ALUN HODDINOTT (b.1929): Symphonies No. 2, Op. 29, No. 3, Op. 61 & No. 5, Op. 81.

Description: Unlike his countrymen Mathias and Williams, Hoddinott was Celtic to the core in his propensity for brooding, obsessive scores lit with bursts of driving energy, sudden emotional outbursts and a somber lyricism, all of which are on display in the Second (1962) and Third (1968) symphonies (the first movement of the Second makes one wonder how Hoddinott got away from Hammer's film-scoring scouts). If this was his yin, the yang was a love for Italy in particular and the Mediterranean life-style in general, and the Fifth (1972) has a warmth which the composer asks one to feel with his preface about "...alpine horns, cattle bells and Tuscan mists...". Decca recordings from 1972-3 except the Second which is EMI, 1967 (released on Pye LP). London Symphony Orchestra; Norman Del Mar, David Atherton, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Andrew Davis. Original 1996 CD release.