John recorded Eric Coates’s entire London Everyday suite back in January and Chandos just released the album. “Knightsbridge”, the last movement, is well-known as the signature tune for BBC Radio’s In Town Tonight. It’s a sprightly march with a grandness that doesn’t sound actually deserved, which is why I can’t get it out of my head.
Here it is performed by the BBC Symphony for the program British Light Music at the 2900-seat Royal Festival Hall in London, 2011, with 39-year-old John conducting.
You really fought for that tympani, didn’t you love? Above: John’s rendition with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.
And here’s the 1932 recording of Eric Coates conducting his own piece. (Thanks, composer David Meyerovitch!)
NOTES for Coates Orchestral Works, 1 (Chandos, 2019) can be found here.
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