A new album of ten contemporary organ works from nine composers representing six countries. Carson Cooman presents a program of contemporary music for organ recorded on the remarkable post-romantic Thomas Gaida organ of the Pauluskirche in Ulm, Germany. The music varies widely in character and scope, from smaller character pieces and meditations to several dramatic, large-scale works. The final piece is the grand 15th organ symphony of English composer Bernard Heyes. Some like David Lasky’s ‘Peace Prayer No. 1’ have a special resonance in today’s world. Carson Cooman (b. 1982) is an American composer with a catalog of hundreds of works in many forms. As an active concert organist, Cooman specializes in the performance of contemporary music. Over 300 new compositions by more than 100 international composers have been written for him, and his organ performances can be heard on a number of album releases and more than 3,000 recordings available online. He is also composer-residence at the Memorial Church, Harvard University.

William Baines is one of those exceptionally gifted composers whose music still remains little known to the general music-loving public. Deeply rooted in Nature, it shows influences from Debussy, Scriabin, Chopin, Liszt and Ravel and has totally assimilated those exemplars into truly mature and distinguished works all his own. This album includes a number of impressionist piano solos and also the first recording (and first performance) of the Five Songs, presented by veteran tenor Gordon Pullin, who has long been associated with the music of Baines. Duncan Honeybourne has become one of the most sought after of British pianists with a sparkling discography and is totally at home in this picturesque music. This album is produced also in memory of Baines on the centenary of his death. The album concludes with ‘At the Grave of William Baines’ by fellow Yorkshire Robin Walker – a fitting tribute by a living composer with similar abilities to draw inspiration from the world around him.

Of the major works of Sergei Prokofiev, none (apart perhaps from Peter and the Wolf) have become so well loved by a wide audience as the ballets Cinderella and Romeo and Juliet. From the stage productions, to the orchestral suites, to the piano versions, many of these pieces are universally recognized. In the 1950s, four pieces from each ballet were arranged for clarinet and piano by Bronislav Prorvich, a clarinetist with the Bolshoi Theatre. Strangely, so far as we know, these sparkling arrangements have never previously been recorded. Ian Scott and his producer Malcolm McMillan have added a further 12 movements from the ballets, many of which strongly featured the clarinet in the original orchestral version. This has resulted in a lovely collection of pieces that are at once very familiar but also heard in a completely new light.

Stefania Argentieri is a young Italian pianist of consummate skill, necessary to give full expression to the piano music of Tchaikovsky, which remains strangely under-appreciated. She has won many awards and has performed at prestigious events in Europe and the USA. She teaches at the Giordano Conservatory in Foggia and is also working as a music editor. Stefania has made recordings with her chamber ensemble.

This is her second solo album for Divine Art, following her well-received recording of Prokofiev released in 2020: “outstanding (MusicWeb International); “True command of this daunting repertoire” (The Whole Note). This album showcases the spectrum of Tchaikovsky’s art from the pastoral and gentle (extracts from 18 Pieces and The Seasons) to the noble and high-Romantic (the ‘Grand Sonata’) and at a time when modern Russia is blighted by its leaders’ warmongering and aggression, a reminder that the Russian musical art of the past is still as instructive and valuable as ever.

Mexico after the Spanish arrived saw a great deal of European art and culture being imported, including music from the great centres such as Venice. Not having harpsichords to hand, it became usual to use local instruments, vihuela and guitarron, for continuo. This policy is used here, and the sharp clear sound of the strings with the rhythmic base gives these works a new impetus and vitality. The Vivaldi pieces are fairly well known but the fine concertos by Facco were only discovered relatively recently.

R E V I E W: "Here, the traditional Mexican psaltery is an entirely satisfactory ‘local’ replacement for the mandolin, played with delicacy and fluency by Mexico’s leading virtuoso on the instrument, Daniel Armas. The other soloists are also excellent: the sopranino recorder is played with delightful virtuosity by the orchestra’s conductor, Miguel Lawrence, and the solo violin in the Facco concerti is sensitively played by Manuel Zogbi. These Mexican performers give a hint of how European music might have been interpreted in the New World in the 18th century."

-- Elizabeth Rees, The Consort

Perhaps the name of Jim Parker is not well known - but his music is loved worldwide. Composer of numerous film and theatre scores, he is best known for his television music which includes Foyle's War, House of Cards, Midsomer Murders and House of Elliott among many more. He has won the British Academy Award for Best TV Music on no less than four occasions. This brilliant album collects a number of Parker's recent compositions which are not directly for TV but still have a marvelous pictorial quality and display his remarkable talent for memorable melodies and coloration, whether it be the recorder acting like a Peruvian pipe, or violins emulating the Hurdy-Gurdy. Light music albums of this quality are very rare these days and this is a joyful gem.

In the mid to late 19th century, piano transcriptions allowed access to the classics for the majority of people who could not attend opera or orchestral performances. In the area of ‘grand opera’ specialists included of course Franz Liszt – and also composers such as Sigismund Thalberg. Andrew Wright is a rarity in the current day being an expert interpreter and also arranger of operatic themes, and as well as an astonishing virtuosity enabling the drama of the scene to be preserved, he also keeps alive the tradition by which opera tunes became popular. Following the critical praise given to the original ‘Operatic Pianist’ album, this set includes transcriptions and fantasies by Wright, Thalberg, Liszt, Kullak, Leschetizky and Jaëll and amazingly a fine work by Saint-Saëns receiving its world premiere recording. Intense, dramatic and full of action this will appeal to both opera lovers and piano afficionados.

“Formidable playing … Wright displays great sensitivity in this lovely performance… beautifully done. There is writing of some virtuosity which Wright throws off with panache and abandon. This is a disc to sit back and enjoy while marveling at the many moments of virtuosity.” – Bruce Reader (The Classical Reviewer)

REVIEWS:

"A revelatory version of a Tchaikovsky symphony... A major discovery... A cracking performance... Gloriously played... Mind-blowing." - Michael Tumelty, Glasgow Herald

"There are several good reasons to buy this fascinating programme... The impeccable precision, tonal allure and stylish panache of Goldstone and Clemmow's playing is sheer pleasure, and they are handsomely recorded." - BBC Music Magazine

"Excellently performed... Lovers of the piano duet medium need not hesitate." - Gramophone

"Superlative playing... Highly recommended." - John Phillips, Musicweb

"Fabulous playing and a definite 'grabbit'" - Showcase Magazine

"A tour-de-force... Goldstone & Clemmow bring a subtle intimacy to the music that is really wonderful…pristine presentation, copious notes and stunning recording... A superb disc." - ClassicalNet

"Highly enjoyable... Well worth hearing." - David Denton, Yorkshire Post

R E V I E W S

Sinae Lee chooses as her recording debut a performance of the complete piano music by Szymanowski. Here Hamelin is sovereign in his single CD of the complete mazurkas, but if you want the complete piano music (and I can see no reason for not owning every single piece of Szymanowski), Lee is the choice between Martin Jones on Nimbus and Martin Roscoe on Naxos. Lee got her PhD on the topic of Szymanowski piano music and her fingers are as clever as her brain – none of the tricky passages in the daunting sonatas or studies startles her. Martin Jones is not helped by an over-reverberant piano and Martin Roscoe is solid, sturdy and, in the best sense of the word, playing safe. But Sinae Lee’s is the complete version to have.

Marius Dawn (Pianist Magazine)

BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE:
To take on such a mammoth task as the recording of Szymanowski’s entire piano output required a performer of exceptional ability, one that can accommodate the huge technical demands of the music whilst elucidating the dramatic changes in his style with clarity and conviction. The journey is indeed challenging, moving from the passionate Romanticism of the early works to the exploratory mysticism of the middle-period Masques, Métopes and Third Sonata and culminating in the more austere folk-like idiom of the late Mazurkas.

