The first 10 years of the 20th Century saw the birth of a generation of exceptionally fine British composers-Finzi and Rubbra(1901), Walton(1902), Lennox Berkeley(1903), Alwyn, Rawsthorne and Tippett(1905), Cooke and Frankel(1906), Maconchy and Grace Williams(1907), Wordsworth(1908), Orr(1909) and Still(1910). Few however have had their reputation so far eclipsed as the most senior of the generation, Alan Bush.
It is fascinating to re-read the chapter written by the distinguished British composer and musicologist, Hugh Wood, in the 1961 edition of the Pelican 'European Music in the Twentieth Century(ed.Howard Hartog). Wood dismissed composers like Vaughan Williams, Holst, Bliss, Walton and Malcolm Arnold with near contempt. Rubbra, Berkeley and Rawsthorne merited a paragraph each. Finzi, Cooke, Frankel, Richard Arnell, Robert Simpson were mentioned only in passing.
The composers on whom Wood lavished most attention were Tippett and Britten(not surprisingly!) but followed closely by extended discussion of composers like Elizabeth Lutyens, Humphrey Searle, Peter Racine Fricker, Iain Hamilton-each of whom had, at least, flirted with serialism.........and Alan Bush! In fact, Bush managed to merit two whole pages and Wood seemed to place him next behind Tippett and Britten among diatonic composers.
Part of the problem for Bush was that he was a convinced and committed Marxist who not only sympathised with the political left(as did some other British composers) but was a 'political composer' in so far as he wrote operas based on stories of 'class struggle'("Wat Tyler" and "Men of Blackmoor") and included a choral finale in his Piano Concerto(1937), a la Busoni, in which a male voice choir declaims a marxist text by the poet Randall Swingler. The concerto is 57 minutes long and was premiered in a performance conducted by Sir Adrian Boult(who must have conducted through gritted teeth ;D) ;D)
Bush wrote four symphonies. Nos. 1(1940) and 2 'The Nottingham Symphony'(1949) have been recorded by Classico Records in performances by the Royal Northern College of Music Symphony Orchestra conducted by Douglas Bostock which can best be described as 'worthy'. (This is the CD which Harry has recently been advertising in his posts ;D).
The Symphony No. 3 'The Byron Symphony' for baritone and chorus(1960) is a whopping 50 minutes long and was commissioned by the East German Government and first performed in Leipzig. The Symphony No.4 'Lascaux Symphony' dates from 1983. Neither of these last two symphonies have ever been recorded.
The Violin Concerto of 1948 has made it to disc in a recording by Manoug Parikian/BBC Symphony Orchestra, Norman del Mar(Claudio Records). The chamber music and instrumental music is highly regarded.
Bush was an influential teacher for many years at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
The Alan Bush Music Trust has an excellent website devoted to his music-
http://www.alanbushtrust.org.uk/default.asp?room=Home
I can't help thinking that behind the politics there may well have been a substantial composer here whose neglect is to be regretted.
Thank you Colin, for this piece, with useful information, I rather learned a thing or two. I always dive into the music first, before I start reading about the composer. That way my mind is not clouded too much by what ever happened in the past. I began listening to Bush, because a friend of mine in South Africa send me a cd with samples of his artistry. I so much enjoyed that, that the recording you mentioned came to the surface with JPC for just 6 euro's, so I bought it. I have to disagree with you in matters that this recording is worthy, I would stress that this recording is much more as worthy, for it brings to me a composer that is well represented by a thoughtful interpretation and more than satisfying recording. The depths which Bush travails is for me a recognition of many feelings in myself. The rhythmic precision, and the fine writing for strings, articulated in a genial way by this orchestra is a constant joy for me, and I will today play it again, for the joy I experience by you Colin starting a thread about him.
Quote from: Dundonnell on January 07, 2009, 04:18:21 PM
It is fascinating to re-read the chapter written by the distinguished British composer and musicologist, Hugh Wood, in the 1961 edition of the Pelican 'European Music in the Twentieth Century(ed.Howard Hartog). Wood dismissed composers like Vaughan Williams, Holst, Bliss, Walton and Malcolm Arnold with near contempt. Rubbra, Berkeley and Rawsthorne merited a paragraph each. Finzi, Cooke, Frankel, Richard Arnell, Robert Simpson were mentioned only in passing.
The composers on whom Wood lavished most attention were Tippett and Britten(not surprisingly!) but followed closely by extended discussion of composers like Elizabeth Lutyens, Humphrey Searle, Peter Racine Fricker, Iain Hamilton-each of whom had, at least, flirted with serialism.........and Alan Bush! In fact, Bush managed to merit two whole pages and Wood seemed to place him next behind Tippett and Britten among diatonic composers.
Another fascinating illustration of how tastes change (or maybe how academic experts are out of touch with more popular tastes). I wonder how many Vaughan Williams performances took place last year, and how many of Searle or Peter Racine Fricker?
I have ordered the Classico CD after observing Harry's enthusiasm for it and look forward to receiving it.
Harry: Thanks for responding :) I am very pleased to hear how much you like the Bush symphonies. Maybe I was overly critical of the student orchestra? I just felt that a professional orchestra might have made more of the two works.
Paul: How very true! Although I have to say that I do think that Fricker is grievously and unfairly neglected :(
Jeffrey: 'Revenge' for Halsey Stevens and Gardner Read ;D
Quote from: Dundonnell on January 08, 2009, 06:10:34 AM
Harry: Thanks for responding :) I am very pleased to hear how much you like the Bush symphonies. Maybe I was overly critical of the student orchestra? I just felt that a professional orchestra might have made more of the two works.
[
In that I agree with you Colin!
Bush's best works are his songs, by a long distance. But because of his political leanings, people do shy away from his works with text. Of course, most of his songs are NOT political. Even those that were at the time are not necessarily so if you take away the historical context. The songs, more than anything else he composed, are most worthy of explorations for musical reasons.
Quote from: Dundonnell on January 08, 2009, 06:10:34 AM
Harry: Thanks for responding :) I am very pleased to hear how much you like the Bush symphonies. Maybe I was overly critical of the student orchestra? I just felt that a professional orchestra might have made more of the two works.
Paul: How very true! Although I have to say that I do think that Fricker is grievously and unfairly neglected :(
Jeffrey: 'Revenge' for Halsey Stevens and Gardner Read ;D
The Bush symphonies arrived at work today (they arrive at work and then I smuggle them into the house. I have always believed in open and honest communication with my wife ;D). So tonight I shall be listening to symphonies by Alan Bush and William Wordsworth :o ??? :P :-[ :-X. Colin may have a lot to answer for.
Quote from: vandermolen on January 08, 2009, 07:32:03 AM
The Bush symphonies arrived at work today (they arrive at work and then I smuggle them into the house. I have always believed in open and honest communication with my wife ;D). So tonight I shall be listening to symphonies by Alan Bush and William Wordsworth :o ??? :P :-[ :-X. Colin may have a lot to answer for.
;D ;D ;D ;D
That made me giggle incessantly.......
How on earth do you manage to get cds so quickly, Jeffrey? You only ordered the cd a few hours ago ???
Good thing your wife doesn't read your posts on here then, isn't it ;D ;D
A review of the Bush 1st and 2nd Symphonies on Classico-
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classRev/2004/July04/Bush_1_2.htm
Quote from: Dundonnell on January 08, 2009, 05:21:53 PM
A review of the Bush 1st and 2nd Symphonies on Classico-
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classRev/2004/July04/Bush_1_2.htm
See I told you it was good in technical terms, and that the orchestra is quite good, and I did not even know this review. ;D
Somehow the plight of such music is typified by the source of this disc (a Danish company) and its performers (a Music College Orchestra - exemplary in technical and artistic terms).
I can't say that I've ever been that keen on most of Bush's music. However I did have a listen to the piano concerto yesterday - in 4 movements with a male chorus in the last movement and modelled on Busoni. (are there other choral piano concertos?) It has a curiously lightweight opening, but each movement seems to impress more as it progresses despite the occasional areas of academic sounding counterpoint. The third movement (slow) is somehow the most engaging, being quite, well juicy really without appearing post-romantic. A work deserving of wider attention.
Quote from: Harry on January 08, 2009, 11:24:41 PM
See I told you it was good in technical terms, and that the orchestra is quite good, and I did not even know this review. ;D
Somehow the plight of such music is typified by the source of this disc (a Danish company) and its performers (a Music College Orchestra - exemplary in technical and artistic terms).
Just because I provide a link to a Musicweb review does not necessarily mean that I agree with every view expressed within that review, Harry :)
I agree that the orchestra is-as you say-'quite good' and for an orchestra of students the performance is indeed 'exemplary'. I just think that it is a fact of life that unfamiliar repertoire is now most likely to come from orchestras which usually have lots of enthusiasm but, sometimes, lack the firepower to deliver a performance which brings out the very best in the music.
Saying that.....since we are unlikely to get the London Symphony Orchestra recording any Bush I shall take my hat off to the students and praise their enterprise, energy and committment ;D
Quote from: Dundonnell on January 08, 2009, 07:46:08 AM
How on earth do you manage to get cds so quickly, Jeffrey? You only ordered the cd a few hours ago ???
Good thing your wife doesn't read your posts on here then, isn't it ;D ;D
Yes, that's a spot of luck Colin ;D I ordered the Bush a few days ago. I have listened to both symphonies now and No 2 'Nottingham' is a great discovery for me - an important 20th Century British Symphony, which really comes into its own in the delightful last movement. I ended up playing the last bit over and over again - it is a really inspiriting Arnell-like conclusion, with the bells adding to the triumphant coda - a really lovely moment. The slow movement is very touching and I really like the whole Symphony. Probably Bush did it no favours calling it 'Nottingham' as it might sound a rather parochial title. I wasn't so keen on No 1 on first hearing - the prologue and first movement sounded rather arid, dry and academic, but the slow movement was good and, having enjoyed No 2 so much, I may find that No 1 grows on me with repeated listening.
Anyway, I am delighted to have discovered Alan Bush :)
Quote from: vandermolen on January 09, 2009, 03:19:36 PM
Yes, that's a spot of luck Colin ;D I ordered the Bush a few days ago. I have listened to both symphonies now and No 2 'Nottingham' is a great discovery for me - an important 20th Century British Symphony, which really comes into its own in the delightful last movement. I ended up playing the last bit over and over again - it is a really inspiriting Arnell-like conclusion, with the bells adding to the triumphant coda - a really lovely moment. The slow movement is very touching and I really like the whole Symphony. Probably Bush did it no favours calling it 'Nottingham' as it might sound a rather parochial title. I wasn't so keen on No 1 on first hearing - the prologue and first movement sounded rather arid, dry and academic, but the slow movement was good and, having enjoyed No 2 so much, I may find that No 1 grows on me with repeated listening.
Anyway, I am delighted to have discovered Alan Bush :)
Excellent! I have the Bush cd on my to play list........along with the Melartin Nos. 3-6, the Lyatoshinsky 1-5, the Antheil 3-5, the Peterson-Berger 1-6 etc etc ;D
Quote from: Dundonnell on January 09, 2009, 03:54:51 PM
Excellent! I have the Bush cd on my to play list........along with the Melartin Nos. 3-6, the Lyatoshinsky 1-6, the Antheil 3-5, the Peterson-Berger 1-6 etc etc ;D
I need to listen to the Melartin symphonies too. I have the box set but did not make much of them before. Antheil's 4th and 3rd are favourites of mine and Peterson Berger's 2, 3 (the best) and 5.
Quote from: vandermolen on January 08, 2009, 07:32:03 AM
The Bush symphonies arrived at work today (they arrive at work and then I smuggle them into the house. I have always believed in open and honest communication with my wife ;D). So tonight I shall be listening to symphonies by Alan Bush and William Wordsworth :o ??? :P :-[ :-X. Colin may have a lot to answer for.
