Written in his late teens: Flight, for solo flute, whose swooping crests and curlicues are fervently relished in Michael Cox's performance. Benjamin describes the piece as 'inspired by the sight of birds soaring and dipping over the peaks of the Swiss Alps'. Listening to the piece you'll hear a panoply of songs surfing the musical thermals in the alpine either: low, long-breathed cries and calls, filigree flocks of ornamentation in the atmospheric heights of the flute's register, a chorus of vapors conjured by a single instrument. Into The Little Hill is based on the Pied Piper story, allowing audiences an immediate entry point into the opera's dramaturgy. But Crimp's re-telling simultaneously updates the story, with its politicians, photographs, and limousines, and opens up further mythic dimensions to the narrative. The drama of Into the Little Hill is concisce, clear and simultaneously ambiguous, even chilling. Benjamin says, 'Martin's text is hard-edged, formal, and hyper-condensed'. The reason for its musical and dramatic success is Benjamin's unerring feeling for expressive characterisation. Each layer of Into the Little Hill's score is immediately identifiable, from the Crowd's baying cries of 'Kill them' rightat the start of the piece, to the rodentine scurrying of the rat's music, and the Mother's lamenting grief in the last scene. Dream of the Song is a mysteriously sensual and sensually strange song-cycle for countertenor, a halo of female voices that are similar in register, but so different in timbre and sound and expression, and orchestra. The counter-tenor sings poems, in English, by Jewish poets of 11th century Andalucia, themselves inspired by Arabic poetry of earlier centuries. There are images of ravishment and wonder here - moonlight, the celestial tent of the sky, a dream of a gazelle, a harp, a flute - but they are always undercut by other ideas. Above all, it's the gossamer rapier of Benjamin's music that cuts to the heart of these settings.

Classical Music

Gavin Higgins (b. 1983) is one of the most exciting and gifted compositional talents of his generation, described as ‘boldly imaginative’ (Times) and ‘a talent to watch’ (New York Times). From a long lineage of brass band musicians, Higgins was born in Gloucestershire and grew up in the Forest of Dean. He studied French horn at Chetham’s School of Music and composition at The Royal Northern College of Music and the Royal College of Music. In 2010 he became the inaugural music fellow for the Rambert Dance Company writing a number of daring ballet scores including What Wild Ecstasy (2012) which was shortlisted for a British Composer Award; and the ground-breaking Dark Arteries (2015) which was shortlisted for a Royal Philharmonic Award and a British Composer Award. His work has been commissioned by some of the UK’s leading festivals, including three commissions for the BBC Proms: Der Aufstand (2012), Rough Voices (2020) and the ‘fast, exciting and brilliantly scored’ (Telegraph) Velocity which opened the Last Night of the Proms (2014). In 2019 his first opera, The Monstrous Child, commissioned by the Royal Opera House, opened to critical acclaim, being described as ‘a triumph’ (Guardian). In 2020 Higgins was appointed Composer-in-Association with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Classical Music

This new release is the sixth volume in a series profiling the work of Augusta Read Thomas. Called “a true virtuoso composer” by The New Yorker, Augusta Read Thomas is a member of The American Academy of Arts and Letters and Academy of Arts and Sciences, and she has become one of the most recognized figures of American music. Performers on this album include the Parker Quartet, Third Coast Percussion, Spektral Quartet, violinist Nathan Giem, Aurora Orchestra, Nathan Cole, and Clair Booth.

Johannes Brahms (1833-1896) absorbed and integrated the musical legacy of his time, as did J.S. Bach before him. The music of Brahms is intimately connected to and rooted in the German-Austrian tradition that he inherited. For Brahms, this tradition was very much alive and relevant; he constantly measured his own efforts against the achievements of Bach, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, trying to live up to and continue their legacy. He was not looking back to the past, but "progressing" (to use the terminology of Schoenberg's essay "Brahms the Progressive") towards a past that was yet to be fulfilled. There is a precious sense of inevitability in great art, as if every masterpiece was meant to be created exactly as it is. The works of Brahms are amazingly organic, meticulously calculated and very human at the same time. This fusion of intellect and feeling, sincerity and reserve, heartfelt emotion and impeccable taste is unique to Brahms. It makes his music inevitable and indispensable. Pianist and conductor Vladimir Feltsman is one of the most versatile and constantly interesting musicians of our time. His vast repertoire encompasses music from the Baroque to 20th century composers. A regular guest soloist with leading symphony orchestras in the United States and abroad, he appears in the most prestigious concert series and music festivals all over the world.

