life once quite literally, The Corelli Fantasy, Midsummer Marriage and King Priam (don't like the other operas as much) Symphonies 2 and 4, The Piano Concerto, Concerto for Orchestra, Triple Concerto, the Rose Lake, Visions of St. Augustine (which grew on me) The Mask of Time.

Walton, William (1902-83) Symphonies, particularly No 3. Cello Concerto. Fascade. And Troilus and Cressida....what I remember of it.


Brian should have been included I think....and that would get the Symphony No. 1 for me unequivocally....and perhaps the Violin Concerto. I like other Brain works, but not quite as much.

Also...Humphrey Searle, though he's often considered a later composer....still if Frankel's there Searle should be as well. I like the Symphonies I've heard but I haven't heard that much yet.

I suppose Simpson's not included as he's primarily an "after the war" composer?

[SonicMan]

Of the one's I'm familiar with here's what I like:....................................... ....

Chris,

Thanks for your excellent (and numerous) listings  - I have a number of these recordings, but will certainly explore others mentioned.

To start adding a few of the CDs (will add more later) that I currently enjoy are the two below, which are compilations of a number of the composers listed previously.  Thea King on clarinet playing mainly Arnold & Britten concertos; and another multiple composers CD, including George Butterworth (1885-1916), who was not included - killed by a sniper in WWI.

 

[Don]

I don't feel like citing specific works, but I have become quite enamored of early 20th century British music in recent years.  I love those works that are reminescent of the English countryside, and the more demanding works are also compelling.  British composers, contrary to common and uninformed opinion, do share their emotions with us; it just doesn't tend to be of the 'over the top' variety.

[jbuck919]

Brahms was offered an honorary degree by Cambridge.  I've heard a couple of versions of why he refused.  He was just a seasick man or, more likely, he said "England is a country without music." 

I don't exactly believe that England is a country without music, but it is a country with precious few serious composers that has pumped itself up on the basis of its well--known talent for self-promotion.   (Nothing that Salzburg tries to market on from Mozart comparest with what England has tried to do with Newton or Nelson).  Elgar wrote a violin concerto that is a masterpiece.  Then.....

[SonicMan]

I don't feel like citing specific works, but I have become quite enamored of early 20th century British music in recent years.  I love those works that are reminescent of the English countryside, and the more demanding works are also compelling.  British composers, contrary to common and uninformed opinion, do share their emotions with us; it just doesn't tend to be of the 'over the top' variety.

Don - exactly how I feel - in fact, I was about to use the word enamored in my initial post - the Penguin & Gramophone guides (despite their prejudices & biases) led me to purchasing many of these British composers from this era - have much now & just would like to have more.  This was just a glorious cornucopia of musical output occurring after the great successes of Edward Elgar & Ralph Vaughan Williams.  

English music was superlative during the Renaissance, peaked in the Baroque w/ Purcell, then Handel 'moved to town' - I love Handel, but he seem to have stifled English composing for more than a century after his death.  

But, even if there are several composers you really enjoy more than others or specific pieces, please add your recommendations - a few at a time will turn into many.  Thanks for your comments.

[Swanibs]

I don't know a great deal of the British composers, but from what I've heard, I like most of them.

Berkeley, Lennox - Concertino for Flute, Violin, Cello and Piano; Sonatina for Violin and Piano etc.
Bliss, Arthur - Piano Concerto; Concerto for Two Pianos; A Colour Symphony; Quintet etc.
Bridge, Frank - Piano Sonata
Britten, Benjamin - Piano and Violin Concertos; Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings; War Requiem; Simple Symphony etc.
Ferguson, Howard - Piano Concerto; Piano Sonata
Finzi, Gerald  - Lo, the Full, Final Sacrifice (a choral anthem); Ecologue; Clarinet Concerto
Howells, Herbert - Requiem; Like as a Hart
Tippett, Michael - Piano Concerto; A Child of Our Time; Double Concerto; Concerto for Orchestra; The Piano Sonatas
Walton, William - Belssharzar's Feast; Viola Concerto; Violin Concerto

Check out the "20th Century British Music" series on Naxos. You will discover a great deal.
Peter Donohoe's "British Piano Concertos" series is great too.

[Don]

Don - exactly how I feel - in fact, I was about to use the word enamored in my initial post - the Penguin & Gramophone guides (despite their prejudices & biases) led me to purchasing many of these British composers from this era - have much now & just would like to have more.  This was just a glorious cornucopia of musical output occurring after the great successes of Edward Elgar & Ralph Vaughan Williams.  

English music was superlative during the Renaissance, peaked in the Baroque w/ Purcell, then Handel 'moved to town' - I love Handel, but he seem to have stifled English composing for more than a century after his death.  

But, even if there are several composers you really enjoy more than others or specific pieces, please add your recommendations - a few at a time will turn into many.  Thanks for your comments.

Here's one recommendation - Lennox Berkeley's Six Preludes for Piano, Op. 23.  These are fantastic pieces I can't get enough of.  Gorgeous melodies mixed with driving rhythms.  It's on a Chandos disc of his piano music performed by Margaret Fingerhut and a Naxos disc having a mix of solo piano and chamber music.  Fingerhut tends to be a comforting and lyrical artist, so her drive isn't at peak levels.  However, the Naxos performances have all the drive but less beauty.

[SonicMan]

I don't know a great deal of the British composers, but from what I've heard, I like most of them.
....................................... ..

Swanibs - First, welcome to the forum!    Second, thanks for the additional recommendations - you seem to know quite a bit about this era of British music and your input just adds to the present offerings.

[sound67]

• Addinsell, Richard (1904-77)
+++ "A dilettante" (M. Rózsa, fellow film composer). He "wrote" film music of a light and simple character, "Goodbye Mr Chips" has a nice theme. But he's no serious composer of the screen, let alone the concert stage.


• Alwyn, William (1905-85)
+++ The harp concerto "Lyra Angelica", the Fourth Symphony, and the Sinfonietta for Strings.


• Arnold, Malcolm (1921-Present)
+++ The symphonies 6-8 are probably his greatest works.


• Bantock, Granville (1868-1946)
+++ The "Hebridean Symphony" and the "Celtic Symphony"


• Bax, Arnold (1883-1953)
+++ Symphonies 1, 2 & 6, Tintagel, The Garden of Fand, November Woods. "Winter Legends"


• Bliss, Arthur (1891-1975)
+++ A Colour Symphony, Rout, Checkmate, Conversations.


• Bridge, Frank (1879-1941)
+++ Oration (Cello Concerto), Enter Spring, The Sea, Phantasm for Piano and Orchestra, the string quartets


• Britten, Benjamin (1913-76)
+++ The operas "Peter Grimes", "Billy Budd" & "The Turn of the Screw". The "Sinfonia da Requiem".


• Finzi, Gerald (1901-56)
+++ The Clarinet Concerto, the Cello Concerto.


• Frankel, Benjamin (1906-73)
+++ The Violin & Viola Concertos, the film score "Battle of the Bulge"


• Howells, Herbert (1892-1983)
+++ The Requiem


• Ireland, John (1879-1962)
+++ The Piano Concerto, the solo piano works


• Lambert, Constant (1905-51)
+++ The Rio Grande, the Concerto for Piano and Nine Players


• Rubbra, Edmond (1901-86)
+++ The middle symphonies, the Violin Concerto, the Viola Concerto.


• Tippett, Michael (1905-98)
+++ A Midsummer Night's Marriage, the symphonies, the string quartets, "A Child of Our Time"


• Walton, William (1902-83)
+++ The 1st Symphony, the Violin Concerto, the Viola Concerto, the film scores, the Sinfonia Concertante for Piano and Orchestra, "Belshazzar's Feast"

Thomas

[Xantus' Murrelet]

First: isn't it Edmund Rubbra, not Edmond ? (it is according to Google).

Addinsell - I have only heard that little 'Warsaw Concerto' of his. Not a huge fan. :/

Rubbra - The 9th symphony is indeed very interesting. The others I don't know enough to comment.

Bantock - Sappho is very nice, but nothing extraordinary. I have yet to hear more.


Some not yet mentioned:

I have heard radio broadcasts of two very nice pieces by Charles Hubert Parry (1848-1918) :

The Violin Sonata, and English Suite. I do not recall much, except a rather polished and reserved but attractive soundworld.

Parry's 5 symphonies are also probably worth exploring (I have yet to actually hear them).


Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979) deserves some mention for her very imaginative Viola Sonata (1919), as well as a wonderful piece for viola and piano - Morpheus (1918). Does anyone know more of her music?

