I've been hoping for the Lloyd symphonies to be repackaged/re-released for ages, so this is very welcome news.
Edit: More welcome news — the whole set is currently on sale as a hi-res download for £9.99, in the UK at least. Although I already have these recordings (half of them on cassette!), I couldn't resist 🙂
Lyrita is also going to release a 2 cd box of the piano concertos and another box of the two violin concertos and the beautiful cello concerto. These are all wonderful works, arguably as good as the symphonies.
My first exposure to Lloyd was the remarkable 2nd movement of the 4th symphony and the first movement of the 5th. After listening to those, I was converted to Lloyd's music!
My favourite symphony of Lloyd is his last No. 12 full of lovely tunes and so much colour and beautifully orchestrated. I also like his 4th and 5th Symphonies. Its time these works were played at concert halls.
I have the Albany disks of all of these (and also the Edward Downes recordings of 4-8 on Lyrita). He's a brilliant composer and I think Dave is right that #5 may be his best though I love them all. I have a particular fondness for 4, 7 and 11 too. He also wrote wonderful concertos for piano (4), violin (2) and cello (1). Not to mention his brilliant works for chorus and orchestra. A wonderful composer.
Great composer, who I have discovered thanks to Classics Today. Wonderful music! Really thanks for it…though here in Italy I will never have the possibility of hearing this live (but here in Italy you do not even ever hear music by Casella or Pizzetti or Marinuzzi or other great Italians, so…). The whistled scherzo of the Second Symphony is really nice! 😉
Just an FYI, Lyrita has been selling exclusively CD-Rs for years, but of course they don't tell anyone that. They present their product as if they are real, pressed CDs, which I think is false advertising. So if you'd prefer not to buy CD-R, I would stream these.
This is such wonderful news. I have all of them in their original releases from Albany & Conifer, but I'm so glad that a serious effort is being made to resuscitate these recordings. In addition to the splendid choral music (The Vigil of Venus is an amazing Carmina-style work), there's a pile of concertos, too.
Obviously available on Spotify and Amazon but NOT on Tidal, which has one of the most limited catalogs of classical music between the streaming music platforms.
I bought a two disc set of 3 of the Lloyd symphonies, based on a video you gave a while back. Solid advice and wonderful music. OH, and I ordered this while watching this video.
Great news for any lover of uplifting AND tuneful music. The composer's "Symphonic Mass" has been called one of the finest pieces of English choral writing of the 20th century…and yet The Proms still excludes it from its programmes whilst promoting heaven knows what instead. The London UK pro-am Ealing Symphony Orchestra is performing the complete Lloyd symphonic cycle, having recently played the 4th symphony to much accliam and appreciation (twice!). The 5th Symphony is due for an ESO performance later this year here in west London. Onwards and upwards!! .
David, you owe me a new pair of lungs! Symphony No. 5 was a revelation – breathtaking, heart-pounding brilliance. Where has George Lloyd been hiding all my life?
That tender opening, the solemn brass, and the glorious Finale – it was an emotional journey. His melodies are unforgettable, and that luminous orchestration! Thank you for opening this musical world for me. Consider this just the beginning of my Lloyd obsession 🙂
Speaking of George Lloyd, whose Symphonies I LOVE (His No.11 ("Fire and Ice" was the one that sucked me in) there is another composer that I was intrigued by. Have you spoken about Robert Simpson (Symphonies-15 of 'em and String Quartets)?
Lyrita recordings are probably the best sonically…..
Hey! This reminds me: you must be getting close to Rubbra in your anti-alphabetical overflow survey.
I've been hoping for the Lloyd symphonies to be repackaged/re-released for ages, so this is very welcome news.
Edit: More welcome news — the whole set is currently on sale as a hi-res download for £9.99, in the UK at least. Although I already have these recordings (half of them on cassette!), I couldn't resist 🙂
Doesn’t appear to be available for streaming, very seriously considering buying this set. Thanks for sharing!
A Lloyd Symphonies "Fabulous Concert Programs" would be lovely!
Lyrita is also going to release a
2 cd box of the piano concertos and another box of the two violin concertos and the beautiful cello concerto. These are all wonderful works, arguably as good as the symphonies.
My first exposure to Lloyd was the remarkable 2nd movement of the 4th symphony and the first movement of the 5th. After listening to those, I was converted to Lloyd's music!
My favourite symphony of Lloyd is his last No. 12 full of lovely tunes and so much colour and beautifully orchestrated. I also like his 4th and 5th Symphonies. Its time these works were played at concert halls.
I have the Albany disks of all of these (and also the Edward Downes recordings of 4-8 on Lyrita). He's a brilliant composer and I think Dave is right that #5 may be his best though I love them all. I have a particular fondness for 4, 7 and 11 too. He also wrote wonderful concertos for piano (4), violin (2) and cello (1). Not to mention his brilliant works for chorus and orchestra. A wonderful composer.
Thanks for the heads up, Dave. I'll get the entire set, asap as it's a steal at current prices.
Great composer, who I have discovered thanks to Classics Today. Wonderful music! Really thanks for it…though here in Italy I will never have the possibility of hearing this live (but here in Italy you do not even ever hear music by Casella or Pizzetti or Marinuzzi or other great Italians, so…).
The whistled scherzo of the Second Symphony is really nice! 😉
I've ordered it. Thanks for alerting me to it.
The slow movement of George Lloyds symphony no. 6 makes me melt away. For me, one of the most beautiful symphonic adagios written in the 20th century.
Just an FYI, Lyrita has been selling exclusively CD-Rs for years, but of course they don't tell anyone that. They present their product as if they are real, pressed CDs, which I think is false advertising. So if you'd prefer not to buy CD-R, I would stream these.
This is such wonderful news. I have all of them in their original releases from Albany & Conifer, but I'm so glad that a serious effort is being made to resuscitate these recordings. In addition to the splendid choral music (The Vigil of Venus is an amazing Carmina-style work), there's a pile of concertos, too.
Obviously available on Spotify and Amazon but NOT on Tidal, which has one of the most limited catalogs of classical music between the streaming music platforms.
I bought a two disc set of 3 of the Lloyd symphonies, based on a video you gave a while back. Solid advice and wonderful music. OH, and I ordered this while watching this video.
Great news for any lover of uplifting AND tuneful music. The composer's "Symphonic Mass" has been
called one of the finest pieces of English choral writing of the 20th century…and yet The Proms
still excludes it from its programmes whilst promoting heaven knows what instead. The London
UK pro-am Ealing Symphony Orchestra is performing the complete Lloyd symphonic cycle, having
recently played the 4th symphony to much accliam and appreciation (twice!). The 5th Symphony
is due for an ESO performance later this year here in west London. Onwards and upwards!! .
David, you owe me a new pair of lungs! Symphony No. 5 was a revelation – breathtaking, heart-pounding brilliance. Where has George Lloyd been hiding all my life?
That tender opening, the solemn brass, and the glorious Finale – it was an emotional journey. His melodies are unforgettable, and that luminous orchestration! Thank you for opening this musical world for me. Consider this just the beginning of my Lloyd obsession 🙂
Bob Kerr, host of CBC Off the Record from CBC Stereo in Vancouver was a long time champion of Lloyd's music and rightly so.
Speaking of George Lloyd, whose Symphonies I LOVE (His No.11 ("Fire and Ice" was the one that sucked me in) there is another composer that I was intrigued by. Have you spoken about Robert Simpson (Symphonies-15 of 'em and String Quartets)?