Bach: Sonatas & Partitas BWV1004-6

“Faust's account of the music is gently voiced and eloquently inflected. Her lightly articulated bowing, which eschews anything in the nature of aggressive declamation, is a constant pleasure...a poetic player with an irresistably warm sound, a tightly controlled vibrato and an athletic technique.” --BBC Music Magazine, May 2010 ****

“Quite often her playing allows a generous measure of rhythmic freedom...at other times she's concerned to maintain a strong momentum....In short, Faust has a magnificent grasp of this music. Hear her if you can!” --Gramophone Magazine, June 2010

“Her serious dedication soars from her Stradivarius, a dark-toned beauty but capable of much silver light in its higher reaches...Faust’s wonderfully focused playing pulls you right inside the music, and magically makes you imagine the harmonies that Bach only implies.” --The Times, 10th April 2010 ****

“Faust finds her own distinct path, using minimal vibrato but deploying varieties of tonal colouring and proving plucky enough to add pliability to a phrase or to pause momentarily for expressive effect...[She] plays with exuberance, grace and, in the gavotte, minuets, bourrée and gigue, with polished élan.” --The Telegraph, 16th April 2010 ****

“Isabelle Faust has made a special impression as a deep, thoughtful, unshowy player, and these qualities make her ideally suited to the great Bach solo works...her command of the big structures, especially the huge C major Fugue and D minor Chaconne, is superb.” --The Observer, 27th June 2010

“[Faust's] sound is deliciously straight with little or no vibrato, and bowed with such sensitivity to Bach’s phrasing that you could almost kid yourself at times that she’s using a baroque bow. But a couple of features are especially telling: her instinct for ornamentation in the repeats, and the sense of cumulative musicianship” --Andrew McGregor, bbc.co.uk, 24th June 2010

“Her thoughtful approach is well suited to such searching music, and while there have been warmer, more spontaneous and expressively charismatic performances, few can match Faust’s intellectual concentration, purity and poise.” --Financial Times, 11th August 2012 ****

Three Centuries of Bagatelles

Bagatelle means ‘trifle’ in French. The genre was often used by composers to ‘disarm’ their listeners, surprising them with a brilliant or poetic character piece. This innovative recording by the gifted Russian-born American pianist Julia Zilberquit traces the development of the bagatelle from Couperin through to Bartók and beyond, revealing the remarkable character and drama in the genre.

"This is an interesting concept, an ingathering of musical "trifles", if we accept the French definition of the term. Yet in these miniatures can be found the seeds of great music, especially in the case of Beethoven, who was rather fond of the form. The Couperin rondeau that opens the disc is an unfortunate choice - even if chronologically correct - since it just does'nt "sound" on the piano." --The New Recordings, Cliffs Classics, June 2007

The Best Of...

When she was only five, Anne-Sophie Mutter already had just a single wish: to play the violin. It wasn`t long before she was being showered with prizes and awards. No lesser figure Herbert von Karajan took her under his wing and paved the way for her unprecedented solo career, and today this charismatic artist is one of the undisputed stars of the international music scene.

Brahms Works for Viola I

“In the First Sonata, in which Rysanov is accompanied by the excellent Katya Apekisheva, the music is more freely phrased, with a humorous sense of the latent waltz in the Allegretto and plenty of vigour in the finale. Rysanoc and Jacob Katsnelson are also more effective with the Second Sonata, especially in the agreeably conversational manner they adopt in the final variations, as when the melodic line flows seamlessly between them in the grazioso section.” --Gramophone Magazine, January 2009

“…I found Rysanov's performances of both Sonatas compelling, vivid and packed with moments of great musical insight. The two trio performances are also extremely enjoyable…” --BBC Music Magazine, January 2009 ****

“Brahms was the first to admit that he hadn't entirely solved the new problems of balance in the works that replace the clarinet with a viola (the clarinet sonatas and the Op 114 Trio). With recording, of course, some help can be given.

The viola is well forward in the performances by Rysanov, and this suits the music's extrovert, eloquent manner. In the First Sonata, in which Rysanov is accompanied by the excellent Katya Apekisheva, the music is more freely phrased, with a humorous sense of the latent waltz in the Allegretto and plenty of vigour in the finale. In the Op 114 Trio, the outside movements benefit from the vivid sense of melodic direction provided by Rysanov and Katsnelson.

