Symphony by fax

What he found will be revealed in the orchestra's concert, the last of the season, at Teddington on Sunday (July 8) as part of his mission to introduce to the British the music of a rarely-heard composer.

On a recent visit to Lisbon Mr Brown, always on the look-out for new musical experiences, bought CDs of symphonies by the 20th century Portuguese composer Joly Braga Santos, and was hooked right away. He says: "They are richly scored, full of attractive music, easy to listen to, and I thought how they would suit the Stoneleigh orchestra."

Sunday's performance of Braga Santos' Symphony No. 3 is the culmination of an intensive and sometimes painstaking quest. He tracked down the composer's Portuguese publishers who readily agreed to forward scores to him.

What he hadn't bargained for was the piecemeal way the music was delivered by fax. "It came bit by bit and in various forms. Some of it was printed; other pages were photocopies of the composer's original manuscript complete with deletions and corrections," says Adrian.

Not only had he to assimilate the score but also to decipher and incorporate much of Braga Santos' changes.

The performance at the Landmark Arts Centre will be only the second time any of the symphonies has been performed in Britain. Adrian Brown conducted the first recently in Harrow.

Coincidentally one of the CDs he discovered in Lisbon has just been released, introducing Santos for the first time to British recording catalogues.

Sunday's concert, starting at 8pm, also includes Elgar's Violin Concerto in which the soloist is the young Kingston-born virtuoso Laura Samuel.

By Hilton Tims