Having conducted as much of Philip Sawyers’ music as I have, I have learned that he’s very sensitive to genre and idiom. With this experience in mind, I was fascinated to see what new facets of Philip’s vast musical personality would come to the fore in this, his first oratorio. Given the strong narrative of the source material, it will be no surprise to listeners that this is music that is most often striving purposefully forward. Where in his symphonies, Philip is often very careful to highlight structural moments, and to punctuate musical sentences and paragraphs with great precision and clarity, Mayflower is a study in constant transition and transformation. Cast in four large parts, there is an obvious and intentional overlap with traditional symphonic structure, right down to the ‘scherzo’ of the third section. But the ongoing weaving of Leitmotifs throughout the work means that the hour-long whole expresses a depth of continuity and connection that i find incredibly compelling. One could be forgiven for wondering if Philip’s many years playing Wagner in the Royal Opera House pit informed his approach. Nevertheless, however much Philip has adopted technically from his forebears, the language, the voice and the vision are uniquely his. Live Recording - World Premiere Recording [Kenneth Woods]

Radamés Gnattali (b. Porto Alegre, 27 January 1906; d. Rio de Janeiro, 3 February 1988). Brazilian composer, pianist and conductor. Although classically trained his working life was dominated by popular music. His influence on the arrangements and orchestrations of Brazilian popular music was powerfully felt through his weekly broadcasts on Rádio Nacional which began in 1938, and continued into the mid 1950s. His own compositions are a conscious fusion of classical and popular idioms. Even though Gnattali’s association with popular music undoubtedly prejudiced his reception as a classical composer he was never critical or dissatisfied with Brazilian music. Even towards the end of his life he could say ‘I have never been frustrated with making popular music. I do it gladly and enjoy it very much … If I had gone to Europe, I might have been a great pianist – because I had the qualities for it – but I would never be a Brazilian composer’. This programme is primarily drawn from Gnattali’s earliest works. In this period he is either writing melodies in a popular style, or using folk melodies directly, and the characteristic shape of Brazilian song is never absent for long. [Adrian Farmer]

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. He has made over 90 recordings with Nimbus Records exploring music that is not often played including the complete works of 18 composers. Adrian Farmer trained as an accompanist at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester following a music degree at Birmingham University. Adrian has made several recordings with other Nimbus artists: bass-baritone Shura Gehrman, pianists Nina Walker, Simon Callaghan, and Martin Jones. It is with soprano Charlotte de Rothschild that he has found his most enduring partnership releasing albums which include the premiere recording of the songs of her ancestor, Mathilde de Rothschild.

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.

Born in Moscow in 1952, Mr. Feltsman debuted with the Moscow Philharmonic at age 11. In 1969, he entered the Moscow Tchaikovsky State Conservatory of Music to study piano under the guidance of Professor Jacob Flier. His debut at Carnegie Hall established him as a major pianist on the American and international scene.

A dedicated educator of young musicians, Mr. Feltsman holds the Distinguished Chair of Professor of Piano at the State University of New York, New Paltz, and is a member of the piano faculty at the Mannes College of Music in New York City.

REVIEWS:

Vladimir Feltsman...has assembled a rewarding programme of Brahms variations, an idea which might look samey but in practice works very well, thanks to the contrasts between the different sets and the sense of progression towards the composer’s pinnacle in the form, the Handel Variations, Op. 24. The Variations on a Hungarian Song are a good step in that direction, with a final group that builds the momentum towards a climactic finale. The first piece, the Variations on a Theme of Schumann, finds the young Brahms still in musical mourning for the older composer’s tragic fate, several months after the latter’s hospitalisation, and paying tribute also to Clara Schumann. By Op. 24, however, he has claimed the territory of a master for himself.

Feltsman’s playing is frequently magisterial, with refulgent tone and a superbly assured way of layering the textures so that perspective is cast onto the music’s workings, which shine out loud and clear.

-- BBC Music Magazine

Antonín Dvorák was a prolific and versatile composer who made richly diverse contributions to practically every genre of classical music. As a violist and keyboard player, he had a particular affinity with chamber music composition. Some of his chamber outputs held significance at crucial milestones in his career, as the items on this disc clearly corroborate.

Although Mignone wrote a large number of pieces for piano solo, his preference had always been for the orchestra, and for solo song. In his works for the piano the search for orchestral colour and texture is clearly evident in his use of ornamentation, spaced chords and explorations at the extreme ends of the keyboard. His focus on piano composition tended to be sporadic, producing many pieces in the 1940s, almost nothing in the 50s and early 60s, and eventually a return to larger forms, in particular the 2nd, 3rd and 4th sonatas. His works for piano solo fall into some natural groupings, the four sonatinas and four sonatas, more than thirty waltzes, and the the nine Lendas sertanejas. Of the remaining pieces two-thirds are written in a predominantly 19th century European language, and the remainder reflect the influence of Brazilian folklore, in rhythm and form. Adrian Farmer

