CHAN 9859 Front.qxd 31/8/07 10:04 am Page 1 CHAN 9859 CHANDOS CHAN 9859 BOOK.qxd 31/8/07 10:06 am Page 2 Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) AKG 1 In memoriam 11:28 Overture in C major in C-Dur . ut majeur Andante religioso – Allegro molto Suite from ‘The Tempest’, Op. 1 27:31 2 1 No. 1. Introduction 5:20 Andante con moto – Allegro non troppo ma con fuoco 3 2 No. 4. Prelude to Act III 1:58 Allegro moderato e con grazia 4 3 No. 6. Banquet Dance 4:39 Allegretto grazioso ma non troppo – Andante – Allegretto grazioso 5 4 No. 7. Overture to Act IV 5:00 Allegro assai con brio 6 5 No. 10. Dance of Nymphs and Reapers 4:21 Allegro vivace e con grazia 7 6 No. 11. Prelude to Act V 4:21 Andante – Allegro con fuoco – Andante 8 7 No. 12c. Epilogue 1:42 Andante sostenuto 3 CHAN 9859 BOOK.qxd 31/8/07 10:06 am Page 4 Sir Arthur Sullivan: Symphony in E major ‘Irish’ etc. Symphony in E major ‘Irish’ 36:02 Sir Arthur Sullivan would have been return to London a public performance in E-Dur . mi majeur delighted to know that the comic operas he of the complete music followed at the 9 I Andante – Allegro, ma non troppo vivace 13:21 wrote with W.S. Gilbert retain their hold on Crystal Palace Concert on 5 April 1862 10 II Andante espressivo 7:13 popular affection a hundred years after his under the baton of August Manns. An 11 III Allegretto – Moderato – Tempo primo 6:15 death. He would have been even more unknown nineteen-year-old beforehand, 12 IV Allegro vivace e con brio 9:08 delighted to know that his serious concert Sullivan enjoyed huge acclaim that day, works are also still being played. Throughout with five numbers being encored. The TT 75:11 the latter half of his life he suffered recurrent critic of The Athenaeum, Henry F. Chorley, BBC Philharmonic doubt as to whether he was wasting his time wrote of ‘one of those events which mark and talents on ephemeral works, and his state an epoch in a man’s life’ and went on to Richard Hickox of mind was not helped by members of the say that ‘years on years have elapsed since British musical establishment who insisted we have heard a work by so young an that he was. artist so full of promise’. Some or all of Born in Lambeth on 13 May 1842, Sullivan’s music was used in a stage Sullivan won his spurs in serious music production at the Prince’s Theatre, before he ever thought of composing comic Manchester in 1864. operas. Educated initially in London, he The music for The Tempest comprises honed his musical abilities from 1858 at the twelve numbers. The items played at the Leipzig Conservatory. It was there in the 1861 Leipzig concert were listed (in German) winter of 1860–1 that, inspired by as: Introduction, Ariel’s Song ‘Where the Bee Mendelssohn’s music for A Midsummer Sucks’, Entr’acte, ‘Grotesque Dance’, Night’s Dream, he embarked upon incidental Entr’acte & Epilogue and ‘Dance of Nymphs music for Shakespeare’s The Tempest. and Reapers’. Most of those same items are Substantial excerpts were performed at to be heard in the standard orchestral suite of his graduation concert on 6 April 1861, seven movements included on this recording. with Sullivan himself conducting. After his The Introduction opens in dark, brooding 4 5 CHAN 9859 BOOK.qxd 31/8/07 10:06 am Page 6 mood, far removed from Sullivan’s more of August Manns at the Crystal Palace. During the night of 22/23 September his May 1867. Sullivan was still only twenty- familiar style, but later there are lighter The Times called it father, professor of wind instruments at the five, but it was his increasing preoccupation moments containing portents of the the best musical work, if judged only by the Royal Military School of Music, Kneller with comic opera thereafter that denied the composer of comic operas. The Prelude to largeness of its form and the number of Hall, died suddenly. During the first ten days musical world any further significant Act III enchants especially with its easy-going beautiful thoughts it contains, for a long time of October 1866 Sullivan worked on the additions to those enchanting orchestral melody, the ‘Banquet Dance’ by its flirtatious produced by any English composer. overture In memoriam, which was duly compositions of the 1860s. woodwind and muted strings and the ‘Dance It should be remembered that when performed in Norwich on 30 October under of Nymphs and Reapers’ by its capricious Sullivan composed his symphony, Brahms, the baton of Julius Benedict. The composer © 2000 Andrew Lamb waltz rhythm. In the Prelude to Act IV there Tchaikovsky and Dvoˇrák had not properly described the overture as an outpouring of are foretastes of the fairy music in Iolanthe. begun their symphonic careers. The grief, but its pervading tone is