Jonathan Ostlund is a Swedish composer who has recently been living in London. He has manifested an avid interest for music from an early age and has pursued his passion with a BA and MA in Composition at the Luleo Tekniska Universitet, in Sweden. He has studied under the artistic guidance of Prof. Rolf Martinsson, Prof. Jan Sandstrom and Prof. Sverker Jullander, among others, and has so far completed approximately 80 works, including several orchestral pieces and a Piano Concerto, and has been awarded many prizes in international competitions. This second double album was issued in digital download only in March 2019 and is now available in a physical format as well. It is similar to the previous album ‘Lunaris’ in that it features orchestral, vocal, instrumental and chamber music with inspiration from nature, in an even wider variety than on the previous release. A team of top European soloists (several of whom also gave the world premieres of these works) were gathered to record this album. Ostlund’s music is very accessible and tonal and often full of wit and humor, and always atmospheric.

The Divine Art label has long been associated with music for piano duo – whether at two pianos or one – through the sterling and brilliant work of Goldstone and Clemmow and more recently Piano-à-Deux. The label is delighted to welcome a new duo with this program which contains several very popular and well-loved miniatures and transcriptions, bookended by major works from Liszt and Milhaud. They need no introduction save to say that from the dances, to the jazz-inflected pieces, each work is a joy to hear. These are sparkling performances of well-known pieces and form a light counterpoint to the artists’ new 3-piano album of contemporary works. The pianists met when both students at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. Zeynep Ucbarasan is from Turkey but moved to the USA for her postgraduate studies and now lives in California. Her previous recordings and concert appearances have drawn unalloyed praise. Sergio Gallo is a Steinway artist who specializes in music of the Romantic period. He has made several acclaimed recordings for Eroica and is currently recording for Naxos and Quartz. He has won many awards and currently is professor of Piano Performance at the Georgia State University in Atlanta.

“Sometimes the sheer quality of music-making makes a disc worth having. Zeynep Ucbasaran and Sergio Gallo are such a wonderful piano-four-hands team that their new Divine Art offering is a genuine pleasure. Ucbasaran and Gallo make a formidable piano-four-hands team, and the quality of their playing will be enough to endear this recording to pianists and to listeners.”
– Mark J. Estren (Infodad)

“This is one for those of you who like to turn the stereogram up loud and listen to cracking tunes to which you can hum along. The four-handed playing gives it the energy that a 50% reduction in hands to a lone collection of digits would struggle to do.”
– Jeremy Condliffe (The Chronicle Review Corner)

English composer Graham Lynch (b. 1957) is a master of his craft, a composer whose writing is exceptionally detailed...not designed for show, but for better expressing the subject matter of his works, many of which are highly impressionist. Much of his work also refers to the baroque French composers such as Couperin, a particular subject of Lynch’s study. The two suites from the White Book series are based on artwork by Sir Christopher Le Brun and other major artists. The music here ranges from a work inspired by the baroque keyboard works of Couperin, through pictoral suites to the flamenco-tango Ay!

The music is played by two American pianists: White Book 2 is performed by Albert Kim who gave the US premiere in 2018. He was a Carnegie Hall Rising Star and has performed widely throughout the US and China, currently Associate Professor of Piano at the University of Central Missouri. The rest of the program is presented by Paul Sánchez, a Fulbright Fellow (2005-2007) and New Piano Collective artist whose concerts and recordings have amassed generous praise: "one of the most beautiful discs in my collection.." – Fanfare. Another of his discs reached No. 1 on the Billboard Traditional Album chart.

This album is built around Messiaen, birdsong and impressionism. First, we have book 1 of Messiaen’s Catalogue d’oiseaux, together with two newly written interludes and a postlude for two violins, transferring the song to the strings. Messiaen’s work is a journey towards sunlight, colour and company, from mountain to coastline, in the company of three feathered songsters. English composer David Gorton is best known for his uncompromising modernity but in his Ondine, he has produced a work much more accessible and although not specifically based on birdsong, it has many resonances with the Messiaen, and is an ideal partner to the earlier work; this is its first recording. With Szymanowski we reach the mainstream of 20th century writing, Romanticism hardening in light of the Great War and the October Revolution. This work, one of his greatest, is imbued with passion, longing, and in the words of Sorabji, “an elevated ecstasy of expression”. Roderick Chadwick, as both soloist and collaborator, has performed some of the most challenging works for piano; his recent Stockhausen disc was highly praised. He is a particular expert on Messiaen and in 2018 co-authored and published a book on the Catalogue d’oiseaux.