The G major Violin Sonata was also written for Joachim, and arranged for viola not by Brahms but by his publisher Simrock's editor Paul Klengel. Transposing it from G down a fourth to D to accommodate the viola loses the music something of its elegance, but this is a persuasive performance. Persuasiveness is also needed in Op 40, which began life as the Horn Trio. Not all the cheerful vigour that Rysanov and Apekisheva provide can make the finale seem anything but a piece of hunting exuberance, but they do splendidly with the Scherzo and the Adagio mesto.” --Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV988

“a pleasing blend of intellectual rigour, robust declamation and leisurely reflection.” --BBC Music Magazine, April 2010 *****

“Happily, Staier's effortless virtuosity (hear the trills in Variation 28!) and sensible musicianship go together to make this a strong Goldberg...The instrument is undoubtedly a major star here but that need not stop us from recognising its player as a master harpsichordist.” --Gramophone Magazine, June 2010

“Astounding — not so much because of Staier’s interpretative approach to Bach’s keyboard glory: it’s more the instrument he’s playing...The colour range is enormous. So is the sound’s breadth...There’s great musical theatre in every track, plus peerless beauty and intellectual heft.” --The Times, 13th February 2010 *****

“Staier sustains a courtly musical protocol in, for instance, the four-voice Fughetta of 'Variation 10', while elsewhere executing the complex hand-crossing of 'Variation 5' with a dexterity that presents the piece as part maze, part cascade.” --The Independent, 19th February 2010 ****

Richard Jones: Chamber Airs for a Violin (and Thorough Bass)

Jones's unpredictable leaps and intervals...are a wizard's brew of Corelli trio sonatas and Vivaldi concertos underpinned by a sinuous Handelian humour that makes it not just unique, but that rare beast in this genre: music actually engaging enough to bear repeated listening...this disc is an electric reminder that this sort of music, when played sympathetically, can take on a life of its own” --Gramophone Magazine, October 2012

“Jones could hardly hope for more devoted advocates than Meyerson and her Finnish colleagues, the three instrumentalists accenting the music's theatrical qualities, variegated colours and special effects. Their sound is robust and sinewy - most effective in the more extrovert movements, if rather too blustery for the lyrical ones.” --BBC Music Magazine, December 2012 ****

Kreeta-Maria Kentala (violin), Lauri Pulakka (cello) & Mitzi Meyerson (harpsichord)

Emboldened by her experience of playing the 6 Sets of Lessons by Richard Jones, already released on Glossa, and chancing upon another book of music which included violin sonatas by Jones, Mitzi Meyerson resolved to champion further this forgotten musical figure from the first half of the 18th century in England, in a manner comparable to her earlier defence of Muffat and Balbastre.

Joined by violinist Kreeta-Maria Kentala and cellist Lauri Pulakka, Meyerson has now recorded all eight of the sonatas, published in London in 1735 as Chamber Airs for a Violin (and Thorough Bass), and makes evident how this contemporary of Handel developed his own individual and unpredictable style, but with plenty of echoes of music by the likes of Leclair and Corelli, as well as the earlier Baroque England thrown in for good measure. This is technically secure and demanding music for the performers - Jones was a violinist himself, acting as the concertmaster for the Drury Lane Orchestra in London – which will be a delight for lovers of Baroque chamber music and which will serve to demonstrate, once more, how in music “the perfect is the enemy of the good” for composers caught in the long shadow of Georg Friedrich Handel.

The three musicians on this new Glossa recording talk winningly in a joint booklet interview about their pleasure in performing these idiosyncratic early Georgian violin sonatas.

Schumann: String Quartets Nos. 1–3 & Piano Quintet

“This new set...is of a very high standard: the account of the powerful first movement of the A minor is breathtakingly impressive - at times, Schumann's invention seems fit to burst the confines of four stringed instruments - and I was captivated by this intense performance throughout...a fine set of performances, very well recorded in a St Petersburg church in a rich and naturally warm acoustic.” --International Record Review, January 2012

“These four fine players are consistently musical in their approach and there is nothing outlandish or suspect about their interpretations. And therein perhaps lies their weakness, for it's precisely that degree of risk-taking that makes this music come alive...There is elegance to the new reading, though, which can be persuasive, such as in the variation-form second movement of No. 2” --Gramophone Magazine, January 2012

Works Of Akira Ifukube For 25-string Koto

Akira Ifukube studied forestry in college and worked for ten years as a forest engineer. In 1935, his Japanese Rhapsody won the Alexander Tcherepnin Prize in Paris and in 1936, it was performed in Boston. He then studied briefly with Tcherepnin who was responsible for the premiere of his first ballet. This was performed in Vienna in 1938, the same year as he had a piano suite performed at the ISCM Festival Venezia. During his career as a forest ranger he studied the music of the Ainu, the indigenous people of Northern Japan. 

