The Lyrita record label, famous for its pioneering recordings of British music, was the brainchild of one man, Richard Itter. As the entire Lyrita catalogue appears on CD for the first time, including several discs never previously issued, Lewis Foreman talks to Richard Itter, his producers and engineers and the musicians who made the recordings to tell the story behind this remarkable venture.
Find out more about The Lyrita Story
Contributors:
Richard Itter - founder of Lyrita Recorded Edition
Vernon Handley - conductor
Nicholas Braithwaite - conductor
Alan Rowlands - pianist
Andrew Cornall - record producer (now Executive Director of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic)
John Dunkerley - sound engineer
Edward Greenfield - critic
Cliff Challenger, Ian Gordon, Peter Williams, Carolyn Wingfield - Radio 3 listeners
Playlist Sir Charles Villiers Stanford - Piano Concerto no. 2 in C minor, Op. 126, first movement
Malcolm Binns (piano)
London Symphony Orchestra
Nicholas Braithwaite (conductor)
Lyrita SRCD 219, Track 3
[Excerpt: opening, 1'47"]
Recorded 27 August 1976 at Kingsway Hall, London
Producers: James Walker / Richard Beswick
Engineer: Kenneth Wilkinson
Heitor Villa-Lobos - Festa na sertao, third movement of Ciclo brasileiro
Elizabeth Powell (piano)
Lyrita RCS 22, Side 1 Band 3 [mono LP: not yet issued on CD]
[Excerpt: 0'45"]
Recorded 3/5 March or 4 November 1959 at Richard Itter's home
Producer and engineer: Richard Itter
Gordon Jacob - Elegy for cello and piano
Florence Hooton (cello)
Wilfrid Parry (piano)
Lyrita RCS 2, Side 2 Band 5 [mono LP: not yet issued on CD]
[Excerpt: 1'20"]
Recorded 4 November 1958 at Richard Itter's home
Producer and engineer: Richard Itter
John Ireland - April
Alan Rowlands (piano)
Lyrita RCS 28, Side 1 Band 4 [mono LP: not yet issued on CD]
[Excerpt: ending, 1'10"]
Recorded February 4 or 6/8 March 1963 at Richard Itter's home
Producer and engineer: Richard Itter
John Ireland - Equinox
Alan Rowlands (piano)
Lyrita RCS 15, Side 2 Band 5 [mono LP: not yet issued on CD]
[Excerpt: ending, 1'20"]
Recorded 12 or 14 January 1959 at Richard Itter's home
Producer and engineer: Richard Itter
William Havergal Brian - Symphony no. 6 (Sinfonia Tragica)
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Myer Fredman (conductor)
Lyrita SRCS 67, Side 1 [stereo LP: not yet issued on CD]
[Excerpt: 1'29"]
Recorded 10 April 1973 at Walthamstow Assembly Hall
Producer: David Harvey
Engineer: Stanley Goodall
John Ireland - A London Overture
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Sir Adrian Boult (conductor)
Lyrita SRCD 240, Track 4
[Excerpt: 1'00"]
Recorded 13 December 1965 at Kingsway Hall, London
Producer: David Harvey
Engineer: Kenneth Wilkinson
George Lloyd - Symphony no. 8, second movement (Largo)
New Philharmonia Orchestra
Edward Downes (conductor)
Lyrita SRCD 2258, CD 3 of 3, Track 2
[Excerpt: 0'26"]
Recorded 21/22 July 1978 at Walthamstow Assembly Hall
Producer: Andrew Cornall
Engineer: Stanley Goodall
Frank Bridge - Dance Rhapsody
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Nicholas Braithwaite (conductor)
Lyrita SRCD 243, Track 1
[Excerpt: 1'29"]
Recorded 2/5 August 1978 at Kingsway Hall, London
Producer: Andrew Cornall
Engineer: James Lock, John Pellowe and Simon Eadon
Ernest John Moeran - Symphony in G minor, fourth movement
New Philharmonia Orchestra
Sir Adrian Boult (conductor)
Lyrita SRCD 247, Track 7
[Excerpt: 0'30"]
Recorded 13-15 August 1973 at Kingsway Hall, London
Producer: Michael Woolcock
Engineers: Kenneth Wilkinson and John Dunkerley
William Hurlstone - Variations on a Hungarian Air
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Nicholas Braithwaite (conductor)
Lyrita SRCD 208, Track 9
[Excerpt: 3'35"]
Recorded 9/10 January 1990 at Watford Town Hall
Producer and engineer: unknown
Gerald Finzi - Intimations of Immortality (words: William Wordsworth)
Ian Partridge (tenor)
Guildford Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra
Vernon Handley (conductor)
Lyrita SRCD 238, Tracks 5-14
[Excerpt: from Track 11, 1'43]
Recorded 20-21 November 1973 at Guildford Cathedral
Producer: Michael Woolcock
Engineers: Kenneth Wilkinson and Michael Mailes
Sir Hubert Parry - Bridal March, from The Birds
