Anthony Collins’ Legacy of Delius Recordings Part 3

There are surprisingly few references to Anthony Collins (right) in the pages of the Delius Society Journal. The most important contribution was from Michael Gartz (No.78, 1983) He began his article by noting that Brigg Fair has always been one of Delius’s most popular works and that the listener has three different Beecham recordings to listen to (there was also an unpublished version dating from 1928). The earliest commercially available one dating from 1928 is in his opinion the ‘finest.’ He is tempted to regard this as the ‘definitive performance, a miracle of interpretation which could never be challenged, let alone superseded.’ Gartz explained how he had recently come across Anthony Collins’ 1953 recording, however his ‘allegiance to the Beecham version was so strong’ that it took him several days to get around to hearing it. His immediate reaction was one of ‘pure delight’ and he had come to consider that Collins was ‘worthy to be placed alongside Beecham’s classic account.’ He decried the comment made in the contemporary edition of the Penguin Stereo Cassette Guide that Collins’ conducting was in the Beecham tradition.’ In fact, he considered that Collins’ realisations were ‘just as individualised as Beecham’s and just as revealing of the music.’ He then compares the two versions of Brigg Fair and concludes that Collins’ is more ‘languorous, grave even, conjuring up images of a bleak winter morning, with a cortege slowly descending from the hills.’ He considers this music both tragic and nostalgic in the same manner as Mahler’s Ninth Symphony. Michael Gartz is equally impressed with the other works on this disc and considers the sound ‘astonishing for its age.’

Thirteen years later Roger J. Buckley (No.117, 1996) recalls Anthony Collins’ ‘spectacularly successful’ contribution to the discography of Sibelius in the 1950s. He reminds readers of the two Delius LPs made at around the same time. In this review of Dutton Laboratories (CDLXT 2503) re-mastering, he notes that Collins has been ‘regarded by some as second only to Beecham as a conductor of Delius’. He insists that Collins’ ‘insight and integrity survive quite undiminished. These are fine, passionate performances. Some of them, such as Paris and A Song of Summer, must be among the greatest performances of Delius's music ever recorded.’ After praising the quality of the re-mastering and noting some ‘slap-happy ensemble playing’ by the L.S.O. and some extraneous noises-off he concludes by stating that these are still ‘very important recordings.’

In 2008 Lyndon Jenkins (No.143, 2008) was a little less complimentary about Anthony Collins’ version of Paris. He notes the Record Guide (1955) opinion that this was ‘a flawless achievement’ he points out the 1995 Dutton CD transfer ‘revealed some fairly indifferent playing; this would not have been so evident on the original LP – although the insistent tambourine early on that packs up several bars too soon certainly was.’ He offered in mitigation that the L.S.O. was then at a ‘lowish point’ and was awaiting its ‘mid-50s rejuvenation’. Jenkins does concede that there are ‘impressive moments in Collin’s performance [of Paris,] but considers that ‘the whole of the opening is much laboured and, at some of the tempi he chooses, he seems unable to give the faster sections the rhythmic lift they need to bring them alive.’

Finally, a personal appreciation from Rob Sabine (No.144, 2008) in a short note about Rudolf Kempe and the 1962 Delius Festival. Sabine notes that he had just been demobbed from the RAF. He had bought the Ace of Clubs LP (ACL144) primarily for the performance of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis. He was struck by the two Delius pieces on the ‘B’ side – The Walk to the Paradise Garden and A Song of Summer. He was ‘stunned by the music, its beauty and individuality – a feeling that remains to this day.’

Conclusion

Reading these reviews suggests that Sir Thomas Beecham is consistently regarded as the base-line interpreter on record of virtually all Delius’ orchestral music. One critic after another compares the recordings made by Anthony Collins and the London Symphony Orchestra with Beecham’s ‘exemplar.’ Most often this comparison is favourable. Some 60 years after these reviews were published it is easy to see that the major stumbling block was that Anthony Collins’ new recordings were quite simply not Beecham’s interpretations of these works. In 2014, with more than fifty-eight recordings of [e.g.] the First Cuckoo currently available and featuring some twenty-five different conductors, it is an interpretative dilemma that all listeners must deal with. Is Beecham the definitive interpretation of Delius, or are others equally valid? I personally believe that Anthony Collins has left a near-perfect legacy of the seven works that he recorded.

Select Bibliography
Holmes, John, Conductors on Record (Greenwood Press, 1982)
The files of The Gramophone, Billboard Magazine, Tempo, Delius Society Journals, etc.

MusicWeb International (accessed 11 July 2026):
Terry Barfoot, Review.
Jonathan Woolf, Review & Review

Select Discography
Only the works performed by Anthony Collins and the London Symphony Orchestra noted in compilations. Dates of release given where known.

Brigg Fair, On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring, The Walk to the Paradise Garden and A Song of Summer. 1953. LP. Decca LXT 2788.

The Walk to the Paradise Garden, On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring. 1953. MP. (10 inch) Decca LW 5036.

Brigg Fair, On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring, A Song of Summer, The Walk to the Paradise Garden. 1953. LP. London Label LL 758.

Paris, In a Summer Garden, Summer Night on the River. 1954. LP Decca LXT 2899.

Paris, In a Summer Garden, Summer Night on the River. 1954. LP. London Label LL 923.

Summer Night on the River, A Song of Summer. 1955. MP. (10 inch) Decca LW 5173

Brigg Fair, On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring, + works by Elgar. 1961. LP. Ace of Clubs ACL 131.

The Walk to the Paradise Garden, A Song of Summer + works by Vaughan Williams. 1961 LP. Ace of Clubs ACL 144.

Paris, In a Summer Garden, Summer Night on the River. 1965. LP. Ace of Clubs ACL 245.

Brigg Fair, On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring, The Walk to the Paradise Garden, A Song of Summer. 1970. LP. Decca Eclipse ECS 633.

Paris, In a Summer Garden & Summer Night on the River. 1971. LP. Decca Eclipse ECS 634

Brigg Fair, On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring, A Song of Summer, The Walk to the Paradise Garden. 1971. Cassette. Decca KECC 633

Brigg Fair, Summer Night on the River and Paris + works by Elgar c.1987 Cassette 'Delius and Elgar’ (under licence from Decca) Pickwick DTO 10177

Brigg Fair, On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring, A Song of Summer, Paris, In a Summer Garden & Summer Night on the River. 1995. CD. Dutton Laboratories CDLXT 2503

The British Music Collection Brigg Fair + other works by Delius. 2001. CD. Decca 470 190-2

The British Music Collection Paris, In a Summer Garden, A Song of Summer, Summer Night on the River, The Walk to the Paradise Garden + other works by Delius. 2002. CD Decca 470 375-2.

Paris, In a Summer Garden, A Song of Summer, Summer Night on the River, The Walk to the Paradise Garden. c.2002. CD. Decca Eloquence 461 358-2.

Brigg Fair, On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring, The Walk to the Paradise Garden, A Song of Summer. c.2005. Downloads. Pristine PASCO15

The Walk to the Paradise Garden, A Song of Summer. 2008. CD. Beluah 1PD26

On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring + other works by Delius. 2011. CD Danacord DACOCD 717 

Concluded    

With thanks to the Delius Society Journal Spring 2014 No.155: 51-6, where this essay was originally published.