If you'll allow me to revive this thread...
Someone recently saw me posting in the Listening Thread about my listening to Lloyd's Fifth Symphony. In fact, I had listened to it twice consecutively (along with the Fourth). And whoever it was, they said they were glad I was growing to be a fan of this composer, or discovering his music, or some such thing. That was not the case.
In September 2008, Hurricane Ike besieged Houston. My college had all its students move back on campus into shelters for the hurricane, and we stayed in the cafeteria while the storm raged outside. I spent a long night watching the gale-force winds and rain attack our building, and at about 2 a.m. fired up my iPod and listened to two pieces of music. Bruckner's Seventh Symphony (accidentally fell asleep through the adagio: the only sleep I got that stormy night) and George Lloyd's Fifth Symphony.
Since then I listen to Lloyd's Fifth about once per year. That's not much, but it's enough for the music to stay with me. A symphony that truly contains everything: pastoralism, anger, lyricism, heartbreak, a happy ending. It's sort of the platonic ideal of the Late Romantic Symphony, with, as Sean says repeatedly in this thread, a complex first movement, as well as a passionate romantic slow movement (what a complex of melodies) and inspiring finale. It's rather much, in its hour of chromatic drama. The piece strikes me as romanticism in desperate search of modernistic credentials. An old-fashioned composer, it always sounds like, jumping on the bandwagon to sound like a new composer. And yet, in the face of the triumphal finale and its explosion of tunes and splashy brass parts, you can't help but resist.
Naxos Music Library finally uploaded the Downes/Lyrita box set of Symphonies 4, 5, and 8. No. 4 strikes me as a similarly masterful, even great symphony. But despite 6 years of love for George Lloyd's Fifth, I still haven't had opportunity to properly explore a single one of his other works. Until the time (and recommendations!) arrive(s), it remains, all by itself, on a short list of my favorite pieces forgotten by time, critics, and even GMG. This forum does a great job remembering great old composers who aren't remembered anywhere else. And maybe I'm complicit, because I've always remembered Lloyd's Fifth as a complete symphony, even a perfect symphony, without knowing any of his other music.
I hope somebody will tell me that some of his other works are even better. But if they aren't, well, one masterpiece is enough for anybody.
This thread is an interesting read, but nobody really describes the music, or explains how one work is different from the others, so I'm not sure where to go next. Anybody want to help?