On the evidence of these discs, the Korean Sinae Lee certainly has the necessary technical ability to master this repertory; the most testing passage-work in the 12 Studies Op.33 and the fugal Finale of the Third Sonata pose few difficulties for her. Likewise, in the early Preludes and the First Sonata, she projects the music with a real sense of forward momentum and intensity, at the same time managing to bring welcome transparency of texture to the involved contrapuntal layering of works such as the Second Piano Sonata.

Divine Art’s very immediate piano sound emphasises this drive for clarity, but is perhaps less helpful in some of the more ethereal sections of the middle-period works where Lee’s tonal variety is never quite as mercurial or imaginative as that of Piotr Anderszewski, whose recording of the Masques and Métopes on EMI remains peerless. In the other repertory, matters however are more even. I marginally prefer Lee’s heart-on-sleeve approach to the early works in comparison with the more reserved conception of Martin Roscoe (on Naxos), whilst Martin Jones (Nimbus) is especially convincing in the Second Sonata, Unfortunately the recording quality of both the Jones and Roscoe discs is somewhat muffled, although this enables Roscoe in particular to effect a more atmospheric quality in the reflective sections of the music.

While Anderszewski remains the obvious benchmark for the middle-period works and Marc-André Hamelin delivers irresistibly alluring accounts of the Mazurkas on Hyperion, making a clear choice among the complete sets is by no means so straightforward. Roscoe’s natural musicianship and Naxos’s bargain price is certainly enticing, and there is much to savour in Martin Jones’s playing. However, the better recording and Lee’s passionate advocacy of the early music wins the day, if only just.

Performance **** Sound ****

-- Erik Levi, BBC Music Magazine

ONLY COMPLETE RECORDING. Sir Arthur Sullivan wrote his light opera Haddon Hall when he was at the height of his considerable creative powers. Despite his intention to turn away from writing "lighter" works so that he could concentrate on more serious fare, Sullivan's love of the good-life forced his return to the rather more lucrative stage of the Savoy Theatre, and the world of comic opera. Sydney Grundy presented him with a libretto based on an actual historical incident, namely the elopement of Dorothy Vernon, with her lover John Manners, from Haddon Hall, her ancestral home. The opera was completed and presented at the Savoy Theatre on 24th September 1892. The reception to Sullivan's music (though not the libretto!) was ecstatic. Bernard Shaw thought Haddon Hall to be the very best of the Savoy Operas, and for a while the piece beat even the Mikado in box office receipts. We hope that, after hearing this new recording, you will agree that Haddon Hall is an unjustly neglected work of great charm, fully worthy of Britain's most famous composer of the 19th century, Sir Arthur Sullivan.

R E V I E W S

They're at it again. The indefatigable piano duo team of Anthony Goldstone and Caroline Clemmow have been hard at work unearthing more hidden treasures from the classical repertoire: orchestral and chamber music arranged for piano duet or two pianos. A couple of years ago their first volume of "unauthorised" piano duos of Schubert's music featured The Trout Quintet, sparklingly rendered by this superlative husband and wife team of pianists, who sacrificed none of the character of the music in their interpretation of the transcription.

Now they have dug up a version for piano duet of the great B flat Piano Trio, which captures the spirit, the flavour and the zest of the vast and mighty trio. The arrangement was made by one Josef von Gahy, astonishingly not a professional pianist but a civil servant, though he must have been able to find his way around the keyboard as he was not only a friend but a regular duet partner of Schubert himself. A cracking disc for devotees of this genre, with a stunning transcription of the Arpeggione Sonata which catches all the grace, poise, and refinement of the work, along with its bubbling virtuosity."

