Havergal Brian writes one for the record books

Composers Datebook

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