Richard Pennycuick wrote:

>I heard on the radio this morning a delightfully extrovert Symphony in F by
>Crotch, written in 1814 and played by the Milton Keynes Chamber Orchestra.
>He was, apparently and perhaps inevitably, something of a ladies' man.  I'm
>tempted to order the Unicorn CD which also contains another symphony, an
>overture and an organ concerto.
>
>Can anyone confirm that the other works are as interesting as the Symphony
>in F?

I bought the CD some time ago, also having heard the F major symphony on
the radio (I turned on half-way through something, and thought "Hey!  This
is good.  What can it be?").  I'm sorry to have to report that, although
the other works are "interesting", IMO they aren't as good.

The organ concerto seems to mix substandard imitation Handel with very
good imitation Haydn of the sort found in the symphony.  There are some
beautiful moments, particularly in the slow movement, but the piece as a
whole doesn't hang together.

The overture (really a symphonic first movement, complete with slow
introduction) even gets panned by the writer of the CD notes for its feeble
first subject.  It's true enough, and it's a pity, as the rest of the piece
is up to the standard of the symphony.

The other symphony on the CD is incomplete:  it's a first movement plus the
start of a slow movement in variation form.  To me, the first movement is
the best thing on the disc (more like Schubert than Haydn) but the theme
and variations tacked on the end don't add anything.

Peter Varley
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