Please do,Albion!! :) Dutton seem to be interested in both Brian & Holbrooke,so a Holbrooke symphony that 'sounds like Brian' might appeal to them?! ;D Or maybe,if it sounds that much like Brian ::) ??? Brabbins might be interested?! ;D Or maybe,if it sounds that much like Brian,Naxos could include it in their newly revived HB cycle?!! ::)
And if it really DOES sound like Brian,what a great reason to record it?!! ::) ;D

                                                                            Yours Sincerely
                                                                        A confused music lover! ::)

Don't start talking about food now,Dundonnell,or I'll be raiding the larder! ;D As to the Foulds World Requiem. Erm :-[,well thank you very much to whoever provided that very brief upload. I suppose I'd better listen to it,now! ;D

Well,poor old Foulds won't be getting any dosh from it,either way! ;D

You're like me,Dundonnell. I have a 'grab-it-while-you-can' policy. I even downloaded the Foulds World Requiem the moment I saw it here. Next minute,for copyright reasons,it was gone! I still haven't listened to it yet & it's safely in my personal vault! It won't get out!
Hope I don't get banned for revealing this?!! :(

And more Bate and Holbrooke! In that order!

Wish they were interested in Daniel Jones! :(

Standfords Fifth!! I remember hearing that,when it was broadcast,back in 1985,I think! I made a tape of it at the time. I loved it! I thought it was marvellous! A wild & wacky work if ever there was,with quotes from Mozart & Pomp & Circumstance No 1,woven in. It had a surrealistic,almost hallucinatory 'Alice in Wonderland' quality about it? (aka Tredici! :)) The singing by Joan Rodgers was stunningly beautiful.It got slammed by the critics apparently.....the miseries!!! The cassette got chewed up after a while by one of my dodgy (at the time) tape recorders! :) It really DID make a BIG impression on me at the time!

I tend to agree with everything you're saying here,Dundonnell. In their own way they are all pretty approachable composers. Daniel Jones,in particular (who happens to be the one I have listened to the most ;D) is actually a very lyrical composer,even richly romantic at times,in his own way.Close your eyes & there are some lovely of Welsh seascapes to enjoy! In fact,underneath that deceptively craggy exterior,the Second Symphony has some of the most colourful orchestration I have ever heard.

Fricker is in a different league! Although,I find his third symphony surprisingly approachable. This is music that requires allot of close listening & for small record labels,therein lies the problem. A pity!

Holbrooke I quite like. I don't know quite why.He's got 'something',which keeps me sufficiently intrigued to go on buying every Holbrooke cd,of significance,that comes out. Incidentally,I tend to agree with Calum MacDonalds asessment in IRR Magazine (Dec 2010) "It's not that his ideas lack character..." " but that their effect is somehow inconsequential" " Theme follows theme,follows episode,follows gesture..." He goes on to say that the music is at times impressive,but there is no "strong sense of where it is going" or whether any one part is of more value than another!
I expect you have seen this review,but I am just reminding you & trying not to breach copyright by quoting short extracts & replacing some of his eloquent wording with my own! ;D
Yet,having said that his sheer eccentricity,undoubtable gift for colorful orchestration & a spooky,at times rather lurid,gothic atmosphere somehow manages to keep me listening,even at his most uneven!
As to recordings. His obsession with Edgar Allan Poe,the inspiration for so many horror movies & authors,not to mention the fact that he composed a colossal operatic cycle inspired by the 'Mabinogion' has to be a plus point for any small,adventurous record label. I've already seen his name mentioned (somewhat enthusiastically) on several sites dealing with macabre literature. Whatever you think of his music,like Cyril Scott,he's a wacky,colourful figure & in this day &  while it's never going to turn him into a million seller,it might actually help his cause! ;D

One final point regarding David Wynne. I've been curious to hear his music for years. Unfortunately,some of what I have heard here sounds a little too much like allot of that empty,fashionable sort of music that was being written a couple of decades ago. Of course,he was very prolific & the recording quality of the symphony is a bit rough (although,thank you to whoever provided it) so I suppose I should give him the benefit of the doubt for now. Having said that,it's sufficiently intriguing in places for me to want to try more & if a cd of his orchestral music ever comes out,I will probably buy it!

