The Overture to Nixon's dramatic cantata Aslauga was left more than half unfinished in its orchestration, with the recapitulation only appearing as a single violin line with sketched woodwind parts.
Recording & Production
Except for the Concert Overture No. 1, all works on this album have been reconstructed, completed, or newly orchestrated from incomplete sources by Paul Mann, the conductor.
Album & Artwork
This album is the last of three presenting all the extant orchestral music of Henry Cotter Nixon, a composer previously lost to history.
Performer Biography
Paul Mann, the conductor on this album, first came to international attention by winning the 1998 Donatella Flick Conducting Competition, leading to his appointment as assistant conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra.
Composer Biography
Henry Cotter Nixon was born in 1842, the youngest of four children to Henry George Nixon, an organist and composer, and Caroline Melissa Danby, whose mother was mistress to painter J. M. W. Turner.
Instruments
For the Prelude to The Gay Typewriters, Paul Mann added a piccolo, brass section, and substantial percussion to Nixon's original orchestration, while retaining the distinctive euphonium solo.
Critical Reception
Nixon's Concert Overture No. 1, Titania, received a 'frosty, not to say patronising' reception at its 1880 premiere, with The Musical Times suggesting he 'study the best models'.
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