I am an unapologetic Bax fanatic who has lived with his symphonies and
their various recordings for the past 25 years.  I am very glad you have
decided to explore these amazing works but I would exercise caution in
picking out their available recordings.  Thomson's Chandos cycle is on the
only complete set however the Naxos series should be finished in little
more than a year.  Lloyd-Jones' new recording of the Fourth Symphony is
expected out in Jan/Feb next year with the Sixth Symphony following in six
months and the Seventh Symphony following another six months after that.
At that point his symphony cycle will be completed.  Lyrita has released
two of its Bax symphony recordings (the First and Seventh) on a single CD
but I believe that disc is hard to come by.  Personally, I would recommend
collecting both the Naxos and Chandos cycles as they compliment each other
perfectly.  Lloyd-Jones is the more objective interpreter of Bax.  His aim,
as he has said, is to pace the music very tightly without sacrificing too
much in the way of feeling or atmosphere.  I believe he is successful in
this regard.  My primary complaint about the Naxos recordings is the dry
acoustic that makes the Royal Scottish National Orchestra's strings sound
very thin at times.  Thomson is more mannered and personal.  He is very
free with rubato, often with ravishing results, but his frequent speeding
up and slowing down often distorts the flow of the music.  What spoils the
Thomson recordings for me is the sound.  What possessed Chandos to make
such thickly reverberant recordings? I find those recordings hard to listen
to after awhile.  While the Naxos recordings are far from perfect, they are
a huge improvement over the Chandos discs.  One plus in Thomson's favor is
his orchestra...The London Philharmonic (for all but the Fourth Symphony).
The playing is absolutely beautiful if not always spot on.

So I lean heavily toward the Naxos discs but I enjoy aspects of the Chandos
series.  This is what I would recommend:

Symphony # 1 -- Lloyd-Jones is superb in this symphony.  I think this is
the best recording of his cycle so far.  Myer Fredman on Lyrita is also
excellent if you can find that CD.  While I like Thomson's way with the
middle movement, I find the rest of his interpretation sluggish and very
inappropriate for such a intense work.  Problem is that the coupling on the
single Chandos disc is Christmas Eve, which is ravishing.  So I guess you
need both but get Lloyd-Jones for the symphony.

Symphony #2 -- My favorite recording of this great masterwork is Myer
Fredman's version on Lyrita.  The sound is far better than that found
on either the Naxos or Chandos recordings and Fredman's version is much
better played than the Lloyd-Jones version.  Problem is it's not available.
Thomson's and Lloyd-Jones take a similarly broad approach in the first
movement but L-J is better holding the sprawling shape of the second
movement together and he's a good deal more exciting in the third movement.
Thomson lingers here and there but he creates a mood of overwhelming
darkness, particularly in the epilogue, which is shattering.  I'd have
both recordings.

Symphony #3 -- Dutton Labs will soon be reissuing Sir John Barbirolli's
1943 recording of this beautiful symphony.  It's the version to have but
for a modern version you should get Lloyd-Jones.  He may not be as sensuous
as Thomson but he makes more sense of Bax's strangely structured first
movement and he is best at relating the glorious epilogue to all that has
come before it in the final movement.  Barbirolli gets it all right and he
is the most passionate in that most beautiful of all of Bax's slow moments.

Symphony #4 -- Only one choice at the moment (Thomson) but I'd suggest
you wait for Lloyd-Jones.  Many people praise Thomson's recording of the
Fourth and I agree it has the best sound of the series (although the Fifth
sounds good too) but I think his performance fails to catch fire in the
first movement.  It's very sensitively done but it needs to be much more
exuberant than it is.  I do love his way with the middle movement and he
is very exciting in the final movement.  This is one of Thomson's best but
I suspect L-J will be even better.

Symphony #5 -- This symphony seems to bring out the best in all the
conductors who have recorded it.  Thomson has the best sound and here I
find his conducting less mannered.  He is at his best in the icy second
movement while L-J is absolutely wonderful in the First Movement -- his
conducting has real passion.  My favorite in the last movement is Raymond
Leppard on Lyrita but that isn't available.  That's sad because I think
he's best at bringing off that riotous epilogue.  None of these versions
will disappoint so again, I suggest you get them all.

Symphony #6 -- Most Baxians agree that this, along with the Second
Symphony, is Bax's symphonic masterpiece.  Tragically, the very best
version of it is Norman Del Mar's unavailable account on Lyrita.  It
will be released someday but we may have to wait awhile.  Avoid Douglas
Bostock's version on Classico because his orchestra is hopelessly overtaxed
by Bax's virtuoso scoring.  I'm holding out for L-J but that won't be
available until next summer.  Thomson's is a good version that is hampered
by that awful glassy sound.  Perhaps he doesn't quite whip up enough fury
in the allegro vivace of the last movement but that's a minor quibble.
It's a perfectly good, if not inspired, performance.

Symphony #7 -- I think this is the most underrated of Bax's symphonies.
Some see it as a rather tired and benign work but I don't hear that at
all.  I think it is Bax summoning up all his creative powers for one last
go.  The first movement is sea music and there are sections that clearly
anticipate Britten's sea music in Peter Grimes.  The second movement is
evidently very tricky to pull off and only Raymond Leppard on Lyrita does
it successfully, in my opinion.  Thomson is just too slow and the whole
thing falls apart in the middle.  Leppard is also unmatched in the epilogue
-- Bax at his most heartfelt and transcendental.  Find the Lyrita CD that
contains Leppard's Seventh and Fredman's First Symphony.  This surely is
the most important Bax symphony disc available.

I hope this helps.  Please search out my Bax web site for more information
about Bax and available recordings.  The site is about to change servers so
I've been unable to update it but I will as soon as it's up and running in
its new location.  The site is currently located at:

   http://www.musicweb.force9.co.uk/music/bax/Welcome.htm

yours,
Richard R. Adams