Humphrey Searle (1915-1982) took a different path from contemporaries like Ralph Vaughan Williams, Arnold Bax, and William Walton in pursuing 12-tone composition as his model. He studied for five months with Webern, but was largely self taught. This CD, part of a complete series presenting all five of Searles’ symphonic works, contains what is surely his masterpiece, the Second Symphony. Nervous rhythmic themes keep the first and last of three movements taut and dramatic, whereas the middle movement proves to be an elegant elegy, with dramatic, long, arching melodies. It is music that puts tremendous demands on the listener, but many will find the result well worth the effort. The large-scale performances are brash and bold; the orchestra plays with craggy precision, especially the brass section. The recorded sound is rich and full, if somewhat coarse in the tuttis. At the moment, this is the only recording of these works, though there used to be a more eloquent recording of the Second Symphony conducted by Josef Krips on Lyrita that you might be able to find in vinyl specialty shops.
