If George Lloyd's early symphonies were an exploration of the form, cementing his remarkable abilities with orchestration and thematic devices, these later symphonies are more concerned with mood, atmosphere, and orchestral color.
The musical content of these symphonies sound more serious to my ears too, although his shorter symphonies tend to react to any seriousness.
Plus, we are given an oddity in Lloyd's Symphony no. 10, which is scored for brass instruments only, so the composer is always developing and changing as a composer, even if he is still aligned with tonal Romanticisms.
Certainly, the role of percussion has increased in these later symphonies, particularly of the bell and malleted variety. Lloyd also is not afraid to use dissonance here, at least as a device to entice the listener along with his musical arguments and climactic arrivals. In this case, I feel the composer is less focused on musical themes, but moreso on the musical journey.
Lloyd once again leads all of the symphonies himself, and does so with strength and vision. All of the orchestras seem on board with exploring the music with him, and the playing is generally excellent, even in comparison to Sir Edward Downes. Only the orchestral suite from The Serf is led by a different conductor, left in the fine hands of David Alan Miller after Lloyd's death.
Truth be told, I probably need to live with these individual symphonies more, but from a very general take, they are finely crafted, and built for the maximum of dramatic development. Whether a listener is on board with his brand of Neo-Romanticism is completely up to individual tastes. This listener is a sucker for such things...
Listen on YouTube
Works
Symphony 7 'Proserpine' (50.10)
Symphony 8 (45.56)
Symphony 9 (28.52)
Symphony 10 'November Journeys' (28.44)
Symphony 11 (59.00)
Symphony 12 (41.01)
The Serf: Suite (37.39)
Performers
Albany Symphony Orchestra
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Philharmonia Orchestra
David Alan Miller, conductor (Serf)
George Lloyd, conductor
Label: Albany
Year: 1988-1992; 2001; 2024
Total Timing: 4.51.22
A missing aspect of the 20th-Century symphony is filled out with the tonal music of George Lloyd.
Not for everyone, especially for those who like the crunchier psychological aspect of that era, yet Lloyd has much to offer.
Find more Lloyd recordings HERE!
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