Havergal Brian’s Second Symphony (1930-31) is music on an epic scale. Partly inspired by Goethe’s play Götz von Berlichingen and scored for a huge orchestra that includes two pianos, three timpanists and an astonishing sixteen horns, the score contains some of Brian’s richest and most immediately appealing music. This revelatory performance by Brian stalwarts the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and conductor Martyn Brabbins is the first commercial recording to feature the full instrumental forces, as envisaged by the composer. This performance of Brian’s Fourteenth Symphony (1959-60) is the first legitimate recording of the work to have been made. Completed when Brian was 84 years old and embarking on an astonishing Indian Summer of creativity that lasted until he was 92, the Fourteenth is more compact, but no less heroic in spirit: a complex single movement encompassing a kaleidoscopic range of moods and providing a perfect introduction to Brian’s late style.
All tracks available in stereo and multi-channel,
This Hybrid CD can be played on any standard CD player
