A Manchester Overture is an eclectic and ebullient eleven-minute piece for full orchestra, with many autobiographical elements from Burgess’s early life in Manchester in the 1920s and 1930s. It is the musical counterpart to his family saga Any Old Iron (1989), and is a cheerful and vigorous celebration of the city of his birth. There have been recent performances by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, with a broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in 2013.

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