BAX. Symphony No. 2. London Philhar- monic Orchestra conducted by Myer Fredman. Lyrita SRCS54 (L2 -34). Recorded in association with Ken Russell Productions.

For years now I have treasured a private tape of a broadcast of Bax's Second Symphony conducted by Eugene Goossens in November 1956 during the Third Programme series devoted to all the Bax symphonies. During the intervening years I have played it often and always pleasure : indeed I have come to feel that it is possibly the finest of the seven and one of his most impressive works in any genre. I am well aware of the reservations felt about Bax in many circles (and there are times when listening to his music that one must concede more than a point or two to his critics) but there is no need to be on the defensive about this symphony: to me it is wholly convincing, a wonderfully opulent and richly imaginative score. The work dates from 1924 though the finishing touches were not put to the full score until two years later. It is dedicated to Koussevitzky who conducted its premiere in Boston in 1929, and calls for large forces including celesta, glockenspiel, two harps, piano and organ. The ideas are copious and vividly conceived and the music has a wild imaginative intensity that I find wholly compelling; its richness of texture and powerful sense of atmosphere are obviously right from the start. The four themes that are heard at the outset recur in the other movements (there are three in all) and there is also a direct quotation in the third movement of material from the first. But it is not only the vividness of his inspiration that impresses; this symphony is far more cogently argued than say, the Fourth or the Sixth and is more than just a string of rhapsodic episodes.

Too many records of Bax's music have suffered the handicap of indifferent performance or recording and I am delighted to say that there need be no reservations on either score about this new issue. The performance reflects the greatest credit on Myer Fredman whose command of this score is highly impressive. The phrasing is unfailingly musical and perceptive while his shaping of the flow of the music is thoroughly idiomatic. The LPO play not only with discipline but enthusiasm: it sounds as if they were surprised by the fire and quality of the inspiration (as I hope readers will be when they hear the work). At a time when glossier maestros till ever narrower furrows, it is to be hoped that Mr Fredman's enterprise and gifts will be accorded some recognition. The recording is in the demonstration category or not very far off it: it has great clarity of detail, welcome in a score of such complex colours, an impressive range and presence. The organ pedal just after fig. 13 in the slow movement and the climax reproduces very realistically.

I see that the disc is recorded in association with Ken Russell Productions and I hope as many people buy it as bought tickets for his Tchaikovsky film. In the meantime congratulations to all concerned with this issue. R.L.