Lloyd's first solo piano piece, An African Shrine (1966), was written for the great British pianist, John Ogdon, who premiered it on 30 August 1969 for a BBC Radio 3 broadcast and recorded it a year later for EMI. The material teems with invention of the highest quality, yet the composer keeps a tight rein on his ideas. Weighty, dramatic sequences are counterpoised convincingly with gentler, lyrical episodes inside an expansive, sweeping canvas that honours the depth and seriousness of the music's underlying theme. Above all, the music is unequivocally, and compellingly, pianistic and could not have been written for any other medium.

In 1972, Lloyd wrote the first draft of The Transformation of that Naked Ape. He had been reading Desmond Morris's book, The Naked Ape (1967) and the idea for a solo piano piece came to him. In his own words, 'I had always refused to accept the notion that we humans are just superior animals so this book decided me to stand up and be counted amongst those who believe another dimension must be added to explain our natures'. In 1987, the composer revised the work for the present recording. There are six movements in the piece, entitled 'Her Hair', 'Her Tongue', 'Her Eyes', 'Her Brain', 'her Mind' and 'Her Soul'. If this sequence suggests a progression from the physical to the spiritual, such a development is also apparent in the music. Hence the helter-skelter scherzo-like frivolity of 'Her Hair' and the florid introspection of 'Her Tongue' give way gradually to the tender lyricism of 'Her Mind' and the brio and joyfulness of the closing movement, 'Her Soul'.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Malcolm Lipkin belongs to a generation of composers who came to prominence in Britain between the mid-1950s and the mid-1960s. Several of these figures began their careers as a "progressive," exploring the newlydiscovered range of technical and formal innovations before later forging their own relationship with tonality. In Lipkin's case, early influences such as Bart�k and Stravinsky were gradually assimilated into an original voice as his scores moved from long, lyrical lines and motor-rhythms to tiny motifs and rhythmic cells in a more dissonant style. It is hoped this release will generate interest in a composer who has steadily forged his own path regardless of passing trends, to create a body of work of impeccable integrity which still largely awaits rediscovery.

Classical Music

Classical Music

English composer Arthur Butterworth (1923-2014) began his musical career as a choirboy at the young age of 7. Eventually, Butterworth studied at the Royal Manchester College of Music, where he studied trumpet, conducting, and composition under Richard Hall. Arthur Butterworth wrote over 150 scores for various mediums. This two-disc release features his Symphony No. 2, Symphony No. 4, and Symphony No. 1. No.'s 1 and 2 are performed here by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and No. 4 is performed by the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra.+ Especially notable is the 4th Symphony, whose premiere performance is featured in this recording.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Jolly Roger or The Admiral’s Daughter is a comic opera in three acts with music by Walter Leigh, lyrics by V. C. Clinton-Baddeley, based on the book by Scobie Mackenzie and V. C. Clinton-Baddeley. This opera opened at the Opera House, Manchester on February 13, 1933. It ran there for six months before it was transferred to the Savoy Theater in London and then the Lyceum Theatre. The production acquired a total of 199 performances. This recording is from a BBC Broadcast from December 21, 1972.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music