May 2009
Eugène Goossens (1893-1962), distinguished member of a famous musical family, protégé of Diaghilev and Beecham, is barely remembered now even as the master conductor he was. The booklet cover is a photograph of Cincinnati at night, viewed from the Kentucky side of the Ohio River: Goossens composed both of these works during his tenure as conductor of the Cincinnati SO (1931-1946) and dedicated the Symphony to the orchestra’s musicians. After Cincinnati he went to Sydney, as conductor of the Sydney SO and director of that city’s conservatory, then returned to London, where he made some stunning recordings for EMI, Everest and other labels. Both of these Cincinnati works exude a certain sense of drama and urgency, backed by a sure-handed exploitation of the resources of the modern orchestra that comes from knowing its machinery inside and out. The Symphony, according to Goossens, is not "programmatic" but does deal with "the eternal verities: life, love and death." Except for two or three pieces on 78s in the 1920s, Goossens did not record his own music; surely he would admire these committed performances by Shelley and Hickox and appreciate Chandos’s wide-open sound and Lewis Foreman’s comprehensive documentation. A splendid memorial to both Goossens and Hickox. GO BACK TO: |
Goossens -
Phantasy Concerto; Symphony No. 1
