Arnold Bax - Reception and Recordings

Reception and Recordings

After his death, Bax's music fell into neglect. He had always sustained a Romantic outlook, distancing himself from musical modernism and especially Arnold Schoenberg's serialism, which was now being embraced by institutions worldwide. He was increasingly pigeon-holed as a 'musical pastoralist' together with Vaughan Williams and others. Consequently, Bax's works tended to fall out of the repertoire of orchestras which had once given them frequent performances.

Because of this decline, Bax's music was slow to reach recording. As late as the mid-sixties, there were only two recordings of his symphonies, one long deleted and the other on an obscure label. But from 1966 onwards, a revival of his music began with a series of recordings on Richard Itter's Lyrita label. By the centenary of his birth in 1983 much of his music was available in modern recordings. The Lyrita recordings of the First and Seventh Symphonies were reissued in 2006; that of the Sixth Symphony, only previously available on LP, in June 2007; and those of the Second and Fifth Symphonies, also only on LP, in February 2008.

Naxos Records have released a complete cycle of Bax’s symphonies and tone poems, recorded by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under the baton of David Lloyd-Jones, along with much of his chamber music. Chandos Records have also championed Bax's orchestral music on CD with recordings of the tone poems often conducted either by Bryden Thomson or Vernon Handley, as well as two complete symphony cycles. The first cycle (released through the 1980s and 1990s) saw Bryden Thomson at the helm of the London Philharmonic Orchestra for all except the Fourth Symphony, which was played by the Ulster Orchestra. The second (released in 2003) was played by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra under Vernon Handley, a lifelong champion and connoisseur of Bax's music. This box set, which also contains recordings of Tintagel and the Rogue's Comedy Overture and includes thoughtful interviews in response to questions from Andrew McGregor and Lewis Foreman, garnered glowing reviews and won a Gramophone Award. It was followed (in 2008) by a further widely acclaimed disc of three of the tone poems plus the posthumous Sinfonietta conducted by Handley in 2005, this time with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Chandos has also released a recording of the complete scores to Oliver Twist and Malta G.C. (with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra under Rumon Gamba). Despite such successful championship on record, Bax’s orchestral music remains rarely performed in concert.

Although he was an able pianist, Bax's appearances as a performer were few and far between. There are recordings of him partnering with May Harrison and Lionel Tertis in sonatas by Frederick Delius and himself. He made a rare concert appearance at the memorial concert for Peter Warlock in 1930. His piano music has been recorded by several artists, including Iris Loveridge, John McCabe, Eric Parkin, Ashley Wass and Michael Endres. However, no complete survey has yet been recorded.

An English Heritage blue plaque, unveiled in 1993, commemorates Bax at his birthplace, 13 Pendennis Road in Streatham.