“The performance here is ideal. The liner notes by the pianist are excellent. All in all, this is a superb album: three exceptional works skilfully played… a perfect recital.”
– John France (MusicWeb International)

“The excellent Roderick Chadwick [plays] delightful pieces.. the Szymanowski is imbued with passion and longing.”
- John Pitt (New Classics)

British composer Lydia Kakabadse (with roots in Greece, Austria, Russia and Georgia) reflects her cultural heritage inmusic that has western and mid-Asian elements - while this is strongest in her choral music, it is heard to good effect in her chamber works, which are often written in model intonation: her first chamber album was received with rave reviews. This album concentrates on the "alternative" string quartet line-up with double bass, one piece for cello and bass duo and one for mezzo-soprano and quartet. The title "Concertato" derives from the usage in baroqu emusic meaning a rivalry or contrast between the instruments: the composer uses this to emphasize lines and dialogues between instruments, especially so in the cello/bass duo which gives the album its name.

Carson Cooman is many things musical- organist and Composer in Residence at the Memorial Church, Harvard University, writer, critic, and consultant, concert organist, and above all a highly prolific composer of music in a wide variety of genres, from orchestral to song. His organ compositions come in many styles, from liturgical models, to substantial secular pieces such as his organ symphonies, preludes and fugues. Here are a fine set of fantasias on well-known seasonal tunes and some new compositions, to celebrate Christmas in fine style (and suitable for listening all year round.) Erik Simmons is a superb organist, making his twelfth Cooman organ album for Divine Art. He is playing the wonderful ‘Sun Organ’ of St. Peter & Paul, Gorlitz, recorded through the Hauptwerk system.

For the first time, here is an album full of piano duets written expressly for teacher and student, from the first in the genre, Haydn’s Il Maestro e lo Scolare, through many well-known composers of the 19th and 20th centuries up to the current decade. Very few of these works have attained any sort of public awareness apart from Stravinsky’s Easy Pieces, but though written deliberately with one ‘easy’ part for the learner, the pieces are thoroughly delightful, tuneful and never simplistic: indeed they display all the hallmarks of Romantic, Impressionist (and in two cases jazz-inspired) music-making of high quality and all make more extremely entertaining and pleasant listening. Antony Gray is a London-based pianist and teacher with acclaimed recordings to his name. His work with students of all ages, those that wish to pursue advanced training and even those who do not, produces a wonderful rapport which shines through in these recordings. Over 50 of Gray’s students are represented on the album.

This album celebrates 50 years of the composing career of Malcolm Lipkin (1932-2017) and represents a fitting tribute to a long established and highly respected composer whose music at times was dismissed as old-fashioned for daring to employ real tunes; now it can be appreciated as thoroughly individual, proving that new music can be accessible without losing integrity. He produced a considerable collection of distinctive, finely crafted works in many genres, including two symphonies and an Oboe Concerto, six Sonatas and eight Nocturnes for piano, and chamber, vocal and choral pieces, several commissioned by leading performers. Three tracks here were recorded in 1984 by the Nash Ensemble, then as now among the cream of chamber groups; issued by Hyperion 1986 on vinyl only, these recordings have been excellently remastered from LP for this new issue. Adding to the mix are new recordings by premier instrumentalists each of whom is celebrated in their own field as a musician of the highest calibre.

