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 [log in to unmask]