Symphony No. 1 (Brian) Symphony No. 1 (Brian) The Symphony No. 1 in D minor (The Gothic) by Havergal Brian is a symphony composed between 1919 and 1927. At around one and three quarter hours, it is among the longest symphonies ever composed (with Gustav Mahler's 3rd Symphony, Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji's nine-hour 2nd Organ Symphony and Dimitrie Cuclin's unperformed No. 12) and, along with choral symphonies such as Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony or Mahler's Eighth Symphony, it is one of a few works attempting to use the musically gigantic to address the spiritual concerns of humanity. With a key-scheme that begins in D
Symphony of the New World of the traditional concert world. The idea of the symphony has long been a hope of conductor Steinberg, who has over the past 25 years worked closely with the American Negro conductors, Dean Dixon and Everett Lee, as well as with innumerable nonwhite instrumentalists. In May 1964, Mr. Steinberg and a group of 13 prominent musicians organized a founding committee to create a symphony in which the principle of racial integration would find complete expression. It has taken almost one year for this artistic project to reach fruition. From its inception, the symphony has maintained a strict policy of accepting