Derek B. Scott, the composer, deliberately uses the label 'symphony' for his works as a provocative statement, rejecting the grand statements and excessive lengths of some 20th-century symphonies.
Recording & Production
This album features the first recordings of Derek B. Scott's Symphony No. 1, Symphony No. 2, and the tone-poem The Silver Sword.
Compositional Technique
Derek B. Scott's symphonies incorporate melodies of traditional and popular character, drawing inspiration from 1960s popular music bands like The Kinks and The Beatles, as well as classical composers like Sibelius and Shostakovich.
Composer Biography
Derek B. Scott, the composer, is the grandnephew of George Hope Johnstone, a friend of Edward Elgar, who commissioned Elgar's Dream of Gerontius.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Derek B. Scott's symphonies reject symphonic idealism and notions of aesthetic progress, aiming for a pattern of movements and overall duration typical of Haydn symphonies.
Performer Biography
The Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, which performs on this album, is the oldest symphonic ensemble in the Baltic states, founded in 1881.
Composer Biography
Derek B. Scott, the composer, has a background in both concert music and popular music, having played in a rock band and two dance bands in his youth.
