Concerto grosso No. 1 / Pastoral Fantasia / 5 Preludes / Autumn Legend

William Alwyn composed some fifty works for the orchestra, including five symphonies, a sinfonietta, concertos for flute, oboe, violin, piano, harp, three concerti grossi, and many other descriptive shorter pieces. The seven works on this recording show Alwyn responding in his own individual way to the various challenges presented to him in writing for the orchestra, from the early Five Preludes, in which one can sense already his keen ear for orchestral colour, through to the self-assured scoring of his maturity in the evocative Autumn Legend.