Synopsis
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the biggest, longest, most massively orchestrated symphony of all time is the Gothic Symphony by British composer Havergal Brian.
The symphony was composed between 1919 and 1922, but didn’t receive its first performance until 40 years later, on today’s date in 1961, when Bryan Fairfax conducted it for the first time in Westminster. Five years later, Adrian Boult conducted a performance with the BBC Symphony at Royal Albert Hall in London that created quite a sensation and has been preserved in a recording.
Brian was born in 1876 to working class parents. His talent was encouraged his fellow English composers Edward Elgar and Granville Bantock, as well as leading German composer Richard Strauss, to whom Brian dedicated his Gothic Symphony. Despite that, his musical career never caught hold and for most of his life Brian toiled on in obscurity.
By the time of his death in 1972, Brian had completed 32 symphonies. Although the BBC had committed to performing all of them, not a note of his music was commercially issued on record during his lifetime, and he died without ever having heard most of his symphonies performed.
Music Played in Today's Program
Havergal Brian (1876-1972): Symphony No. 1 (Gothic); Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra; Ondrej Lenard, conductor; Marco Polo 223280
On This Day
Births
1901 - American composer, performer and instrument inventor Harry Partch, in Oakland, California
1908 - German composer and organist Hugo Distler, in Nuremberg
1935 - American composer and performer Terry Riley, in Colfax, California
Deaths
1882 - German composer Josef Joachim Raff, 60, in Frankfurt, during the night of June 24/25
Premieres
1854 - Schubert: opera Alfonso and Estrella, posthumously, in Weimar, with Franz Liszt conducting. Schubert composed this opera in 1822.
1935 - R. Strauss: opera Die schweigsame Frau (The Silent Woman, after the play by Ben Jonson), in Dresden, conducted by Karl Boehm, and with vocal soloists Maria Cebotari (Aminta), Friedrich Plaschke (Sir Morosus), Matthieu Ahlersmeyer (The Barber), and Martin Kremer (Henry Morosus)
1943 - Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5, at a Promenade Concert at Royal Albert Hall, with the London Philharmonic conducted by the composer
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About Composers Datebook®
Host John Birge presents a daily snapshot of composers past and present, with timely information, intriguing musical events and appropriate, accessible music related to each.
He has been hosting, producing and performing classical music for more than 25 years. Since 1997, he has been hosting on Minnesota Public Radio's Classical Music Service. He played French horn for the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra and performed with them on their centennial tour of Europe in 1995. He was trained at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music and Interlochen Arts Academy.