Bax created his Sixth Symphony in 1934, which he dedicated first to Karol Szymanowski and then, when the contact had loosened, to Adrian Boult. This time, unlike the four-notes-theme in the First Symphony, it is a six-notes-theme that gives the first movement its cohesion, a unity that is sustained even through the many kaleidoscopic changes of mood. The movement is clearly structured as a sonata first movement, and it is, as David Cox has written, “full of dramatic urgency (the more peaceful second subject forming a brief respite)”. The slow movement, “full of romantic nostalgia, ending with a curious slow march-like section (Andante con moto) in 6/8 time”2, offers a clear contrast. As later in the Seventh Symphony, the final movement is of a special conception that may have been inspired from Chares Villiers Stanford’s Seventh Symphony: Introduction – Scherzo and trio – Epilogue. The introduction leads into a lively, powerful scherzo with trio, and this is followed by an “Epilogue of grave, wistful beauty” (Cox), which emulates that of the Third Symphony. This movement structure is a natural vehicle for Bax’s contrasting ‘episodes’. Certainly this conception is one of the most formally successful that Bax created in his symphonies. A quotation from Sibelius’s Tapiola has been identified in this movement. …