[Gurn_Blanston]

Sonic,
Nice thread, and a good idea since these guys are mostly strangers to me.    Other than a disk of chamber works by Rutland Boughton, and the Elgar Violin and Cello Concerti, my only other entrants are RVW's lovely "Lark Ascending" and Britten's Piano Concerto, which is fine, but rivals Mozart for the title "too many notes!"   I hope to learn a lot here, and maybe open up a new avenue or two, so Don won't have me so pegged down...

[SonicMan]

First: isn't it Edmund Rubbra, not Edmond ? (it is according to Google).

Some not yet mentioned:

I have heard radio broadcasts of two very nice pieces by Charles Hubert Parry (1848-1918) :

The Violin Sonata, and English Suite. I do not recall much, except a rather polished and reserved but attractive soundworld.

Parry's 5 symphonies are also probably worth exploring (I have yet to actually hear them).


Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979) deserves some mention for her very imaginative Viola Sonata (1919), as well as a wonderful piece for viola and piano - Morpheus (1918). Does anyone know more of her music?

Xantus - thanks for pointing out the Edmund (Rubbra) typo - my fault (typed in a lot of names quickly) - I edited the original post w/ that correction - just for the record  .

Also, glad that you brought up the women - none listed in my original post, so please add those that may be of interest for this period - I recently acquired an Amy Beach CD and was enthralled w/ her music - would like to explore more female composers, both American & European, from this time period - any suggestions always appreciated.  Thanks, in advance. 

[Don]

Sonic,
Nice thread, and a good idea since these guys are mostly strangers to me.    Other than a disk of chamber works by Rutland Boughton, and the Elgar Violin and Cello Concerti, my only other entrants are RVW's lovely "Lark Ascending" and Britten's Piano Concerto, which is fine, but rivals Mozart for the title "too many notes!"   I hope to learn a lot here, and maybe open up a new avenue or two, so Don won't have me so pegged down...

Nothing wrong with being our Classical era man.  It's a rich period, and it seems that a year doesn't go by that at least a few obscure composers and works come to light.

[SonicMan]

• Addinsell, Richard (1904-77)
+++ "A dilettante" (M. Rózsa, fellow film composer). He "wrote" film music of a light and simple character, "Goodbye Mr Chips" has a nice theme. But he's no serious composer of the screen, let alone the concert stage.


• Alwyn, William (1905-85)
+++ The harp concerto "Lyra Angelica", the Fourth Symphony, and the Sinfonietta for Strings.


• Arnold, Malcolm (1921-Present)
+++ The symphonies 6-8 are probably his greatest works.


• Bantock, Granville (1868-1946)
+++ The "Hebridean Symphony" and the "Celtic Symphony"


• Bax, Arnold (1883-1953)
+++ Symphonies 1, 2 & 6, Tintagel, The Garden of Fand, November Woods. "Winter Legends"


• Bliss, Arthur (1891-1975)
+++ A Colour Symphony, Rout, Checkmate, Conversations.


• Bridge, Frank (1879-1941)
+++ Oration (Cello Concerto), Enter Spring, The Sea, Phantasm for Piano and Orchestra, the string quartets


• Britten, Benjamin (1913-76)
+++ The operas "Peter Grimes", "Billy Budd" & "The Turn of the Screw". The "Sinfonia da Requiem".


• Finzi, Gerald (1901-56)
+++ The Clarinet Concerto, the Cello Concerto.


• Frankel, Benjamin (1906-73)
+++ The Violin & Viola Concertos, the film score "Battle of the Bulge"


• Howells, Herbert (1892-1983)
+++ The Requiem


• Ireland, John (1879-1962)
+++ The Piano Concerto, the solo piano works


• Lambert, Constant (1905-51)
+++ The Rio Grande, the Concerto for Piano and Nine Players


• Rubbra, Edmond (1901-86)
+++ The middle symphonies, the Violin Concerto, the Viola Concerto.


• Tippett, Michael (1905-98)
+++ A Midsummer Night's Marriage, the symphonies, the string quartets, "A Child of Our Time"


• Walton, William (1902-83)
+++ The 1st Symphony, the Violin Concerto, the Viola Concerto, the film scores, the Sinfonia Concertante for Piano and Orchestra, "Belshazzar's Feast"

Thomas

Thomas - as a Newbie (and welcome  ), you also seem to have a wealth of knowledge about this music - thanks for your input, and hope you will continue to be a part of this great forum.  BTW - I'll be exploring your suggestions, so keep them coming our way.