MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rubbra: Symphony No. 1, Op. 44, etc.

It was not until 1937 that Rubbra's first symphony was completed. Symphonies 2, 3 and 4 followed in quick succession, the fourth being completed in March 1942. He described them as being 'different facets of one thought',
since each was a reaction to the last.

His fifth Symphony was started in August 1947. Enough time had elapsed since the fourth Symphony, to allow this new symphony to be unrelated. Grover recognises a "sense of relaxation engendered by a greater flexibility in the handling of materials" which sets this work apart from earlier symphonies. The sixth and seventh symphonies followed in 1954 and 1957.