Florence Price Symphony 3 & Concert Overture 1

[jonah]

Those who have access to the BBC Music magazine will find that the free CD with the November issue is of Florence Price's Symphony 3 in C minor and the Concert Overture 1, together with two works by other composers not relevant in this forum.
The performances are BBC recordings from 2019, the Symphony by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Valentina Peleggi, and the Overture by the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michael Seal.
My copy arrived today, but I have not had the opportunity of listening to it yet.

[Alan Howe]

I bought this today too - just for the CD...

[Christopher]

It must be in connection with the programme recently on BBC 4 about Black composers - it first showed this last Sunday and I enjoyed it immensely. Florence Price featured heavily in it.

Black Classical Music: The Forgotten History

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000n18w/black-classical-music-the-forgotten-history

Broadcasters Lenny Henry and Suzy Klein celebrate black classical composers and musicians across the centuries whose stories and music have been forgotten in a 90-minute special.


And a couple of reviews:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/black-classical-music-the-forgotten-history-review-the-composers-shunted-aside-because-of-colour-xfm5c726c


https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/sep/27/black-classical-music-the-forgotten-history-review-challenging-orchestrated-racism

[Adrian Harrison]

Thanks for the heads up on the BBC 4 documentary. I thought it was pretty well done (some minor factual inaccuracies aside).  However, the Florence Price recordings that are the subject of this thread were made for and broadcast during her stint as Composer of the Week on BBC Radio 3 earlier this year.

[Joachim Raff]

I have a Koch recording of the 3rd Symphony/The Oak/Mississippi suite performed by The Womens Philhamonic conducted by Apo Hsu. Its of great interest, i love 'The Oak' its very spooky like the 'boogey man' is hiding ready to pounce. Her Symphonies are influenced by Dvorak and you will be hard to find anything original in these works.   

[Alan Howe]

Symphony No. is a mash-up of Dvorak and jazz - nicely orchestrated and fun to listen to. But nothing more.

[Mark Thomas]

Spot on. Everything I've heard of hers is quite engaging and well written, but never challenging. Price was a talented, but not a great, composer.

[semloh]

My impression, too, Mark, Alan and Joachim Raff. It certainly deserves to be heard and enjoyed, without any imputations of profundity.