The programme included Florence Price's Third Symphony, subsequently the subject of at least two commercial issues, but that work was effectively overshadowed by the world premiere of the massive three-part symphonic poem Roland furieux (1876) by Augusta Holmès. The music was redolent in places of Franck's Psyché and Massenet's Esclarmonde, but in both cases it anticipated those scores by a decade or more. I was given to understand that the piece was scheduled for subsequent commercial recording, but nothing seems to have happened subsequently.
And while I am at it, I could perhaps draw the attention of Lyrita (possibly via the Itter Archive?) to the four operas by Alan Bush. Three of these - Wat Tyler, Men of Blackmoor and Joe Hill - were the subject of studio recordings by the BBC, and the fourth - The Sugar Reapers - was broadcast in an abridged studio version by East German radio. Surely we are now over the stage where political considerations enter into decisions about what should be made available on record? And I can see no other reason for the current total neglect of these vibrant and dramatic works.
Thank you for taking part in the MusicWeb International Forum.
Len Mullenger - Founder of MusicWeb