Music and Vinyl: Cyril Scott

The official Cyril Scott website introduces him thus:

"A composer, author, poet and occultist, Cyril Scott was an extraordinarily creative man. Ahead of his time both in his music and in his thought, Cyril Scott was one of the more remarkable men of his generation. Described by Eugene Goossens as "the father of modern British music", Cyril Scott was admired by composers as diverse as Claude Debussy, Richard Strauss, Igor Stravinsky and his lifelong friend — Percy Grainger."

Cyril Scott (1879-1970), whose music was highly thought of during the 1920s, has, like many composers of his generation suffered from decades of neglect to such an extent that the typical British concert-goer will have never heard of him, or certainly never heard his music played live. A composer, therefore, destined to be picked up by Richard Itter and his ever-so enterprising Lyrita label, with this 1975 recording of Scott's Piano Concerto No.1 (1913-14). Christopher Palmer's exemplary notes on the cover of this LP are well worth a read (click to enlarge the scan below).

The concerto had its premiere in the Queen's Hall under Sir Thomas Beecham, with Scott as the soloist in May 1915. For this recording the pianist is John Ogdon, with Bernard Herrmann conducting the LPO.