Thomas Beecham
Born to a rich industrial family, Beecham began his career as a conductor in 1899. He used his access to the family fortune to finance opera from the 1910s until the start of the Second World War, staging seasons at Covent Garden, Drury Lane and His Majesty's Theatre with international stars, his own orchestra and a wide repertoire. Among the works he introduced to England were Richard Strauss's Elektra, Salome and Der Rosenkavalier and three operas by Frederick Delius.
Together with his younger colleague Malcolm Sargent, Beecham founded the London Philharmonic, and he conducted its first performance at the Queen's Hall in 1932. In the 1940s he worked for three years in the United States where he was music director of the Seattle Symphony and conducted at the Metropolitan Opera. After his return to Britain, he founded the Royal Philharmonic in 1946 and conducted it until his death in 1961.
Beecham's repertoire was eclectic, sometimes favouring lesser-known composers over famous ones. His specialities included composers whose works were neglected in Britain before he became their advocate, such as Delius and Berlioz. Other composers with whose music he was frequently associated were Haydn, Schubert, Sibelius and the composer he revered above all others, Mozart.
Thomas Beecham
BEECHAM at the Royal Festival Hall, Volume 1: Haydn, Lalo, Debussy
BEECHAM at the Royal Festival Hall, Volume 2: Mendelssohn, Ghedini, Dvořák
BEECHAM at the Royal Festival Hall, Volume 3: Addison, Beethoven, Saint-Saëns, Gounod
Recorded live in 1959
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham
Save 5% when you purchase all three volumes together
HAYDN Symphony No. 101, "Clock"
LALO Symphony in G minor
DEBUSSY Cortège & Air de Danse from L'enfant prodigue
Recorded live in 1959
Total duration: 58:42
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham
MENDELSSOHN Overture: The Fair Melusine
GHEDINI Musica da Concerto per Viola ed Archi
DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 8
Recorded live in 1959
Total duration: 70:43
Frederick Riddle, viola
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham
ADDISON Ballet Suite, Carte Blanche
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7
SAINT-SAËNS Dance of the Priestesses (Samson & Delilah)
GOUNOD Juliet's Dream (Romeo and Juliet)
Recorded live in 1959
Total duration: 56:49
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham
ARNELL Punch and the Child - Ballet Music
DELIUS An Arabesque
BERNERS The Triumph of Neptune - Suite
Recorded 1950-55
Total duration: 59:16
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Einar Nørby, baritone
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Robert Grooters, baritone
Sir Thomas Beecham, conductor
BRAHMS Academic Festival Overture
BRAHMS Symphony No. 2
DELIUS North Country Sketches
Recorded 1949, 1956 and 1958
Total duration: 73:00
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
conductor Sir Thomas Beecham
DELIUS Appalachia
DELIUS In a Summer Garden
DELIUS Over the Hills and Far Away
DELIUS On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring
DELIUS Summer Night on the River
Studio recordings, 1950-1956
Total duration: 78:44
Sir Thomas Beecham, conductor
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & Chorus
Mozart Symphonies 31, 35, 36
Mozart Complete Beecham Acoustic Recordings, 1915-1917
Studio recordings · 1915-1954
Total duration: 79:54
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Beecham Symphony Orchestra
Mozart Divertimento No. 2
Studio recordings · 1950/55
Total duration: 76:40
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Mozart Symphonies 40, 41
Mozart Bassoon Concerto
Mozart The Marriage of Figaro: Overture
Studio recordings · 1912-1958
Producer and XR Remastering: Andrew Rose
Cover artwork based on a photograph of Sir Thomas Beecham
Total duration: 75:28
Gwydion Brooke, bassoon
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
DELIUS A Mass of Life
DELIUS Hassan Suite
Recorded London 1952/3 and 1956
Total duration: 2hr 11:20
Soloists and Choirs
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
conductor Sir Thomas Beecham
Studio recording, 1927
Total duration: 2hr 4:04
Muriel Brunskill contralto
Hubert Eisdell tenor
Harold Williams bass
Orchestra and BBC Choir
Sir Thomas Beecham conductor
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