Exactly. 8) We may hold Colin wholly responsible for:
A) your deranged marital communication habits, and a
B) failed upbringing of my poor little kids. ;D ;D
Quote from: Christo on January 10, 2009, 12:36:45 AM
Exactly. 8) We may hold Colin wholly responsible for:
A) your deranged marital communication habits, and a
B) failed upbringing of my poor little kids. ;D ;D
Now, now........ ;D ;D
You don't need to pay any attention to my ravings on behalf of these obscure composers you know ;D ;D
If Jeffrey chooses to smuggle cds into his house without his wife knowing about this nefarious practice that is entirely up to him :) And as for your "poor little kids", I am 100% confident that they will not suffer in any way because you buy the odd(!) cd to add to a collection which one day-in the far distant future-they will inherit :)
Quote from: Christo on January 10, 2009, 12:36:45 AM
Exactly. 8) We may hold Colin wholly responsible for:
A) your deranged marital communication habits, and a
B) failed upbringing of my poor little kids. ;D ;D
My thoughts exactly Johan. Colin has a lot to answer for ;D
Quote from: Dundonnell on January 10, 2009, 11:12:35 AM
Now, now........ ;D ;D
You don't need to pay any attention to my ravings on behalf of these obscure composers you know ;D ;D
If Jeffrey chooses to smuggle cds into his house without his wife knowing about this nefarious practice that is entirely up to him :) And as for your "poor little kids", I am 100% confident that they will not suffer in any way because you buy the odd(!) cd to add to a collection which one day-in the far distant future-they will inherit :)
My smuggling tendencies developed early on, as an adolescent, when I would creep round through the communal gardens to my parent's ground floor flat in Earl's Court and throw the LPs that I had bought through my bedroom window, left slightly open for the cats to get in and out. A few moments later I would appear, all innocent, at the front door 8)
Well, on a scale of 1 to 10 of misdemeanours committed by teenagers I think that smuggling classical LPs into the house probably rates at the lower end of the scale ;D ;D
Quote from: Dundonnell on January 10, 2009, 02:52:58 PM
Well, on a scale of 1 to 10 of misdemeanours committed by teenagers I think that smuggling classical LPs into the house probably rates at the lower end of the scale ;D ;D
:)
Alan Bush's Second Symphony (together with Leon Orthel's Third Symphony) is one of the discoveries of the year for me. And the year is only 12 days old. This could yet be a bumper smuggling CDs into the house year for me ;D
Quote from: vandermolen on January 11, 2009, 03:54:38 PM
Alan Bush's Second Symphony (together with Leon Orthel's Third Symphony) is one of the discoveries of the year for me. And the year is only 12 days old. This could yet be a bumper smuggling CDs into the house year for me ;D
They say that confession is good for the soul you know, Jeffrey ;D
Quote from: Dundonnell on January 11, 2009, 04:47:56 PM
They say that confession is good for the soul you know, Jeffrey ;D
:)
Quote from: vandermolen on January 09, 2009, 03:19:36 PM
Yes, that's a spot of luck Colin ;D I ordered the Bush a few days ago. I have listened to both symphonies now and No 2 'Nottingham' is a great discovery for me - an important 20th Century British Symphony, which really comes into its own in the delightful last movement. I ended up playing the last bit over and over again - it is a really inspiriting Arnell-like conclusion, with the bells adding to the triumphant coda - a really lovely moment. The slow movement is very touching and I really like the whole Symphony. Probably Bush did it no favours calling it 'Nottingham' as it might sound a rather parochial title. I wasn't so keen on No 1 on first hearing - the prologue and first movement sounded rather arid, dry and academic, but the slow movement was good and, having enjoyed No 2 so much, I may find that No 1 grows on me with repeated listening.
Anyway, I am delighted to have discovered Alan Bush :)
Well, oddly enough, having just listened to this cd again, I have to say that I prefer the 1st Symphony ::)
The 'Nottingham' starts well-the first two movements I think contain a lot of very attractive, flowing melody-but the last two I am not impressed by. The scherzo is gratingly repetitive and the last movement's conclusion I find hollow and unconvincing. To what extent that is an impression influenced by the exposure of some slightly suspect brass playing by the students I am not sure.
Overall I think that the 'Nottingham' is too much a product of Bush's rethink of his idiom following the infamous Zhdanov decree of 1948. The attempt to make his style more accessible ends up diluting the substance in my judgment.
