Toy Symphony
My Toy Symphony was written for one of the
annual Christmas concerts of the Huntingdonshire Philharmonic, of which I was
then the musical director. It is scored
for a huge variety of toy instruments, from whistles to drums and nightingale and
cuckoo to car hooter and chime bars, and this
disparate ensemble is backed by a small instrumental group of strings, piano,
flute and clarinet. The two outer
movements are energetic and frame a more gentle and
lilting central movement that has something of the character of a
barcarolle. At the end of the whole
piece is a surprise involving paper bags and the whole audience …. Since that first
performance in 1986 the piece has enjoyed some memorable performances
elsewhere, including one at the Royal Academy of Music in London when most of
the senior administrative, as well as musical staff, were persuaded to let
their hair down and show off less familiar musical skills. I hope other audiences will be equally
entertained.
© Christopher Brown 2011