Bryden Thomson
During his extensive conducting career spanning nearly five decades, Bryden 'Jack' Thomson was recognized as a leading interpreter of music from the British Isles. His legacy includes nearly fifty recordings made for the Chandos label, including pioneering recordings of both William Walton's Symphony No. 2 and the Complete Symphonies by Sir Arnold Bax.
Born in Ayr, Scotland in 1928, Thomson began his studies at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music in Glasgow. In an effort to further his education, he traveled to Germany and Austria; first to the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Hamburg, where he studied with Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt beginning in 1954, and later to the Salzburg Mozarteum where he worked with conducting virtuoso Igor Markevitch.
Upon his return to home in 1958, Thomson received his first major appointment with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, where he served as the assistant conductor to music director Ian Whyte. As fate would have it, Whyte became stricken with a terminal illness and was forced to delegate a number of performances to Thomson, who commanded great praise from musicians, audiences, and critics alike. Within months of these successful concerts, Thomson's guest conducting appearances grew more and more frequent, with orchestras both at home and abroad, including Canada, Scandinavia, and South Africa. He left the Scottish Symphony in 1962, in order to focus on his guest conducting. He was appointed as the associate conductor of the Scottish National Orchestra in 1966.
In 1968, only two years after his first major music director appointment, Thomson became the music director of the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra in Manchester (since 1982 this orchestra has been known as the BBC Philharmonic). He also assumed the post of music director with the Ulster Orchestra in Belfast, Ireland, which he held until 1985.
From 1970 to 1988, Thomson recorded nearly fifty compact discs for Chandos records, most of which feature composers from the British Isles, although his notable affinity for Nielsen and Martinu spawned several fine recordings of works by these composers. In addition to his set of Bax symphonies, Thomson also recorded the Symphony cycles of Martinu, Elgar and Vaughan Williams, in addition to a number of works by lesser-known composers.
In 1988, Thomson returned to the (now Royal) Scottish National Orchestra, where he was invited to succeed Neeme Järvi as music director. Always active as a commissioner of new works, Thomson commissioned fellow Scottish composer John Maxwell Geddes for his Symphony No. 2. Unfortunately, Thomson died before the work could be completed. Once finished, Geddes added the subtitle 'In memoriam Bryden Thomson'.
© TiVo
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Bax: Symphony No. 5 & Russian Suite
Bryden Thomson, London Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on Apr 1, 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bax: The Truth about the Russian Dancers & From Dusk Till Dawn
Bryden Thomson, London Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Chandos on May 1, 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Raphael Wallfisch plays Popular Works For Cello
Bryden Thomson, Geoffrey Simon, London Philharmonic Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Raphael Wallfisch, Linn Hendry
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on Jun 1, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Elgar: Enigma Variations, The Sanguine Fan, Froissart Overture & Grania and Diarmid
Bryden Thomson, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Jenny Miller
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on Jun 1, 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jones: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 11
BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra, Bryden Thomson
Classical - Released by Lyrita on Aug 4, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Elgar: Symphony No. 1
Bryden Thomson, London Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on Apr 1, 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bax: Symphony No. 6 & Festival Overture
Bryden Thomson, London Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on Mar 1, 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nielsen: Symphony No. 3 & Symphony No. 5
Bryden Thomson, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Catherine Bott, Stephen Roberts
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on Jun 1, 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Spirit of Scotland
Bryden Thomson, Alexander Gibson, Philharmonia Orchestra, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on Mar 1, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nielsen: Symphony No. 1 & Symphony No. 2
Bryden Thomson, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on Nov 1, 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
ROMANTIC PIANO CONCERTOS
Israela Margalit, London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Bryden Thomson
Keyboard Concertos - Released by Chandos on Jul 1, 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Elgar: Symphony No. 2, Op. 63
Bryden Thomson, London Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on Apr 1, 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wilson: Piano Concerto & Introit "Towards the Light"
Bryden Thomson, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, David Wilde
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on Jul 1, 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jones: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 10
BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra, Bryden Thomson
Classical - Released by Lyrita on Jan 6, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Leighton: Cello Concerto & Symphony No. 3
Bryden Thomson, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Neil Mackie, Raphael Wallfisch
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on Jul 1, 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bax: Russian Suite, Four Songs, Golden Eagle, Saga Fragment & Romantic Overture
Bryden Thomson, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Martyn Hill, Margaret Fingerhut, Richard Nunn
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on Oct 1, 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nielsen: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 5
Catherine Bott, Stephen Roberts, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Bryden Thomson
Classical - Released by Chandos on Jun 1, 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Peintures de la mer
Classical - Released by Chandos on Feb 1, 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concerto pour violoncelle - Symphonie n° 3
Raphael Wallfisch, Neil Mackie, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Bryden Thomson
Cello Concertos - Released by Chandos on Jan 1, 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Œuvres pour orchestre
Symphonic Music - Released by Chandos on Apr 1, 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wilson: Piano Concerto & Introit
David Wilde, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Bryden Thomson
Classical - Released by Chandos on Jul 1, 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo