ROSSINI: STRING SONATAS 1, 3,

"This well-balanced programme of Vivaldi concertos should have a wide appeal. . . . Nigel Woodhouse and Sue Mossop bring as much expression to the music as their instruments allow. . . . Smith plays a modern flute and possesses a pleasing warm, rounded tone. He gives a lyrical account of the lovely Siciliano of Il gardellino tastefully ornamenting the repeated halves of this binary movement. . . . The two violin concertos are drawn from Vivaldi's Op. 8, the set which contains the Four Seasons. . . . The soloist is Lyn Fletcher who brings detail and plenty of light and shade to Vivaldi's often virtuosic writing. . . . [A]n entertaining programme affectionately played and well constructed. Clear and effective recorded sound." -- Nicholas Anderson, Gramophone

"Tetra works wonders with four 'standard' instruments. The oneness of their attack (the guitar is a percussive instrument) and variation of nuance speaks of countless hours of rehearsal—by players of first-rate technical control and sensitive musicianship. . . . All this would be futile in a programme of 'borrowed' music if the arrangements were not of comparable quality which they are. Put the original forms of this music out of your mind, eschew comparisons and enjoy it in its new dress. . . . The quality of the recording per se is superb, as we have come to expect of John Taylor, who has happily married his talents as an excellent guitarist and the possessor of a degree in physics. . . . [B]uy and enjoy this fine issue." -- John Duarte, Gramophone

This disc was originally available as Conifer CDCF 178.

ROYLANCE/GALVIN: BATTLE OF THE

Includes work(s) by Sir Edward Elgar, Sir Charles V. Stanford. Ensemble: Cambridge Trinity College Choir. Conductor: Richard Marlow.

This recording was previously available as Conifer 177.

BRITTEN, BRIDGE, I HOLST: STRI

SMYTH: THE WRECKERS DE LA MAR

Includes intermezzo(s) for piano by Johannes Brahms. Soloist: Mikhail Kazakevich.

Malcolm Arnold has been a central figure in British musical life for fifty years, believing that ‘to be asked by a performer whose accomplishment one admires is the greatest incentive to write music’. His Symphony No. 2, for Charles Groves and his Bournemouth Orchestra, and Concerto for Two Pianos, for Phyllis Sellick and Cyril Smith, both reflect this, and in Handley’s performances they are certainly colourful...
Performance: **** Sound: *****

-- Terry Barfoot, BBC Music Magazine

A vibrant performance from David Geringas of Vasks' exhilarating Cello Concerto.

This fine disc is the Riga Philharmonic’s – and Conifer’s – second foray into the music of the Latvian Peteris Vasks (b. 1946). The first [reissued as Catalyst 64286], containing five shortish items conducted by Kriss Rusmanis, was one of those rare beasts, a real breakthrough disc for a composer little known outside his country. This newcomer, with Jonas Aleksa now at the helm, presents two more substantial utterances which in my opinion make a stronger claim for Vasks as a leading contemporary figure than did its predecessor.

The Cello Concerto is cast in five movements, pairs of cantuses and toccatas framing a central Monologue. New Simplicity is the dominant style of the outermost spans, but with the toccatas Vasks moves into more varied terrain (he clearly knows his Shostakovich). The concerto is an exhilarating score and receives here a vibrant performance from David Geringas. Aleksa and the Riga players also give a splendid account of the Symphony for strings, Voices (1990-91), though they face stiff competition from the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra under Juha Kangas. In general, the Finnish ensemble achieve more precision in their playing and benefit from better sound, so that more of the effects Vasks asks for can be heard. Kangas also consistently adopts faster tempos, but Aleksa has as sure an interpretative grasp of the whole. In the end it comes down to couplings (pieces by Lithuanians on Finlandia): I for one would not want to be without the Cello Concerto. Recommended.

-- Gramophone [12/1996]

This selection includes a bonus CD with Ms. Jones performing music by Saint-Saëns, Doppler-Zamara and Borne.

THE ESSENTIAL MALCOLM ARNOLD

This set is offered at a special price: 2 CDs for the price of 1.