John Ireland' violin sonatas gained extraordinarily positive reviews when they were premiered. The Star praised the 'delicacy, lucidity, and tonal charm' of the First Violin Sonata, the most genial and optimistic of the three sonatas recorded here.

The revival of interest in the music of Robin Milford (1903–59) has largely bypassed his exquisite chamber music, an omission this recording seeks to redress. It presents some of his most attractive chamber works, showing his very personal – and very English – combination of melodic freshness, elegiac lyricism and echoes of folksong. The clarinetist Robert Plane has been described as the ‘current occupier of the shoes of the late Thea King in his championship of British clarinet music’. Other notable performers include violinist Lucy Gould, violist David Adams and cellist Alice Neary.

Benjamin Frith is no stranger to Naxos customers, having previously graced the catalog with a Mendelssohn cycle, John Field's Nocturnes, and other releases. Here he makes his first (and hopefully not last) appearance in Naxos' ongoing series devoted to the complete Scarlatti Sonatas. The playing is splendid. Frith's varied and intelligently deployed dynamic palette, together with his rounded, singing tone, conjures an intimate, poetic aura that's diametrically opposed to the brash, vivacious sound world Mikhail Pletnev brings to this repertoire. I like how Frith keeps the textures alive and vibrant by making very subtle changes in voicing on the repeats (the bass lines and trills in the D major K. 214 sonata, for instance). His unruffled, effortless scales and arpeggios may not bite with the individuality of a Horowitz or Schiff, but their elegant symmetry still delights the ear. With Naxos' first-class sonics, fine notes, and modest price, you can't go wrong. --Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

MOERAN Overture for a Masque. In the Mountain Country . Rhapsodies Nos. 1 and 2. Rhapsody in F? 1 • JoAnn Falletta, cond; 1 Benjamin Frith (pn); Ulster O • NAXOS 8.573106 (57:06)


Vernon Handley, a conductor whose service to British music should be praised in the same breath as that of Adrian Boult (but too seldom was in his lifetime), recorded these works with the Ulster Orchestra for the Chandos label between 1987 and 1989. This was the first integral set of the three rhapsodies, and very fine it is, too—still a significant part of Anglo-Irish composer Ernest John Moeran’s discography, split onto two mid-price Chandos reissues. Now, 25 years later, the orchestra revisits this repertoire, under the direction of its American principal conductor JoAnn Falletta.


The Rhapsody No. 1 in F Major is a student work. It was completed in 1922 after Moeran had returned wounded from World War I to finish his studies at the Royal College of Music with John Ireland, to whom it is dedicated. It and In the Mountain Country , a rhapsody in all but name, are works written under the spell of folksong. Moeran had resumed his collecting of such songs while composing these two pieces, and though the themes he uses are original, they could easily pass as traditional. The other major influences on these, and in fact on all of the works presented here, are the music of Frederick Delius, Jean Sibelius, and friend Peter Warlock, and—perhaps most importantly—the picturesque landscapes of the east of both Ireland and England. The blend creates a bucolic lyricism and nostalgic tonality which makes him the target of those who sneer at the so-called “pastoral” school of English composition. This is a label Vaughan Williams’s reputation has been able to rise above, but not so much that of Moeran. Yes it is tuneful, and sometime the influences show too much, but it is hard to understand why this beautifully crafted, colorfully orchestrated, and immediately engaging music should be so neglected. It cannot be, even in the more youthful works, for want of refinement or emotional depth. And the two later works, the Rhapsody in F? for piano and orchestra and the Overture for a Masque , though written for the more populist needs of wartime audiences, are works of substance that achieve their audience appeal with real artistry.


The least obscure of the works on this program is the Rhapsody No. 2 in E Major, written just two years after the first, and notably the more mature work. It still sounds rather like Delius—that common criticism of Moeran’s earlier works—but the succession of great tunes is stitched together with impressive skill. Adrian Boult’s more expansive and Impressionistic reading for Lyrita has been my favorite, but I find that Falletta’s cooler and somewhat swifter approach—less Delian, it might be noted—with its emphasis on the characterful wind writing, brings out a delightful Celtic swagger. I think Falletta’s may be my new favorite.


Otherwise, if I was looking for differences between the two complete rhapsody editions—none of them all that significant—it would be that Falletta is consistently more direct, a quality to which these pieces respond well. Handley is inclined to emphasize dynamic and tempo contrasts, and to bring out an undercurrent of melancholy. The result, at slightly slower tempos, is more thoughtful but less engagingly jaunty. The Ulster Orchestra is, if anything, more polished and expressive than its counterpart of a quarter-century ago. Soloist Benjamin Firth is not as assertive in the Rhapsody in F? as Margaret Fingerhut was for Handley, in part the work of the engineers who integrate him more into the orchestral texture. That, and his somewhat less fulsome approach to the part, is at one with Falletta’s easygoing approach, and delivers much in the way of subtle beauty while yielding little in exuberance when the score demands it. I welcome both approaches, and am thrilled to have both conductors’ readings in my collection. This new disc joins the equally fine Falletta/Ulster release on Naxos of the cello concerto, serenade, and Two Pieces for Small Orchestra . Both discs are highly recommended.