-- Michael Tumelty, Glasgow Herald

The history behind this disc is interesting. Joseph von Gahy was not only a lifelong friend of Schubert but also his duet partner. After the composer’s death Gahy set about transcribing several of his partner’s vocal and instrumental works for piano duet. There is no question of the authenticity of the enterprise. Gahy remained faithful to the originals, even to the extent of parts of the phrases being split between the two players. So seamless is the performance of Anthony Goldstone and Caroline Clemmow that this cannot be detected.

The disc opens with Gahy’s arrangement of the Piano Trio in B flat major. The music is sublime. Exquisite melodies pour out from a composer in full creative flow reminiscent of his Lieder writing. Does it work without the violin and cello parts? On the whole, yes, although I’m not completely convinced about the Scherzo. Goldstone and Clemmow give a masterclass in the art of duet playing. They are completely sensitive to each other’s performance and play as one. After such a stunning opening the problem is that anything else that follows is likely to be an anti-climax – and it is. The Notturno, also written for violin, cello and piano, just doesn’t work as a duet; the Sonata in A major for arpeggione – an instrument long forgotten- and piano is not the composer’s best although there is evidence of his flair for melodic writing. The only work here originally written for piano duet is the so-called “Friendship” Rondo in D major, a nice-enough piece but not in the same league as the Trio. In spite of these reservations the disc is worth buying for that performance alone.

-- Shirley Ratcliffe, International Piano

The Piano Trio, D 898, Notturno D 897 and 'Arpeggione' Sonata D 821 are all original Schubert works and there is certainly nothing amiss to have them labelled unauthorized. So why is this and the previous issue of the 'Trout Quintet' been tagged as such? Josef von Gahy, who was not a professional musician, but a Hungarian civil servant happened to be one of Schubert's closest friends, and his admiration for the composer knew no bounds. They often played together four-hand works and Gahy's fine playing drew words of praise from Schubert many a time.

By the time of the latter's death, their relationship had become an inseparable one. As a humble homage to his great idol, Gahy decided to arrange some of Schubert's pieces for piano duet and this recording embraces three such arrangements plus the 'Friendship' Rondo, D 608, an original Schubert piece for two pianos, composed in honour of his great and dedicated friend.

The Goldstone and Clemmow duo, married since 1989, have etched a name for themselves in such repertoire, and these interpretations are as absorbing and entertaining as the arrangements themselves. While always highlighting the romantic streak of these works, they unfailingly bring to the fore both Schubert's and Gahy's flair for structure and melody.

-- Gerald Fenech, www.classical.net

The veteran British piano duo of Anthony Goldstone and Caroline Clemmow present two major world premieres: the first recording of the piano duet transcription by lieder-writer Robert Franz of the ‘Death and the Maiden’ Quartet, and the first recording of the ‘Unfinished’ Symphony in a full four-movement performing edition for piano duet including arrangements by Anselm Hüttenbrenner (Schubert’s friend), Anthony Goldstone, and Friedrich Hermann. It includes a completion of Schubert’s part finished Scherzo and the Rosamunde Entr’acte, widely believed to have been the intended finale.

A superb conclusion to a triumphant life-enhancing series of discs in which Mr Goldstone can take enormous pride. Bravo!


One of the most pleasurable voyages of discovery this year has been the ‘Russian Piano Music Series’ and in particular the four volumes entrusted to the superbly capable and musically astute care of Anthony Goldstone. This is the third volume I have had the pleasure of reviewing … and I bought the fourth volume for reasons of simple pleasure. The common thread through all of the discs has been the rediscovery of virtuoso piano repertoire from the first half of the last century. Each disc has been hugely satisfying in itself but I would argue that the four together become even more stimulating allowing the listener to compare and contrast the differing musical approaches of four composers from essentially the same Russian Romantic stock.


