A decent modern recording of Sullivan's Irish Symphony was long overdue, so this new rendering from Owain Arwel Hughes and the sterling BBC Concert Orchestra (this group's terrific Constant Lambert compilation on Argo—10/92—was one of my personal highlights of 1992) could hardly be more welcome. That said, Sir Charles Groves's affectionate 1968 recording (which has served us nicely over the years) is by no means displaced by this newcomer. In the winsome third movement Allegretto, for example, the jaunty oboe melody (by far the most memorable idea in the whole work) is more infectiously characterized by Groves's RLPO principal, and on the whole Groves's direction throughout possesses the greater imaginative impulse. What is more, Hughes's decision to include the exposition repeat in the opening Allegro ma non troppo vivace makes that movement a very long haul indeed; nor does the Welshman's orchestra always sound ideally fired up by proceedings. Still, as a 'straighter' modern alternative to the trusty Groves version, the present account will suffice.
Fortunately, things seem to perk up somewhat for the remaining trio of offerings, by far the most impressive of which is the ambitious Overture in C, In memoriam, which Sullivan completed in just ten days following the sudden death of his father in the autumn of 1866. Hughes directs sympathetically (if without eclipsing memories of Sir Vivian Dunn's splendidly grandiloquent CBSO version) and goes on to lend equally persuasive advocacy to the well-made but altogether less inspired Imperial March (1893) and charmingly tuneful Suite No. 1 from the 1897 ballet, Victoria and Merrie England. Despite any slight reservations concerning the performance of the main work, this remains an enjoyable release, even if the (otherwise vivid) recording doesn't always flatter the string section of the BBC Concert Orchestra. Producer Tim McDonald supplies the extensive and enthusiastic insert-notes.'