SACDs - Lloyd, G

Here’s the work that started it all. Back in 1977 Albany Symphony president Peter Kermani heard a BBC broadcast of Lloyd’s Symphony No. 8 which absolutely enthralled him. When an opportunity struck in 1984, he dispatched Albany Symphony manager Susan Bush to London to commission a new symphony, which resulted in the wonderful Symphony No. 11 from George Lloyd. This present writer was at the premiere on October 31, 1986 and, like the rest of the audience, was absolutely captivated by the work; a piece that blended both thrills and repose, and pageantry and sentimentality-plus many memorable tunes (imagine, in this day and age, a third movement which was an elaborate and kaleidoscopic waltz!). We all believed that George Lloyd was England’s greatest musical secret revealed. This work, along with several of his other symphonies, was initially released on Conifer, but Kermani and Bush were eager to make Lloyd the cornerstone of a new recording venture called Albany Records. Lloyd’s association with the Albany Symphony, for whom he also wrote his Symphony No. 12 (TROY032, with Symphony No. 1), resulted in guest-conducing engagements performing more of his music (the war-time Symphony No. 4, now on TROY SACD 498, was one of Albany’s first CD’s). We also heard memorable interpretations of Creston’s Symphony No. 3, the Randall Thompson Symphony No. 2 and a delightful series of selections from La Boutique Fantasque. By the time of his death in 1998, his output was relatively small, but the twelve Symphonies have proven to be immensely popular. We at Albany are proud to have been his friend and advocate these past twenty years, and pleased to re-release this magnificent recording in state-of-the-art multi-channel sound.

With this release of this wonderful music by George Lloyd, a composer closely associated with Albany Records from our very beginning, we proudly introduce our first SACD release. This dramatic improvement in sound is perfect for the colorfully scored music of George Lloyd. During his lifetime, George was always very conscious of the audio quality of the recordings of his music. Here at Albany Records, we are certain he would embrace this great advance in sound as just what his music needs. There will be more SACD releases of the music of George Lloyd in the near future.

Both the works recorded here were completed during the last year of Lloyd’s life, although both had been in his mind for some time. He completed his “Cello Concerto” in July 1997, a year before his death at the age of 85. The first page of the composer’s score is inscribed “Have you no pity for those you would destroy?” Those of you who are aware of all the troubles Lloyd had getting his music performed will know something of what this statement means. Those who do not will find the informative program notes, written by his nephew, William Lloyd, most helpful.

Here is a concerto for cello born of the same spirit and tradition as the Elgar Concerto. Anthony Ross is the principal cellist of the Minnesota Orchestra. Lloyd was 25 in 1938, when his second opera The Serf was given its first performances at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in London. Lloyd himself considered that the opera contained some of his best music, and it was therefore continually frustrating to him that the work did not receive a second hearing. Typically, Lloyd was determined that the music of The Serf would not lie unperformed forever, so he decided to rework sections of the opera into two orchestral suites. By 1997, he was already suffering from the heart failure which eventually killed him, but he worked twelve hours a day for eight weeks, knowing he might not get the work finished, and indeed, the strain of that effort probably did hasten his death.

This recording was made in the great Troy Savings Bank Music Hall and in Super Audio CD sounds magnificent.

This marks the first release from the Albany Records back catalog of the fine performances we have that have been conducted by the composer. We have selected the recordings we felt had the best sound for re-issue in SACD.

In his notes for the SACD re-issue of this magnificent symphony, William Lloyd, the composer’s nephew for the first time tells the horrible, true story of what happened to the composer during World War II. “When war broke out, George Lloyd joined the Royal Marines on the battle cruiser HMS Trinidad. He played cornet in the band when in port, and calculated the gunnery ranges and elevations when the ship saw action. He was not yet twenty-five and was one of the rising stars of operatic and symphonic music in Britain, having already composed three symphonies and two operas. In Spring, 1942, the HMS Trinidad was hit by a torpedo while in action in the Arctic ocean. Lloyd was alongside 20 members of the band deep inside the ship, surrounded by fuel tanks. When the torpedo struck, the tanks burst, and only three men managed to escape by climbing the iron ladder against a deluge of oil. Lloyd was the last to get out, pushing the man ahead, before the hatch fell and broke the back of the man behind him. He took oil into his stomach and lungs, but managed to struggle on to the deck. The shock of the blast, the extreme physical effort of the long climb, the poisonous effects of the oil, the exposure on the deck before he was taken off the ship, and the trauma of losing 17 of his closest friends – all musicians – was more than he could bear. His health and his personality disintegrated, along with his power of speech, his coordination, and his mobility.” The Trinidad limped to port in Murmansk. Lloyd was flown to a hospital near Aberdeen where the naval doctors declared there was nothing they could do for him. He was too far gone and in their opinion, he would be institutionalized for the rest of his life. This is when his wife Nancy took over. She removed him from the hospital and nursed him back to health. In 1946, he completed his Symphony No. 4. On the title page he wrote: “A world of darkness, storms, strange colors, and a far away peacefulness.” The Symphony had to wait until 1981 for its first performance under Sir Edward Downes.

This music, and indeed all his music, is a vindication of Lloyd’s unshakeable optimism and his simple refusal to stay down and accept defeat. Even if your customers have the older version of this wonderful symphony, they will want this new SACD version. Lloyd’s performance has never sounded better.