Aug 26, 2024 | CD reviews
BBC PhilharmonicBen Gernon conductorXiayin Wang piano Chandos 20341 Gerard Schurmann was born in Java in January 1924, so in this, his centenary year, Chandos have brought out a disc of four fascinating works complementing their first Schurmann recording in 1980 (CHAN...
Aug 26, 2024 | CD reviews
BBC Philharmonic OrchestraAlbany Symphony Orchestra Lyrita SRCD 2418 Lloyd’s seventh symphony ‘Proserpine’ of 1959 is a long three movement work opening with the joyful dancing side of life, beginning with a repeated xylophone anticipating John Adams’ Short ride in a...
Aug 19, 2024 | CD reviews
Plus String Chamber Music Divine Art ddx 21246Divine Art ddx 21137 Here are three discs celebrating the musical accomplishment of Thomas Pitfield and his contemporaries. Thomas Pitfield (1903–1999) was a largely self-taught as a composer, but he was also an...
Aug 15, 2024 | CD reviews
Mahler Chamber OrchestraGeorge Benjamin conductor Nimbus N18116 At little more than an hour and a bit it was no hardship to watch Picture a Day Like This twice at the Royal Opera Studio last year, although this recording is actually from the Aix-en-Provence première....
Aug 15, 2024 | CD reviews
Juliana Koch oboe/cor anglaisMichael McHale pianoJulian Bliss clarinet CHAN 20290 Decades ago the best chance of hearing the music of Ruth Gipps was to attend her occasional and often adventurous concerts with her various ‘semi-pro’ orchestras on the South Bank and...
Aug 15, 2024 | CD reviews
Flourish for Glorious JohnFantasia for piano and orchestraThe SteersmanThe Future Lucy Crowe sopranoJacques Imbrailo baritoneAndrew von Oeyen pianoBBC Symphony Orchestra and ChorusMartin Yates conductor Dutton CDLX 7411 This is an interesting (well, in parts) addition...
Jul 24, 2024 | CD reviews
Siân Philipps violinPer Rundberg piano CLAUDIO CC6035-2 The composers chosen by Siân Philipps for this CD explore what it means to be ‘an outsider on the margins’. She writes, ‘Most of the composers on this disc either experienced this or helped others who had’. She...
Jul 24, 2024 | CD reviews
Richard Casey piano métier mex 77116 The expression ‘Renaissance Man’ refers in the present day to someone who is knowledgeable, educated and proficient across a wide range of fields. It is the perfect description of Dr Edward Cowie. He is listed as being proficient...