Schubert wrote eleven complete sonatas between 1817 and 1828. He also composed movements for several sonatas which he left unfinished. Sonata in A minor D. 784 is one of the most important singular works in Schubert's output that stays apart from his previous and later sonatas. It is an austere, almost minimalistic work that achieves a profound and lasting impact. It is one of the darkest and most unsettling pieces he ever wrote and one of the most confessional. This relatively short sonata, by Schubert's standards, is one of the most authentic, prophetic and enigmatic works ever written. Sonata in A major D. 959 was writte in 1828, the last year of Schubert's life, very rapidly alongside the sonatas in C minor and B-flat major, just a few month before his death. The speed, quality and quantity of Schubert's output in the last year of his life are a marvel. In his last year, Schubert wrote some of the most important work that sums up his ideas, inspiration and ambitious as a composer. These incredible works were written by the artist at the peak of his creative powers with clarity and precision. In these works, including the last three sonatas, Schubert points the ways to resolving the perennial conflicts of existence: his final message seems to be that of acceptance and reconciliation. Towards the end of his life, Schubert was learning to accept death as a promise, as a blessing.

Roger Quilter was born in Brighton on 1 November 1877, third son of Sir Cuthbert Quilter. He was educated at Eton and then studied for four years in Frankfurt-am-Main under the Russian teacher of composition, Ivan Knorr. Fellow students were Cyril Scott, Norman O'Neill, Balfour Gardiner and Percy Grainger. All these were composers of some reputation in their lifetimes, but only Quilter and Grainger produced work which is still performed regularly today. Quilter was a writer of songs, and virtually nothing else. There was an opera, Julia, and a couple of ballets, and the once well-known A Children's Overture. On the other hand, he composed more than one hundred songs. At least half of these remain in the repertoire, loved by performers and audiences alike. The songs on this release span more than 50 years and show Quilter in all his moods - light, exuberant, ephemeral, narrative, pensive, but always melodic. Few composers - especially song composers - can claim to have written works that have remained in print since they were first published more than a hundred years ago. Roger Quilter is one such, though the number of his songs still in print is regrettably small.

David Juritz writes: “The dilemma faced by any arranger of Bach is to stay true to the character of his music while knowing he would have been far bolder and more imaginative. For this version, I have attempted to remain within a sound-world that he would have found familiar. I did, however, have two factors on my side: Bach’s sublime and rigorous counterpoint and, in Craig Ogden, a virtuoso guitarist whose technical accomplishment is matched only by his Aussie ability to remain unruffled in the face of any challenge.”

Sawyers's Fourth Symphony is scored for an orchestra of two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, cymbals and strings. Structurally, it marks a departure from his First and Third Symphonies, which are both in the traditional four-movement form, and the one-movement Second. Sawyers says of the somewhat unusual structure that: My Fourth symphony is in three movements. "Why?" might be a reasonable question. The answer is that simply that by the time the third movement was complete, there was nothing more to say. The large-scale symphonic poem Hommage to Kandinsky was commissioned by the Grand Rapids Symphony in celebration of the tenure of their longstanding Music Director, David Lockington, who premiered the work in September 2014. Given the celebratory nature of the occasion, the orchestra encouraged Sawyers to employ the largest orchestra he had yet written for: 2 flutes and piccolo, 2 oboes and cor anglais, 2 clarinets and bass clarinet, 2 bassoons and contra bassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani and percussion, harp and a large string section. The work's subject matter had it's origins in Sawyers's attendance at an exhibition "Kandinsky: The Road to Abstraction" at the Tate Modern in London in 2006. Although Sawyers took particular inspiration from several paintings in the exhibition, the resulting tone poem represents primarily an emotional response to Kandinsky's work rather than an attempt to respond literally to Kandinsky's images in music.

Elan Sicroff is one of the leading interpreters of the Gurdjieff/de Hartmann music, which was the result of a unique collaboration in the 1920s in which the sacred and folk music of the East was arranged for piano. From 1973-75 he attended the International Academy for Continuous Education at Sherborne in Gloucestershire, England, as a student and later as Director of Music. The Academy was run by J. G. Bennett, a leading exponent of the teachings of George Ivanovich Gurdjieff. In 1974 Mr. Bennett contacted Mme. Olga de Hartmann, widow of the composer, who introduced Elan to the music that Thomas de Hartmann composed in the classical idiom. Between 1975 and 1979 Elan studied with her and performed many of de Hartmann’s works. In 1982 he made a tour of the U.S., which included performances in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Boston. Since then he has given numerous recitals in the U.S., Canada and Europe.

