Richard Wilson

John Wilson’s series of orchestral works by his mentor and friend Sir Richard Rodney Bennett reaches Vol. 5, featuring three works composed between 1973 1989. The Concerto for Orchestra was commissioned at the instigation of Brian Priestman, the British chief conductor of the Denver SO. Its 3-mvt structure, closing with a dazzling set of variations, displays the modern orchestra as a virtuoso body of players.

John Wilson’s series of orchestral works by his mentor and friend Sir Richard Rodney Bennett reaches Vol. 5, featuring three works composed between 1973 1989. The Concerto for Orchestra was commissioned at the instigation of Brian Priestman, the British chief conductor of the Denver SO. Its 3-mvt structure, closing with a dazzling set of variations, displays the modern orchestra as a virtuoso body of players.

Following the success of The Dream of Gerontius in 1900 and The Apostles in 1903, the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival commissioned Elgar to produce another large oratorio for the 1906 festival. The Kingdom continues the narrative of the lives of Jesus’ disciples, depicting the community of the early church, Pentecost, and the events of the next few days. Although less frequently performed than The Dream of Gerontius, The Kingdom is considered one of Elgar’s greatest choral works, and deserves to rank alongside it. This re-release of the 1989 recording also features Sursum Corda and Sospiri, two short, reflective instrumental pieces, release honors the legacy of the late English conductor Sir Richard Hickox.

5.1 Mix. Remixed By Steven Wilson .Never-before-seen Personal Archive Videos And Images And Brand New Artwork.
Remixed by Steven Wilson, this reissue comes with brand new artwork that was commissioned and art-directed by Gala and Jamie Wright, Richard’s children and managers of his estate. As per the original release, the bi-fold sleeve folds out to extend the image and features the same vibrant colour palette. This time, the unidentified person in bright red shorts is swimming within deep blue waters of the sea rather than a pool and the image expands out to reveal a boat slightly out of their reach, referencing the nautical theme of the record. The image was taken by Costas Spathis, a photographer living and working in Greece, which is where the album was written and the graphic design is by Carl Glover.

This book is about the life and times of Richard Congreve. This polemicist was the first thinker to gain instant infamy for publishing cogent critiques of imperialism in Victorian Britain. As the foremost British acolyte of Auguste Comte, Congreve sought to employ the philosopher’s new science of sociology to dismantle the British Empire. With an aim to realise in its place Comte’s global vision of utopian socialist republican city-states, the former Oxford don and ex-Anglican minister launched his Church of Humanity in 1859.