The Choir of Westminster School blends the ancient and modern in this festive collection of choral works, drawing on Advent and Christmas music by composers including Judith Weir, James MacMillan, John Tavener, Roxanna Panufnik and Ralph Vaughan Williams. With a national reputation for excellence, the Choir of Westminster school gives annual concerts at the Barbican and performs regularly at venues including Westminster Abbey, St John's Smith Square and the Houses of Parliament. Under the direction of Timothy Garrard, Director of Music, the Choir rehearses regularly throughout the week in preparation for twice-weekly services in Westminster Abbey and evensongs in the School Chapel.

The Russian-born Mischa Spoliansky (1898—1985) became one of the major names in cabaret in 1920s Berlin and then, as a refugee from Nazi Germany, in London, he became one of the best-known composers of film scores. He also wrote a handful of orchestral works, which have remained unknown until now. His Boogie is a witty, tongue-in-cheek piece of orchestral jazz, and the Overture to My Husband and I, one of his stage shows, has a Mozartian sparkle and wit. But it is his only Symphony, an epic statement composed over a period of nearly three decades, that constitutes his real achievement as an orchestral composer – the fourth of its five movements apparently offering Spoliansky’s own musical commentary on the Holocaust.

REVIEW:

Some may recognize Spoliansky’s name as the composer for a host of British films from the 1930s onwards, including Sanders of the River, The Ghost Goes West, King Solomon's Mines, The Happiest Days of Your Life , Saint Joan and North West Frontier. That he wrote this marvelous symphony during his ‘time off’ is quite something – tuneful, richly orchestrated, cleverly planned and gloriously uplifting, it remains one of the biggest surprises I have come across for a long time.

-- MusicWeb International

CAMINHO DE CASA

The second CD with Paul Hindemith’s string quartets - superbly interpreted by the renowned Juilliard String Quartet - has just been released. Samuel Rhodes writes in the liner notes of the CD: "My group, the Juilliard String Quartet, has been fascinated by the Hindemith quartets for some time. We are challenged by the depth of the musical content, the overflowing vitality, and the sophistication of compositional technique that exist in these works." German Record Critics' Award for the complete recording of Hindemith's string quartets by the Juilliard String Quartet! The CD was awarded the Quarterly German Record Critics' Award!

The recording of Paul Hindemith's string quartets by the world-famous Juilliard String Quartet - with founder-member Robert Mann (who left the ensemble after the 1996/97 season) as first violinist - has been completed. The third CD is now available. The CD contains a real "jewel": Hindemith's first quartet op. 2 which remained totally unknown unless it was published in 1994; whereas his fourth quartet op. 22 - performed 127 times just by Hindemith's ensemble in the 1920s, the Amar Quartet - is by far the most popular piece in it's repertoire! German Record Critics' Award for the complete recording of Hindemith's string quartets by the Juilliard String Quartet! The CD was awarded the Quarterly German Record Critics' Award!