Alfred HIll: Symphony no 5

Day 270

Alfred Hill: Symphony no 5 The Carnival

Queensland Symphony Orchestra

Wilfred Lehmann

Alfred Hill was one of the earliest Australian composers in the western art tradition. He had an extensive training in Leipzig, where he met many of the leading musical figures of the time and then became a leading figure in the Australian musical establishment. Indeed by the time of his death in 1960 aged 90 he was the Grand Old Man of Australian musical.

This symphony dates from 1955 though you would never have guessed it. You might well have placed in in the 1880s or 1890s. The music idiom is conservative to the extent that Strauss, Stravinsky and Schoenberg may as well never existed. This is partly explained by the fact that this is a reworking of a string quartet dating from  the 1920s, but even then the music would have seemed old fashioned. It reminded me of Elgar is his lighter mood or even Eric Coates or one of the other light music composers that were such a feature of English music in the mid 20th century.

That is not to disparage the score at all - merely to put it into context. On its own terms is was a highly enjoyable piece - tuneful, lively and not too long. I can imagine it going down well with audiences. But nobody, and I expect that this would include the composer, would ever argue that this is an important contribution to the symphonic repertoire.