Among today's composers, Thomas has remained consistent in blazing her own path. In this she has undoubtedly been aided by her cosmopolitan training, having studied with, among others, Alan Stout (Northwestern University, 1983-87), Oliver Knussen (Tanglewood, 1986, 1987, 1989) and Jacob Druckman (Yale University, 1988), as well as one final year in London at the Royal Academy of Music (1989). Her music has travelled worldwide over the years through the advocacy of figures such as Mstislav Rostropovich, Pierre Boulez, Daniel Baremboim, Christoph Eschenbach, Oliver Knussen, Esa Pekka Salonen, William Boughton and Sir Andrew Davis among many others. But names, appointments and honours in themselves cannot give an indication of what Thomas' music sounds like. And the music itself defies any easy verbalisation. Divining influences can give some indication as long as it is borne in mind that knowledge of said influences is no substitute for listening to the actual music. Thomas' long-standing study of Jazz has imparted a sense of rhythm notable for its combination of drive and elasticity. Figures as diverse as Byrd, Bach, Chopin, Mahler, Debussy, Berg, Stravinsky, Berio, Knussen, George Benjamin, Ellington, Coltrane and Dutilleux certainly furnish clues as to how Thomas' music has attained its formal fluidity, a lyricism high-flown and diaphanous by turns, a harmonic language that can move between tart, flavoursome dissonance and warm consonance with an enviable naturalness, and an orchestrational instinct of pyrotechnic virtuosity.

Tchaikovsky miniatures intimately played.

A Tribute to Tchaikovsky is a very attractive CD compilation of short, tuneful pieces highly characteristic of the composer. I suppose it’s not what you would call great piano music, rather a collection of pleasant miniatures that delight the ear. Mr Feltsman calls it intimate salon music and that’s a very good description. The general style is very much in the same vein as Tchaikovsky’s more well-known work The Seasons; if that appeals to you so will the contents of this disc. Most of the items presented here don’t plumb any great musical depths but it’s all very melodic and charming. The Thème original et variations opens the recital in splendid fashion - there’s clearly an innate natural feeling for the idiom, sparkling technique and the playing is beautifully understated as befits this kind of music. There are some similarities to Schumann in this opening piece as the sleeve-note suggests but it’s also unmistakably by Tchaikovsky. The final flourish is tremendously exciting. Two minor masterpieces bring the disc to a conclusion, the Méditation Op. 72 No. 5 with its memorable opening theme and dramatic central climax and the enchanting, Liszt-like Chant élégiaque Op. 72 No.14. The rest of the programme really does enter the world of salon music. There are echoes of Chopin, Mendelssohn, Schubert and Liszt to be heard throughout this disc. It would be harsh to suggest that the works contained here are stylised or derivative. The recital is well planned with notable mood-changes from piece to piece - romances, waltzes and tender nocturnes all have their place alongside more lively, technically challenging numbers.
 
Vladimir Feltsman performs the whole programme in a gentle introverted fashion and this approach sounds absolutely right. The playing is first rate with tasteful rubato and excellent control of dynamics; every detail and nuance shines through. This isn’t really concert hall music as such and at no time does the playing become hectoring, over-emotional or virtuosic for the sake of it. It’s all very natural and enjoyable. The pianist’s programme notes state that the pieces in this recording were selected to be heard as a single composition. I personally fail to make any such connection but that’s not really important. What matters here is that we have a marvellous recital on our hands and it deserves to be successful.
 
The piano sound is good rather than outstanding. It’s typical of many modern digital recordings, sounding a bit top-heavy and thin and lacking a true, deep resonant bottom end. It doesn’t have the thrilling resonance of a live concert grand. At least the image is set slightly back, making it a comfortable experience and the music-making has a natural impact. This disc is very much for Tchaikovsky enthusiasts and lovers of tuneful, romantic piano music. I hope nobody is put off by the CD cover which features a rather grumpy looking Feltsman. The image doesn’t quite sit well with the tuneful gems included on this disc.
 
-- John Whitmore, MusicWeb International

When you hear these vivacious performances from Shaw's last recordings as an instrumentalist, you'll join millions in asking, "why did he quit at age 45?" We'll never know; just enjoy the music as Artie, Hank Jones, Joe Puma, Tal Farlow and the band play Imagination; the Sad Sack; Mysterioso; Besame Mucho; Yesterdays; Rough Ridin'; Tenderly; S'posin, and more on 2 CDs!

ARNOLD Fanfare for Louis. Brass Quintet No.1. Little Suites: No. 1; No. 2; No. 3. Fantasies: for Trumpet; for Horn; for Trombone; for Tuba. Brass Quintet No. 2. Symphony for Brass • Fine Arts Brass • NIMBUS 5804 (79:21)


This recording is a fitting tribute to Malcolm Arnold, who died in September 2006, only a matter of weeks after this music was recorded. An extraordinary trumpeter himself, Arnold knew how to write for brass. His music has color and cohesion, energy and depth. Music for brass can be a kind of narcissistic pleasure, delighting players with the opportunity to show off their chops. Yet its pleasures can be hard to communicate to audiences who might admire the performers while remaining detached and emotionally aloof. But Arnold was able to bridge the gap, sounding both contemporary and timeless, challenging players to the highest levels of their craft yet interesting and satisfying audiences.