A fascinating & fun list. I agree with most of the 'ranking'. While Daniel Jones definately belongs in Group 1 of the 'Losers',it's also nice to see Holbrooke. The Fourth Symphony may be more of a suite,but it's a fascinating oddity, with a gorgeously orchestrated slow movement,if I remember correctly.I can't wait to hear more!
  I am a little displeased to see David Wynne in Group 2,however. I'm not quite convinced by the Symphony I've heard here & judging by the other compositions available here,he's not in the Daniel Jones league......but,he IS Welsh,after all!!! ;D

 :-[ Well,this is EXTREMELY embarassing! The gong I was referring to occurs towards the end of the 'Eroica Fantasia' fill-up,not the third symphony. This is what comes of listening on cordless headphones while doing things (You can't see the tracking on the cd player,because it's in another room! ).Dear oh dear!! I quite like old Anton Rubinstein at his best,but this sort of thing REALLY doesn't help his cause!! ;D My excuse,I bought symphonies 3-5,a few weeks ago & had one perfunctory listen through,while working! :-[
A big gong for me,I think!!! :( :-[

Regarding Russian finales I DO know well enough to comment on. I would put Rachmaninov Symphonies 1 & 2 and Scriabin No 2 right near the top!

Since not everyone would regard many compositions by Rubinstein as exciting,I'd better have another listen now! ;D He has his supporters,though. I have heard his Fifth (which I bought recently) is possibly his best & most 'Russian' sounding symphony & I shall be having another listen soon!

I could have just been in a good mood,of course! :)

I second that! Ever since reading about Gaze Cooper in a BMS newsletter,back in the 80s I think,I have been intrigued about this composer! The name certainly helps! 'Gaze Cooper' would look great on the front of a cd,even if the music wasn't!! ;D
And now a review! And let's face it,the world isn't exactly swimming in reviews of Gaze Cooper!!! And this one is positive. Good!

I understand Cameo Classics are interested in this composer & they have already recorded a small piece,which I am afraid I haven't bought (hypocrite! :-[)....but the price (only available from CC) & the other items have discouraged me!

I bought the Naxos reissue of Rubinsteins 3rd symphony a few weeks ago. After struggling through the Fourth,(dear oh dear! ::))I quite enjoyed this one. The finale was a suprise. Very exciting in places & if memory serves me correctly a gong stroke right at the end,which took me completely by suprise. I was halfway upstairs (cordless headphones!) & I was lucky to stay vertical! :o

Marvellous! Thank you,Albion! :) I have been waiting to hear a decent performance of this opera ever since hearing the Radio 3 broadcast in 1985,I think,conducted by Lothar Zagrosek. I remember the woman singing in the lead role had a stunningly beautiful voice. Her singing was really that lovely! I also remember that I had a Landlord at the time & his brother who came to stay with him obviously wasn't that keen,but I remember him saying what a beautiful voice she had. I have now located your response to my original post relating to this performance & singer on the U***** C******** forum :o ;D informing me that her name was Ana Pusar! Not exactly a household name (over here,anyway),but ooh,she was good. Yet,when Capriccio issue a premiere recording we get the equivalent of an aural scythe!! :o :( :( (I remember the Gramophone reviewer referring to this aspect of her vocal abilities!!) Dear,oh dear!! :( Also,I remember the sumptuousness of the 1985 performance. The orchestra was fantastic! Why couldn't someone have brought THAT performance out on cd?!!!! It's crazy!!! I actually taped it at the time,but my grotty cassette player of the time chewed the tapes up!!!!
Anyway,thank you so much Albion. Although,having said that,ingrate as I am,if anyone out there has tapes of that 1985 performance,imho,you REALLY would be doing everyone a big favour by providing us with an upload! Particularly for Ana Pusar,but also for that wonderful orchestral playing. (In fact,as far as I can remember,all the other performers were very good) Also,it's the first performance I ever heard! If only someone would release it on cd!!
In the meantime,I can't wait to hear this one!!!!! :) :) :)

Ooh,so would I! :) :) One of the most engrossing symphonic cycles I have ever heard! And Bryden Thomson,one of my favourite conductors. Sadly missed & underrated. Shame on Chandos for not reissuing his Bax cycle (my first choice,not Handley!). Still,you can buy them on Amazon s/h at (usually!) very reasonable prices.....end of THAT rant!! ;D
 Thank you for recording those broadcasts,Albion. What would we music lovers do without you. Well,I'd be cranking up ye olde dolby cassette deck in my case! ;D (Which reminds me,when I going to put up that fm stereo aerial that's standing in the corner?! :o :()
  Incidentally,I wonder how long it will be before someone 'out there' with tapes of those missing Bryden Thomson symphonies Daniel Jones chances on this site?!!! ::)

And no,I can't understand the BBC either,Dundonnell!! Does anybody?!! ::)
(And maybe I DON'T want to!! >:( )