FANFARE: Ronald E. Grames

Fifteen years before Chopin wrote his first "nocturne", Irish pianist/composer John Field composed his Nocturne No. 1 in E-flat major, followed by at least 15 more pieces in the same style. In these short works for solo piano, Field--who was one of the most celebrated pianists in the world during the first quarter of the 19th century--put form to the idea of a contemplative, lyrical composition, specifically tailored to the piano's expressive capabilities. These "night" pieces are primarily characterized by a dominant, gracefully flowing melody, with most of the harmonic activity in the pianist's left hand. Although other pianists have recorded at least some of Field's Nocturnes--most notably John O'Conor (Telarc) and Miceál O'Rourke (Chandos)--Benjamin Frith's own uniquely inflected, poetic readings have a satisfying aura of intimacy cast in the warm colors of his well-tempered, expertly recorded piano. Although O'Conor's playing is more lyrical, with more fluid legatos, Frith generally takes more time--and these invariably lovely pieces blossom just as fully and brilliantly. The two sonatas are not notable for their originality--they owe much to their dedicatee, Field's teacher Clementi--but they reveal the young composer's gift for understanding the piano's unique voice. This is music for everyone--for any time of day, for any prevailing mood--and we're lucky to have such a fine pianist as Frith joining the Field field. [10/22/1999] --David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

Irish by birth, John Field gained an international reputation as one of the finest pianists of his time, with delicacy and nuance in his playing that is expressed in his innovative and poetically lyrical ‘Nocturnes.’ Field’s earlier ‘Sonatas’ are more classical in feel, but their sense of flow and dramatic narrative exhibit qualities that are developed and given added virtuoso panache in his fine ‘Piano Concertos,’ works admired by Liszt, Chopin, and Schumann. “Benjamin Frith has done a stellar job in bringing these concertos into the sunlight, brilliantly supported by the Northern Sinfonia under David Haslam.” (Pianist Magazine) “Played with effortless fluency…” (Gramophone) “Benjamin Frith plays with the freshness of discovery and wit.” (Audiophile Audition)

Excerpts of reviews from select, previously released volumes included in this set:

Field: Piano Music Vol 1 - Nocturnes and Sonatas

These "night" pieces are primarily characterized by a dominant, gracefully flowing melody, with most of the harmonic activity in the pianist's left hand. Although other pianists have recorded at least some of Field's Nocturnes--most notably John O'Conor (Telarc) and Miceál O'Rourke (Chandos)--Benjamin Frith's own uniquely inflected, poetic readings have a satisfying aura of intimacy cast in the warm colors of his well-tempered, expertly recorded piano.

– ClassicsToday.com

Field: Piano Concertos No 1 & 3

Both works are played with the effortless fluency we know from his Mendelssohn series - plus all the immediacy and freshness of new discovery.

– Gramophone

Listen to the Naxos Podcast to learn more about this release

Dublin-born prodigy John Field enjoyed a wide reputation and great popularity. He was renowned as a soloist for his delicacy of nuance and as a composer for his cultivation of that most poetic of forms, the nocturne. His Piano Concertos were eagerly anticipated and the premiere of the Concerto No. 7 in Paris on Christmas Day 1832 was attended by both Chopin and Liszt. Ingeniously structured in two movements, its Rondo finale evokes the ballroom and Russia in a series of constant contrasts. The Irish Concerto is a reworking of the first movement of Field's Piano Concerto No. 2 in A-Flat Major.

2011 release from the British guitarist. Clearing Customs is based on an approximately 75 minute long, graphic structural model by which the most diverse types of musical events are linked together along a time line. A notated instrumental loop which can be heard in different versions in the course of the piece, serves as a thematic filler between these heterogeneous passages. Fred Frith's choice of instruments was in accordance with the classic Jazz criteria: strings, skins, breath and, additionally, circuitry, meaning electronics. Frith follows the lead taken by the concept of the British theatre maker Peter Brook, who tries to integrate artists with completely different cultural experiences into an ensemble. Intakt.

A Mountain Doesn't Know It's Tall. The title reflects the mood of this duo record of Fred Frith and Ikue Mori - playful, poetic, mysterious and open. The guitarist and the sound-artist have been working together for forty years. Live excerpts from their work are documented on Fred Frith's 3 album box set Live at the Stone (Intakt CD 320). In January 2015, Frith and Mori met in Germany to record the music for a radio play for Werner Penzel, the filmmaker and longtime friend of Fred Frith, for his film Zen for Nothing. After finishing their work, they used the free studio day to record their first duo album together. Influenced by the film music and inspired by the long friendship 15 pieces were created that are both wonderful sound sculptures and fascinating dialogues. Fred Frith writes: "Air moving through ears and hair and lungs and pores, through songs, and scrapes, and scraps of this, that and the other." And Ikue Mori writes: "... it was about playing with the every-day noises that arise when cooking, playing ping-pong, and especially when laughing. There is a lot of joy in working with these recordings, interacting with them and making music."

Cosa Brava is about storytelling. I don't think about it too much. It just turned out that way. Some of the stories have words and some don't, but they share a sense of scenes glimpsed in passing. Torn photos, fragments of movies, distant shouts. One of my earliest memories is of a long drive north, as our family moved away from London to start a new life in the Yorkshire dales. I remember the smell of the car, and passing our broken down removals lorry in the middle of night. I was four years old, and sometimes it feels like I've been on the road ever since. I need to travel, and now my life depends on it, so there's never a shortage of stories. The musicians of Cosa Brava are fellow nomads and experienced collaborators, and some of the best storytellers around, so my stories also become their stories. It's been an exhilarating journey, and I still have no idea where we're going. In the end it doesn't seem very important.- Fred Frith, from the liner notes. All songs composed by Fred Firth and arranged by Cosa Brava. Recorded by the Norman Conquest at Chateau de Faverolles, France. Fred Frith guitar, bass, voice, Carla Kihlstedt violin, bass harmonica, voice, Zeena Parkins accordion, keyboards, foley objects, voice, Shahzad Ismaily bass, voice, Matthias Bossi drums, percussion, mayhem, voice, The Norman Conquest sound manipulation, Special guests: Michael Elrod tambura, William Winant concert bass drum, crotales.