We begin our George Lloyd symphony cycle with his first symphony!
Lloyd scholar Paul Conway says this about the Symphony: "Set against the grand late-Romantic symphonic tradition prevalent in England at the time (as exemplified by the opulence of Bax, Bantock, Rootham and Boughton), the brevity, spiky humour and formal originality of this first symphonic essay appears even more strikingly individual. The somewhat pert first subject establishes the overall character of this good-humoured and impish work, whilst the cantabile B theme forms the beautiful centrepiece of the Introduction and makes a welcome return 'con fervore', acting as a slow movement before the concluding Vivace, a deft fusion of Scherzo and Rondo Finale set in a variation structure. The First Symphony has a piquant charm and a zestful exuberance."
We also are delighted that two Ealing Symphony Orchestra violinists, Peter Nall and Olivia Tan, are taking on Malcolm Arnold's concerto for two violins and strings. "A craftsman-like and gracefully wrought work in which the middle movement is particularly fine, a wistful slow waltz of lovely simplicity which begins and ends with a tranquil dialogue between the two unaccompanied violins. The last movement opens with the only real solo fireworks in the piece - a brilliant chase for the two instruments over steady rhythmic support from the accompanying strings."
Finally, we take on Dvorak's beautiful seventh symphony. Although not as often played as the New World, it is nevertheless a shining example of his stormy, bohemian, tuneful writing. "Dvorak’s seventh symphony in succession, written in D minor, enjoys a special status in the composer’s series of nine symphonies. Its gloomy atmosphere is in direct contrast not only to its two neighbouring symphonies (Nos. 6 and 8), but also to the large majority of Dvorak’s oeuvre as a whole. It is characteristic for its dramatic expression and sombre atmosphere of grave uncertainty and obstinate defiance. It is distinguished for its absence of any Slav-inspired melodies which were characteristic for the composer’s preceding Slavic period and with which his compositional style is usually associated. In spite of its dramatic impact, this is also a profoundly intimate work where the composer examines the meanderings of his soul and the answers to elementary issues of human existence. "