Led by Marie Wilson
Conducted by Clarence Raybpuld
For Schumann 1841 was a year of great activity in orchestral music-the first, second, and fourth symphonies and that curiously titled work ' Overture, Scherzo, and Finale ' date from that period. The latter is virtually a symphony without a slow movement. Sir Donald Tovey suggests that Schumann's idea of calling it a sinfonietta (a little symphony) would have been more apt, as it accurately describes the real character and range of the work.
The three movements are in Schumann's happiest vein, particularly brilliant is the terse and pointed scherzo. The finale is described by Tpvey as moving ' imperturbably like the Red Queen crying " Faster, faster ! " as she rushed with Alice ever onward under the same tree in Looking-Glass Land '