In my diary: Havergal Brian's record-breaking Gothic Symphony, with 1,000 performers, at the Proms in July.
A number of his own works premiered there, including The Martyrdom of St. Magnus (1976; first performed 1977), a chamber opera in nine scenes based on a novel by George Mackay Brown Cinderellaa (1979; first performed 1980), a pantomime opera in two acts for young performers; and Symphony No. 7 (2000).
The composer made cruel demands on his performers; each symphony is a marathon in itself.
For a time, when it had the weight of the major record labels behind it, it managed to stake an exclusive claim on repertory up to the Baroque and beyond plausible enough to scare away conventional performers, including symphony orchestras, with their incredible shrinking repertories.
To recapture the impact of staples like Tchaikovsky's "Pathétique" Symphony or Bizet's "Carmen," performers must reconnect to the daring and timeless elements in these works.
Christopher Rex, the festival's founder and artistic director (and principal cellist of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra), recruited some notable performers on very short notice.
On Monday night at Avery Fisher Hall, the London Symphony opened Lincoln Center's Great Performers season with a Brahms program, the first of two, under Valery Gergiev, the orchestra's principal conductor since 2007.
Frequently performers playing Peoples' Symphony concerts for $5 a ticket or less -- and at correspondingly reduced fees -- also offer similar or identical programs in larger halls and at full price a few days later.
LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA Lincoln Center's Great Performers series, having presented the London Symphony and the Philharmonia Orchestra in the fall, completes its minifestival of major London orchestras.
Last Wednesday Mr. Davis conducted an exhilarating Sibelius program with the London Symphony to open Lincoln Center's Great Performers season.