In 1974 he joined the faculty of the Tokyo College of Music, becoming its president in 1976. Pipa Xing and Chant de la Serinde were both commissioned and first performed by Keiko Nosaka. Kugo-Ka was originally written for guitar and first performed in Paris in 1969. It can be played with equal result on the 25-stringed koto as it is done in this recording.

Elgar: Violin Concerto, Etc

“Little...finds an element of wit in the fast-moving figuration [of the finale], leading to a more tender treatment of the lyrical contrasting sections.” --Gramophone Magazine, December 2010

“Little and Davis steer a near-perfect path between the English stoicism and continental passion that lies at the heart of this glorious score. Positioned naturally against the orchestra, Little shares the concerto's surging emotional narrative equally with her accompanists, without the slightest hint of virtuoso ostentation.” --Classic FM Magazine, January 2011 *****

“If ever a violin concerto deserved the feminine touch, it is Elgar’s...[Little] knows just how to make her violin sing, subtly swelling and fading through the solo part’s lyrical lines as Elgar penetrates the mysteries and wonder of the feminine soul...[She] is tender, velvet, winsome, always beguiling, never de trop, with complete mastery of the pianissimo caress .” --The Times, 12th November 2010 ****

“She takes the opening Allegro boldly, and with plenty of confident ardour...Far more than was possible in the early recordings, there is scrupulous balance, with and sometimes within Elgar's rich but always lucid orchestration (he was, after all, a violinist himself) ensuring that the performance does as full justice to the sound as any on record.” --International Record Review, December 2010

Bach: Partitas for Solo Violin Arranged for Guitar

“Korhonen's phrasing and articulation are intelligent and musical, and the execution is clean and crisp. Sometimes the downstroke of the bow is imitated...at other times...a more flowing, guitaristic approach is adopted.” --Gramophone Magazine, October 2010

“Korhonen always adheres closely to Bach's concepts, so that the notes added to the original violin score, filling out the harmony and adding basses, are subtle and never harmonically jarring...He plays with the intensity of one who really knows these works...one feels his love and admiration for these pieces.” --International Record Review, October 2010

This specially priced new recording features guitarist Timo Korhonen with the Partitas for Solo Violin by J.S. Bach, and his own arrangement for modern guitar.

This release follows on the success of the Bach Sonatas for Solo Violin (ODE1128-2). While many guitarists carry single movements in their repertoire, such as the famous Ciaccona from Partita No. 2, Timo Korhonen’s acclaimed project covers the complete Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin.

Korhonen’s transcriptions remain very faithful to the original violin score: “My aim was to execute the musical content, as if Bach had actually written it for six-string guitar back in 1720.” Timo Korhonen

Passacaglia

“an exceptional set of works performed by a young organist with outstanding skill.” --MusicWeb, May 2013

The Passacaglia is a musical form based on a repeated bass line over which variations are composed. The form was popular during the 17th century but proved to be a challenge in its structural restrictions for composers of later periods, continuously renewing and extending the form, while keeping to its basic formula.

This original program brings together composers from 4 centuries: from Kerll, Couperin, Buxtehude and the monumental Passacaglia in C minor by J.S. Bach, far into the 20-th century with Reger, Shostakovich and Jan Welmers.

Recorded on the magnificent Martti Pothan organ Kotka Church in Finland, by young virtuoso Matthias Havinga, whose earlier recording on this organ (Brilliant Classics 94203) with Italian Concertos by J.S. Bach received enthusiastic reviews in the press.

New recording, including extensive liner notes and information on the instrument. Consisting of variations framed in a constantly repeated basso ostinato, the passacaglia is a musical form with a long and fruitful history. This release is dedicated to eight such examples which, taken from four countries and all performed on the organ, divide either side of the year 1800 to reveal the form’s extensive and inventive development over time. The passacaglia was particularly popular during the 17th century, when it became known for its limited range of keys, slow triple meter and short, simple theme of two or four.