Presented here are The Songs of Max Kowalski (1882-1956), whose life and career can be described in two main segments: the first in Germany until 1939, and thereafter in England. Music—which had been the notably successful secondary career of Kowalski, the lawyer, in his homeland, and became his full-time occupation in exile—is their chief unifying element. Kowalski’s output of more than 250 Lieder reflects the tonal and formal aesthetics of the late 19th century. His songs were performed and sometimes premiered or recorded by prominent singers and pianists, and about one third were published by reputable German and Austrian companies. Kowalski’s songs are nearly all in German, yet they represent a wide range of poetic styles, subjects, and periods, as well as cultural, linguistic, and spiritual origins. Nils Neubert

Richard Blackford writes: "who would not wish to perform Verdi’s Requiem in the composer’s masterful original orchestration! The astonishing range of orchestral colour, from the moments of high drama to the most tender, give Verdi’s masterpiece its unique power and aura. When David Hill suggested that I create a new orchestration for two pianos, organ and percussion for The Bach Choir, I immediately saw the potential of an orchestration that would have a distinctive sound world of its own, not a watered-down reduction of Verdi’s original. Such an orchestration would also make the work accessible to choirs who either could not afford the full orchestra, or would not have the space to accommodate it. Further discussions with David, who had the previous year commissioned me to write Prelude and Passacaglia for organ solo, gave valuable insights into how the organ could replicate a great range of orchestral colours that would contrast and augment the dynamic brilliance of the pianos and percussion.

"As work progressed, I found more and more ways of realising Verdi’s intentions with these minimal resources, such as replicating Verdi’s frequent string tremolandos by overlapping the piano tremolos in a way that, rather than cancelling each other out, produce a strange pianistic murmuring. Having six keyboard hands available generally meant that Verdi’s contrapuntal writing, especially in the Sanctus, is fully reproduced, unlike a single piano reduction. The percussion part, by virtue of being one player, requires the player to switch energetically from timpani to bass drum, and reassuringly few notes of the original were sacrificed in the course of doing so. The choral parts remain exactly as in the original, and are replicated from the current Novello vocal score. I am indebted to David Hill for commissioning this arrangement, and for his generous and expert notes and suggestions for the organ part."

In 2009 I was commissioned to write a cello concerto by the Sydenham International Music Festival for one of their rising stars, Maja Bogdanovic. Since her musical and personal connection with the amazing violinist Daniel Rowland, it had been in my mind to write them a double concerto. Overshadowed by the famous Brahms double, this was a somewhat daunting task. It is a piece which reflects ideas of journeys which develop initial ideas as the music unfolds and unlike previous concertos, there is no first movement cadenza. In 2020-21, a friend and colleague asked me if I would write a piece to mark the loss of his mother. He also wanted it, in some way, to be for both of his late parents. He told me how fond of my tone poem the ‘Valley of Vision’ she was, so I ‘hid’ a few quotations from that piece in the new one. He also requested something akin in mood to the Elgar ‘Elegy for Strings’. The resulting composition, I hope, meets all of these wishes.

The viola concerto was written in 2020. The idea came after attending the recording sessions and performances of a double concerto for violin, viola and string orchestra by my fellow composer and friend David Matthews. The lovely playing of the viola part by Sarah-Jane Bradley set off some ideas for a viola concerto of my own. In 2007 the mixed chamber music ensemble ‘Liquid Architecture’ commissioned me to write them an octet for their appearance at the Chelsea Schubert Festival. The Schubert Octet was on their programme so the instrumentation was pre-determined: clarinet, horn, bassoon, 2 violins, viola, cello and double bass. The piece is in one continuous movement in four sections: Adagio, Allegro, Andante and Allegro. This is the 6th title available in the Philip Sawyers series available on Nimbus Alliance.

The Stars and Stripes Forever opens this collection of Sousa's music with characteristic swagger. All the favorite marches, such as The Liberty Bell, The Washington Post, King Cotton, and Semper Fidelis are mixed in an attractive and varier program with a lesser-known side of 'The March King's' musical personality. Some of these tracks appear on disc for the first time in invigorating performances. (Nimbus)

The rise in popularity of the harmonium in the second half of the nineteenth century brought with it a large repertoire of chamber music, especially in France, where the instrument had been developed and refined. The combination of harmonium with piano was an especially popular one. As well as original compositions, the harmonium attracted composers making arrangements for reduced forces. The accordion, taking the role of the harmonium on these recordings, produces sound in a near identical way – air passes over vibrating free reeds made of metal.

Dr. David Jones writes: "it is the performers’ hope that the subtle shift from the 19th century French harmonium to a modern classical accordion will enable these delightful pieces to be performed more often and to gain the widest possible audience."

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. Born in Moscow in 1952, Mr. Feltsman debuted with the Moscow Philharmonic at age 11. In 1969, he entered the Moscow Tchaikovsky State Conservatory of Music to study piano under the guidance of Professor Jacob Flier. His debut at Carnegie Hall established him as a major pianist on the American and international scene. A dedicated educator of young musicians, Mr. Feltsman holds the Distinguished Chair of Professor of Piano at the State University of New York, New Paltz, and is a member of the piano faculty at the Mannes College of Music in New York City.

Clarissa Bevilacqua writes: “Dear Listener, Welcome to Dream Catcher, an album that journeys through ten unique compositions, ten bewitching stories that lead us away from the constant Rush of everyday lives… As a new artist in the industry myself, I feel a certain calling to break this pattern by championing and performing works that reflect our present instead of our past, and by striving to surprise my audiences with music that they can discover and even relate to. This debut album is my first of hopefully many projects that strive to achieve this, and it is also my reply to all those people who believe classical music is a thing of the past. I met Augusta Reed Thomas by total surprise about five years ago in Chicago, where I was performing a recital that included her “Capricious Toccata: Dandelion Sky”. It was the first time that I had had the opportunity to discuss a piece of music with the actual composer, and I became absolutely fascinated with the world of possibilities that such a dialogue can lead to. I instantly started to study other works of hers, and began programming them in several of my recitals throughout the years. The more I performed these pieces and became familiar with Augusta’s compositional style, the more I felt myself wanting to create something tangible and long-lasting with these works. And thus, at the beginning of the global pandemic a few years ago, the idea for this album was born. This album features Augusta’s complete works for solo violin, as well as the world premier recording of her Violin Concerto No. 3 “Juggler in Paradise”…”

REVIEWS:

This first recording by violinist Clarissa Bevilacqua shows her desire to introduce new music to the public...Thomas studied with Oliver Knussen and Pierre Boulez. Among many other prizes, she has been awarded the Polar Music Prize. Her music is spirited, engaging and much focused. In other words, she knows how to express herself in small forms...The nine individual pieces, each lasting from two to six and a half minutes, nevertheless produce small narratives that appear to be a framed picture, but do not take on the format of imposing tapestries. The Third Violin Concerto is her most extensive work of this kind to date.

Read Thomas knows how to always let the violin take the lead. She channels the many possibilities that arise from the instrumentation into small splinters and phrases. In doing so, she avoids covering up the solo instrument.

And yes, all the pieces use a modern tonal language and yet are of such an appealing nature that listening is easy...The violinist Clarissa Bevilacqua knows very well how to bring out this light and descriptive character with elegant playing and nimble technique. She gives each movement its own character, making this collection a small gallery. For the Violin Concerto, BBC National Orchestra of Wales and conductor Vimbayi Kaziboni offer their delicately subtle support. With deliberate focus, they reveal aspects of the percussive elements as well, for example, setting painterly points of light.

-- Pizzicato

Simon Callaghan & Hiroaki Takenouchi write: “As long ago as the eighteenth century, composers were arranging orchestral works for two pianos or for piano duet, making them more domestically accessible and exposing their compositions to a wider audience. Four-hand piano versions abound of symphonies by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Haydn and more. Since Rachmaninoff focused mainly on the piano, we were surprised to be unable to find a two-piano arrangement by the composer himself of his Symphony No. 2, particularly since he arranged his own first and third symphonies for four hands. Such was the popularity of the Second Symphony that Vladimir Wilschau (1868-1957) created a four hands arrangement in 1910, just two years after the premiere in St Petersburg under the composer’s baton. Our objective in creating this new arrangement was to remain as faithful to the original as practically possible. We set out to embrace not only the capabilities of the two pianos but also their limitations – we wanted to create a true piano work, rather than a less-than-satisfactory imitation of the orchestral version. Of course, our motivation was also to be able to enjoy playing this magnificent masterpiece which we had cherished for as long as we could remember!”

Adrian Williams writes: “My first symphony began its life during the spring of 2018 following a request from Kenneth Woods for a work for the English Symphony Orchestra’s 21st Century Symphony Project. The basic score was completed towards the end of the following year but continued to undergo quite a few changes almost until its recording in December 2021. The symphony, which is dedicated to Kenneth Woods ‘for giving me hope’ is one of my largest-scale pieces. am hugely grateful to Ken Woods and the ESO for their tremendous dedication, and to the generosity of the Steven R Gerber Trust in the USA for their sponsorship of this performance.” This remarkable work is one of two by Williams to grow from his friendship with the great Australian painter, Sidney Nolan. Nolan and Williams were neighbors in the Welsh Borders region that Williams has called home for most of the last forty years. Williams, a prolific pianist, was given the invitation to use the piano at The Rodd, Nolan’s house in northwest Herefordshire and now the home of the Sidney Nolan Trust. The Chamber Concerto is a musical response to Nolan’s most famous series of paintings, which depict scenes from the wild life of Australian bushranger, Ned Kelly, an outlaw, gang leader and convicted police-murderer who rampaged across Australia in the years prior to his arrest and execution in 1880. Williams’ music almost always has a virtuosic edge to it, but the demands placed on the musicians in this work are truly extraordinary, yet it is incredibly rewarding to play. In this sense, Williams’ designation of the work as a concerto is both telling and apt is it demands that everyone in the ensemble contributes their utmost in rhythmic precision, agility, accuracy in extremes of register and lyrical storytelling.