George Lloyd: Symphony No. 1

[@danielsimon8754]

How dare the musical establishment dissmiss George Lloyd's music. I am admirer of Lloyd's music and really surprised how tuneful it is ok maybe not all the time but at least he knows how to write a tune and not only that it the orchestration has real texture and colour. In 1990 he composed his last symphony No. 12 and it is one my favourite of all his symphonies. It is so refined and tuneful and dreamlike. The radio airwaves should play more of his music and there ought to be public performances so we can all appreciate the qualities this composer provides.

[@songsmith31a]

I was privileged to know the composer towards the end of his life here in London and agree wholeheartedly about the disgraceful neglect of his music, not least at the Proms...despite my courteous lobbying for its performance since the early 90s. Indeed, other than a cursory "nod" during the centenary of his birth, it is still not being played at that British music festival under the auspices of the BBC music management, with successive Proms "controllers" making unkept promises as to the future in the past three decades. I am a supporter of the ESO in the promotion of the music by that excellent ensemble under its music director, John Gibbons. They are fine advocates of this front rank British classical music.

[@danielsimon8754]

Must have been a real honour to have met him. The thing that bugs me are that living composers are getting too much attention as the majority cant even write a decent tune and yet the orchestra are willling to play this sort of garbage. I can tell you by the look on the orchestral players faces they do not enjoy playing this sort of rubbish and who can blame them. I hope to composer and Overture in C. Minor and get it orchestrated and a symphony or 2 in key signatures. Take note living composers. I have no time for atonal composers. Even past composers like Arnold Bax and Igor Stravinsky wrote a lot unnaproachable stuff. I attended a concert recently and especially the Stravinsky was the worst piece of music (if you could call it that) I ever heard. It lasted 9 minutes and 9 minutes too long in my book.

[@songsmith31a]

@@danielsimon8754 Indeed, it was! In fact he was a most unassuming and congenial personality who had survived a horrendous wartime trauma when his Plymouth battle cruiser HMS Trinidad suffered a fluke strike by her own rogue torpedo on Arctic Convoy duty in WW2 and his case was given up by the medicos, leaving his Swiss-born wife Nancy to nurse him back to health. His 4th Symphony was his return to serious composing and, as they say, the rest is history. It was his added misfortune to find tonal (melodious) music out of fashion in the post-war classical music world under the likes of the BBC's William Glock, with his range of uplifting compositions pushed aside and ignored during the years that followed - until a late discovery of his music via the excellent commitment to his music by Peter Kermani of Albany Records (USA) saw his extensive CV recorded in its entirety. with his nephew William (Bill) Lloyd closely involved. There is a George Lloyd Society that exists to bring awareness of the composer and his uplifting compositions (check th beautiful "Symphonic Mass" especially) to wider public attention..

[@songsmith31a]

I discovered the music of George Lloyd when a fellow local resident - a composer himself - lent a copy of the composers' 4th Symphony on cassette tape in the 1990s and it became a fixture in my car for long journeys. How, I wondered, had I not known of this music previously, despite a long interest in classical music in the home. The more I heard subsequently convinced me that something badly wrong had been happening in the established world of classical music, not least when it seemed that it had taken an American record company to realise the composer's full potential on disc after the excellent LPs from the Philharmonia under Edward Downes (later "Sir") on the British record lable Lyrita...later given welcome transfers to CD. All credit to the ESO and John Gibbons for their commitment to these performances. Tjhey are deserving of the highest praise.

[@EalingSymphonyOrchestra]

Thank you - we are delighted to bring these overlooked works to our audiences.

[@milessmith9703]

I don't usually think conductors talking is a great idea, but JG is clearly committed to Lloyd's music. It is a shame how musical fashions change and GL was unlucky in some ways to be a tonal composer in a post-war period of innovation and complex music; still the later recordings show how he was valued. It would be great to have a Lloyd Prom! Credit also to the ESO who make a great sound.

[@EalingSymphonyOrchestra]

Glad you enjoyed the performance. We are gradually working our way through all the symphonies. Next season will be No. 5.