The composer, pianist, and conductor Gerard Schurmann (1924 - 2020) was born in Kertosono, Java, which was then part of the Dutch East Indies. The family lived within earshot of the resident gamelan orchestras at the Sultan's Palace, and hearing the pentatonic scales and intricate rhythms of this traditional Indonesian music made a lasting impression on the young Gerard. During the 1950s and 1960s, Schurmann was best known for his film scores, particularly The Long Arm (1956; CHAN 10979) and Horrors of the Black Museum (1959; CHAN 10979). Man in the Sky is a Concert Overture derived from Schurmann's score for the eponymous film. The Piano Concerto was written for the great British pianist John Ogdon, who gave the premiere in November 1973. The work is laid out in two movements, the first rapid and virtuosic, the second broader and more contemplative. Romancing the Strings is a set of six short variations on an original theme which Schurmann wrote originally for a Disney feature that was eventually broadcast as Dr Syn - Alias the Scarecrow (CHAN 10979). The programme concludes with Gaudiana, a set of Symphonic Studies for orchestra inspired by the work of the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi, which was first performed by the Orquestra Simf�nica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya under Rumon Gamba in December 2005.

Classical Music

The Austrian composer Joseph Marx was for much of his long career a musical authority of world renown. Within his large output, his songs were amongst his greatest musical achievements, unifying romanticism, impressionism and expressionism with revolutionary results. Many thought him the rightful successor to Hugo Wolf and yet today the name and music of Joseph Marx have fallen into obscurity. The 'Marx style' is unmistakable. It is characterised by a highly personal compositional technique displaying a polyphonic harmony of full sonority, allied to asterly contrapuntal skills, and frequent key changes which occur apparently at random but are in fact distributed with utter logic. The music strikes the listener as timeless, refreshingly modern and, above all, surprising, able to exploit tonal means of expression to the full and raise the spirits of every true lover of melody. Chandos' Record of the Month sees Ji?í B?lohlávek conduct the BBC Symphony Orchestra in the long overdue premiere of four choral works, along with the first complete recording of Marx's orchestral songs for soprano, performed by Christine Brewer. Three works are of particular note. Herbstchor an Pan, a single-movement cantata written in 1911, lasts very nearly twenty minutes and was Marx's first, and for many years only, orchestral composition. It has inexplicably fallen into oblivion in the past five decades. However, it has turned out to be one of the masterpieces of its entire era. Ein Neujahrshymnus (A Hymn for the New Year) is richly orchestrated and demonstrates the profound romantic vein of Joseph Marx; it is here performed for the first time in its orchestral version. This disc represents not only the first recording of Berghymne but also its world premiere performance. We are indebted to the Marx Society for their efforts to promote this composer, and allowing the wider public to hear the outstanding quality of his works. The greatness of the music is indisputable and this recording will make for an important addition to the classical music catalogue. Also available: Joseph Marx - Piano Works: CHAN 10479

Making his debut on Chandos, Sakari Oramo, who with the BBC Symphony Orchestra this year has championed new and rarely performed works, presents in surround sound the extravagant musical world of Florent Schmitt. The recording follows two exceptional Barbican performances with the same forces, a ‘sensuous and exotic’ Antoine et Cleopatre, according to the Financial Times (2016), and the first performance for nearly a dozen years of Symphony No. 2 (2017). The Second Symphony, the last major work by Schmitt, has nothing valedictory about it: as lavish and rhythmically sophisticated as his earlier music, emphatically bounding in fast passages and supple in slow, it also encompasses all the different musical expressions and styles that he had used over almost eight decades of composing. On the other hand, it is far from being an ‘old man’s piece.’ ‘It is really exuberant- very, very inventive, and incredibly busy for everyone,’ as Sakari Oramo explained in a BBC Radio 3 interview. The symphony is paired with the two orchestral suites from Antoine et Cleopatre, music written for Shakespeare’s play, premiered in 1920 at the Paris Opera, and very rarely recorded since then.

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

Neeme Järvi and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande’s exploration of 19th century French orchestral works continues with a third release spotlighting the opera composer Jacques Offenbach whose sense of satire was evident in his operattas and most famously authored the phantasmagoric Les Contes d’Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann) among other full length operas. Recorded in Super Audio, these overtures hint at the depth and imagination of Offenbach’s sensibilities whose works exemplified the zeitgeist of his time.

Recording information: Ringsaker Church, Hedmark, Norway (02/28/2009-03/01/2009); Ringsaker Church, Hedmark, Norway (05/18/2009-05/20/2009).

