SOMM Recordings

The Beecham Collection - Salzedo: The Witch Boy; Tchaikovsky

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Details

Composer
Frederick Delius, Edvard Grieg, Leonard Salzedo, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Artist
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Format
CD
Discs
1
Label
SOMM Recordings
Released
Aug 21, 2026
Catalog #
SOMM-BEECHAM 36
UPC
758871013628

About

SOMM Recordings is delighted to release the next CD of it's ongoing, glowingly reviewed Beecham Collection. The label's initiative in issuing this collection is widely regarded by critics and music historians as a superb and invaluable endeavour. Focusing on live performances, radio broadcasts, and rare recordings-often featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra-the series has been described as a "ground-breaking" enterprise that unearths "buried treasure" for enthusiasts of Sir Thomas Beecham. This 36th issue includes live performances from two of Beecham's last concerts in 1959 and 1960, as well as one from 1954. Once again, producer and audio restorer Lani Spahr 'has done wonders with the restoration,' to quote John Quinn, Music Web International. This release opens with two of Beecham's signature musical lollipops, which he described collectively as 'delightful little pieces.' By the River comes from the Florida Suite by Frederick Delius. Though written in Leipzig, the suite was inspired by Delius's sojourn on an orange plantation in Florida, where his father had sent him in a vain attempt to try to dissuade him from pursuing music. Beecham championed the suite, and this piece, recorded live at the Royal Festival Hall on 24 April 1960, is an especially poignant document, as it was taped at what turned out to be Beecham's last concert in London. The second of the four Symphonic Dances by Edvard Grieg is the earliest performance on this CD, recorded live at the Royal Festival Hall on 26 October 1954. Grieg noted on the title page of the autograph manuscript that the dances were 'based on Norwegian motifs,' and this second dance, marked Allegretto grazioso, was an especial favourite of Beecham. The works of Leonard Salzedo, an English composer of Spanish descent, include seventeen ballets, the most successful of which was The Witch Boy from 1956, based on the 'Ballad of Barbara Allan.' Beecham's exciting and clearly committed concert performance three years after the premiere was described on the programme as 'Scenes and Dances from the Ballet, The Witch Boy,' and this recording faithfully reproduces the section titles as they were printed in the original Royal Festival Hall programme on 14 November 1959. That performance also included the Symphony No. 3 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky-his only completed symphony in a major key, and the only one with five movements instead of the traditional four. Nicknamed 'The Polish' after the Tempo di polacca marking of the fifth and last movement, it is a lighter work than his other symphonies and considered by some less masterful. Beecham never saw it that way, and he always made a persuasive case for the symphony. By the time of the present performance, he had been playing the 'Polish' symphony for decades, and his conducting reveals a deep engagement with the work.

Tracklist 11 tracks

  1. 1 Florida Suite: II. By the River 05:22
    Track
    1
    Title
    Florida Suite: II. By the River
    Duration
    05:22
    Composer
    Frederick Delius
    Ensemble
    Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Thomas Beecham
  2. 2 Symphonic Dances, Op. 64: II. Allegretto grazioso 05:19
    Track
    2
    Title
    Symphonic Dances, Op. 64: II. Allegretto grazioso
    Duration
    05:19
    Composer
    Edvard Grieg
    Ensemble
    Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Thomas Beecham
  3. 3 Introduction – In the Store – Dance of the Witch Boy 07:49
    Track
    3
    Title
    Introduction – In the Store – Dance of the Witch Boy
    Duration
    07:49
    Composer
    Leonard Salzedo
    Ensemble
    Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Thomas Beecham
  4. 4 Dance of Love 04:29
    Track
    4
    Title
    Dance of Love
    Duration
    04:29
    Composer
    Leonard Salzedo
    Ensemble
    Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Thomas Beecham
  5. 5 Square Dance 04:11
    Track
    5
    Title
    Square Dance
    Duration
    04:11
    Composer
    Leonard Salzedo
    Ensemble
    Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Thomas Beecham
  6. 6 The Lynching 06:43
    Track
    6
    Title
    The Lynching
    Duration
    06:43
    Composer
    Leonard Salzedo
    Ensemble
    Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Thomas Beecham
  7. 7 I. Moderato assai - Allegro brillante 12:54
    Track
    7
    Title
    I. Moderato assai - Allegro brillante
    Duration
    12:54
    Composer
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Ensemble
    Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Thomas Beecham
  8. 8 II. Allegro moderato e semplice 07:12
    Track
    8
    Title
    II. Allegro moderato e semplice
    Duration
    07:12
    Composer
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Ensemble
    Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Thomas Beecham
  9. 9 III. Andante elegiaco 09:49
    Track
    9
    Title
    III. Andante elegiaco
    Duration
    09:49
    Composer
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Ensemble
    Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Thomas Beecham
  10. 10 IV. Scherzo 05:51
    Track
    10
    Title
    IV. Scherzo
    Duration
    05:51
    Composer
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Ensemble
    Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Thomas Beecham
  11. 11 V. Allegro con fuoco 06:47
    Track
    11
    Title
    V. Allegro con fuoco
    Duration
    06:47
    Composer
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Ensemble
    Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Thomas Beecham