(Oh, it's great to disagree with Jeffrey....for once ;D)
Quote from: Dundonnell on January 12, 2009, 06:56:12 AM
(Oh, it's great to disagree with Jeffrey....for once ;D)
I disagree too........ ;D
Quote from: Harry on January 12, 2009, 07:15:35 AM
I disagree too........ ;D
Do you mean that you agree with
me, dear Harry? :)
Quote from: Dundonnell on January 12, 2009, 07:26:22 AM
Do you mean that you agree with me, dear Harry? :)
Nah, I am on Jeffrey's side this time, so sorry old chap! ;)
Quote from: Harry on January 12, 2009, 07:46:54 AM
Nah, I am on Jeffrey's side this time, so sorry old chap! ;)
Oh bother....oh well, it was worth a try ;D
Right, I shall have to listen to Symphony 1 again tonight...it has to be better than Arthur Butterworth's First Symphony ;D
Quote from: vandermolen on January 12, 2009, 08:14:39 AM
Right, I shall have to listen to Symphony 1 again tonight...it has to be better than Arthur Butterworth's First Symphony ;D
Ok, ok....that's two things we disagree about now ;D
Quote from: Dundonnell on January 12, 2009, 08:52:45 AM
Ok, ok....that's two things we disagree about now ;D
:)
Thought I'd bump up this thread. Bush's Symphony No 2 'Nottingham' was a great discovery - through Harry on this forum. I still find the inspiriting conclusion, complete with bells, a great life-enhancing moment - triumph over the odds etc.
Quote from: Dundonnell on January 08, 2009, 05:21:53 PM
A review of the Bush 1st and 2nd Symphonies on Classico-
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classRev/2004/July04/Bush_1_2.htm
After listening to this CD (which is now part of the British Symphonic Collection boxset on Membran, sans liner notes), and raving about it last night on the Listening thread, I feel impelled to bump this thread. I liked the First Symphony more than the Second. The Second sounded (no surprise) very British pastoral. But the First Symphony deserves to be much more widely known, even if it was written by a Commie.
(And I find myself grateful that I can pursue my CD buying obsession without needing to sneak it past the wife nor impoverish the children, for the simple reason that I have no wife or children :)
I found the second symphony to be a little bizarre. It was aiming for what you describe, but Bush's stylistic fingerprint is all over it enough to make somebody who loves the mentioned style find it a very awkward-sounding piece.
IMHO he was a kind of Sphinx
https://books.google.it/books?id=-poqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PR13&lpg=PR13&dq=%22alan+bush%22&source=bl&ots=tczh6fI24B&sig=ACfU3U3o0i4eXoQI-k5bNVWNQQSAMgNVLA&hl=it&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjh86nPoq39AhXwSPEDHR6tCSE4FBDoAXoECAMQAw#v=onepage&q=%22alan%20bush%22&f=false
https://www.atlantis-press.com/proceedings/icassee-19/125923512
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08145857.2011.596139?journalCode=rmus20
Best
Huh...I would've thought Bush would be within this forum's wheelhouse, at least not to the point where his thread isn't opened for 11 years. I should revisit the symphonies at some point. I have them in the British Symphonic Collection box conducted by Bostock.
Quote from: Maestro267 on February 24, 2023, 01:01:54 AMHuh...I would've thought Bush would be within this forum's wheelhouse, at least not to the point where his thread isn't opened for 11 years. I should revisit the symphonies at some point. I have them in the British Symphonic Collection box conducted by Bostock.
That's a fine disc, as are the Dutton releases. I've got loads of stuff including most of the operas ("Joe Hill", "Men of Blackmoor" and "The Sugar Reapers"). I think you'll enjoy his Piano Concerto, better get the popcorn ready...
https://www.mediafire.com/file/1irvjn4jnnli929/Bush%252C_Alan_-_Piano_Concerto%252C_Op.18_%25281935-7%2529.mp3/file
Piano Concerto, Op.18 (1935-37)
Rolf Hind, piano/ Ashley Holland, bar/ Apollo Voices/ BBC SO/ Leonard Slatkin (br. 19/12/2000);D
Ah yes, I've heard it's a beast. Positively Busonian. Shame it hasn't been commercially recorded.
Quote from: Maestro267 on February 24, 2023, 06:51:58 AMAh yes, I've heard it's a beast. Positively Busonian. Shame it hasn't been commercially recorded.
Yep, it's a numb-the-bum concerto but well worth it. Slatkin moves things along and the "worthy" Swingler text is well delivered in the finale. Dutton seem to have given up on Alan Bush, so any avenue of commercial recording seems pretty remote. Let me know if you're interested in any of this caboodle:
Bush, Alan (1900-1995)Dance Overture, Op.12 (1935)
BBC SO/ Brian Priestman (br. 2/3/1981)
Piano Concerto, Op.18 (1935-37)
Rolf Hind, piano/ Ashley Holland, bar/ Apollo Voices/ BBC SO/ Leonard Slatkin (br. 19/12/2000)
Birthday Overture, Op.23 (1942)
USSR State SO/ Alan Bush (3/10/1963, Melodiya LP D-012687/90)
The Winter Journey, Op.29 (1946)
Wendy Eathorne, sop; Peter Savidge, bar/ BBC Singers/ Park Lane Music Players/ Simon Joly (1980, br. 22/12/1995)
Piers Plowman's Day, Op.30 (1946-47)
BBC CO/ Barry Wordsworth (br. 21/12/1995)
Violin Concerto, Op.32 (1946-48)
Maureen Smith, violin/ BBC Northern SO/ Bernard Keeffe (br. 28/3/1982)
Symphony No.2, Nottingham, Op.33 (1949)
USSR State SO/ Alan Bush (3/10/1963, Melodiya LP D-012687/90)
Symphony No.2, Nottingham, Op.33 (1949)
BBC SO/ Brian Priestman (br. 2/3/1981)
Men of Blackmoor (1954-55)
Joseph Ward, ten (Geordie); Nielson Taylor, bar (Daniel); Jane Manning, sop (Sarah); Carole Rosen, mezzo (Jenny); Norman Lumsden, bass (Thomas); Gordon Farrall, bar (Fletcher); John Stentson, bass (Lead Miner); Peter Bingham, ten (Young Lead Miner); Jolyon Dodgson, bass (Soldier); Derek Perry, ten (1st Miner); Derek Williamson, ten (2nd Miner); Brian Fish, bass (3rd Miner); Terence Rogan, bass (4th Miner)/ BBC Northern Singers/ BBC CO/ Stanford Robinson (br. 2/10/1969, 11/1/1995)
Dorian Passacaglia and Fugue, Op.52 (1959)
BBC SO/ Alan Bush (br. 27/8/1964)
Symphony No.3, Byron, with baritone solo and mixed chorus, Op.53 (1959-60)
Robert Lauhofer, bar/ Leipzig Radio Choir/ Leipzig SO/ Herbert Kegel (20/3/1962, br. 23/9/1976)
Variations, Nocturne and Finale on an Old English Sea Song for Piano and Orchestra, Op.60 (1962)
David Wilde, piano/ RPO/ John Snashall (Pye Golden Guinea LP GGC4073, 1966)
The Sugar Reapers (1962-65) - excerpts [sung in German]
Joseph Hrubrant, bar (Johnny Lucas); Helga Leuchtmann, sop (Sumintra); Edgar Waehlte, ten (Joseph Lucas); Katric Woelzel, mezzo (Mrs Lucas); Guntfried Speck, bass (Pansar); Stannoff Petroff, bass (Ganesh Maraj); Anna Tomova-Sintov, sop (Ella); Helmut Koltz, bar (Souza); Helmut Evle, bar (African Villager); Anna Barová, mezzo (African Village Worker); Bernd Siegfried Weber, bass (Georgetown Officer); Werner Atzrodt, ten (Indian Worker)/ Leipzig Opera Chorus/ Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra/ Rolf Reuter (br. 24/9/1976)
Joe Hill - The Man Who Never Died (1965-67)
Malcolm Donnelly, bass (Joe Hill); Tom McDonnell, bar (Ed Rowan); Richard Angas, bass (Alexander Marshall); Henry Howell, ten (Ben Winton); Phyllis Cannan, sop (Hilda); Milla Andrew, sop (Martha, Viola Healey); Raimund Herincx, bari (Blake, Judge Beard); Frank Olegario, bass (Henry Weber, Stone); Willard White, bass (John Moody, District Attorney); Bryan Drake, bar (Isidore Rabinowitz, William Weed); Tom Swift, ten (Tom Sharpe); Maxwell Harrison, bar (Adam Steele); Kenneth Woollam, ten (Harry Macrae); Graeme Matheson-Bruce, ten (Scott McBridge, Judge Weitch, Cowboy); Alan Woodrow, ten (Judge Mitchell, O'Leary, Italian); Glyn Davenport, bass (Mike Daly, Rev White, Policeman); Alan Watt, bass (Gordon, Engineer, Greek Worker); Gillian Ramsden, mezzo (Martin Henderson)/ Ed Bishop, narrator/
BBC Singers/ BBC CO/ James Judd (br. 11/4/1981)
Scherzo for Winds and Percussion, Op.68 (1969)
BBC SO/ Alan Bush (br. 29/7/1969)
Scherzo for Winds and Percussion, Op.68 (1969)
BBC SO/ Alan Bush (br. 29/7/1969)
Africa, Symphonic Movement for Piano and Orchestra, Op.73 (1971)
William Langford, piano/ BBC Welsh SO/ Bryden Thomson (br. 1972)
The Liverpool Overture, Op.77 (1973)
BBC Northern SO/ Nicholas Cleobury (br. 2/12/1981)
Symphony No.4, Lascaux, Op.98 (1982-3)
Bernard Robinson, piano/ BBC PO/ Edward Downes (br. 25/3/1986);D
A couple of LPs on my shelves.
(https://i.imgur.com/MzI588P.jpg)
A recording of the Violin Concerto I rate highly and yet seemingly sunk without trace.
(https://i.imgur.com/vs2TURS.jpg)
More contributions :the reason for my interest in this composer is to perceive him as a link between socialist realism and english pastoralism sometimes merging them together as in the nottingham symphony or Byron symphony
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/mp/9460447.0003.102/--proselytizing-the-prague-manifesto-in-britain?rgn=main;view=fulltext
https://books.google.it/books?id=WMaXCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA7&lpg=PA7&dq=%22alan+bush%22+prague+manifesto&source=bl&ots=7ID-UKZ4Vd&sig=ACfU3U3cXgozbdc9BqngVgdskoXqKtztMA&hl=it&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjbg7eD5LT9AhXJzqQKHeHoAXIQ6AF6BAglEAM#v=onepage&q=%22alan%20bush%22%20prague%20manifesto&f=false
https://communistpartyofgreatbritainhistory.wordpress.com/2021/05/03/alan-bush-cpgb-left-opposition/
http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/13924/1/Robinson_000622425.pdf?DDD23+
Quote from: Irons on February 24, 2023, 07:31:13 AMA couple of LPs on my shelves.
(https://i.imgur.com/MzI588P.jpg)
A recording of the Violin Concerto I rate highly and yet seemingly sunk without trace.
(https://i.imgur.com/vs2TURS.jpg)
Love the L S Lowry cover!
Quote from: vandermolen on February 27, 2023, 12:14:53 PMLove the L S Lowry cover!
Yes, good one, Jeffrey. Titled
Industrial Scene commissioned by The Arts Council for the Festival of Britain, 1951.
I played
Dialectic, for String Quartet from this LP. At just under 15 minutes I doubt there are many as concentrated pieces written by British composers.
Quote from: Irons on February 28, 2023, 12:10:37 AMYes, good one, Jeffrey. Titled Industrial Scene commissioned by The Arts Council for the Festival of Britain, 1951.
I played Dialectic, for String Quartet from this LP. At just under 15 minutes I doubt there are many as concentrated pieces written by British composers.
That must be a very early Hyperion LP - I don't remember seeing it and I don't think it made it to CD either...?
Quote from: Roasted Swan on February 28, 2023, 08:45:39 AMThat must be a very early Hyperion LP - I don't remember seeing it and I don't think it made it to CD either...?
Exactly so. I have only laid eyes on the copy I own. The recording was published well into the CD era,1985.
Only one upload of Dialectic on YouTube which is taken from 78s (worth a listen). I have not checked VC.