Jakubenas (1904-76) was one of the major cultural figures in pre-WWII Lithuania: he was a prominent composer, critic, teacher and musical activist. After WWII, he was one of many Baltic composers exiled to the USA, in his instance Chicago. Nicknamed ‘the Lithuanian Hindemith’, this is the first recording of his music on CD.

Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker, which has its origins in a novella by E. T. A. Hoffmann, contains some of the best-loved music ever written. But its composer wasn’t very happy with it, perhaps because the plot he was given to work with allowed him to present only a series of dances, losing the moral basis of Hoffman’s surprisingly modern tale, with its messages of inclusivity and what is now called ‘women’s agency’ – here it is the little girl who saves the prince. Hoffmann’s aspirational story continues well after the ballet ends, with the little girl, now grown up, marrying the prince, who is now king.

John Mauceri has brought the ballet back to its inspiration, calling on music from elsewhere in Tchaikovsky’s orchestral output to fashion this ‘re-telling’, marrying Hoffmann’s text and Tchaikovsky’s music for the first time.

REVIEW:

While this album is entitled “Tchaikovsky by Arrangement” (part of Toccata’s series that includes arrangements of Mozart, Wagner, Prokofiev, and Brahms among others), the main clue is in its subtitle: “A Retelling by John Mauceri.” Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker is a very condensed reworking of the original tale. In Mauceri’s retelling, the conductor has written a fairy-tale narrative based on the broader “Story of the Nutcracker,” published by Alexandre Dumas in 1845, which in turn was a retelling of the original story, Nussknacker und Mausekönig (The Nutcracker and the Mouse King) by E. T. A. Hoffmann, published in 1816. What’s more, Mauceri has created a pastiche of Tchaikovsky’s works to accompany Alan Cumming’s almost nonstop narration with music from not just The Nutcracker but also The Tempest, Hamlet, The Snow Maiden, and Orchestral Suite No. 1 (its fourth-movement miniature “Marche Militaire” serves as Mauceri’s overture). The final product really is quite an achievement.

— Fanfare

This album presents the first recording of Ronald Stevenson’s compositions for the accordion, alongside my own transcriptions of some of his piano works and songs. They represent a significant contribution to the repertoire of the classical accordion, both as music of profound depth and feeling, and as works for the instrument by one of the most notable Scottish composers of the last 100 years. - Neil Sutcliffe

Friedrich Lux (1820–95) was one of those musicians who formed the fabric of musical life in nineteenth-century Germany: though he worked away from the major cities, as conductor, teacher, organist, organiser and composer, he was an indispensable element of the communities in which he worked. His large body of organ music, as good as unknown before now, brings together elements of the musical language of Bach, Mendelssohn and Schumann, in works that range from the intimate to the grandiose. This second volume brings some of his many transcriptions to the fore.

Mélanie Bonis (1858–1937), a fine pianist herself, composed some 150 works for solo piano, publishing them with her first name shortened to ‘Mel’ to disguise the fact that she was a woman – while she lived among the French haute bourgeoisie as Mme Domange. They sometimes show the influence of Chabrier, and have points of contact with the music of Chausson, Debussy and Pierné, who had been fellow students at the Paris Conservatoire. But they also reveal an individual approach to rhythm, harmony and tone-color – and it’s clear that her conventional exterior hid a lively sense of fun, her many miniatures for children perhaps influenced by her own experience as a mother.

REVIEW:

The music on this CD is well crafted and engaging. Bonis was undoubtedly a talented composer, and these works for piano stand comparison with those of Chabrier and Chaminade, to name two. The ornate Barcarolle, for example, is, with its chromatic cascades and passionate heaving and swelling, more than just a placid little row across the pond. Even a small piece, such as the Berceuse triste from the Cinq petites pièces, reaches an emotional depth. The Scènes enfantines, on the other hand, are more modest.

Pianist Mengyiyi Chen, now in her young 30s and educated at the Manhattan School of Music (and elsewhere), makes a good case for this music. Compared to Marie-Catherine Girod, who also played “Ophélie” on the aforementioned Schloss vor Husum CD, she is at least as good, and rather more dramatic. The piano is a Steinway D, and it has been recorded well.

— Fanfare

"A beautiful, rich, exciting brass sound...a fine tribute to one of the UK’s best brass bands." -- BBC Radio 3

When the American composer Jack Stamp was appointed International Composer-in-Association to the Grimethorpe Colliery Band in 2019; he conceived a recording project focused on works specifically written for the GCB; including compositions by himself and Liz Lane; the other GCB Composer-in-Association; alongside other pieces which have played a prominent role in the Band’s recent activities. The kaleidoscopic range of styles to be heard here displays the extraordinary virtuosity of one of the world’s best-known brass bands.

The figure of George Frideric Handel cast a long shadow over musical London in the first half of the eighteenth century; casting many of his contemporaries – fine composers themselves – into centuries of obscurity. This recording throws light into forgotten corners and discovers some glittering gems; some of them demanding dazzling vocal fireworks from their performers. Several of these composers set scenes from Classical mythology or Old Testament narratives – but they also explore the underside of the Baroque psyche in one of David’s darkest psalms and in a representation of Arcadian madness.

Frederick Septimus Kelly, born in Sydney in 1881, was on the way to becoming one of Australia’s most important early composers when he was killed during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. The three works recorded here – for the first time – underline just how grievous was that loss, not only for Australia but for the musical world more generally. Kelly’s D minor Violin Sonata is an astonishingly assured work for a twenty-year-old student composer; his Serenade for flute and piano exudes good-natured charm; and the two surviving movements of his Piano Trio – which have a Brahmsian intensity – suggest that he would have been one of the major composers of the twentieth century.