The British composer Havergal Brian died today in 1972; he was perhaps best-known for his first symphony, the ‘Gothic’. Scored for nearly 1000 performers with an average running time of almost two hours, it holds the title of the largest symphony ever composed, according to the Guinness Book of Records. Further information can be found about the ‘Gothic’ here. Below is the first performance of his Violin Concerto in C Major, premiered 34 years after its completion. Composed in 1935 and originally titled the ‘Heroic’, the first draft of this concerto was lost after being left on a train. Here, Ralph Holmes and the New Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Stanley Pope perform the first movement, Allegro moderato.

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