“Malcolm Lipkin was a fine composer and this generously filled disc presents a rich selection from his chamber and instrumental output. This satisfying, carefully planned composer portrait is warmly recommended.”
- Paul Conway (Musical Opinion)

“This collection of seven compositions spanning 50 years of creation is fabulous and respectful. The musicians all perform with thoughtful, precise musical detail. Lipkin’s works may be slightly old-fashioned but they are memorable.”
- Tiina Kiik (The Whole Note)

“I find his original eclecticism rather refreshing in its direct straightforward musical candor. The music has the bark and bite of harmonic Modernity and chromatic open-field forwardness without necessarily straying into complete atonality. The music has the bark and bite of harmonic Modernity and chromatic open-field forwardness without necessarily straying into complete atonality; the music convinces without belonging to a particular camp. A valuable look at an English figure of the 20th Century worthy of exploring.”
– Grego Edwards (Gapplegate Classical Modern Music)

Helen Habershon’s writing is instinctive and inspired. She is passionate about ‘our incredible natural world’ and it is the main source for her music. ‘Found in Winter’ expresses the many different faces of winter with its varied moods, and the ever-present threat of climatic change both cyclic and man-made. The music has been wonderfully arranged for small orchestra (most tracks) by John Lenehan and is unashamedly light, tuneful, impressionistic and almost visual in its impact. This album follows two previous albums which were Album of the Month and Album of the Week respectively. Helen is principally a clarinetist with a distinguished international concert, radio and TV career; after a serious injury to both wrists, she turned to composition and has never looked back, though now once again able to perform – as she does on this album. The performers on the album have all established themselves as leading lights; John Anderson is one of the most recorded oboists in the world and professor of oboe at the Royal College of Music; Andrew Fuller left the RPO to follow a career in solo and chamber performances, very successfully and John Lenehan has appeared on over 70 albums including solo recordings for Sony receiving many plaudits. The London Primavera was formed in 1986 and consists of the foremost chamber musicians in Britain. It has appeared at many international festivals, has made two TV series, and several recordings. Anthony Halstead has made over 50 albums all around the world with leading ensembles and is one of Britain’s most sought-after and versatile conductors.

John Garth (1721-1810) may not be a familiar name to many now, but in the north-east of England in the middle decades of the 18th century he was a well known figure, particularly in Durham, where he lived and worked as a concert promoter, organist and cellist. Newcastle knew him too, not least because that city’s leading musical light, Charles Avison, was a friend (and possibly teacher).

It is in the last two of Garth’s above-mentioned occupations that we meet him on this enterprising release, which offers the Six Concertos for the Violoncello published in London in 1760, but which he had been performing at such venues at the Durham Assembly Rooms for some years before. They turn out to be accomplished stuff: melodically attractive, pleasingly fluent and set out on a leisurely scale which, while occasionally suffering a phrase-repetition too many, at no time feels as if it is seriously outstaying its welcome.

Garth was a declared admirer of CPE Bach, and these concertos could be described as mid-century galant in style, if in a slightly conservative version which, like much English music of the time, can never quite forget Corelli. It rarely runs deep but it is always good company, and there are touching moments such as the melancholy slow movements of Concertos no. 4 and 5.

The Avison Ensemble is Newcastle-based and dedicated to rediscovering the music of the 18th-century north-east, and their performances are technically and musically skilled, both from soloist Richard Tunnicliffe and the one-to-a-part band vibrantly led by Pavlo Beznosiuk. The recording is clear and airy – perfectly fitting for this refreshing release.

-- Lindsay Kemp, Gramophone

Froberger’s fantasias and canzonas are amongst his most beautifully crafted yet most neglected works. They survive together with toccatas and partitas in a meticulously written autograph manuscript, the Libro Secondo, dated 19 September 1649. This is the first recording of all 14 works on the clavichord. Froberger was a most important figure in the early baroque period, helping to develop the style of the ‘dance suite’ so well-known from the later hands of Bach, Handel and so many more. The instrument used here is a reconstruction (2009, Andreas Hermet) of a South German clavichord which is in the Berlin Musical Instrument Museum. It is an ideal vehicle for the strongly contrapuntal music of Froberger. The clavichord is a small quiet instrument but does have a wide dynamic range and even variable vibrato – an extremely difficult instrument to master. Terence Charlston is one of the UK’s foremost exponents of early keyboard music both as a soloist on organ, clavichord and harpsichord, and as a chamber musician, having been a member of both the London Baroque and Florilegium. He has initiated many new editions and recordings of early music and has developed an international reputation as one of the leaders of this area of music.

“[These works] embody a diverse range of treat­ment — perhaps the fullest and profoundest compendium of keyboard counterpoint before J.S. Bach. [The clavichord’s] sound and capabilities are remarkably well-suited to Froberger's textures. The playing is exemplary. Each piece is taken on its own terms, grounded in deep and patient understanding of its characteristics. This is very fine playing, beautifully recorded.”
– Adrian Lenthall (Musical Opinion)

“This is good to have, as the clavichord was an important household instrument of the time, and certainly Froberger’s music would have been performed on it. Likewise, Charlton’s execution of these works is quite deft.”
– Bertil van Boer (Fanfare)

Carson Cooman is many things musical - organist and Composer in Residence at the Memorial Church, Harvard University; writer, critic and consultant, concert organist, and above all a highly prolific composer of music in a wide variety of genres, from orchestral to song. His organ compositions come in many styles, from those inspired by the Renaissance, to liturgical models, to more gritty and substantial pieces such as his organ symphonies and preludes and fugues. The musc here, tonal and accessible though never lacking in complex chromaticism, was all written either as a commission, or dedicated to a person who has known, worked with, or inspired the composer. Some works are overtly liturgical and all are endowed with a deep spirituality. Erik Simmons is a fine organist, making his fifth Cooman organ album for Divine Art. He is playing the organ of the Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Saint-Omer, France.

Of the five English composers featured on this release, only two are really known at all – Coleridge-Taylor for Hiawatha and Boughton for The Immortal Hour – but all wrote wonderful music in Romantic style – rather under the shadow of Elgar, Delius, other prominent figures. Rosalind Ellicott had much success and performances in the 1880s before moving from orchestral to chamber music; Forrester was less prolific, concentrating on his teaching career, but has a fine impressionist voice. Warner was very well known as a violist and member of the London String Quartet; he was very busy as a composer with several chamber works, two operas and over a hundred songs to his name. The Trio featured here won the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Prize. Trio Anima Mundi is one of Australia’s finest chamber trios; since its founding in 2008 it has won several international awards and made special efforts to unearth and perform forgotten but worthy works as well as the newest pieces of today. Their previous Divine Art album won rapturous acclaim.

Diana Boyle is a fine pianist who records little but prepares each recording with years of thought, consideration and meditation on the music. Her interpretations are individual and thought-provoking, often delicate, not always conforming to the norm which pianists of lesser talent will follow, but looking to breathe new life and spirit into classic masterpieces. Her previous Divine Art albums have been very popular and highly praised. Like all of Boyle’s work these new recordings are very carefully prepared and well crafted performances which do not fear to display real feeling and depth, not at all like the all too common ‘mechanical’ performances of Baroque music. The works themselves are not all among Bach’s best known, but all display his total mastery of the art of composition.

Alfonso Soldano is professor of piano performance at the Giordano Conservatory in Foggia, Italy, following similar posts at Santa Cecilia Academy in Rome and in Trani. He was a favorite student of Ciccolini and is renowned for his virtuosity. He was awarded the International Gold Medal for ‘Best Italian Artist’ in 2013 and has won many other competitions, and is also a busy writer and transcriber. His previous recordings for Divine Art, of the music of Rachmaninoff, Bortkiewicz and Castelnuovo-Tedesco, received glowing reviews. He has performed and given masterclasses all around Italy, and in Germany, Switzerland and Romania, and post-Covid is planning a wider international concert schedule, hoping to tour the USA. His Rachmaninoff is especially magical. He has transcribed 15 of the composer’s romantic songs for solo piano in three books of ‘Romances’ which he performs here with works by Debussy which Soldano has also transcribed. The album is a glorious, sumptuous immersion in late Romantic and Impressionist music which will appeal equally to classical experts and the wider general public. It is a collection of sheer beauty.