Early Italian Lute Music

This program looks beyond the works of the renowned Strauss family. Research by The Johann Strauss Society of Great Britain has uncovered many rare pieces by central European light music composers of the 19th and early 20th c. Julius Fučik’s humorous march Um Mitternacht includes an imitation of nocturnal cats by the trombones, and Paul Lincke’s Overture to his operetta Berliner Luft includes the famous march that is a traditional part of the Berlin New Year Concert. Volume 1 of this series can be found on Marco Polo 8.225365. Three more pieces from this series can be found as a Naxos download on 9.70228.

Includes national anthem(s) by various composers. Ensemble: Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Peter Breiner.

Includes traditional folksong(s) from china. Soloists: Takako Nishizaki, Lam Fung.

}Gramophone (2/97, p. 52) "...the themes from '633 Squadron' and 'The Trap'...exemplify a typical Ron Goodwin triumphal sound....Much of the rest shows not only Goodwin's consistent musical good taste but also a rich orchestral palette and some gratifying varied invention..."{

Colourful Clouds

Chinese Melodies for Violin & Guitar takes the listener on a journey through China with these traditional folk songs. Included in this collection are songs like Plum Blossoms in the Snow, Working Song, A La Mu Ham, Dark Sky, and Peach Blossom, among others. Violinist Takako Nishizaki and guitarist Gerald Garcia perform these pieces beautifully.

ZHU, J.: Symphony No. 1 / Festival Overture

CHEN / HE: Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto (The) - Lu Siqin

BLOCH: Poems of the Sea / Nirvana / In the Night / Enfantine

Includes work(s) by Anthony Collins (Classical), Mark Lubbock, Cecil Armstrong Gibbs, Benjamin Frankel, Vivian Ellis, Harry Dexter, Ken Warner, Gordon Jacob, Thomas Augustine Arne, Gilbert Vinter, Geoffrey Toye, Edward White, George Melachrino, Clive Richardson. Ensemble: Dublin RTE Concert Orchestra. Conductor: Ernest Tomlinson.

REVIEWS:
American Record Guide (11-12/97, p.220) - "...The music on this release dates from the early (1916) `Roses of Picardy', a song orchestrated in 1933 and [Wood's] most beloved work, to the march `The Horseguards: Whitehall', published in 1946....A delightful disc, well performed under the guidance of Ernest Tomlinson..."

This live, 2003 performance is middling, but on the whole, competent. The liner notes focus on the opera, but are decent of their kind. A synopsis is provided with CD points, but neither original text nor translation is included. This last is especially missed. But despite this and the album's short timings, Prinzessin Brambilla is truly worth knowing.

— Fanfare (Barry Brenesal)

A key composing figure in contemporary China, Chen Gang was born in Shanghai and studied with his Father Chen Gexin. In his final year of study at the Shanghai Conservatory he write, together with He Zhanhao, The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto.

Mayerl: Aquarium Suite / 4 Aces Suite