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Posted by John Quinn on July 9, 2007, 12:49 pm, in reply to "Cheltenham Symphonies" Sadly, the day of the "Cheltenham Symphony" is long gone, it seems, certainly so far as the Cheltenham Festival itself is concerned. From memory I don't think a single note of English orchestral music is being played at this year's festival, even though the Festival Director is Martyn Brabbins, who has conducted a lot of English music on disc and radio.
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Terry, I can't tell you who coined the phrase "Cheltenham Symphonies" but it refers to symphonies which were premiered at - though not always commissioned by - the Cheltenham Music Festival, mainly in the 1950s and early 1960s. Often these perfrmances were given by Barbirolli and the Halle who, in those days, were annual visitors. As you rightly surmise, these were works composed by "conservative" composers, such as Alwyn, Rubbra and Malcolm Arnold, whose music became out of favour in certain influential quarters, such as the BBC in the Glock era. As we have found from the recordings that are now becoming available these symphonies were often of high quality and far from deserving of the contempt which they attracted from certain people.
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