Classical Music

18.99

She was Igor Stravinsky's piano teacher and studied herself with Anton Rubinstein. But to this day, her compositions have remained in the shadow of the great male masters-a fate that many women of this era share with her. Although her oeuvre is nowhere near as comprehensive as that of her composing colleagues, these few works still demonstrate incredible talent, mature skill, and a deeply romantic Russian sound language that is so typical of this time.

DELIUS: Paris / Brigg Fair / Eventyr / Irmelin / La Calinda

ALBINONI: Oboe Concertos, Vol. 2

This is an imaginative coupling of two major figures in Black American music. A modern recording of the Still is a real discovery which ought to bring this first Afro-American symphony to a wide audience. The style is accessible, the scoring sophisticated and colourful and, although there are blue notes and syncopated rhythms, the work is not under the shadow of Gershwin even though the symphony's construction is similarly episodic rather than developmental. Each of the four movements is related to fragments of poetry by Paul Laurence Dunbar, quoted in the score, and the whole work is inscribed by the composer "with humble thanks to God, the source of inspiration".

The orchestra is a large one, with a prominent part, right at the start of the first movement, for cor anglais and later on bass clarinet. The slow movement, which comes second, evokes Mahler with added blue notes, although the harp in places supports impressionist harmony, used more like Delius than Debussy. The snappy scherzo, a kind of hallelujah, even has a part for tenor banjo and the finale is introduced by a slow spiritual with characteristic dignity. A bassoon solo in the middle gets lost in an otherwise faithfully balanced recording. The ending is nobly cast, reflecting Afro-American idealism of the 1920s. Altogether there is no reason why this symphony should not become as popular as Gershwin's concert works.

Ellington wrote his ballet score, The River, for American Ballet Theatre in 1970—long after his prime, as many would say. Ron Collier's orchestration is mostly Hollywood with occasional glimpses of better things which suggest the arrangements of Nelson Riddle. But fragments of the Duke survive, which is surely justification enough.

-- Gramophone [4/1993]

Classical Music

Recorded in: All Saints' Church, Tooting, London 21-22 October 1992 Producer(s) Brian Couzens Sound Engineer(s) Ralph Couzens Richard Smoker (Assistant)

Recording information: Konzertmitschnitt des Rundfunks der DDR, Sender Dresden; Kulturpalast Dresden (03/15/1974).

Classical Music

Recorded in: All Saints' Church, Tooting, London 21,22 January 1985 Producer(s) Brian Couzens Sound Engineer(s) Ralph Couzens Bill Todd [Assistant]

Recorded in: Liverpool Cathedral 26-27 October 1993 Producer(s) Ralph Couzens Sound Engineer(s) Don Hartridge

Recorded in: Glasgow City Hall 7 January 1985 Producer(s) Brian Couzens Sound Engineer(s) Ralph Couzens Philip Couzens (Assistant)

Classical Music

The names of William Schwenck Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan are fused when speaking of their collaboration on a series of operettas. It is almost impossible to consider the music of Arthur Sullivan on its own terms without thinking of Gilbert. This is unfortunate because Sullivan was a fine composer of serious music and wrote oratorios, hymns and large orchestral works that have been neglected. This collection of overtures puts Sullivan in the spotlight and his music rises to the occasion.
The Sullivan overtures on this recording are curtain raisers for the most beloved of the operettas written with W.S. Gilbert. Each and every one is a delight and filled with the jaunty melodies that make the operettas so charming. Sullivan was a clever orchestrator and the overtures are colorful and filled with exuberant energy. The Royal Ballet Sinfonia under the direction of Andrew Penny deliver loving performances. This is an ideal recording for lovers of the overtures of Rossini and waltzes of Johann Strauss.

Recorded in: Caird Hall, Dundee 22-23 February 1988 Producer(s) Brian Couzens Sound Engineer(s) Ralph Couzens Janet Middlebrook (Assistant)

SCARLATTI, D.: Keyboard Sonatas (Complete), Vol. 1

Lutoslawski was one of the great composers of the 20th century. Although he was imprisoned by the Nazis and subject to the whims of a communist government after the war, Lutoslawski's voice remained original and always provocative. This collection presents orchestral music and two song cycles from a period spanning nearly 50 years of the composer's long life.
Symphony No. 1 was written during the 1940s and is scored for a large orchestra augmented by battery of percussion instruments. The symphony is a work of shifting moods, animated by colorful orchestration. When the Communists took power in Poland they demanded that composers write music based on folk-songs. Lutoslawski's 'Silesian Triptych' written in 1951, meets the party's demands but rises above the genre with its sensitive vocal writing and genial Slavic flavor.
Olga Pasiecznik's warm soprano voice is perfect for the 'Silesian Triptych,' and she floats lovely pianissimo notes in the complex song cycle 'Chantefleurs et Chantefables.' The Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra directed by Antoni Wit play this music with energy and technical proficiency.

Classical Music

BACH, C.P.E.: Keyboard Sonatas

PROKOFIEV: Symphony No. 6 / Waltz Suite

Britten: String Quartet No. 3 & Simple Symphony

Most classical music listeners tend to shy away from music that falls into the category of "atonal". This isn't surprising. Most atonal music is horrible. There's lots of horrible tonal music too, of course, but usually you can sleep through it undisturbed, and therein lies the difference between the two. So, as with all other types of music, there's good atonal and bad atonal. Roberto Gerhard is very, very good atonal. In the first place, the fact that he operates within a very high level of dissonance doesn't mean that his music lacks emotional expression, melody, contrast, or character. Best of all, he's a spectacular orchestrator, and regardless of how difficult his music may be, it always sounds meaningful, and it falls brilliantly on the ear. This is especially true of his Concerto for Orchestra, a stunner by any standard. The Second Symphony is a tougher nut; Gerhard was in the midst of revising the piece when he died, and this recording presents the original version. Matthias Bamert and the BBC Symphony deserve a huge amount of credit for taking the time to present this difficult music with such confidence and virtuosity. A stunning disc for the musically adventurous. --David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Colin Davis. Philips 416 430-2 [Overtures: Roman Carnival, Benvenuto Cellini, Le corsaire, Le roi Lear, Les francs-juges, Waverly] (recorded 1965).

Davis and the London Symphony get a strong nod for Berlioz’s overtures, which they perform with great panache and striking brilliance and beauty of tone. The recording, considering its age almost miraculously fresh sounding, is impeccably detailed and well balanced. – Ted Libbey, author of The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection.

Recorded in: St Jude on the Hill, Hampstead, London 18-19 May 1987 and 12 July 1988 Producer(s) Brian Couzens Sound Engineer(s) Ralph Couzens Janet Middlebrook (Assistant) Philip Couzens (Assistant)