The complete orchestral works by Frank Bridge are here released in an attractive six-disc box for the first time, as part of the new Hickox Legacy commemorative series on Chandos Records, leading up to (and continuing beyond) the fifth anniversary, in Nov 2013, of the conductor’s untimely death. The box is released on the Chandos Classics label at Mid-Price – 6 CDs for the price of 4.

A couple of orchestral works aside, the repertoire of Frank Bridge was largely ignored until Hickox embarked on the complete cycle of his orchestral music, which revealed to the world what a remarkably varied and imaginative composer he was.

All of Bridge’s orchestral music is about something: there are nature-inspired tone poems, such as The Sea and Enter Spring; there are war-inspired works such as Oration and the Overture Rebus; and there are those pieces with a more ambiguous or elusive ‘emotional’ programme, such as Dance Poem and Phantasm.

The Guardian wrote of Vol. 4: ‘Richard Hickox’s invaluable survey of Frank Bridges orchestral music for Chandos [is] one of the most important contributions to British music on disc in the last decade.’

The Richard Hickox Legacy

Richly endowed with musical qualities, Richard Hickox was a great champion of neglected music in general, and of British music in particular. His sudden death in November 2008 robbed the world of a most vital, industrious, and energising musician, whose discographical legacy remains a treasure trove of the record catalogue. With the Richard Hickox Legacy we wish to express our gratitude to and appreciation of this great musical artist.

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Re-released from CHAN 9950, CHAN 10012, CHAN 10112, CHAN 10188, CHAN 10246, CHAN 10310