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The George Lloyd Society Newsletter January 2019 |
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Greetings from the George Lloyd Society.
I am sending you this Newsletter because you are, or have been, a member of the George Lloyd Society, or because you have purchased or downloaded recordings or music scores.
Following the change in Data Protection rules in 2018 (GDPR) I sent out an email asking for confirmation of subscriptions. Thanks to all who replied. Since then I have found an additional mailing list which was omitted from that procedure, but is now included. Please accept my apologies for this late compliance with GDPR. If you wish to be removed from our email lists please unsubscribe at the foot of this Newsletter.
The activities of the George Lloyd Society have once again been hindered by my recurring illness, and we were unable to produce a Newsletter in 2018. Things are at last on the mend, and we are looking forward to 2019 with renewed vigour. This edition of the Newsletter looks back at some of the highlights of 2018, with some pointers to the year to come.
thanks, and best wishes for 2019
William Lloyd
Secretary
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The George Lloyd Society Newsletter January 2019 |
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Complete cycle of George Lloyd Symphonies
to be played by Ealing Symphony Orchestra.
2018 saw the start of what promises to be an extended relationship with the Ealing Symphony Orchestra under conductor John Gibbons. John is Vice Chairman of the British Music Society, and a recognised champion of British composers.
http://www.johnsgibbons.com/british-music/
The Ealing Symphony Orchestra gave a stirring performance of Lloyd’s Symphony No 4, on Saturday 19th May 2018 at St Barnabas Church, Ealing, and as a result one of their members has offered an extended sponsorship to play the complete cycle of Lloyd’s 12 Symphonies over the next 12 years.
They begin with Symphony No 1 on January 26th 2019 - a mere week away.
The programme includes Malcolm Arnold Concerto for two Violins, and Symphony No 7 by Antonín Dvořák.
Concert: Saturday 26th January 2019
https://www.ealingarts.org.uk/music-events/
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The George Lloyd Society Newsletter January 2019 |
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'The dead ride fast….'
Lloyd Symphony No 7 and Dracula – The Ballet!
Theatre Magdeburg, Germany.
Magdeburg is the state capital of Saxony, and in addition to being home to a major University and the Otto Planck Institute, the city supports a busy theatre, with a resident symphony orchestra and ballet company. Theatre Magdeburg has commissioned a major new ballet around Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula, using the third movement of Lloyd’s 7th Symphony as the primary music score. The new ballet, based on the archetypal European myth, is firmly in the Romantic tradition, and includes music by Sibelius, Rachmaninov, Elgar and Vaughan Williams. Four performances are scheduled for 2019, and a further three performances for 2020. The choreographer is Gonzalo Galguera, who has previously directed Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, Sacre du Printemps and Les Sylphides.
Link here: https://www.theater-magdeburg.de/spielplan/ballett/dracula/
Biographical note: George Lloyd was no stranger to ballet music. In 1936 he was commissioned by the London Markova-Dolin Ballet Company to make a new orchestral arrangement of Les Sylphides. Lloyd's score is currently on our list for typsetting, with a view to a performance.
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The George Lloyd Society Newsletter January 2019 |
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When the Composer Has PTSD: Examining the Life of George Lloyd
The extraordinary life of George Lloyd has prompted an extended article by Jonathan Davidson, Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Duke University, North Carolina, USA. Professor Davidson is a leading authority on the treatment of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), and this article makes a detailed study of the crisis in Lloyd’s health caused by the injuries he suffered as a Royal Marine on Arctic Convoy duty.
Prof. Davidson concludes that the composer, with the help of his wife Nancy, developed and adopted various daily therapeutic procedures to treat his PTSD, and these novel strategies contributed to his remarkable recovery and the ‘Indian Summer’ of his return to composition. 70 years later, these and similar novel techniques are now widely practiced in treatment for these problems.
This is a fascinating biographical article about Lloyd, with specific wider reference to the role of music in the treatment of PTSD.
Professor Davidson’s article is published in
Music & Medicine | 2018 | Volume 10 | Issue 1 | Pages 39 – 44.
The article is reprinted here with permission, and it can be downloaded here: (Sign in required)
Here is a link to original publication in Music and Medicine: (Click the link)
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The George Lloyd Society Newsletter January 2018 |
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George Lloyd Interview with Bruce Duffie,
for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
George Lloyd was usually reticent about the details of his life, his methods of composition, and his response to the changing fashions in orchestral music and the 'culture wars' of the mid 20th century. This reticence was in part because he remained unable to talk about his wartime experience without severe emotional stress, but also because he disliked and distrusted the notion of celebrity culture, in which biographical details of the composer are used for PR and marketing. He took the view that the music should speak for itself, and when asked to write programme notes for concerts or recordings, these notes were usually very brief. If he was asked for more detail he would usually quote the old American adage that ‘talking about music is like singing about economics.'