not one of The BBC Philharmonic has been established Throughout, notably in its instrumental influences most apparent are therefore those sadness so much as deep affection. It on the international stage for over sixty years. interplay, the music displays assurance of Schubert, Schumann and most contains charming melodies, so much so that The orchestra is based in Manchester where remarkable for a teenager. particularly Mendelssohn. The striking the work’s major shortcoming is perhaps that it performs regularly in the magnificent Sullivan’s efforts to establish himself as a themes for trombones and lower strings in its plaintive main theme, heard first on the Bridgewater Hall as well as making many serious orchestral composer during the 1860s the second movement, Andante espressivo, oboe, does not quite stand up to its of its programmes for Radio 3 in the BBC’s resulted next in the composition of a lend the work an especial solemnity. Yet, for grandiose climactic chorale treatment for full Studio 7 Concert Hall. Under its Principal symphony. It followed a visit in 1863 to all its overriding seriousness the symphony orchestra, complete with organ. The overture Conductor, the charismatic Frenchman Yan Ireland, where his father was born. From also displays Sullivan at his lightest, above all is perhaps at its most endearing in the Pascal Tortelier, it has built a formidable Belfast he wrote to his mother that in the joyous third movement, Allegretto, warmly expressive central passages where the reputation for outstanding quality and the other night as I was jolting home… with its jaunty theme for oboe and delightful writing is at times close to the light-hearted committed performances over an immensely through the wind and rain on an open jaunting interplay between pizzicato strings and Overtura di ballo, as he called it, of 1870. wide range of repertoire. Vassily Sinaisky is car, the whole first movement of a symphony bubbling woodwind. Indeed, the symphony The success of In memoriam was such that the orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor came in to my head with a real fresh flavour succeeds above all through its all-pervading it was performed frequently during Victorian and Sir Edward Downes (who was Principal about it – besides scraps of other movements. charm, demonstrating once again a times. An early performance took place at a Conductor from 1980 to 1991) is Though the Symphony in E major has thoroughly proficient handling of the Leipzig Gewandhaus concert on 17 October Conductor Emeritus. remained known as the ‘Irish’, one can only orchestra. 1867. By then Sullivan had also enjoyed conjecture to what extent those original Sullivan’s next commission was for the public performances of a cello concerto and Richard Hickox, recipient of three themes remain in the symphony as we know 1866 Norwich Festival. With the Festival fast the overture Marmion. More significantly, Gramophone awards, the Diapason d’Or, the it. The work was not heard in public until approaching, however, he was at a loss as to though, his first comic opera, Cox and Box, Deutsche Schallplattenpreis, and a Grammy 10 March 1866, again under the baton what to offer. Then fate dealt a decisive card. had received its first public performance in (for Britten’s Peter Grimes), is Music Director 6 7 CHAN 9859 BOOK.qxd 31/8/07 10:06 am Page 8 of the City of London Sinfonia, the Spoleto guest-conducted in Washington, San Festival (Italy) and (with Simon Standage) Francisco, Dallas, Tokyo (New Japan Sir Arthur Sullivan: Sinfonie in E-Dur die “Irische” usw. of Collegium Musicum 90; he is also Philharmonic), at the radio orchestras of Associate Guest Conductor of the London Munich, Cologne, Hamburg, Stockholm, Symphony Orchestra, Conductor Emeritus Copenhagen and Paris (Orchestre Sir Arthur Sullivan wäre darüber sehr erfreut, zu Shakespeares The Tempest (Der Sturm) of the Northern Sinfonia and Principal philharmonique); the Berlin Symphony, dass die komischen Opern, die er mit W.S. zu arbeiten. Lange Auszüge wurden am Conductor of the BBC National Orchestra Residentie Orchestra The Hague, and the Gilbert schrieb, hundert Jahre nach seinem 6. April 1861 in einem Konzert anlässlich of Wales. Camerata Academica Salzburg in the Vienna Tod noch immer allgemein beliebt sind. seines Studienabschlusses unter seiner Operatic engagements have included Musikverein. Noch erfreulicher hätte er es gefunden, dass eigenen Stabführung aufgeführt. Nach seiner Opera Australia, Los Angeles Opera, Teatro Richard Hickox celebrated his 100th seine “ernsten” Konzertwerke auch weiterhin Rückkehr nach London fand eine öffentliche dell’Opera, Rome, Hamburg State Opera, recording with Chandos Records in 1997.