Andrew Manze – Vaughan Williams: Job: A Masque For Dancing / Old King Cole: The Running Set

Andrew Manze

Following on from their highly acclaimed cycle of the 9 Vaughan Williams symphonies, Andrew Manze and the RLPO have recorded a spectacular Job, taken from a live performance at the famed Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool. RVW’s inspiration for Job arose from William Blake’s illustrations for The Book of Job, a collection of water colours from 1805, and the later engravings from 1822.

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James Ehnes, Andrew Armstrong – Mythes

James Ehnes

Andrew Armstrong

Composed in 1915, Szymanowski’s Mythes is a three movement work consisting of miniature tone poems based on Greek mythology. Late romantic and impressionist in style, the composer’s travels to Sicily and North Africa without doubt influenced the exotic and sumptuous sound world he created in this work. Mythes is the opening work on this eclectic recital album from James Ehnes and Andrew Armstrong. Also on this programme is Handel’s D major violin sonata – a once popular staple of the violin repertoire, now sadly seldom encountered. The album concludes with a selection of short and sparkly miniatures and encores. There are some old favourites here as well as new – James Newton Howard’s ‘133…At least’ is dazzling!

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Leonard Elschenbroich – Brahms Cello Sonatas (Vinyl)

Leonard Elschenbroich

When the red light in Studio 2 at the famous Abbey Road Studios came on at the start of the recording sessions for Elschenbroich’s and Grynyuk’s latest ONYX recording, the control room had a very different atmosphere. The recording was made using analogue technology – tape recorders, vintage microphones, and longer takes. At no point was the recorded material subjected to a digital process. Elschenbroich wanted to capture a specific sound for these sonatas; the recorded sound of the late 1950s and the 1960s was his goal. The result is a wonderfully intimate, warm yet clear sound, as if the musicians are actually in the room with the listener – not clinical, not a bright superficially impressive digital sound, but a sound that captures perfectly the best recorded sound of the golden years of the LP.

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Roberto Sierra: Symphony No. 6, Sinfonietta for Strings, Fandangos & Two pieces for Orchestra

Domingo Hindoyan

‘The works included on this album span 25 years of creative activity. While current projects are always my focus, looking back is not something I often do; however, this recording confronted me with compositions representing a good part of my creative life. Most interesting was to notice that, although my music has changed through the years, there are traits common to all these pieces. These are elements that encompass aspects ranging from the expressive to the technical. A penchant for certain types of melodic constructions, harmonies, and orchestration choices is always present in these works. Another common element is the use of idioms that stem out of Afro-Caribbean and, more specifically, from the folk and popular music of Puerto Rico’ Composer, Roberto Sierra

When introduced to the audience in Liverpool by Domingo Hindoyan, Sierra’s music was greeted with standing ovations. His name may be new to many, but his music is vibrant, appealing, accessible, and extremely well crafted. This album is a wonderful introduction to this important contemporary composer from Latin America

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Rachmaninov: Piano Trios Nos 1 & 2, Cello Sonata

Pavel Gomziakov

Rachmaninov’s ten chamber works, two left incomplete, all date from his twenties. The most widely performed and best known is the Cello Sonata. The two trios feature daunting piano parts – the composer was still finding his unique style and the influence of Tchaikovsky can be heard in No. 1. The 2nd Trio is a massive work (as is Tchaikovsky’s own Trio), composed just days after Rachmaninov learned of the death of his mentor. It is dedicated ‘To the memory of a great artist’. The Cello Sonata is mature Rachmaninov, with hints of the 2nd Piano Concerto and 2nd Symphony.

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