World Impressionism The International Movement

The Romantic theme of the wanderer, the free spirit undertaking a journey into the self, runs through Seong-Jin Cho’s latest solo album. The globetrotting Korean pianist’s programme includes two monuments of the 19th-century repertoire – Schubert’s “Wanderer” Fantasy and Liszt’s Piano Sonata in B minor. Set for international release by Deutsche Grammophon on 3 April 2020, The Wanderer also contains Alban Berg’s Piano Sonata Op. 1, a single-movement work of extraordinary intensity.

Great Artists with Tim Marlow: The Collection contains all 26 episodes of the Great Artists This major 26-part series takes a fresh look at the most important artworks of some of the greatest artists in history. Shot on location in over fifty museums, churches and palaces throughout Europe and the United States, this series is a comprehensive survey of the history of Western art.

They appeared in a period of upheaval. They saw the rebuilding of Paris, the rise of industrialism, the ruin of the Franco-Prussian war. They displayed their startling and shocking works in a series of exhibitions from 1874 to 1886. And by the 1890s, this "loose coalition" of artists who rebelled against the formality of the French Academy had created the most famous artistic movement in history. "They" were the Impressionists, and Professor Brettell is your expert curator and guide to a movement that created a new, intensely personal vision of the world.

This disc forms part of our ongoing Spanish Music series with the BBC Philharmonic under its Chief Conductor, Juanjo Mena. Here the focus is on the orchestral music of Joaquín Turina, one of the two leading Spanish composers of the twentieth century, the other being Manual de Falla. Turina was a prolific composer who in his sixty-seven years wrote more than 100 works across a wide range of classical genres. Turina lived in Paris from 1905 to 1914 whilst taking lessons from d’Indy and getting to know Ravel and Debussy. The Danzas fantásticas and Sinfonía sevillana are both influenced by the sights and sounds of Turina’s native Seville but also by aspects of French impressionism. Poema en forma de canciones is probably the best-known work, originally for voice and piano. The other works are Ritmos (Rhythms), originally a ballet score, brilliantly effective in the concert hall, and Saeta en forma de Salve a la Virgen de la Esperanza, a beautifully written devotional song. In this as well as in the Poema and in ‘Farruca’, from Triptico, the orchestra is joined by the Spanish mezzo Clara Mouriz.

Bedřich Smetana is definitely considered the founder of the Czech school, thanks to his symphonic work and his incidental music, marked by a strong patriotic and nationalist trait. He was deeply influenced by the political events which took place in Prague in 1848, after which he became actively involved in the cultural life of his country. Born in 1824 and acclaimed as a violin prodigy at the age of four, during his studies he was introduced to composition for various ensembles and, in 1855, to chamber music.

Compositions from both East and West here bring together the powerful voices of six women composers from contrasting cultures. Their music ranges from the Romantic period via Impressionism and Neoclassicism to the present. Vivid impressions alternate with absolute music, strict sonata forms with free forms full of delicate musical poetry.

Invented in Paris in 1846 by the Belgian-born Adolphe Sax, the saxophone was readily embraced by French composers who championed the new instrument through numerous ensemble and solo compositions. This tradition is celebrated in a programme, performed by the young and exciting Kenari Quartet, that explores the saxophone in all of its colours and sonorities, from Pierre Max Dubois’s light-hearted and jazz-inspired music to the lyrical and expressive world of Alfred Desenclos, and from Jean Françaix’s witty ‘bantering’ to the excitement and energy which closes Florent Schmitt’s Quatour, Op. 102.