Warner Classics Delius Box: 150th Anniversary

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Frederick Delius’s birth EMI has put together a new collection of the finest recordings of his music with new remasters and exclusive interview and online content. This set brings together performances not only by Beecham and Fenby but also other conductors who revel in his remarkably evocative music. Besides the orchestral music, there are three of his operas and examples of his chamber and solo works as well as his songs. EMI has been at the forefront of recording his music, firstly through the Delius edition, founded by Beecham, and then with assistance of the Delius Society. The earliest recordings date from 1929 with Dora Labbette accompanied by Beecham on the piano in some songs, the latest is the Légende with Tasmin Little and John Lenehan recorded in 2003. The soloists performing in the set include Menuhin, du Pré, Tortelier, Baker, Shirley-Quirk and Bostridge. This Box Set includes: • Over 80 minutes of newly-remastered recordings. • A promotional presentation by Thomas Beecham given in October 1948 for the launch of the 78rpm set of A Village Romeo and Juliet. Frederick Delius was born in Bradford of naturalized British citizens who came from Germany. Early influences included Wagner and Grieg but he soon found his personal and distinctive voice. His music was championed by Sir Thomas Beecham who not only conducted but often financed their performances and edited the music. In the last ten years of his life, owing to blindness and paralysis, he needed the assistance of an amanuensis. Eric Fenby, a fellow Yorkshireman, became the means through which a series of works, including the important Songs of Farewell, were notated.