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Sir Adrian Boult (conductor)
Lyrita SRCD 220, Track 9
[Excerpt: 0'38"]
Recorded 10 August 1973 at Walthamstow Assembly Hall
Producer: Michael Woolcock
Engineers: Kenneth Wilkinson and John Dunkerley
Sir Edward Elgar - Symphony no. 2 in E flat, Op. 63, third movement (Rondo)
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Sir Adrian Boult (conductor)
Lyrita SRCD 221, CD 2 of 2, Track 3
[Excerpt: 0'55"]
Recorded 30-31 January 1968 at Walthamstow Assembly Hall
Producer: David Harvey
Engineer: James Lock
Herbert Howells - Piano Quartet in A minor, Op. 21, first movement
Richards Piano Quartet
Lyrita SRCS 68, Side 1 Band 1 [stereo LP: not yet issued on CD]
[Excerpt: opening, 1'07"]
Recorded 12 and 14 June 1973 at Walthamstow Assembly Hall
Producer: James Mallinson
Engineers: James Lock and Simon Eadon
John Ireland - Sea Fever (words: John Masefield)
Benjamin Luxon (baritone)
Alan Rowlands (piano)
Lyrita SRCD 2261, CD 1 of 3, Track 8
[Excerpt: 0'52"]
Recorded 24-27 July / 8-10 August 1972 at St John's, Smith Square, London
Producer: James Walker
Engineer: Colin Moorfoot
John Ireland - When I am dead, my dearest
Benjamin Luxon (baritone)
Alan Rowlands (piano)
Lyrita SRCD 2261, CD 2 of 3, Track 22
[Complete: 2'02"]
Recorded 24-27 July / 8-10 August 1972 at St John's, Smith Square, London
Producer: James Walker
Engineer: Colin Moorfoot
John Ireland - Prelude: The Forgotten Rite
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Sir Adrian Boult (conductor)
Lyrita SRCD 240, Track 2
[Excerpt: 1'51"]
Recorded 18 December 1965 at Kingsway Hall, London
Producer: David Harvey
Engineer: Kenneth Wilkinson
Sir Malcolm Arnold - English Dances, Set 1, Op. 27, fourth movement
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Sir Malcolm Arnold (conductor)
Lyrita SRCD 201, Track 4
[Complete: 1'32"]
Recorded 12 January 1977 at Walthamstow Assembly Hall
Producer: James Walker
Engineer: John Dunkerley
John Foulds - Dynamic Triptych for piano and orchestra, Op. 88, first movement
Howard Shelley (piano)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Vernon Handley (conductor)
Lyrita SRCD 211, Track 4
[Excerpt: 0'49"]
Recorded 11-12 June 1982 at Walthamstow Assembly Hall
Producer: Andrew Cornall
Engineer: unknown
Nicholas Maw - Scenes and Arias (words: anon, c. 1300)
Jane Manning (soprano)
Anne Howells (mezzo-soprano)
Norma Proctor (contralto)
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Norman Del Mar (conductor)
Lyrita SRCD 267, Tracks 1-9
[Excerpt: from Track 1, 1'23"]
Recorded (originally for Argo) 4 and 6 January 1969 at Kingsway Hall, London
Producer: Michael Bremner
Engineer: unknown
Sir William Sterndale Bennett - Symphony in G minor, Op. 43, fourth movement
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Nicholas Braithwaite (conductor)
Lyrita SRCD 206, Track 6
[Excerpt: ending, 0'55"]
Recorded 9/10 January 1990 at Watford Town Hall
Producer and engineer: unknown
Sir Charles Villiers Stanford - Piano Concerto no. 2 in C minor, Op. 126, first movement
Malcolm Binns (piano)
London Symphony Orchestra
Nicholas Braithwaite (conductor)
Lyrita SRCD 219, Track 3
[Excerpt: 1'10"]
Recorded 27 August 1976 at Kingsway Hall, London
Producers: James Walker / Richard Beswick
Engineer: Kenneth Wilkinson
Sir Arnold Bax - Symphony no. 2 in E minor and C, second movement
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Myer Fredman (conductor)
Lyrita SRCS 54, Side 2 Band 1 [stereo LP: not yet issued on CD]
[Excerpt: 0'48"]
Recorded 1 October 1970 at Walthamstow Assembly Hall
Producer: David Harvey
Engineers: Kenneth Wilkinson and Peter van Biene
Ernest John Moeran - Symphony in G minor, first movement
New Philharmonia Orchestra
Sir Adrian Boult (conductor)
Lyrita SRCD 247, Track 4
[Excerpt: 1'51"]
Recorded 13-15 August 1973 at Kingsway Hall, London
Producer: Michael Woolcock
Engineers: Kenneth Wilkinson and John Dunkerley
Ernest John Moeran - Symphony in G minor, fourth movement
New Philharmonia Orchestra
Sir Adrian Boult (conductor)
Lyrita SRCD 247, Track 7
[Excerpt: 1'42"]
Recorded 13-15 August 1973 at Kingsway Hall, London
Producer: Michael Woolcock
Engineers: Kenneth Wilkinson and John Dunkerley
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