Arnold wrote an astonishing array of combinations for brass instruments. Solos for trumpet, trombone, horn, and even tuba. A trumpet duo. Brass quintets. And a symphony for brass, with the Fine Arts Brass augmented by two trumpets and three trombones. The diversity gives this recording balance and freshness. The level of playing is consistently high, but I would single out Sam Elliot, who excels in the four-and-a-half-minute Fantasy for Tuba. As an example of the admirable flow in this recording, the Tuba Fantasy segues nicely into Arnold’s Second Brass Quintet, and then into the Symphony for Brass. It is this kind of juxtaposition that keeps the listener involved, wanting more, waiting to hear what Arnold might think of next.


The symphony clearly is the major work here. Arnold doesn’t assault us with deafening sound but rather surprises us with abundant contrasts, tight pianissimos, and fleet counterpoint. His instrumentation focuses on choirs and constantly shifting combinations of soloists and accompaniment. In the opening moments of the third movement, for example, thrilling trumpets are set against an apocalyptic lower brass choir. A similar combination is heard in the symphony’s final measures, to awe-inspiring effect.


This is glorious music, gloriously played and recorded. The Fine Arts Brass and their colleagues deserve the highest of praise. With almost 80 minutes of music, this is a thoroughly enjoyable disc. Highly recommended.


FANFARE: John E. Roos

Classical Music

Classical Music

Harriet Mackenzie writes: This recording was inspired by my long-term working relationships with and respect for these composers. Contemporary music has always interested me. It is exhilarating to receive a score, often unseen by anyone else other than the composer. What is wanted? What is possible? Each piece a new discovery – a voyage into uncharted territories. When one is able to collaborate directly with the composer on a premiere it is a particularly heady mix. The five composers represented here are all now based in Britain, but there is a colourful tapestry of different ethnicities, cultures, interests and influences between them. I feel so lucky and privileged to have worked with each one of these composers with their unique and powerful voices. My hope is that this disk will bring more attention to their work. Each one of these works is a premiere recording, and I am thrilled that the composers were all present for the sessions. The newness of these pieces is a wonderful addition to the long-standing reputation and tradition of the ESO, an orchestra which has done so much to champion new and unknown British music for nearly forty years, including their associations with Tippett, McCabe, Maw and Joubert. Now under the leadership of Kenneth Woods, I am proud that these works are part of that tradition.

Selection includes College Prayer and Grace.
Selection includes the Christmas Sentence and Collect.
Selection includes Reading from the Gospel of St.John.
Selection includes Brief Sermon on the Preparation for the Advent of Christ.
Selection includes Reading from the Book of Isaiah.
Selection includes Proclamation of the Sentence and Collect for the first Sunday in Advent.

Paco Peña, Paco Arriaga, Rafael Montilla, guitars
Inmaculada Rivero, José Angel Carmona, singers
Angel Muñoz, Charo Espino, Ramón Martínez, dancers
Nacho López, percussion

Jaromir Havlik writes: “Loss of hearing forced Smetana to leave his position at the Provincial Theatre and withdraw from social life and his musical career. In 1876 he moved to his daughter Zofie´s house in Jabkenice. Here he was able to enjoy the calm and quite needed so that he could focus on his compositions. The change in his circumstances made him reflect on his life and he captured his feelings in his String Quartet No. 1 in E-minor From My Life. Smetana described the work as “intimate and private music for four instruments talking about my life”. However, the opposite was true of this epic score of program music. Until this time the techniques used by Smetana in this quartet had only been used by composers writing for symphony orchestra. He used symphonic techniques with brilliant effect for chamber music. From 1892 to 1895 Dvorák was the director of the National Conservatory in New York. He composed many masterpieces during this time and one of them was his String Quartet in F Major, Op. 96, American. It is one of Dvorák’s most played works and one of the most popular works in the chamber music repertoire. Filled with joy and optimism, Dvorák tried to capture the characteristics of American music, using pentatonic scales, syncopation and melodic themes of typical American revue music. After the successful premiere of Dvorák’s Slavonic Dances, German music publisher, Simrock, asked Dvorák to compose more pieces in the Slavonic style. At first Dvorák declined, but then changed his mind and he composed Eight Waltzes for Piano, Op.54. These waltzes are straightforward, jovial and uncomplicated. Dvorák arranged two of the waltzes for string quartet and they were premiered by an ad hoc ensemble with the first violin played by his friend Ferdinand Lachner…”

Simon Blendis writes: “Max Jaffa (1911-1991) was the pre-eminent light music violinist of his generation, a universally popular figure with a career spanning seventy years, famous as leader of the Palm Court Orchestra and of his trio, and a household favorite through his regular radio broadcasts. Since 2000 I have been playing on a wonderful Peter Guarnerius violin that previously belonged to him. About three years ago I was offered his sheet music library by his family (whom I’d got to know well in the intervening years), reuniting it with the violin, and during the first Coronavirus lockdown in 2020 my wife, Saoko, and I combed through the violin and piano pieces, discovering and performing in online concerts a huge number of gorgeous salon pieces, some well-known but many forgotten or undiscovered.”

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.

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.

Charlotte de Rothschild’s career has taken her all over the world. With her wide knowledge of the song repertoire, from different eras, countries and genres, she has created many themed programmes; the best-known being “Family Connections” which traces the musical history of her forebears with music by, and anecdotes about, the composers who were friends, teachers or ancestors of the Rothschild family during the 19th and 20th Centuries. Adrian Farmer trained as an accompanist at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester from 1977, following a music degree at Birmingham University. He first encountered Nimbus Records in 1979, when he was invited to record for them, but quickly made the decision to join the founders as a record producer, a role that he has maintained for 40 years.