Brian: Symphony No. 2 / Festival Fanfare

Featuring

Tony Rowe
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
Havergal Brian

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Composer Biography

Havergal Brian, the composer, wrote his Festival Fanfare when he was nearly 92 years old, making it one of his last works.

Performer Biography

Tony Rowe, the conductor on this album, was a prize-winner at the Liverpool Conducting Competition and twice at the prestigious Leeds Conductors' Competition.

Compositional Technique

Despite Brian jokingly calling his Symphony No. 2 his 'Little Symphony,' it is scored for a very large orchestra, including sixteen horns, three sets of timpani, two pianos, and an organ.

Composition History

Havergal Brian's Symphony No. 2 was dedicated to the memory of his youngest daughter, Elfreda, after her death in 1972, though the symphony was composed over forty years earlier.

Notable Performances

Brian's Symphony No. 2 was not premiered until six months after his death, with the first fully professional performance being a BBC broadcast in 1979 by the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras.

Composition History

Brian's Symphony No. 2 was originally referred to as his 'Third Symphony' because he considered his earlier Fantastic Symphony (1907-08) as No. 1 and The Gothic as No. 2, before a renumbering in 1966.