Elan Sicroff is one of the leading interpreters of the Gurdjieff/de Hartmann music, which was the result of a unique collaboration in the 1920s in which the sacred and folk music of the East was arranged for piano. From 1973-75 he attended the International Academy for Continuous Education at Sherborne in Gloucestershire, England, as a student and later as Director of Music. The Academy was run by J. G. Bennett, a leading exponent of the teachings of George Ivanovich Gurdjieff. In 1974 Mr. Bennett contacted Mme. Olga de Hartmann, widow of the composer, who introduced Elan to the music that Thomas de Hartmann composed in the classical idiom. Between 1975 and 1979 Elan studied with her and performed many of de Hartmann’s works. In 1982 he made a tour of the U.S., which included performances in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Boston. Since then he has given numerous recitals in the U.S., Canada and Europe.

Two musicians stand in a crowded pub on the Irish island of Inis O�rr; a flame-haired girl silences the room with a quiet unaccompanied song - Molly's voice was worth the silence. An impulsive decision follows, and at sunset the next day, Molly, Adam and Cormac meet at a timeless shipwreck on the wild Atlantic shoreline. They sit on a rock and a simple traditional song emerges - just voice, fiddle and bodhr�n. No rehearsal, no arrangement - the song performed intuitively... The seed of an idea that grows into The Haar, the lineup completed when Molly and Murray (accordion) meet for the first time in the studio to record Irish traditional songs tackling love, poverty and oppression - subjects that link the peoples of these islands. In the studio, the music flows from the band's first notes together - reminiscent of the haar, a sea mist that rolls in from the Irish and North Seas: fleeting, intangible, headily thick, suddenly overwhelming and then unexpectedly clearing for a glimpse of precious sunlight. The band make no plans, just letting the music create itself; the tracks on the album are the first and only versions, as unpredictable and ephemeral as the haar itself.

Issac Albeniz, the pre-eminent Spanish composer was a prolific composer, especially of piano music. Presented here is a collection of his works performed by the celebrated pianist, Martin Jones. Included in this collection are pieces that were left unfinished at the time of Albeniz’s death and completed by Martin Jones. Martin Jones has been one of Britain’s most highly regarded solo pianists since first coming to international attention in 1968 when he received the Dame Myra Hess Award. The same year he made his London debut at the Queen Elizabeth Hall and his New York debut at Carnegie Hall, and ever since has been in demand for recitals and concerto performances on both sides of the Atlantic. He is a prolific recording artist and his many major projects include the complete solo piano works of Mendelssohn, Brahms, Debussy, Grainger, Stravinsky, Korngold, Szymanowski, Granados, Guastavino, Mompou, Ernesto Halffter, Joaquin Nin, Has Gál, Jean Françaix, Jean Roger-Ducasse, and Alan Richardson.

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REVIEW:

Altogether this is a well stocked and representative survey of Albéniz's colourful and imaginative piano music and Martin Jones is as always a convincing advocate; I am always impressed with character and panache that he brings to all that he plays. The liner notes are informative though are in English only. A marvellous collection of the best of Albéniz' piano music.

– MusicWeb International

Elan Sicroff is one of the leading interpreters of the Gurdjieff/de Hartmann music, which was the result of a unique collaboration in the 1920s in which the sacred and folk music of the East was arranged for piano. From 1973-75 he attended the International Academy for Continuous Education at Sherborne in Gloucestershire, England, as a student and later as Director of Music. The Academy was run by J. G. Bennett, a leading exponent of the teachings of George Ivanovich Gurdjieff. In 1974 Mr. Bennett contacted Mme. Olga de Hartmann, widow of the composer, who introduced Elan to the music that Thomas de Hartmann composed in the classical idiom. Between 1975 and 1979 Elan studied with her and performed many of de Hartmann’s works. In 1982 he made a tour of the U.S., which included performances in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Boston. Since then he has given numerous recitals in the U.S., Canada and Europe.

The Wihan Quartet has been described by International Record Review as: “one of the best quartets in the world today.” In 2015 the Quartet celebrated 30 years since its formation, and over the years it has developed an outstanding reputation for the interpretation of its native Czech heritage, and of the many classical, romantic and modern masterpieces of the string quartet repertoire. The Wihan Quartet has won many International Competitions including The Prague Spring Festival and the Osaka ‘Chamber Festa’. In 1991, they won both the First Prize and the Audience Prize in the London International String Quartet Competition. The Quartet are the ‘Richard Carne Quartet in Residence’ at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, London. They are also great supporters of the work of the CAVATINA Chamber Music Trust, which gives inspirational concerts and master classes to young people in many parts of the UK. Jirí Zigmund, retired from the Wihan Quartet in 2014. The Quartet was very fortunate to find an excellent viola player in Jakub Cepický, son of Leoš, and his first recording with the Quartet of Suk, Dvorak and Janacek was released on Nimbus Alliance in 2016. In 2017, after 32 years as a member of the Wihan Quartet, cellist Ales Kasprik retired from the Quartet. The Quartet have been very fortunate to find a wonderful cellist to perform with them: the excellent Michal Kanka, cellist with one of the best Czech string quartets, the Prazak Quartet.

