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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Elgar: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2, The Sanguine Fan & Froissart
Bryden Thomson, London Philharmonic Orchestra
Symfonieën - Released by Chandos on 1 mrt. 2005
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 6 & Tuba Concerto
London Symphony Orchestra, Patrick Harrild, Bryden Thomson
Klassiek - Released by Chandos on 1 dec. 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Harty: Complete Orchestral Works
Bryden Thomson, Ulster Orchestra, Heather Harper, Ralph Holmes, Malcolm Binns
Symfonieën - Released by Chandos on 1 apr. 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bax: Complete Symphonies
Bryden Thomson, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra
Symfonieën - Released by Chandos on 1 okt. 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bax: Symphony No. 1 & Christmas Eve
Bryden Thomson, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Malcolm Hicks
Symfonieën - Released by Chandos on 1 nov. 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony
Symfonieën - Released by Chandos on 1 aug. 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Œuvres orchestrales (Volume 1)
Lydia Mordkovitch, Raphael Wallfisch, Margaret Fingerhut, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Bryden Thomson
Concertmuziek - Released by Chandos on 1 sep. 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Walton: The Quest & The Wise Virgins Suite
Bryden Thomson, London Philharmonic Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by Chandos on 1 nov. 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Œuvres orchestrales
Klassiek - Released by Chandos on 1 aug. 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Finzi & Leighton: Cello Concertos
Raphael Wallfisch, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Vernon Handley, Bryden Thomson
Klassiek - Released by Chandos on 1 aug. 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Martinů: Symphony No. 1 & Symphony No. 5
Bryden Thomson, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Symfonieën - Released by Chandos on 1 jul. 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Britten: Les Illuminations, Quatre Chansons Françaises & Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings
Bryden Thomson, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Dame Felicity Lott, Anthony rolfe Johnson, Michael Thompson
Symfonieën - Released by Chandos on 1 feb. 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
AN IRISH RHAPSODY
Pan Hon Lee, Ulster Orchestra, Vernon Handley, Bryden Thomson
Klassiek - Released by Chandos on 1 feb. 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis and other Orchestral Works
Bryden Thomson, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Skaila Kanga
Symfonieën - Released by Chandos on 1 feb. 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Harty: Piano Concerto, In Ireland & With the Wild Geese
Bryden Thomson, Ulster Orchestra, Malcolm Binns
Symfonieën - Released by Chandos on 1 okt. 1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Elgar: Wand Of Youth Suites & Nursery Suite
Bryden Thomson, Ulster Orchestra
Symfonieën - Released by Chandos on 1 mei 1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bax: Symphony No. 5 &Russian Suite
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Owen Slade, Bryden Thomson
Klassiek - Released by Chandos on 1 apr. 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bax: Symphony No. 6 & Festival Overture
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Bryden Thomson
Klassiek - Released by Chandos on 1 mrt. 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vaughan Williams: A London Symphony (No. 2) & Concerto grosso
London Symphony Orchestra, Bryden Thomson
Klassiek - Released by Chandos on 1 feb. 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kabalevsky, Khachaturian & Glazunov: Cello Concertos
Bryden Thomson, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Raphael Wallfisch
Symfonieën - Released by Chandos on 1 mrt. 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hoddinott: Symphony No. 6, Lanternes des morts, A Contemplation upon Flowers & Scene for Strings
BBC National Orchestra Of Wales, Lillian Watson, Bryden Thomson
Klassiek - Released by Chandos on 1 mrt. 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo