Elgar/Payne Symphony No 3 - is it to fade out of sight ?

[Pabmusic]

I've just watched the Andrew Davies performance. I was particularly struck by the beautiful playing of the quieter passages. In passing, I noticed that James Naughtie referred to it as 'the Elgar/Payne 3rd symphony', which is how I think of it - not that it really matters that much - does it? - what it's called...

It only matters if it is suggested that it's Elgar's work. Payne (to his great credit) was very clear on this.

[ahinton]

It only matters if it is suggested that it's Elgar's work. Payne (to his great credit) was very clear on this.

The problem is that it (or at least a fair proportion of it) IS Elgar's work, just not ALL Elgar's work; it's a kind of collaborative effort with one of the collaborators absent other than in the sketches that he left. That said, I imagine that the label "Elgar 3" is only ever used for the sake of titular convenience and almost everyone knows that in reality it's "Elgar/Payne"; after all, its first public performance didn;t take place until 64 years after Elgar's death. As a matter of fact, Tony Payne's middle name is Edward...

I did once ask Tony Payne when he might write a symphony of his own; "never!", came the swift and uequivocal reply - followed after a suitable pause by "well, maybe not so soon as that"...

[BBMmk2]

The problem is that it (or at least a fair proportion of it) IS Elgar's work, just not ALL Elgar's work; it's a kind of collaborative effort with one of the collaborators absent other than in the sketches that he left. That said, I imagine that the label "Elgar 3" is only ever used for the sake of titular convenience and almost everyone knows that in reality it's "Elgar/Payne"; after all, its first public performance didn;t take place until 64 years after Elgar's death. As a matter of fact, Tony Payne's middle name is Edward...

I did once ask Tony Payne when he might write a symphony of his own; "never!", came the swift and uequivocal reply - followed after a suitable pause by "well, maybe not so soon as that"...

Thasnks for that pabs! I should think the sheer ascale of this work, was a magnitude of an undertaking for AP? I certainly wouldn't dream of making a performing edition!

[ahinton]

Thasnks for that pabs! I should think the sheer ascale of this work, was a magnitude of an undertaking for AP? I certainly wouldn't dream of making a performing edition!

It was indeed a massive undertaking and one to which he returned on many occasions following his first perusal of the sketches in the early 1970s before finally taking the bull by the horns and engaging with the entire project and, even then, he began to do this without a realistic expectation of being able to complete the entire symphony, so it seems to have come with its own unique developing energy.