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REVIEW:

The most striking attribute of the Wihan's account of the Janacek is its weighty, bass-oriented sonority, which is beneficial in lyrical, romantic passages and adds strength to forceful, explosive ones. The playing is also brilliant and virtuosic, with emphatic stresses, colorful and detailed texture, and clear articulation. Tempos may be faster or more deliberate than average but are consistently well chosen.

With excellent performances of captivating works by the three greatest Czech composers, recorded in vivid, realistic sound, this release deserves a strong recommendation.

– Fanfare

Herbert Kefer was born in Austria in 1960. At the age of five he received his first musical education on the violin. He continued his studies with Professor Karl Frischenschlager in Leoben and with Professor Karl Stierhof at the University of Music in Vienna. He graduated with distinction in 1986. In 1980 he founded, together with three colleagues, the Artis-Quartett. From 1984 to 1985 they spent one year in Cincinnati, Ohio with the LaSalle-Quartet to profit from their knowledge as much as possible. After that, an international career including concerts at all well known festivals began. The quartet has made more than thirty recordings, some of which have been honored with the Grand Prix du Disque and the Diapason d'Or. In 1991 Herbert Kefer was appointed to head of Viola at the University of Music in Graz. From 2005-2010 he was director of the Weinklang-Festival. He is in demand as a soloist as well as a sought after partner for chamber music groups.

Kenneth Woods writes of this release: “The idea for this orchestration of the Brahms Piano Quartet in A Major came to me spontaneously in a flash of inspiration while I was coaching chamber music at the Ischia Chamber Music Festival in 2008. … I listened to a group play through the first movement of the piece in its original form. As I began to work with them, I found myself speaking to the pianist, as I often do, in orchestral terms. “Can you try playing the opening phrase more like…. a quartet of hunting horns?” I asked…After the coaching I had a bit of free time, and found myself listening to an imaginary orchestral version of the entire first movement emerging from that horn quartet. I was fascinated by the ways in which I thought an orchestral realization could bring to the fore some the nature imagery and vernacular music that is present in the original. By the end of that morning, I’d decided to try to undertake a realization of the orchestration. It took several years from that morning on Ishcia to complete this orchestration. After my initial work on it in 2008, the piece was set to one side while I attended to other projects with firmer deadlines. The final version was premiered on 21 November, 2017 with the English Symphony Orchestra in Cheltenham Town Hall. The scores of Brahms’ Four Symphonies are like a sacred text for me. They are among the most studied, most loved, most performed works in my library. In trying to understand his use of the orchestra well enough to translate this Piano Quartet into a symphonic sound world, I’ve found my admiration for Brahms’ achievement continuing to grow.”

Alongside the many works of Beethoven that are staples of the concert repertoire there are a number of piano pieces that have not received as much attention as their more famous siblings and remain infrequently performed. This recording (with the notable exception of "F�r Elise") is dedicated to these works. Pianist and conductor Vladimir Feltsman is one of the most versatile and constantly interesting musicians of our time. His vast repertoire encompasses music from the Baroque to 20th-century composers. A regular guest soloist with leading symphony orchestras in the United States and abroad, he appears in the most prestigious concert series and music festivals all over the world.

This recording offers the listener an interconnected view of romantic and postromantic repertoire for two pianos, much of it unknown and even unpublished, until now. The best-known work here is Brahms' Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op.56b but there are other works included that deserve wider circulation and exposure. The two sets of variations by Carl Reinecke (1824-1910) are exquisite examples of 2-pianowriting and exhibit attractive traits of the Leipzig School, at times providing strong echoes of Schumann and J.S. Bach, quite overtly in his Variations on a Sarabande by J.S. Bach. Likewise, the two sets of previously unpublished works by Julius Rontgen (1855-1932), whose early works are well-rooted in that same Leipzig School, reveal a mastery of composition in the 2-piano genre, an area in which he is currently unknown. Chamber music, concerti and even symphonies, alongside the growing popularity of his solo piano music, are well known genres for Rontgen. However, this recording presents R�ntgen's debut as a composer in the 2-piano medium. In our opinion, his success is as astounding as the obscurity of these works is bewildering.