Anthony Goldstone has proved to be the ideal guide. It is more than just a case of a rock solid technique; in each case he has shown himself not only to be totally attuned to both the core style of the repertoire but crucially, equally at ease with one minute bon-bons or large-scale sonatas. This empathy extends beyond the performances to include some of the most interesting and best written performer liner-notes that I have read; an ideal blend of insight and information. As with the Glière disc previously reviewed this recital of Arensky’s music seems to be a straight reissue of an Olympia disc originally released in 2001. All credit to Divine Art for restoring this to the catalogue. This is a programme of miniatures with only two of the 39 tracks running beyond 3 minutes. Even the collections of 12 Preludes Op.63 or 12 Etudes Op.74 have less cumulative impact as a group than the magnificent 25 Preludes Op.30 by Glière which dominate volume 3. Yet it would be quite wrong to assume miniature means slight. Yes, as Goldstone points out, many of these pieces smack more of the Salon than the Steppe yet craft and care and idiomatic piano writing ooze from them at every turn. Goldstone quotes a wonderfully dismissive and sniffy passage from Rimsky-Korsakov’s autobiography where the senior composer points to Arensky’s penchant for cards and drink that led to his early death at the age of 44 and states rather bleakly; “he will soon be forgotten”. Frustratingly, the dissolute life did mean that both the Preludes and Etudes exist as incomplete half-sets but the pleasures to be had from the music that we do have is considerable. Again as Goldstone points out – well if you will write an astute liner it’s going to be quoted! – the influences here are much more Chopin and Schumann rather than fellow Russian nationalists. Given that the two Arensky symphonies are very much in the nationalist tradition it is a little disappointing that his 100+ piano works do not ever grapple with something on a larger more dramatic scale. Instead every movement evokes a beautiful miniature world. I enjoyed in particular the flowing harmonies of Prelude No.6 in G major [track 6] and the lyrical ‘question and answer’ of Prelude No.10 in D minor – the smooth ease with which Goldstone navigates this kind of deceptively hard writing indicative of his playing throughout. As in the Glière recital the engineers and producer have created a relatively intimate salon acoustic which I feel suits the music ideally – likewise the chosen piano is perfectly scaled to the repertoire.


If I was forced to choose I would have to say that I found the Lyapunov disc the most revelatory with the Glière not far behind. Both those composers cover a wider musical and dramatic range in the programmes as recorded but then conversely this Arensky is disarmingly charming and gently moving. There is something desperately poignant about a man creating such simple beauty by day and living a nihilistic existence by night. More wide-ranging – in relative terms – are the six Essais sur des rythmes oubliés Op.28. These are studies in flexible rhythm which Arensky exploits to try and lose predictable bar lines. Hence he uses a 5/4 time signature some years before Tchaikovsky did in his final symphony. Curiously, for all their attempts to be more radical at 120 years distance they sound more harmonically conservative with the rhythmic ‘novelty’ barely registering. But they are all adorned with some ravishing filigree writing that again Goldstone plays with artless ease and the subtlest rubato – this really is a master-class in the playing of this style of music. As befits their title the 12 Études are more overtly technical and as such less immediately charming; that being said the harp-like cascades of No.5 in D major [track 23] are instantly beguiling. The disc is completed with two shorter compilations of pieces with the six Arabesques Op.67 being the music of least consequence on the disc. But all credit to Goldstone for not trying to impose a ‘meaning’ where one does not try to exist; this is graceful elegant music. The disc is completed with one final nonchalant – but brutally hard – Etude – which you could imagine as the encore to a superb recital, all easy wit and technical display couched in winningly charming terms. And that is just how it sounds here – a superb conclusion to a triumphant series of discs in which Mr Goldstone can take enormous pride. Proof if proof were needed that music does not need to always storm the heavens to be life-enhancing. Bravo!


-- Nick Barnard, MusicWeb International

Sergei Bortkiewicz was born in the Ukraine, spent time in Germany, and became an Austrian citizen, but always remained truly Russian at heart and as such is a true successor of the Romantic tradition of Tchaikovsky. Alfonso Soldano is a professor of piano performance at the Braga Conservatory in Teramo, Italy. He was a student of Ciccolini and is renowned for his virtuosity. These two artists work together to present the latest release in Divine Art's Russian Piano Music Series.