BBC - Symphony Orchestra

BAX Symphony No 7 (UK premiere)
Adrian Boult conductor
BBC studio, Bristol, 21 June 1940
When war broke out, the BBC SO was exiled first to Bristol. This Bax symphony had been written for the New York World Fair, and came to London and the Proms in 1943.

HARRIS Symphony No 3 (UK premiere)
Adrian Boult conductor
Royal Albert Hall, 28 May 1942
The wartime period saw an upsurge in interest in American music by the BBC SO, and this classic was given its first hearing here in a rare visit which the orchestra made back to London.

COPLAND Suite: Billy the Kid (UK premiere)
Henry Wood conductor
Royal Albert Hall (Prom), 1 August 1942
Another popular American work premiered here during the 1942 Proms; A Lincoln Portrait and the Clarinet Concerto followed during the 1940s. Copland himself came to conduct the BBCSO on several occasions

R. STRAUSS Oboe Concerto (UK premiere)
Adrian Boult conductor
Royal Albert Hall (Prom), 17 September 1946
Leon Goossens premiered this lovely concerto; the BBC SO had included Strauss's music since its first seasons, and Strauss conducted a studio concert with them in 1931.

KODALY Concerto for Orchestra (UK premiere)
Zoltan Kodaly conductor
BBC studio, 5 October 1946
The Te Deum and The Spinning Room had both been premiered in the BBC Contemporary Music concerts of the 1930s, while the Dances of Marossek were given under Henry Wood.

HONEGGER Joan of Arc at the Stake (UK premiere)
Basil Cameron conductor
BBC studio, 16 April 1947
This unique drama was given its first public hearing in this country in 1948, and was repeated two years later.