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Maurice Handford, conductor - Track 1: Bax Symphony No. 4 (1930​)​: Movt 1: Allegro moderato

from CRQ 454 MAURICE HANDFORD CONDUCTS VOL. 2: BAX: SYMPHONY NO. 4 (1930) by MAURICE HANDFORD CONDUCTS VOL. 2: BAX: SYMPHONY NO. 4 (1930)

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Track 1: Bax Symphony No. 4 (1930): Movt 1: Allegro moderato

Halle Orchestra
Leader: Martin Milner
Maurice Handford, Conductor

Recorded by the BBC in the Whitworth Hall, University of Manchester on 15 September 1965. Broadcast on 20 October 1965.

Reissue produced by Mark Hood

lyrics

The Symphony No. 4 by Arnold Bax was completed in 1930 and dedicated to Paul Corder. It was inspired by Bax's love of the sea and premiered in 1931 by British conductor Basil Cameron and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.

It is in three movements. The blustery opening movement begins with the strings and woodwinds playing a joyous melody, eventually joined by solo trumpet. It is probably the most imposing opening of the Bax symphonies, drawing inspiration from the sea. The organ is used and there are six horns (being the most in any Bax symphony). The second subject is much calmer and gorgeously melodic, being introduced by solo oboe and then taken up by the strings. The first movement ends triumphantly and joyously with brass major chords at its close.

The second movement is a quiet, dreamy movement with a memorable melody that is used effectively throughout. It closes peacefully and evokes a quiet day at sea.

The finale sees the return of the mood of the opening movement, being heroic and seascape and opening with distant trumpet trills and a blustery, joyful melody from the timpani and horns. Following this is an allegro scherzando section. The second subject is introduced by the oboe and returns at the end as a triumphal march before the symphony closes with a direct mood of happiness, not common in Bax symphony endings.
(From wikipedia)

credits

from CRQ 454 MAURICE HANDFORD CONDUCTS VOL. 2: BAX: SYMPHONY NO. 4 (1930), released April 21, 2021
'Although the compilers of ‘New Grove’ did not consider him worthy of inclusion and record companies virtually ignored him, Handford's unobtrusive style and his ability to get to the heart of a score were appreciated by musicians. He was not the flamboyant maestro and this may have held back his career in quarters where flashier talents are admired. But those who heard his finest Elgar performances and his lucid readings of complex contemporary works will know that music making in this country is much the poorer for his premature and lamented death.- From Maurice Handford's obituary in The Daily Telegraph 17.12.1986.

Bax's Third Symphony (1929) and tone poem The Tales The Pine Trees Knew (1931) both conducted by Maurice Handford are available on CRQ 445.

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