Pianist and conductor Vladimir Feltsman is one of the most versatile and constantly interesting musicians of our time. His vast repertoire encompasses music from the Baroque to 20th century composers. A regular guest soloist with leading symphony orchestras in the United States and abroad, he appears in the most prestigious concert series and music festivals all over the world. A sense of nostalgia is palpable in the works of Franz Schubert. The great exponent of the search for lost time, marcel Proust, sought to immortalize the past by remembering it. Schubert longed for what could have been, but never was. He dreamed of the life he should have has, but never did. Unlike the great Viennese composers, Schubert never held a real career in a musical establishment, and he only performed in private houses. He is often described as the last classical and first romantic composer. “As for me, I shall never turn my inmost feelings to personal or political account: what I feel in my heart I give to the world, and there is an end of it” (Franz Schubert)

The Parker Quartet is widely known and respected for their inspiring performances, dazzling sound, and remarkable musicianship. The Grammy-Award-winning ensemble was founded in, and is currently based in Boston. The group has a vastly varied repertoire, ranging from classical to contemporary compositions. They have rapidly set themselves apart as one of the most trailblazing ensembles of its generation. The group is sought after worldwide, and appears at prestigious venues across North and South America, Europe, and South Korea. For the Quartet, the music of Felix Mendelssohn is rejuvenating. There is no other composer who can better channel the youthful soul that all of us have inside. This joyful music captures the spirit of life, which the Parker Quartet amplifies with their irresistible energy.

Composed in 1879, the Piano Quintet in F minor by C�sar Franck belongs to the fruitful final period of his creative life. It heralded the start of an impressive sequence of late orchestral and chamber pieces which set the seal upon his career. The Piano Quintet was premiered in Paris on 17 January 1880 by the Marsick Quartet with Saint-Sa�ns at the piano. During the last quarter of the 19th century and into the 1920s, it was Gabriel Faur� who made the most substantial and lasting contribution to French chamber music. Faur�'s Piano Quintet no.1 renews the powerful concentration of his earlier Piano Quartets in it's outer movements, while also looking forward to the composer's later works in the sophisticated phrasing and chromaticism of it's extended Adagio. Vibrant and spirited, it may be counted among the composer's finest creations.

Turina’s principal works are conceived for large forces and on a broad canvas, but he turned to the piano for the creation of suites of evocative miniatures throughout his life. Martin Jones has been one of Britain’s most highly regarded solo pianists since first coming to international attention in 1968 when he received the Dame Myra Hess Award. The same year he made his London debut at the Queen Elizabeth Hall and his New York debut at Carnegie Hall, and ever since has been in demand for recitals and concerto performances on both sides of the Atlantic. He is a prolific recording artist and his many major projects include the complete solo piano works of Mendelssohn, Brahms, Debussy, Grainger, Stravinsky, Korngold, Szymanowski, Granados, Guastavino, Mompou, Ernesto Halffter, Joaquin Nin, Has Gál, Jean Françaix, Jean Roger-Ducasse, and Alan Richardson. “Martin Jones as a recording artist has been part of my listening experience for almost as long as I’ve been collecting albums. Seeing his distinguished and still active career celebrated by Nimbus Records in this way is a true delight.” (Dominy Clements, musicweb-international.com)

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REVIEW:

Martin Jones, one of Britain’s most highly-regarded pianists since first coming to international attention in 1968 when he received the Dame Myra Hess Award, offers a beautiful rendering of Spanish composer Joaquin Turina’s piano works, compiling an earlier recording from 1999 with some newer ones. These are miniatures that evoke dance rhythms of Spain. Cinco Danzas is especially well done, but there could be some small disagreements with interpretation. IV has a wonderful rhythmic feel, with evenness of playing. 'Fiesta’ has a sense of dynamic growth, with a constant ostinato-like rhythm. 'Danza Ritmica’ could have a quieter opening (it is marked pianissimo and lighter). To nitpick a little, the work could be a hair faster. Jones could aim for longer phrasing, especially in the running 16th notes that occur often. His range of sound is impressive. 'Seguriya’, marked allegro vivo, could be approached with a quicker pace. His use of the left hand articulation, slightly non legato, brings out the melodic line perfectly, and the work comes to a wonderful finish. The start of El Castillo de Almodovar is extremely beautiful, but I do wish for a more ominous and softer turn, as that movement is marked ppp. Still, besides these quibbles, this recording is a delight.

– American Record Guide (Sang Woo Kang)

Martin Jones and Adrian Farmer are widely acclaimed musicians, both performing on several Nimbus Records albums. Martin's is a prolific recording artist and has recorded most of the standard works for piano. This new release is the first of two volumes of original compositions and arrangements for piano duo and duet by Camille Saint-Saëns. His music was often described as "having wit and charm".