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Rachmaninov, Bach/Busoni, Ravel & Stravinsky: Piano Works

“In Rachmaninov's Corelli Variations, Kempf distinguishes himself for assiduous, well-integrated tempo relationships between movements, and the easy command and intelligent, symphonically orientated delineation with which he shapes the composer's thick textures...Kempf's glittering technique, supple touch and extroverted demeanour in Stravinsky's Three Movements from Petrushka bring out the music's balletic roots” Gramophone Magazine, July 2011

“this is a colourful and enjoyable account [of Petrushka], well-characterised and full of dynamic contrast...fans of Kempf need have no qualms about acquiring this release.” --BBC Music Magazine, June 2011 ****

“Kempf opens with a beautifully-voiced and judiciously-paced view of Rachmaninov's Variations...he finds a meltingly silvery touch for the Ravel Valses (exquisite) before a return to the Russian repertoire that he plays so well, leaving us, thrillingly, in no doubt that the piano is a percussive instrument.” --Classic FM Magazine, July 2011 ****

“Kempf follows [Bach's] text faithfully, allowing each variation to shape the movement without sounding forced...[He] shows an impressive range of organ-like colour along with a pointillism that suits quick passages well...The scene of 'Shrove-Tide Fair' is a roller-coaster ride under Kempff's fingers, driven by a motoric energy that many pianists would find difficult to sustain over eight-and-a-half minutes.” --International Record Review, April 2011

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Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos

“Ibragimova's playing combines verve, brilliance and imaginative intelligence. Mendelssohn's dynamics are scrupulously observed...But if listeners that they are hearing an approximation of an 1840s performance, they should think again. No one could accuse Ibragimova of vibrating excessively, yet she uses vibrato on the modern way, to aid tone production and projection.” --Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2012

“what was the thinking behind teaming together a soloist who uses vibrato, albeit tastefully, and a string band who don't? Not that I necessarily object to the result...Ibragimova's sensitive playing wins the day, with some superlative quiet moments and at all times a loyal adherence to the composer's markings and a sure sense of the music's phrasing and architecture.” --BBC Music Magazine, November 2012 *****

“Ibragimova’s performance suggests she perceives Mendelssohn as a pure classicalist. She and conductor Jurowski downplays any aspect of the music that might suggest Mendelssohn harbored any Romantic inclinations. The performance uses very little rubato, and Jurowski urges the orchestra ever forward” --MusicWeb International, March 2013

Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 6 & 12

“Superlative standards already set by this team's Shostakovich couldn't afford to slip in a symphony as great as the Sixth. In the first movement, at least, Vasily Petrenko and the Liverpudlians reach new heights of articulation and sonic beauty...In the inferior Symphony No. 12, Petrenko applies his usual standards of well-differentiated articulation and soulful playing” --BBC Music Magazine, December 2011 *****

“Petrenko makes a case that the Sixth could be amongst Shostakovich's most elusive puzzling creations...His solution to the Twelfth: stay out of the way, the RLPO's firepower is good in the telling...profound interpretative insights and stinging orchestral playing.” --Classic FM Magazine, December 2011 ****

“The RLPO woodwinds excel themselves in these gripping readings.” --Sunday Times, 9th October 2011

“Petrenko makes weird and wonderful sense of both...The RLPO’s sense of attack carries all before it, and the eerie Adagio [of No. 12] is traversed with subtlety and finesse. This symphony may not be top-drawer music, but by treating it seriously rather than as the soundtrack for a Bolshevik newsreel, Petrenko and the RLPO do Shostakovich a big favour.” --Financial Times, 8th October 2011 ****

“Petrenko leaves his stamp on the performances through his insight into the characteristics of each work...One particularly impressive feature is the fact that Petrenko seems to have instilled such a “Russian” sound into the players...Petrenko’s sense of the music’s structure is sure, both in the Sixth Symphony and in the Twelfth” --The Telegraph, 7th October 2011 *****

“[The] fierce, anguished first movement is one of Shostakovich's greatest achievements; in this superbly paced performance, it seems to echo the wracked Adagio that begins Mahler's Tenth Symphony. Petrenko and the RLPO are equally impressive in the movements that follow, with wonderfully agile woodwind playing in the Scherzo, and a perfect balance between vulgarity and exuberance in the final Presto.” --The Guardian, 20th October 2011 ****

“[Petrenko]’s not inclined to dwell on the ambiguous political complexities, but his purely musical approach is persuasive. He concentrates on energy and precision, paces each movement astutely, and elicits lean, thrilling timbres from his players.” --The Times, 26th November 2011
****

Fiorillo & Viotti: Violin Concertos

'A welcome reissue of a fine disc coupling a pair of delightful concertos, in performances of delectable poise and refinement. Recommended' --International Record Review

'One is at home with this music right from the start' -Fanfare, USA

Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras Volume 3

“The cellists of the São Paulo SOP give measured and beautifully poised accounts of Nos 1 and 5 and the performers catch the intimacy one expects of the medium. Donna Brown is in fine voice in No 5… No 4 may well be the most unfamiliar to those who know the standard "orchestral" version... evocative of Bach in its use of a keyboard. Jean Louis Steuerman... plays with great finesse and understanding...” --Gramophone Magazine, December 2007

The primary novelty here is the piano-solo original version of Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4, an interesting alternative to the more familiar setting for orchestra. There seems little question that the latter is preferable on purely coloristic grounds, particularly in the second-movement chorale and the dance-finale. Jean-Louis Steuerman plays very well, however, and it's only in that energetic last movement that he sometimes gives too much emphasis to the left-hand accompaniment (at a tempo perhaps a touch too frantic). But then if you have the orchestral version in your ears, as I do, your expectations in terms of textural balance naturally will be different from what can be achieved on solo keyboard. It's a fine performance.

Both wind players sound terrific in the brief and quirky Bachianas Brasileiras No. 6, and soprano Donna Brown sings (and hums) really beautifully in the popular No. 5. I was particularly taken with her clarity of diction and accuracy of intonation in the rapid-fire second movement. Here, and in Bachianas Brasileiras No. 1, the cello section of the São Paulo Symphony plays magnificently, with incisive rhythms (check out the first movement of No. 1) and a big, rich tone. As usual, BIS's engineering is excellent. I look forward to the conclusion of this first rate series. It looks to be the Bachianas Brasileiras cycle of choice, assuming standards remain this high. --David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Walton: String Quartets

“The Doric gives outstanding, virtuoso performances of William Walton’s two string quartets. The first of them, formidable in its technical demands and harmonic language, is virtually unrecognisable from the Walton of maturity...but, when played with such panache, it provides a pungent contrast to the clarity and spry rhythmic sparring of the later A minor Quartet.” The Daily Telegraph, February 2011 *****

“Hats off first for the stunning recording. Every bow stroke hits home as if the players are there in your living room. Another bouquet for the musicians’ mastery of the three Ps: polish, passion, precision. Absorbing repertoire, too.” --The Times, March 2011 ****

“The Doric Quartet responds with great understanding to it and does well in making the most of the parts of the two works when, for different reasons, a good counsel for the defence is called for. The recording, too, gives an excellent account of music that, even when Walton was young and inexperienced, shows the keenness of his ear for texture.” --International Record Review, March 2011

“[a] blazingly committed and triumphantly assured rendering [of the early Quartet]...I was particularly smitten with the Doric's glowing treatment of the rapturous slow movement [of the A minor]...which they survey with a beguiling, almost conversational flow yet no loss of intimacy or piercing ardour...Make no mistake, this is a terrific disc in every way.” --Gramophone, May 2011

“the early Quartet is a remarkable creation, with its searching chromaticism, huge technical strength, and formidable finale...The Doric Quartet play both works with an ultra-focused vividness that's very effective in bringing out the early Quartet's sophisticated, Schoenberg-influenced range of light and shade.” --BBC Music Magazine, August 2011 ***

Bax: Orchestral Works

‘Martyn Brabbins directs a set of performances as crisply polished as they are infectious, and Chandos’ sound is characteristically sumptuous to match’ --Gramophone

‘All of these pieces are genuine discoveries brilliantly played by the BBC Philharmonic and just as brilliantly led by Brabbins, who may be the next great Bax conductor.’ --American Record Guide

‘Chandos has provided its usual luminous sound. All in all an unexpectedly substantial release.’ --Fanfare

In 1903 while still a student, Bax wrote a String Quartet in E major, the second of two student quartets, and to the slow movement the young composer gave a programmatic force by prefacing it with a quotation from the Irish poet, W.B. Yeats. In 1904 this movement was performed in an arrangement for two violins and piano bearing the title Cathaleen-ni-Hoolihan, and seven months later it was orchestrated by the composer. The first performance of the orchestral version was given at the Royal College of Music in 1970.

In 1911 Bax sought to emulate the works of the Ballet russes with his own ‘Russian Ballet’, or rather ‘a Little-Russian fairy tale in action and dance’, as he called it. The ensuing work Tamara, was taken from a story by Andrew Lang about a king who is trapped by a water demon while hunting. In order to gain his freedom he promises to the water demon whatever new thing awaits his return, which inevitably, is his son, Prince Igor! The Prince, twenty years later, meets the enchanter’s daughter, Tamara. Her father turns her into a flower which is later recognised by the prince, who restores her to life.

Since the turn of the nineteenth century British Coronations have assume the character of festivals of new British Music. At the time of the Coronation in 1937 Kenneth Wright at the BBC remarked that such a piece as London Pageant would be bound to attract many performances and Bax took the hint. The work was written in December 1936, the orchestration completed in February 1937 and the work first played in a broadcast concert of the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by the celebrated Albert Coates.

The Concertante for Three Wind Instruments and Orchestra was written during November and December 1948 and was completed on New Year’s day 1949. It was commissioned for the Sir Henry Wood Memorial Concert given at the Royal Albert Hall on 2 March 1949. There it was played by the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent. The music is unpublished and the manuscript full score was destroyed in Chappell’s fire in 1964; the work only survives because a photographic copy (before the days of photocopiers) had been made.

Pleyel: Symphonies Concertantes

“Innocent and attractive concertos from a contemporary of Mozart and Haydn. Performances are more than acceptable, with trim playing from the (modern-instrument) Baltimore band, and assured solo contributions from David Perry (Stylish and sweet-toned in the solo concerto) and his violin and viola partners.” --Gramophone, September 2009

Pleyel’s symphonies concertantes are characteristic expressions of his idiosyncratic style. They are expansive, leisurely-paced works, texturally transparent in their solo sections and rich in melodic invention.

Always sensitive to instrumental colour, Pleyel uses his unusual forces to weave a scintillating web of sound in these remarkable works.

The original and virtually unknown version of the Violin Concerto in D, composed in the early 1780s, is one of the earliest of Pleyel’s solo concertos but no less attractive and assured than its successors.

This recording includes the original first and second movements together with a new finale composed by Pleyel several years later.

Evening Songs

“Hearing the songs of both composers without the texts, and played with such attention to contour and gradation, reminds us just how masterly and diverse both composers were in their art of the solo song...As the title of the disc suggests, this is an ideal collection to while away the summer evenings.” --Gramophone Magazine, March 2012

“What emerges - as if we needed reminding - is the great gift of each man for melody: divorced from their texts, they work almost better in this form!” --International Record Review, February 2012

Julian Lloyd Webber (cello), Jiaxin Cheng (cello) & John Lenehan (piano)

Frederick Delius’s beautiful songs show his extraordinary gift for melody. John Ireland admired Delius enormously and his songs are inspired by a wide variety of literature, including his hugely popular setting of John Masefield’s Sea Fever. Renowned cellist Julian Lloyd Webber celebrates both composers’ remarkable melodic gifts in these sensitive arrangements, and pianist John Lenehan has received great acclaim for his Naxos recordings of Ireland’s complete piano music.

This recording revives a tradition which was common at the beginning of the last century, arranging the best of vocal music for instruments, of which the singing voice of the cello is one of the best suited. The performing cast here is something of a dream team. Julian Lloyd Webber’s large following will take little persuasion to explore his playing on this beautiful CD, and he is joined both by his cellist wife Jiaxin Cheng and Ireland expert John Lenehan, whose recordings include the Gramophone awardwinning Michael Nyman Piano Concerto (8554168).

Julian Lloyd Webber is one of today’s leading cellists. He has given the premières of more than fifty new works for cello and has inspired new compositions from composers as diverse as Malcolm Arnold and Joaquín Rodrigo to James MacMillan and Philip Glass. His partnership with John Lenehan began in the mid-1970s and they have since given recitals together all over the world. “…the doyen of British cellists” The Strad