Cyril Scott

In the early years of the twentieth century, composer Cyril Scott was briefly heralded as one of the brightest hopes for English music, but after the First World War, as public tastes shifted, his work fell out of favor with audiences, and it was only toward the end of the twentieth century that a critical reappraisal began. His music, which was admired by Debussy, Elgar, and Strauss, is being played with greater frequency and is finding new listeners. The pieces presented here, his two piano concertos and Early One Morning, a tone poem for piano and orchestra, were recorded in 1975 and 1977 by pianist John Ogdon with Bernard Herrmann conducting the London Philharmonic.

In the early years of the twentieth century, composer Cyril Scott was briefly heralded as one of the brightest hopes for English music, but after the First World War, as public tastes shifted, his work fell out of favor with audiences, and it was only toward the end of the twentieth century that a critical reappraisal began. His music, which was admired by Debussy, Elgar, and Strauss, is being played with greater frequency and is finding new listeners. The pieces presented here, his two piano concertos and Early One Morning, a tone poem for piano and orchestra, were recorded in 1975 and 1977 by pianist John Ogdon with Bernard Herrmann conducting the London Philharmonic.

Pianist Nino Gvetadze has been fascinated by the English composer Cyril Scott since she studied music in Tbilisi, and always had the idea that she would dive deeper into his music when she got the chance. That time is now, because with this new album she has given him a fantastic and unforgettable hommage. Let the Scott revival be a fact starting today!

Dutton's attention to neglected composer Cyril Scott turns to his music for violin and piano in this program by Clare Howick and Sophia Rahman. A few of the pieces were arranged from Scott's popular salon music for piano, but the larger ones he wrote specifically for violin and piano. The disc is anchored by the Sonata Lirica, a work that was not lost, but rather undiscovered and, as of the recording date, had yet to be published. It is as representative of Scott's style as any of his best-known piano or orchestral works. There is formal structure ……..

Patsy Morita @ AllMusic

Leslie De'Ath has taken up the banner for the music of Cyril Scott, which many feel is long overdue for unfurling again, with a series on Dutton of his piano music. It is easy to hear in the pieces on this first volume why Scott was called "The English Debussy." The extremely colorful, translucent harmonies he uses make his music entrancing, sometimes mystical. The miniatures on the first disc tend to have uncomplicated textures. The Soirée Japonaise, in fact, sounds more like one of Grieg's Norwegian Dances than …….

Noted as an influence on Grainger, Vaughan Williams, and other contemporaries, Cyril Scott was possibly the most experimental of English composers in the early twentieth century. His chromatically ambiguous and highly atmospheric music was considered daring for its time, but today it seems no harder to grasp than, say, late Strauss or early Bartók. Indeed, Scott's String Quartet No. 1 may remind the listener of Bartók's first quartet, for both composers shared an uncanny affinity for enharmonically modulating counterpoint, elegiac ……

Blair Sanderson @ Allmusic.com

This is in some ways the most revealing of the issues in Brabbin’s Cyril Scott series for Chandos, with works from opposite ends of his long career, the Symphony No 1 of 1899 and the Cello Concerto of 1937. The Symphony is more traditional than Scott’s later symphonies, with its clean-cut thematic material. The Cello Concerto, beautifully played with Paul Watkins as soloist, is in a conventional three movements, with the fast outer movements separated by a reflective Pastoral for unaccompanied cello, before the jolly, sparkling finale.

The Penguin Guide - 1000 Greatest Classical Recordings 2011-12

Cyril Scott wrote more than two dozen substantial chamber works and although some of his early chamber music has been revived from time to time, with the exception of the Clarinet Quintet this selection receives its premiere recording. The earliest work on the programme is Piano Trio No. 1 of 1920, but the disc significantly celebrates the chamber music composed after the Second World War, exemplifying Scott’s late style.

Leslie De'Ath has taken up the banner for the music of Cyril Scott, which many feel is long overdue for unfurling again, with a series on Dutton of his piano music. It is easy to hear in the pieces on this first volume why Scott was called "The English Debussy." The extremely colorful, translucent harmonies he uses make his music entrancing, sometimes mystical.