He made an exception to his usual reticence when being interviewed by Bruce Duffie, on the occasion of the performance of his Seventh Symphony by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Neeme Järvi. We have recently discovered that Mr Duffie has made a transcript of this interview available on his website, and we can recommend it as one of the most revealing and insightful interviews available, touching on Lloyd's own methods and his response to the rise of modernist styles of composition
http://www.bruceduffie.com/georgelloyd.html
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The George Lloyd Society Newsletter January 2019 |
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Symphony No 4:
Simon Heffer commentary in
The Daily Telegraph
In the lead up to the 2018 Ealing performance of Symphony No 4, journalist and commentator Simon Heffer wrote an illuminating feature about George Lloyd and that symphony for The Daily Telegraph.
A transcript is available for download here. (Click to download)
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The George Lloyd Society Newsletter January 2019 |
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Symphony No 4:
Easter Orchestral Society – Study days
Following the Ealing performance Symphony No 4 appears to have resonated with The Easter Orchestral Society, who will be rehearsing the Symphony as part of their study week in April 2019, followed by a play through. The Society provides opportunities for keen adult amateur musicians and budding professionals to tackle a wide range of challenging repertoire in a fun, friendly and supportive environment. Scholarship places, which waive all subscriptions, are available to young string and harp players and there are some subsided places for full-time students.
Easter Orchestral Society: https://easterorchsoc.org/
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The George Lloyd Society Newsletter January 2019 |
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 Symphony No 4: Typsetting project.
The Ealing Symphony Orchestra performance of Symphony No 4 prompted The George Lloyd Society to arrange for the Full Score of that symphony to be typeset, (or engraved, as we used to call it..) and the work was admirably done for us by Georgia Seddon at Pitch Perfect Music Services. (Click the link for an example of George's original manuscript, and Georgia's Sibelius setting.) Although the original full score in the composer’s manuscript was not difficult to read, we have found that typeset scores are now becoming essential for conductors who are not used to reading manuscript, so we have an ongoing programme of typesetting.
Details here: www.georgelloyd.com
Downloads of scores:
Many Full Scores are now available for download in PDF format. Please contact us for details.
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The George Lloyd Society Newsletter January 2019 |
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Performances of George Lloyd’s music since the last Newsletter:
Many thanks to Society members from UK, Europe and USA who have notified us of performances during the last year:
10th October 2018 Cadogan Hall, London
Centenary Reconciliation Concert
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra: Symphony No.9
25th October 2018 North of Ireland Bands Association Championship
Test Piece: Diversions on a Bass Theme
8th April 2018 North American Brass Band Championship NABBA
Test Piece: Diversions on a Bass Theme
17 November 2018 Scottish Challenge Championship
Test Piece: Diversions on a Bass Theme
June 17, 2018 Schaffhauser Cantonal Music Festival (Switzerand)
Test Piece: English Heritage
22nd June 2018 Göta Brass Band In Memoriam from Royal Parks
17 Feb 2018 NM Brass 2018 Sola Brass Band:
English Heritage
9th May 2018 UoSMD Gala Concert - Peel Hall, Salford.
Concert: English Heritage
9th November 2018 St Alfeges Church, Greenwich
Royal Greenwich Brass Band
Concert: English Heritage
19th November 2018 Charlton House
Royal Greenwich Brass Band
Concert: King's Messenger
11th November 2018 The Acorn, Penzance, Remembrance Day Concert
The Penzance Silver Band HMS Trinidad March
4th November 2017 Wesley Memorial Church, Oxford,
Oxford Reunion Wind Orchestra: Forest of Arden
Radio:
12th August 2018 WWFM Symphony No. 12
15th September 2018 KING FM Piano Concerto No.3
YouTube:
One of the few works by George Lloyd which has not been released as a recording is ‘A Miniature Triptych’ written for Brass Quintet. A recording has appeared on YouTube, believed to have been intended for radio broadcast, played by Equale Brass
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBn8qrVqVQs
Research Paper:
George Lloyd: Music for Brass, from Symphony to Test Piece. Pieter Koster investigates the relationship between Lloyds compositional style when writing symphonic work and test pieces. https://www.researchcatalogue.net/profile/show-exposition?exposition=63714
Forthcoming:
Saturday March 16 2019, St John the Evangelist church, Oxford.
Commotio: Lloyd Psalm 130, with works by Gurney, Francis Pott, Anthony Miller
Join the George Lloyd Society
Benefits of membership include: occasional Newsletters, discounts on CDs, music hire, and access to the George Lloyd Music Library & Archive. (see below.) There is a one-off membership fee of £10.00, and no further or annual subscription is required.
The welcome pack includes the 70 minute CD 'Indomitable Spirit'. To join, please click here.
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The George Lloyd Society Newsletter January 2019 |
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The George Lloyd Music Library and Archive.
Since 2001, the library has been has been housed in a converted 18th Century farmhouse near Kendal on the edge of the Lake District. The library comprises full scores, orchestral sets, vocal scores, solo parts, and opera libretti.
The composer's original manuscripts have been acquired by The British Library, who have provided facsimile scans for us to retain. We also retain the composers own annotated copies of his conducting scores, together with many archive boxes of photographs,correspondence, and other biographical material. We have in-house facilities for copying, printing and binding.
Cottage accommodation may be available to members of the George Lloyd Society. Please ask for details.
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The George Lloyd Society Newsletter January 2019 |
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