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.
