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Artist
Havergal Brian
12+ albums
Classical20th Century Classicalcontemporary classicalbritish20th Century
about
William (Havergal) Brian (1876–1972), was an English composer. William Brian (he adopted the name "Havergal" from a local family of hymn-writers) was born on 29th January 1876 in Dresden, a district of Stoke-on-Trent, and was one of a very small number of composers to come from the English working class. After attending an elementary school he had difficulty finding any congenial work, and taught himself the rudiments of music. For a time he was organist of Odd Rode Church just across the border in Cheshire. In 1895, he heard a choir rehearsing Edward Elgar's King Olaf, attended the first performance, and became a fervent enthusiast of the new music being produced by Richard Strauss and the British composers of the day. Through attending music festivals he made the lifelong friendship of his near-contemporary composer Granville Bantock. In 1907 his first English Suite attracted the attention of Henry Wood who performed it at the London Proms. It was an overnight success, and Brian obtained a publisher and performances for his next few orchestral works. Why he never succeeded in maintaining his success is a matter for debate, but it was probably due to his shyness with strangers and lack of confidence on public occasions. Whatever it was, the offers of performance soon dried up. At this point a development unusual in British twentieth-century musical history transformed Brian's life, for better or for worse has never been decided. He was offered a yearly income of £500 (the
top songs
1
Symphony No. 1 In D Minor, "The Gothic": Part 1: I Allegro Assai: Section 1
1,6782Violin Concerto in C Major: I. Allegro moderato: section 5
5733Symphony No. 1 In D Minor, "The Gothic": Part 1: II. Lento Espressivo E Solenne: Section 1
5624Part 1: III. Vivace: section 5
5385Symphony No. 1 In D Minor, "The Gothic": Part 1: I Allegro Assai: Section 2
5176Symphony No. 1 In D Minor, "The Gothic": Part 1: I Allegro Assai: Section 3
3497Part 1: III. Vivace: section 6
2968Symphony No. 1 In D Minor, "The Gothic": Part 1: II. Lento Espressivo E Solenne: Section 2
2789Symphony No. 1 In D Minor, "The Gothic": Part 1: I Allegro Assai: Section 4
27110Symphony No. 1 In D Minor, "The Gothic": Part 1: II. Lento Espressivo E Solenne: Section 3
270albums
BRIAN: Symphony No. 1, 'Gothic'
BRIAN: Symphony No. 1, 'The Gothic'
BRIAN: Symphony No. 18 / Violin Concerto / The Jolly Miller
BRIAN: Symphonies Nos. 20 and 25
BRIAN: Symphonies Nos. 11 and 15
BRIAN: Symphonies Nos. 4 and 12
Brian: Symphony No. 2 / Festival Fanfare
Brian: Symphony No. 1 "The Gothic Symphony"
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Havergal Brian: Symphonies Nos. 29, 30, 31, 32
Brian: Symphony No. 6 "Sinfonia Tragica": III. Lento solenne –
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Brian: Agamemnon & Symphonies Nos. 6 & 12
BRIAN: Symphonies Nos. 17 and 32 / In Memoriam