Classical Music

Classical Music

All works performed from The Niels W. Gade Edition. Recorded in: Danish Radio Concert Hall, Copenhagen 26 February & 1 March 1997 (Symphony No. 4), 6 & 9 April 2001 (Symphony No. 7), 9 & 10 April 2001 (Concert Overture No. 3) Producer(s) Ivar Munk (Symphony No. 4) Preben Iwan (other works) Sound Engineer(s) Jørn Jacobsen

Tavener: Fall and Resurrection

Yoshimatsu's Symphony No. 4 begins in a beguilingly sunny atmosphere, with bright string and woodwind textures adorning irresistibly charming melodies--a setting that brings to mind the music of Libbey Larsen. Yoshimatsu's style reflects his having come of age in the 20th century's musically pluralist environment, and its "feel good" nature would almost qualify it as "New Age Classical" if that term were not already associated with Yanni and his ilk. However, his "serious" music credentials are readily apparent in the work's solid structural underpinnings and in the refined intricacies of its harmonic language. But it's not all powdered sugar, as the music takes an inward, more reflective stance in the elegiac Adagietto (with its Messiaen-like main theme). However, the carefree mood returns in the finale to close the symphony in a gentle, glitteringly orchestrated dance.


Yoshimatsu conceived his Trombone Concerto "Orion Machine" after a vision depicting the celestial hunter Orion amusing himself with a trombone as he traveled across the skies. Ian Bousfield's stunning solo work acts as our guide as the music begins in Debussyian whole-tone harmonies before exploring many musical dimensions over its five movements. The climax comes at Bousfield's tour de force performance in the fourth movement, where he's called upon to improvise freely--and boy does he ever! He'd fit right in with the jazz greats, making sounds you probably never knew a trombone was capable of.


Atom Heart's Club is a suite for string orchestra drawn from hit tunes by the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Emerson Lake & Palmer, and Yes. Yoshimatsu's rock imitations are only intermittently successful (the last two movements sound like Leroy Anderson), but this doesn't stop conductor Sachio Fujioka from conveying a sense of fun as he leads freewheeling and high spirited performances with the BBC Philharmonic. Chandos' top drawer recording makes this disc a delight to hear.
--Victor Carr Jr, ClassicsToday.com

Recorded in: New Broadcasting House, Manchester 29 February & 1 March 2000 Producer(s) Ralph Couzens Mike George Sound Engineer(s) Stephen Rinker Tim Archer (Assistant)

Throughout the history of music, there are fascinating cases of family involvement in composition, the prime examples being the Bach and Strauss dynasties. In England, it was the Wesleys. Samuel was the younger son of hymn-writing Charles. His brother, also named Charles, wrote music, as did his son, Samuel Sebastian. All were highly regarded musicians in their day, and all were firmly rooted in the Methodist Church. Samuel wrote six symphonies, of which five survive. They are modestly scored yet highly inventive works. The earliest is written for a curious group of obbligato instruments: violin, cello, and organ--solo instruments that are used only in the fast outer movements of the three-movement piece. The next three symphonies vacillate between Baroque and Classical period styles. Often, as in the first movement of the A major symphony, we find both styles alternating as if vying for prominence. The last symphony, from 1802, shows the influence of Haydn, no surprise since Wesley undoubtedly had heard Haydn's symphonies performed on that composer's two visits to London.

REVIEW:

Wesley's music is not the equal of Mozart or Haydn, but is surely melodious, expertly constructed, and highly enjoyable. The vibrant, perfectly executed, impeccably phrased readings that Matthias Bamert extracts from his London Mozart Players make the best possible case for these works. The recorded sound is robust, complementing the exuberant performances. The bass line is solid, the upper strings sparkle, and there is an ideal balance between warmth and brilliance.
--Rad Bennett, ClassicsToday.com

Contains the composer's complete works for strings Dedicated to the memory of our beloved mentor and dear friend Jenö Lehner (1906-1997) - Schoenberg Quartet Recorded in: Oud-Katholieke Church, Delft, The Netherlands ; Waalse Kerk, Amsterdam; Maria Minor, Utrecht; Main Hall, Muziekcentrum Vredenburg, Utrecht; Musis Sacrum, Arnhem Recorded between 29 June 1991 and 11 June 2001 Sound Engineer(s) Benno Torrenga (Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra) Adriaan Verstijnen (other works) Adriaan Verstijnen (Editing)

Recorded in: Auditorium Pandurera, Centro, Italy November 2000 Producer(s) Gian Andrea Lodovici Sound Engineer(s) Marco Lincetto