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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Harty: A John Field Suite
Bryden Thomson, Ulster Orchestra
Symphonies - Paru chez Chandos le 1 janv. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Walton: Symphony No. 2 & Troilus and Cressida Suite
Bryden Thomson, London Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphonies - Paru chez Chandos le 1 mars 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jones: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 11
BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra, Bryden Thomson
Classique - Paru chez Lyrita le 4 août 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bax: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Cello Concerto & Morning Song (Maytime in Sussex)
Bryden Thomson, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Lydia Mordkovitch, Raphael Wallfisch, Margaret Fingerhut
Musique concertante - Paru chez Chandos le 1 sept. 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concerto pour violon - Concerto pour violoncelle
Lydia Mordkovitch, Raphael Wallfisch, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Neeme Järvi, Bryden Thomson
Musique concertante - Paru chez Chandos le 1 avr. 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Walton: Orchestral Works
Bryden Thomson, London Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphonies - Paru chez Chandos le 1 août 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Israela Margalit plays Romantic Piano Concertos
Bryden Thomson, London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Israela Margalit
Musique concertante - Paru chez Chandos le 1 juil. 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jones: Symphonies Nos. 12 & 13 (Live)
The BBC National Orchestra Of Wales, BBC National Chorus of Wales, Maldwyn Davies, Bryden Thomson, Tecwyn Evans, Charles Groves
Classique - Paru chez Lyrita le 5 nov. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nielsen: Symphony No. 4 "The Inextinguishable" & Symphony No. 6 "Sinfonia Semplice"
Bryden Thomson, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Symphonies - Paru chez Chandos le 1 mars 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 4, Concerto Accademico
London Symphony Orchestra, Kenneth Sillito, Bryden Thomson
Classique - Paru chez Chandos le 1 sept. 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Walton: Symphony No. 1 & Varii Capricci
Bryden Thomson, London Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphonies - Paru chez Chandos le 1 mars 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hoddinott: Symphony No. 6, Lanterne des morts, A Contemplation upon Flowers & Scena for String Orchestra
Bryden Thomson, BBC National Orchestra Of Wales, Lillian Watson
Symphonies - Paru chez Chandos le 1 mars 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Elgar: Sea Pictures & The Music Makers
Bryden Thomson, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Linda Finnie, Roderick Elms, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra
Oratorios sacrés - Paru chez Chandos le 1 févr. 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Britten: Les Illuminations, 4 Chansons Françaises & Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings
Bryden Thomson, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Anthony rolfe Johnson, Dame Felicity Lott, Michael Thompson
Mélodies - Paru chez Chandos le 1 févr. 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
An Irish Rhapsody - The Ulster Orchestra play Music of Bax, Moeran, Stanford & Harty
Bryden Thomson, Vernon Handley, Ulster Orchestra, Pan Hon Lee
Symphonies - Paru chez Chandos le 1 févr. 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bax: Tintagel, Paean, Festival Overture, Christmas Eve, Dance of Wild Irravel & Nympholept
Bryden Thomson, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Malcolm Hicks
Symphonies - Paru chez Chandos le 1 janv. 1979
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bax: Symphonic Variations & Morning Song
Bryden Thomson, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Margaret Fingerhut
Symphonies - Paru chez Chandos le 1 oct. 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bax: Symphony No. 7 & Four Songs
Bryden Thomson, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Martyn Hill
Symphonies - Paru chez Chandos le 1 août 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Harty: The Children Of Lir & Ode to a Nightingale
Bryden Thomson, Ulster Orchestra, Heather Harper
Symphonies - Paru chez Chandos le 1 juil. 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Walton: Quest (The) / The Wise Virgins Suite
Ballets - Paru chez Chandos le 1 nov. 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
"Troilus & Cressida" - Symphonie n° 2
Musique symphonique - Paru chez Chandos le 1 mars 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo