Mstation Classical Reviews

Age of the Diva Albinoni Almost Christmas Arias, Hampson, Harnoncourt Bach Keyboard Concertos Bach Viola Bach, Barenboim Bach, Cantatas Bach, Concertos Bach, JS, Keyboard Works Bach, Mass in B Minor Bach, Mutter Bach, trio-sonatas Baroque Christmas Album Baroque Trumpet Bartok, Concertos Bartoli Bartoli, Opera Proibita Bax, Baroque Beethoven Piano Beethoven String Quartets Beethoven and Brahms Beethoven, piano Bella Donna: Courtly Love Belle Epoque Melodies Berlioz, Les Troyens Binchois, Dufay Boccherini, Cello Concertos Boxed Baroque Boyce, Eight Symphonies British Light Classics British Piano Concertos Brubeck, The Gates of Justice Bruch, Violin Concerto Callas Canteloube, Chants d'Auvergne Carols Chanticleer, Sound in Spirit Charpentier Charpentier, Lebegue Christmas 04 Christmas Vespers Contemporary and Medieval Copland Delius Der Rosenkavalier Dukachev - Beethoven, Prokofiev, Rachminov Elgar Elgar, Marches Elgar, The Enigma Variations Faure songs French Medieval Songs Fux Gounod, Faust Graham: Causon, Ravel, Debussy Great Ballets Grieg, Franck Handel Arias Handel, Deborah Handel, Messiah Handel, The Triumph ... Handel, Water Music DVD Hapsburg Music Haydn Haydn, Handel DVD's Herz Piano Jane Austen's Songbook Josefowicz Recital King's Singers La Fille Mal Gardee Lang Lang and Yo Yo Ma: Farewell Isabella and Chinese things Lauridsen Llibre Vermell Luci, Bartoli, and a dead diva Lully, Comedies-ballets, Phaeton Maerzmusik sampler Mahler Symphony No 7 Mahler, Berg Mantovani Matsudaira Medieval French Songs Mendelssohn Sacred Mendelssohn, Dvorak Messa di Gloria Michael Haydn Miles Davis ... sorta Monterverdi, Orfeo Monteverdi Vespers Monteverdi, Poppea Monteverdi, The Sacred Music 3 Monteverdi, Vivaldi, Handel Montiverdi Vespers Morricone Mozart Symphonies Mozart, Cosi fan tutte Mozart, Exsultate Jubilate Mozart, Mass in C Minor Mozart, symphonies 40, 41 Mozart: Die Zauberflote Mozart: the string quartets Mozrt Requiem Mutter Mozart New English Hymnal New RSS system and Feeds Nikolay Roslavets Peerson, Latin Motets Penguins March Pergolesi, La Serva Padrona Philip Glass, Symphonies 2 and 3 Poulenc concerto Proms Purcell - Dido and Aeneas Purcell Sonatas Purcell: Dido and Aeneas Rachmaninov, Piano Ramallah - Beethoven No. 5 Rameau, Les Paladins Reger, Bach and Telemann Variations Renaissance Organ Music Romantic Cello Concertos Romantic Violin Russian Album -Anna Netrebko Rutter Mass Sanctuary, the heart has its reasons Scarlatti, The complete Keyboard Sonatas Schubert and Mozart piano Schubert Ð Death and the Maiden Shostakovich Shostakovich and Schnittke, Cello Shostakovich/Josefowicz Sibelius String Quartets Sixteen: Ikon South American Baroque Stainer, The Crucifiction Sting does Dowland Strauss tone poem Takemitsu Tallis Tchaikovsky, Symphony No 5, Verdi, Sibelius The Kirov celebrates Nijinsky Toshiro Mayazumi Vaughan Williams Verdi View from a dark tunnel Virginal -Susann van Soldt Vivaldi Cello Vivaldi, Motezuma Vivaldi, Sacred Music Vivaldi: Dixit Dominus Von Otter Wagner, Das Rheingold Wagner, Gotterdammerung DVD Water Music, Music for the Royal Fireworks Weir, Gillian Weiss / Lindberg Lute Whitacre, Cloudburst Williams, Bingham: Mass von Weber, Chamber Music

Thu, 30 Mar 2006 British Piano Concertos British Piano Concertos Sir Hamilton Harty (1879-1941) Comedy Overture Fantasy Scenes Piano Concerto in B minor CD, NAXOS Ulster Orchestra Takuo Yuasa, conductor Peter Donohoe, piano Recorded in Ulster Hall, Belfast from 21st to 22nd February 2005 This recording is one of several by Naxos aimed at preserving and promoting British composers, in particular, British piano concertos. Sir Hamilton Harty was born in 1879 in Hillsborough (near Belfast), Northern Ireland; the son of an organist. At the age of 16 he moved to Dublin where he met Michele Esposito, an Italian composer, pianist and pedagogue who became a mentor as well as a friend, and to whom he dedicated his Comedy Overture and Piano Concerto. At the age of 21 he moved to London, working as a piano accompanist and later as the conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and then the Halle Orchestra in Manchester. As a conductor, we can thank him for introducing such new works as MahlerÕs Ninth Symphony, ShostakovichÕs first Symphony and premiering WaltonÕs First Symphony. Whilst he is certainly a romantic composer, with such influences in his work as Brahms, Dvorak and Tchaikowsky there is always an Irish presence, whether overt or not. A Comedy Overture was composed in 1906 and was first performed at the QueenÕs Hall Promenade Concert in 1907. The character of the music is lively and light-hearted although HartyÕs treatment of themes is thoughtful and entertaining. The Fantasy Scenes (From an Eastern Romance) tell a story in the style of Rimsky KorsakovÕs Scheherezade. The first is called Ò The Laughing JugglerÓ; the second is ÒA DancerÕs ReverieÓ; the third is ÒLonely in MoonlightÓ; and the fourth is ÒIn the Slave MarketÓ and tells the story of Mohammed, a juggler who falls in love with Zuleika, the SultanÕs favourite dancing girl. The piano concerto was first performed with the composer as the soloist. It is romantic and virtuosic in style which shows us just how accomplished he was. The orchestra provides beautifully clean string passages and the intonation from the woodwinds is excellent (I always find this can be lacking, even in recordings by some well established orchestras). In the concerto, the pianist and orchestra appear to have a good rapport which is important as the piano is often accompanying the orchestra. Peter Donohoe displays virtuosity, a clean touch and provides the passion needed for this rhapsodic style. All in all, I think that this music can certainly hold its own against other mainstream composers from Europe. (M.N.) [] permanent link