Rodney Stephen Newton: Havergal Brian and the percussion section: a broad survey 1

“I suppose you like Havergal Brian’s music because of all that percussion!” So said an orchestral player to me recently – and one who had taken part in the 1976 Brian Centenary concerts. My enthusiasm for Brian is certainly not founded on his percussion writing alone, although I must confess that at times he appears somewhat generous with respect to that department. Although by present-day standards his percussion writing is generally conventional, Brian certainly manages in places to put his own individual stamp on his percussion parts.