Alan Bush

[jazzy_dave]

Probably the most neglected of all British composers is this man who was 85 when the Wire did an article on his music in January 1986.

Alan Bush - 'Dialectic' for string quartet op.15

Watch on YouTube

Performed by the Aeolian Quartet: Alfred Caves and Leonard Dight, violins, Watson Forbes, viola, John Moore, cello.

Recorded by Decca in London, UK, in May 1947 and issued on 2 78rpm discs, K1582-3. As far as I know, the recording has never been reissued in any format. This transfer was made from a purchased pair of discs, processed with CEDAR Audio restoration software. The image shows the composer, photographed in the year the recording was made.
As a long-standing fan of Bush's music, I feel this is one of the finest recordings of any of his works: I hope you agree!

Alan Bush - Symphony No. 2 "The Nottingham Symphony" (1949)

Watch on YouTube

Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Martin Yates.

I. Sherwood Forest / Bosque de Sherwood (0:00)
II. Clifton Grove (8:43)
III. Castle Rock (20:44)
IV. Goose Fair (25:56)


Alan Bush belongs to a generation-class of composers that unfortunately fell into neglect for their adherence to romantic musical values, in an age where experimentation was primaeval in academic music. His Second Symphony “Nottingham” came as a result of musing about English nationalism and his left-leaning ideology. As a consequence, we might hear among its pages scenes of class struggle, popular joy and even musical landscaping related to the medieval city of Nottingham.

Enjoy

Comments

[cmcmck]

New to me!

Thanks for sharing.

[jazzy_dave]

You're welcome. I only got to hear about him in the early eighties and through second-hand vinyl. I then started buying the Wire magazine in 1984 when it was still predominantly a jazz magazine (and occasionally new music) but then they did this article on the composer in 1986.
He is now finally given some CD coverage after all these years.